Chapter I
The Philadelphia into which Frank Algernon Cowperwood was born was a city of two hundred and fifty thousand and more It was set with handsome parks notable buildings and crowded with historic memories Many of the things that we and he knew later were not then in existence—the telegraph telephone express company ocean steamer city delivery of mails There were no postagestamps or registered letters The street car had not arrived In its place were hosts of omnibuses and for longer travel the slowly developing railroad system still largely connected by canals
Cowperwoods father was a bank clerk at the time of Franks birth but ten years later when the boy was already beginning to turn a very sensible vigorous eye on the world Mr Henry Worthington Cowperwood because of the death of the banks president and the consequent moving ahead of the other officers fell heir to the place vacated by the promoted teller at the to him munificent salary of thirtyfive hundred dollars a year At once he decided as he told his wife joyously to remove his family from 21 Buttonwood Street to 124 New Market Street a much better neighborhood where there was a nice brick house of three stories in height as opposed to their present twostoried domicile There was the probability that some day they would come into something even better but for the present this was sufficient He was exceedingly grateful
Henry Worthington Cowperwood was a man who believed only what he saw and was content to be what he was—a banker or a prospective one He was at this time a significant figure—tall lean inquisitorial clerkly—with nice smooth closelycropped side whiskers coming to almost the lower lobes of his ears His upper lip was smooth and curiously long and he had a long straight nose and a chin that tended to be pointed His eyebrows were bushy emphasizing vague grayishgreen eyes and his hair was short and smooth and nicely parted He wore a frockcoat always—it was quite the thing in financial circles in those days—and a high hat And he kept his hands and nails immaculately clean His manner might have been called severe though really it was more cultivated than austere
Being ambitious to get ahead socially and financially he was very careful of whom or with whom he talked He was as much afraid of expressing a rabid or unpopular political or social opinion as he was of being seen with an evil character though he had really no opinion of great political significance to express He was neither anti nor proslavery though the air was stormy with abolition sentiment and its opposition He believed sincerely that vast fortunes were to be made out of railroads if one only had the capital and that curious thing a magnetic personality—the ability to win the confidence of others He was sure that Andrew Jackson was all wrong in his opposition to Nicholas Biddle and the United States Bank one of the great issues of the day and he was worried as he might well be by the perfect storm of wildcat money which was floating about and which was constantly coming to his bank—discounted of course and handed out again to anxious borrowers at a profit His bank was the Third National of Philadelphia located in that center of all Philadelphia and indeed at that time of practically all national finance—Third Street—and its owners conducted a brokerage business as a side line There was a perfect plague of State banks great and small in those days issuing notes practically without regulation upon insecure and unknown assets and failing and suspending with astonishing rapidity and a knowledge of all these was an important requirement of Mr Cowperwoods position As a result he had become the soul of caution Unfortunately for him he lacked in a great measure the two things that are necessary for distinction in any field—magnetism and vision He was not destined to be a great financier though he was marked out to be a moderately successful one
Mrs Cowperwood was of a religious temperament—a small woman with lightbrown hair and clear brown eyes who had been very attractive in her day but had become rather prim and matteroffact and inclined to take very seriously the maternal care of her three sons and one daughter The former captained by Frank the eldest were a source of considerable annoyance to her for they were forever making expeditions to different parts of the city getting in with bad boys probably and seeing and hearing things they should neither see nor hear
Frank Cowperwood even at ten was a naturalborn leader At the day school he attended and later at the Central High School he was looked upon as one whose common sense could unquestionably be trusted in all cases He was a sturdy youth courageous and defiant From the very start of his life he wanted to know about economics and politics He cared nothing for books He was a clean stalky shapely boy with a bright cleancut incisive face large clear gray eyes a wide forehead short bristly darkbrown hair He had an incisive quickmotioned selfsufficient manner and was forever asking questions with a keen desire for an intelligent reply He never had an ache or pain ate his food with gusto and ruled his brothers with a rod of iron Come on Joe Hurry Ed These commands were issued in no rough but always a sure way and Joe and Ed came They looked up to Frank from the first as a master and what he had to say was listened to eagerly
He was forever pondering pondering—one fact astonishing him quite as much as another—for he could not figure out how this thing he had come into—this life—was organized How did all these people get into the world What were they doing here Who started things anyhow His mother told him the story of Adam and Eve but he didnt believe it There was a fishmarket not so very far from his home and there on his way to see his father at the bank or conducting his brothers on afterschool expeditions he liked to look at a certain tank in front of one store where were kept odd specimens of sealife brought in by the Delaware Bay fishermen He saw once there a seahorse—just a queer little seaanimal that looked somewhat like a horse—and another time he saw an electric eel which Benjamin Franklins discovery had explained One day he saw a squid and a lobster put in the tank and in connection with them was witness to a tragedy which stayed with him all his life and cleared things up considerably intellectually The lobster it appeared from the talk of the idle bystanders was offered no food as the squid was considered his rightful prey He lay at the bottom of the clear glass tank on the yellow sand apparently seeing nothing—you could not tell in which way his beady black buttons of eyes were looking—but apparently they were never off the body of the squid The latter pale and waxy in texture looking very much like pork fat or jade moved about in torpedo fashion but his movements were apparently never out of the eyes of his enemy for by degrees small portions of his body began to disappear snapped off by the relentless claws of his pursuer The lobster would leap like a catapult to where the squid was apparently idly dreaming and the squid very alert would dart away shooting out at the same time a cloud of ink behind which it would disappear It was not always completely successful however Small portions of its body or its tail were frequently left in the claws of the monster below Fascinated by the drama young Cowperwood came daily to watch
One morning he stood in front of the tank his nose almost pressed to the glass Only a portion of the squid remained and his inkbag was emptier than ever In the corner of the tank sat the lobster poised apparently for action
The boy stayed as long as he could the bitter struggle fascinating him Now maybe or in an hour or a day the squid might die slain by the lobster and the lobster would eat him He looked again at the greenishcopperish engine of destruction in the corner and wondered when this would be Tonight maybe He would come back tonight
He returned that night and lo the expected had happened There was a little crowd around the tank The lobster was in the corner Before him was the squid cut in two and partially devoured
He got him at last observed one bystander I was standing right here an hour ago and up he leaped and grabbed him The squid was too tired He wasnt quick enough He did back up but that lobster he calculated on his doing that Hes been figuring on his movements for a long time now He got him today
Frank only stared Too bad he had missed this The least touch of sorrow for the squid came to him as he stared at it slain Then he gazed at the victor
Thats the way it has to be I guess he commented to himself That squid wasnt quick enough He figured it out
The squid couldnt kill the lobster—he had no weapon The lobster could kill the squid—he was heavily armed There was nothing for the squid to feed on the lobster had the squid as prey What was the result to be What else could it be He didnt have a chance he concluded finally as he trotted on homeward
The incident made a great impression on him It answered in a rough way that riddle which had been annoying him so much in the past How is life organized Things lived on each other—that was it Lobsters lived on squids and other things What lived on lobsters Men of course Sure that was it And what lived on men he asked himself Was it other men Wild animals lived on men And there were Indians and cannibals And some men were killed by storms and accidents He wasnt so sure about men living on men but men did kill each other How about wars and street fights and mobs He had seen a mob once It attacked the Public Ledger building as he was coming home from school His father had explained why It was about the slaves That was it Sure men lived on men Look at the slaves They were men Thats what all this excitement was about these days Men killing other men—negroes
He went on home quite pleased with himself at his solution
Mother he exclaimed as he entered the house he finally got him
Got who What got what she inquired in amazement Go wash your hands
Why that lobster got that squid I was telling you and pa about the other day
Well thats too bad What makes you take any interest in such things Run wash your hands
Well you dont often see anything like that I never did He went out in the back yard where there was a hydrant and a post with a little table on it and on that a shining tinpan and a bucket of water Here he washed his face and hands
Say papa he said to his father later you know that squid
Yes
Well hes dead The lobster got him
His father continued reading Well thats too bad he said indifferently
But for days and weeks Frank thought of this and of the life he was tossed into for he was already pondering on what he should be in this world and how he should get along From seeing his father count money he was sure that he would like banking and Third Street where his fathers office was seemed to him the cleanest most fascinating street in the world
Chapter II
The growth of young Frank Algernon Cowperwood was through years of what might be called a comfortable and happy family existence Buttonwood Street where he spent the first ten years of his life was a lovely place for a boy to live It contained mostly small two and threestory red brick houses with small white marble steps leading up to the front door and thin white marble trimmings outlining the front door and windows There were trees in the street—plenty of them The road pavement was of big round cobblestones made bright and clean by the rains and the sidewalks were of red brick and always damp and cool In the rear was a yard with trees and grass and sometimes flowers for the lots were almost always one hundred feet deep and the housefronts crowding close to the pavement in front left a comfortable space in the rear
The Cowperwoods father and mother were not so lean and narrow that they could not enter into the natural tendency to be happy and joyous with their children and so this family which increased at the rate of a child every two or three years after Franks birth until there were four children was quite an interesting affair when he was ten and they were ready to move into the New Market Street home Henry Worthington Cowperwoods connections were increased as his position grew more responsible and gradually he was becoming quite a personage He already knew a number of the more prosperous merchants who dealt with his bank and because as a clerk his duties necessitated his calling at other bankinghouses he had come to be familiar with and favorably known in the Bank of the United States the Drexels the Edwards and others The brokers knew him as representing a very sound organization and while he was not considered brilliant mentally he was known as a most reliable and trustworthy individual
In this progress of his father young Cowperwood definitely shared He was quite often allowed to come to the bank on Saturdays when he would watch with great interest the deft exchange of bills at the brokerage end of the business He wanted to know where all the types of money came from why discounts were demanded and received what the men did with all the money they received His father pleased at his interest was glad to explain so that even at this early age—from ten to fifteen—the boy gained a wide knowledge of the condition of the country financially—what a State bank was and what a national one what brokers did what stocks were and why they fluctuated in value He began to see clearly what was meant by money as a medium of exchange and how all values were calculated according to one primary value that of gold He was a financier by instinct and all the knowledge that pertained to that great art was as natural to him as the emotions and subtleties of life are to a poet This medium of exchange gold interested him intensely When his father explained to him how it was mined he dreamed that he owned a gold mine and waked to wish that he did He was likewise curious about stocks and bonds and he learned that some stocks and bonds were not worth the paper they were written on and that others were worth much more than their face value indicated
There my son said his father to him one day you wont often see a bundle of those around this neighborhood He referred to a series of shares in the British East India Company deposited as collateral at twothirds of their face value for a loan of one hundred thousand dollars A Philadelphia magnate had hypothecated them for the use of the ready cash Young Cowperwood looked at them curiously They dont look like much do they he commented
They are worth just four times their face value said his father archly
Frank reexamined them The British East India Company he read Ten pounds—thats pretty near fifty dollars
Fortyeight thirtyfive commented his father dryly Well if we had a bundle of those we wouldnt need to work very hard Youll notice there are scarcely any pinmarks on them They arent sent around very much I dont suppose these have ever been used as collateral before
Young Cowperwood gave them back after a time but not without a keen sense of the vast ramifications of finance What was the East India Company What did it do His father told him
At home also he listened to considerable talk of financial investment and adventure He heard for one thing of a curious character by the name of Steemberger a great beef speculator from Virginia who was attracted to Philadelphia in those days by the hope of large and easy credits Steemberger so his father said was close to Nicholas Biddle Lardner and others of the United States Bank or at least friendly with them and seemed to be able to obtain from that organization nearly all that he asked for His operations in the purchase of cattle in Virginia Ohio and other States were vast amounting in fact to an entire monopoly of the business of supplying beef to Eastern cities He was a big man enormous with a face his father said something like that of a pig and he wore a high beaver hat and a long frockcoat which hung loosely about his big chest and stomach He had managed to force the price of beef up to thirty cents a pound causing all the retailers and consumers to rebel and this was what made him so conspicuous He used to come to the brokerage end of the elder Cowperwoods bank with as much as one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand dollars in twelve months—postnotes of the United States Bank in denominations of one thousand five thousand and ten thousand dollars These he would cash at from ten to twelve per cent under their face value having previously given the United States Bank his own note at four months for the entire amount He would take his pay from the Third National brokerage counter in packages of Virginia Ohio and western Pennsylvania banknotes at par because he made his disbursements principally in those States The Third National would in the first place realize a profit of from four to five per cent on the original transaction and as it took the Western banknotes at a discount it also made a profit on those
There was another man his father talked about—one Francis J Grund a famous newspaper correspondent and lobbyist at Washington who possessed the faculty of unearthing secrets of every kind especially those relating to financial legislation The secrets of the President and the Cabinet as well as of the Senate and the House of Representatives seemed to be open to him Grund had been about years before purchasing through one or two brokers large amounts of the various kinds of Texas debt certificates and bonds The Republic of Texas in its struggle for independence from Mexico had issued bonds and certificates in great variety amounting in value to ten or fifteen million dollars Later in connection with the scheme to make Texas a State of the Union a bill was passed providing a contribution on the part of the United States of five million dollars to be applied to the extinguishment of this old debt Grund knew of this and also of the fact that some of this debt owing to the peculiar conditions of issue was to be paid in full while other portions were to be scaled down and there was to be a false or prearranged failure to pass the bill at one session in order to frighten off the outsiders who might have heard and begun to buy the old certificates for profit He acquainted the Third National Bank with this fact and of course the information came to Cowperwood as teller He told his wife about it and so his son in this roundabout way heard it and his clear big eyes glistened He wondered why his father did not take advantage of the situation and buy some Texas certificates for himself Grund so his father said and possibly three or four others had made over a hundred thousand dollars apiece It wasnt exactly legitimate he seemed to think and yet it was too Why shouldnt such inside information be rewarded Somehow Frank realized that his father was too honest too cautious but when he grew up he told himself he was going to be a broker or a financier or a banker and do some of these things
Just at this time there came to the Cowperwoods an uncle who had not previously appeared in the life of the family He was a brother of Mrs Cowperwoods—Seneca Davis by name—solid unctuous five feet ten in height with a big round body a round smooth head rather bald a clear ruddy complexion blue eyes and what little hair he had of a sandy hue He was exceedingly well dressed according to standards prevailing in those days indulging in flowered waistcoats long lightcolored frockcoats and the invariable for a fairly prosperous man high hat Frank was fascinated by him at once He had been a planter in Cuba and still owned a big ranch there and could tell him tales of Cuban life—rebellions ambuscades handtohand fighting with machetes on his own plantation and things of that sort He brought with him a collection of Indian curies to say nothing of an independent fortune and several slaves—one named Manuel a tall rawboned black was his constant attendant a bodyservant as it were He shipped raw sugar from his plantation in boatloads to the Southwark wharves in Philadelphia Frank liked him because he took life in a hearty jovial way rather rough and offhand for this somewhat quiet and reserved household
Why Nancy Arabella he said to Mrs Cowperwood on arriving one Sunday afternoon and throwing the household into joyous astonishment at his unexpected and unheralded appearance you havent grown an inch I thought when you married old brother Hy here that you were going to fatten up like your brother But look at you I swear to Heaven you dont weigh five pounds And he jounced her up and down by the waist much to the perturbation of the children who had never before seen their mother so familiarly handled
Henry Cowperwood was exceedingly interested in and pleased at the arrival of this rather prosperous relative for twelve years before when he was married Seneca Davis had not taken much notice of him
Look at these little puttyfaced Philadelphians he continued They ought to come down to my ranch in Cuba and get tanned up That would take away this waxy look And he pinched the cheek of Anna Adelaide now five years old I tell you Henry you have a rather nice place here And he looked at the main room of the rather conventional threestory house with a critical eye
Measuring twenty by twentyfour and finished in imitation cherry with a set of new Sheraton parlor furniture it presented a quaintly harmonious aspect Since Henry had become teller the family had acquired a piano—a decided luxury in those days—brought from Europe and it was intended that Anna Adelaide when she was old enough should learn to play There were a few uncommon ornaments in the room—a gas chandelier for one thing a glass bowl with goldfish in it some rare and highly polished shells and a marble Cupid bearing a basket of flowers It was summer time the windows were open and the trees outside with their widely extended green branches were pleasantly visible shading the brick sidewalk Uncle Seneca strolled out into the back yard
Well this is pleasant enough he observed noting a large elm and seeing that the yard was partially paved with brick and enclosed within brick walls up the sides of which vines were climbing Wheres your hammock Dont you string a hammock here in summer Down on my veranda at San Pedro I have six or seven
We hadnt thought of putting one up because of the neighbors but it would be nice agreed Mrs Cowperwood Henry will have to get one
I have two or three in my trunks over at the hotel My niggers make em down there Ill send Manuel over with them in the morning
He plucked at the vines tweaked Edwards ear told Joseph the second boy he would bring him an Indian tomahawk and went back into the house
This is the lad that interests me he said after a time laying a hand on the shoulder of Frank What did you name him in full Henry
Frank Algernon
Well you might have named him after me Theres something to this boy How would you like to come down to Cuba and be a planter my boy
Im not so sure that Id like to replied the eldest
Well thats straightspoken What have you against it
Nothing except that I dont know anything about it
What do you know
The boy smiled wisely Not very much I guess
Well what are you interested in
Money
Aha Whats bred in the bone eh Get something of that from your father eh Well thats a good trait And spoken like a man too Well hear more about that later Nancy youre breeding a financier here I think He talks like one
He looked at Frank carefully now There was real force in that sturdy young body—no doubt of it Those large clear gray eyes were full of intelligence They indicated much and revealed nothing
A smart boy he said to Henry his brotherinlaw I like his getup You have a bright family
Henry Cowperwood smiled dryly This man if he liked Frank might do much for the boy He might eventually leave him some of his fortune He was wealthy and single
Uncle Seneca became a frequent visitor to the house—he and his negro bodyguard Manuel who spoke both English and Spanish much to the astonishment of the children and he took an increasing interest in Frank
When that boy gets old enough to find out what he wants to do I think Ill help him to do it he observed to his sister one day and she told him she was very grateful He talked to Frank about his studies and found that he cared little for books or most of the study he was compelled to pursue Grammar was an abomination Literature silly Latin was of no use History—well it was fairly interesting
I like bookkeeping and arithmetic he observed I want to get out and get to work though Thats what I want to do
Youre pretty young my son observed his uncle Youre only how old now Fourteen
Thirteen
Well you cant leave school much before sixteen Youll do better if you stay until seventeen or eighteen It cant do you any harm You wont be a boy again
I dont want to be a boy I want to get to work
Dont go too fast son Youll be a man soon enough You want to be a banker do you
Yes sir
Well when the time comes if everything is all right and youve behaved yourself and you still want to Ill help you get a start in business If I were you and were going to be a banker Id first spend a year or so in some good grain and commission house Theres good training to be had there Youll learn a lot that you ought to know And meantime keep your health and learn all you can Wherever I am you let me know and Ill write and find out how youve been conducting yourself
He gave the boy a tendollar gold piece with which to start a bankaccount And not strange to say he liked the whole Cowperwood household much better for this dynamic selfsufficient sterling youth who was an integral part of it
Chapter III
It was in his thirteenth year that young Cowperwood entered into his first business venture Walking along Front Street one day a street of importing and wholesale establishments he saw an auctioneers flag hanging out before a wholesale grocery and from the interior came the auctioneers voice What am I bid for this exceptional lot of Java coffee twentytwo bags all told which is now selling in the market for seven dollars and thirtytwo cents a bag wholesale What am I bid What am I bid The whole lot must go as one What am I bid
Eighteen dollars suggested a trader standing near the door more to start the bidding than anything else Frank paused
Twentytwo called another
Thirty a third Thirtyfive a fourth and so up to seventyfive less than half of what it was worth
Im bid seventyfive Im bid seventyfive called the auctioneer loudly Any other offers Going once at seventyfive am I offered eighty Going twice at seventyfive and—he paused one hand raised dramatically Then he brought it down with a slap in the palm of the other—sold to Mr Silas Gregory for seventyfive Make a note of that Jerry he called to his redhaired frecklefaced clerk beside him Then he turned to another lot of grocery staples—this time starch eleven barrels of it
Young Cowperwood was making a rapid calculation If as the auctioneer said coffee was worth seven dollars and thirtytwo cents a bag in the open market and this buyer was getting this coffee for seventyfive dollars he was making then and there eightysix dollars and four cents to say nothing of what his profit would be if he sold it at retail As he recalled his mother was paying twentyeight cents a pound He drew nearer his books tucked under his arm and watched these operations closely The starch as he soon heard was valued at ten dollars a barrel and it only brought six Some kegs of vinegar were knocked down at onethird their value and so on He began to wish he could bid but he had no money just a little pocket change The auctioneer noticed him standing almost directly under his nose and was impressed with the stolidity—solidity—of the boys expression
I am going to offer you now a fine lot of Castile soap—seven cases no less—which as you know if you know anything about soap is now selling at fourteen cents a bar This soap is worth anywhere at this moment eleven dollars and seventyfive cents a case What am I bid What am I bid What am I bid He was talking fast in the usual style of auctioneers with much unnecessary emphasis but Cowperwood was not unduly impressed He was already rapidly calculating for himself Seven cases at eleven dollars and seventyfive cents would be worth just eightytwo dollars and twentyfive cents and if it went at half—if it went at half—
Twelve dollars commented one bidder
Fifteen bid another
Twenty called a third
Twentyfive a fourth
Then it came to dollar raises for Castile soap was not such a vital commodity Twentysix Twentyseven Twentyeight Twentynine There was a pause Thirty observed young Cowperwood decisively
The auctioneer a short lean faced spare man with bushy hair and an incisive eye looked at him curiously and almost incredulously but without pausing He had somehow in spite of himself been impressed by the boys peculiar eye and now he felt without knowing why that the offer was probably legitimate enough and that the boy had the money He might be the son of a grocer
Im bid thirty Im bid thirty Im bid thirty for this fine lot of Castile soap Its a fine lot Its worth fourteen cents a bar Will any one bid thirtyone Will any one bid thirtyone Will any one bid thirtyone
Thirtyone said a voice
Thirtytwo replied Cowperwood The same process was repeated
Im bid thirtytwo Im bid thirtytwo Im bid thirtytwo Will anybody bid thirtythree Its fine soap Seven cases of fine Castile soap Will anybody bid thirtythree
Young Cowperwoods mind was working He had no money with him but his father was teller of the Third National Bank and he could quote him as reference He could sell all of his soap to the family grocer surely or if not to other grocers Other people were anxious to get this soap at this price Why not he
The auctioneer paused
Thirtytwo once Am I bid thirtythree Thirtytwo twice Am I bid thirtythree Thirtytwo three times Seven fine cases of soap Am I bid anything more Once twice Three times Am I bid anything more—his hand was up again—and sold to Mr— He leaned over and looked curiously into the face of his young bidder
Frank Cowperwood son of the teller of the Third National Bank replied the boy decisively
Oh yes said the man fixed by his glance
Will you wait while I run up to the bank and get the money
Yes Dont be gone long If youre not here in an hour Ill sell it again
Young Cowperwood made no reply He hurried out and ran fast first to his mothers grocer whose store was within a block of his home
Thirty feet from the door he slowed up put on a nonchalant air and strolling in looked about for Castile soap There it was the same kind displayed in a box and looking just as his soap looked
How much is this a bar Mr Dalrymple he inquired
Sixteen cents replied that worthy
If I could sell you seven boxes for sixtytwo dollars just like this would you take them
The same soap
Yes sir
Mr Dalrymple calculated a moment
Yes I think I would he replied cautiously
Would you pay me today
Id give you my note for it Where is the soap
He was perplexed and somewhat astonished by this unexpected proposition on the part of his neighbors son He knew Mr Cowperwood well—and Frank also
Will you take it if I bring it to you today
Yes I will he replied Are you going into the soap business
No But I know where I can get some of that soap cheap
He hurried out again and ran to his fathers bank It was after banking hours but he knew how to get in and he knew that his father would be glad to see him make thirty dollars He only wanted to borrow the money for a day
Whats the trouble Frank asked his father looking up from his desk when he appeared breathless and red faced
I want you to loan me thirtytwo dollars Will you
Why yes I might What do you want to do with it
I want to buy some soap—seven boxes of Castile soap I know where I can get it and sell it Mr Dalrymple will take it Hes already offered me sixtytwo for it I can get it for thirtytwo Will you let me have the money Ive got to run back and pay the auctioneer
His father smiled This was the most businesslike attitude he had seen his son manifest He was so keen so alert for a boy of thirteen
Why Frank he said going over to a drawer where some bills were are you going to become a financier already Youre sure youre not going to lose on this You know what youre doing do you
You let me have the money father will you he pleaded Ill show you in a little bit Just let me have it You can trust me
He was like a young hound on the scent of game His father could not resist his appeal
Why certainly Frank he replied Ill trust you And he counted out six fivedollar certificates of the Third Nationals own issue and two ones There you are
Frank ran out of the building with a briefly spoken thanks and returned to the auction room as fast as his legs would carry him When he came in sugar was being auctioned He made his way to the auctioneers clerk
I want to pay for that soap he suggested
Now
Yes Will you give me a receipt
Yep
Do you deliver this
No No delivery You have to take it away in twentyfour hours
That difficulty did not trouble him
All right he said and pocketed his paper testimony of purchase
The auctioneer watched him as he went out In half an hour he was back with a drayman—an idle leveewharf hangeron who was waiting for a job
Frank had bargained with him to deliver the soap for sixty cents In still another halfhour he was before the door of the astonished Mr Dalrymple whom he had come out and look at the boxes before attempting to remove them His plan was to have them carried on to his own home if the operation for any reason failed to go through Though it was his first great venture he was cool as glass
Yes said Mr Dalrymple scratching his gray head reflectively Yes thats the same soap Ill take it Ill be as good as my word Whered you get it Frank
At Bixoms auction up here he replied frankly and blandly
Mr Dalrymple had the drayman bring in the soap and after some formality—because the agent in this case was a boy—made out his note at thirty days and gave it to him
Frank thanked him and pocketed the note He decided to go back to his fathers bank and discount it as he had seen others doing thereby paying his father back and getting his own profit in ready money It couldnt be done ordinarily on any day after business hours but his father would make an exception in his case
He hurried back whistling and his father glanced up smiling when he came in
Well Frank howd you make out he asked
Heres a note at thirty days he said producing the paper Dalrymple had given him Do you want to discount that for me You can take your thirtytwo out of that
His father examined it closely Sixtytwo dollars he observed Mr Dalrymple Thats good paper Yes I can It will cost you ten per cent he added jestingly Why dont you just hold it though Ill let you have the thirtytwo dollars until the end of the month
Oh no said his son you discount it and take your money I may want mine
His father smiled at his businesslike air All right he said Ill fix it tomorrow Tell me just how you did this And his son told him
At seven oclock that evening Franks mother heard about it and in due time Uncle Seneca
Whatd I tell you Cowperwood he asked He has stuff in him that youngster Look out for him
Mrs Cowperwood looked at her boy curiously at dinner Was this the son she had nursed at her bosom not so very long before Surely he was developing rapidly
Well Frank I hope you can do that often she said
I hope so too ma was his rather noncommittal reply
Auction sales were not to be discovered every day however and his home grocer was only open to one such transaction in a reasonable period of time but from the very first young Cowperwood knew how to make money He took subscriptions for a boys paper handled the agency for the sale of a new kind of iceskate and once organized a band of neighborhood youths into a union for the purpose of purchasing their summer straw hats at wholesale It was not his idea that he could get rich by saving From the first he had the notion that liberal spending was better and that somehow he would get along
It was in this year or a little earlier that he began to take an interest in girls He had from the first a keen eye for the beautiful among them and being goodlooking and magnetic himself it was not difficult for him to attract the sympathetic interest of those in whom he was interested A twelveyear old girl Patience Barlow who lived further up the street was the first to attract his attention or be attracted by him Black hair and snapping black eyes were her portion with pretty pigtails down her back and dainty feet and ankles to match a dainty figure She was a Quakeress the daughter of Quaker parents wearing a demure little bonnet Her disposition however was vivacious and she liked this selfreliant selfsufficient straightspoken boy One day after an exchange of glances from time to time he said with a smile and the courage that was innate in him You live up my way dont you
Yes she replied a little flustered—this last manifested in a nervous swinging of her schoolbag—I live at number onefortyone
I know the house he said Ive seen you go in there You go to the same school my sister does dont you Arent you Patience Barlow He had heard some of the boys speak her name Yes How do you know
Oh Ive heard he smiled Ive seen you Do you like licorice
He fished in his coat and pulled out some fresh sticks that were sold at the time
Thank you she said sweetly taking one
It isnt very good Ive been carrying it a long time I had some taffy the other day
Oh its all right she replied chewing the end of hers
Dont you know my sister Anna Cowperwood he recurred by way of selfintroduction Shes in a lower grade than you are but I thought maybe you might have seen her
I think I know who she is Ive seen her coming home from school
I live right over there he confided pointing to his own home as he drew near to it as if she didnt know Ill see you around here now I guess
Do you know Ruth Merriam she asked when he was about ready to turn off into the cobblestone road to reach his own door
No why
Shes giving a party next Tuesday she volunteered seemingly pointlessly but only seemingly
Where does she live
There in twentyeight
Id like to go he affirmed warmly as he swung away from her
Maybe shell ask you she called back growing more courageous as the distance between them widened Ill ask her
Thanks he smiled
And she began to run gayly onward
He looked after her with a smiling face She was very pretty He felt a keen desire to kiss her and what might transpire at Ruth Merriams party rose vividly before his eyes
This was just one of the early love affairs or puppy loves that held his mind from time to time in the mixture of after events Patience Barlow was kissed by him in secret ways many times before he found another girl She and others of the street ran out to play in the snow of a winters night or lingered after dusk before her own door when the days grew dark early It was so easy to catch and kiss her then and to talk to her foolishly at parties Then came Dora Fitler when he was sixteen years old and she was fourteen and Marjorie Stafford when he was seventeen and she was fifteen Dora Fitter was a brunette and Marjorie Stafford was as fair as the morning with brightred cheeks bluishgray eyes and flaxen hair and as plump as a partridge
It was at seventeen that he decided to leave school He had not graduated He had only finished the third year in high school but he had had enough Ever since his thirteenth year his mind had been on finance that is in the form in which he saw it manifested in Third Street There had been odd things which he had been able to do to earn a little money now and then His Uncle Seneca had allowed him to act as assistant weigher at the sugardocks in Southwark where threehundredpound bags were weighed into the government bonded warehouses under the eyes of United States inspectors In certain emergencies he was called to assist his father and was paid for it He even made an arrangement with Mr Dalrymple to assist him on Saturdays but when his father became cashier of his bank receiving an income of four thousand dollars a year shortly after Frank had reached his fifteenth year it was selfevident that Frank could no longer continue in such lowly employment
Just at this time his Uncle Seneca again back in Philadelphia and stouter and more domineering than ever said to him one day
Now Frank if youre ready for it I think I know where theres a good opening for you There wont be any salary in it for the first year but if you mind your ps and qs theyll probably give you something as a gift at the end of that time Do you know of Henry Waterman Company down in Second Street
Ive seen their place
Well they tell me they might make a place for you as a bookkeeper Theyre brokers in a way—grain and commission men You say you want to get in that line When schools out you go down and see Mr Waterman—tell him I sent you and hell make a place for you I think Let me know how you come out
Uncle Seneca was married now having because of his wealth attracted the attention of a poor but ambitious Philadelphia society matron and because of this the general connections of the Cowperwoods were considered vastly improved Henry Cowperwood was planning to move with his family rather far out on North Front Street which commanded at that time a beautiful view of the river and was witnessing the construction of some charming dwellings His four thousand dollars a year in these preCivilWar times was considerable He was making what he considered judicious and conservative investments and because of his cautious conservative clocklike conduct it was thought he might reasonably expect some day to be vicepresident and possibly president of his bank
This offer of Uncle Seneca to get him in with Waterman Company seemed to Frank just the thing to start him off right So he reported to that organization at 74 South Second Street one day in June and was cordially received by Mr Henry Waterman Sr There was he soon learned a Henry Waterman Jr a young man of twentyfive and a George Waterman a brother aged fifty who was the confidential inside man Henry Waterman Sr a man of fiftyfive years of age was the general head of the organization inside and out—traveling about the nearby territory to see customers when that was necessary coming into final counsel in cases where his brother could not adjust matters suggesting and advising new ventures which his associates and hirelings carried out He was to look at a phlegmatic type of man—short stout wrinkled about the eyes rather protuberant as to stomach rednecked redfaced the least bit popeyed but shrewd kindly goodnatured and witty He had because of his naturally commonsense ideas and rather pleasing disposition built up a sound and successful business here He was getting strong in years and would gladly have welcomed the hearty cooperation of his son if the latter had been entirely suited to the business
He was not however Not as democratic as quickwitted or as pleased with the work in hand as was his father the business actually offended him And if the trade had been left to his care it would have rapidly disappeared His father foresaw this was grieved and was hoping some young man would eventually appear who would be interested in the business handle it in the same spirit in which it had been handled and who would not crowd his son out
Then came young Cowperwood spoken of to him by Seneca Davis He looked him over critically Yes this boy might do he thought There was something easy and sufficient about him He did not appear to be in the least flustered or disturbed He knew how to keep books he said though he knew nothing of the details of the grain and commission business It was interesting to him He would like to try it
I like that fellow Henry Waterman confided to his brother the moment Frank had gone with instructions to report the following morning Theres something to him Hes the cleanest briskest most alive thing thats walked in here in many a day
Yes said George a much leaner and slightly taller man with dark blurry reflective eyes and a thin largely vanished growth of brownishblack hair which contrasted strangely with the eggshaped whiteness of his bald head Yes hes a nice young man Its a wonder his father dont take him in his bank
Well he may not be able to said his brother Hes only the cashier there
Thats right
Well well give him a trial I bet anything he makes good Hes a likelylooking youth
Henry got up and walked out into the main entrance looking into Second Street The cool cobble pavements shaded from the eastern sun by the wall of buildings on the east—of which his was a part—the noisy trucks and drays the busy crowds hurrying to and fro pleased him He looked at the buildings over the way—all three and four stories and largely of gray stone and crowded with life—and thanked his stars that he had originally located in so prosperous a neighborhood If he had only brought more property at the time he bought this
I wish that Cowperwood boy would turn out to be the kind of man I want he observed to himself meditatively He could save me a lot of running these days
Curiously after only three or four minutes of conversation with the boy he sensed this marked quality of efficiency Something told him he would do well
Chapter IV
The appearance of Frank Cowperwood at this time was to say the least prepossessing and satisfactory Nature had destined him to be about five feet ten inches tall His head was large shapely notably commercial in aspect thickly covered with crisp darkbrown hair and fixed on a pair of square shoulders and a stocky body Already his eyes had the look that subtle years of thought bring They were inscrutable You could tell nothing by his eyes He walked with a light confident springy step Life had given him no severe shocks nor rude awakenings He had not been compelled to suffer illness or pain or deprivation of any kind He saw people richer than himself but he hoped to be rich His family was respected his father well placed He owed no man anything Once he had let a small note of his become overdue at the bank but his father raised such a row that he never forgot it I would rather crawl on my hands and knees than let my paper go to protest the old gentleman observed and this fixed in his mind what scarcely needed to be so sharply emphasized—the significance of credit No paper of his ever went to protest or became overdue after that through any negligence of his
He turned out to be the most efficient clerk that the house of Waterman Co had ever known They put him on the books at first as assistant bookkeeper vice Mr Thomas Trixler dismissed and in two weeks George said Why dont we make Cowperwood head bookkeeper He knows more in a minute than that fellow Sampson will ever know
All right make the transfer George but dont fuss so He wont be a bookkeeper long though I want to see if he cant handle some of these transfers for me after a bit
The books of Messrs Waterman Co though fairly complicated were childs play to Frank He went through them with an ease and rapidity which surprised his erstwhile superior Mr Sampson
Why that fellow Sampson told another clerk on the first day he had seen Cowperwood work hes too brisk Hes going to make a bad break I know that kind Wait a little bit until we get one of those rush credit and transfer days But the bad break Mr Sampson anticipated did not materialize In less than a week Cowperwood knew the financial condition of the Messrs Waterman as well as they did—better—to a dollar He knew how their accounts were distributed from what section they drew the most business who sent poor produce and good—the varying prices for a year told that To satisfy himself he ran back over certain accounts in the ledger verifying his suspicions Bookkeeping did not interest him except as a record a demonstration of a firms life He knew he would not do this long Something else would happen but he saw instantly what the grain and commission business was—every detail of it He saw where for want of greater activity in offering the goods consigned—quicker communication with shippers and buyers a better working agreement with surrounding commission men—this house or rather its customers for it had nothing endured severe losses A man would ship a towboat or a carload of fruit or vegetables against a supposedly rising or stable market but if ten other men did the same thing at the same time or other commission men were flooded with fruit or vegetables and there was no way of disposing of them within a reasonable time the price had to fall Every day was bringing its special consignments It instantly occurred to him that he would be of much more use to the house as an outside man disposing of heavy shipments but he hesitated to say anything so soon More than likely things would adjust themselves shortly
The Watermans Henry and George were greatly pleased with the way he handled their accounts There was a sense of security in his very presence He soon began to call Brother Georges attention to the condition of certain accounts making suggestions as to their possible liquidation or discontinuance which pleased that individual greatly He saw a way of lightening his own labors through the intelligence of this youth while at the same time developing a sense of pleasant companionship with him
Brother Henry was for trying him on the outside It was not always possible to fill the orders with the stock on hand and somebody had to go into the street or the Exchange to buy and usually he did this One morning when waybills indicated a probable glut of flour and a shortage of grain—Frank saw it first—the elder Waterman called him into his office and said
Frank I wish you would see what you can do with this condition that confronts us on the street By tomorrow were going to be overcrowded with flour We cant be paying storage charges and our orders wont eat it up Were short on grain Maybe you could trade out the flour to some of those brokers and get me enough grain to fill these orders
Id like to try said his employee
He knew from his books where the various commissionhouses were He knew what the local merchants exchange and the various commissionmerchants who dealt in these things had to offer This was the thing he liked to do—adjust a trade difficulty of this nature It was pleasant to be out in the air again to be going from door to door He objected to desk work and pen work and poring over books As he said in later years his brain was his office He hurried to the principal commissionmerchants learning what the state of the flour market was and offering his surplus at the very rate he would have expected to get for it if there had been no prospective glut Did they want to buy for immediate delivery fortyeight hours being immediate six hundred barrels of prime flour He would offer it at nine dollars straight in the barrel They did not He offered it in fractions and some agreed to take one portion and some another In about an hour he was all secure on this save one lot of two hundred barrels which he decided to offer in one lump to a famous operator named Genderman with whom his firm did no business The latter a big man with curly gray hair a gnarled and yet pudgy face and little eyes that peeked out shrewdly through fat eyelids looked at Cowperwood curiously when he came in
Whats your name young man he asked leaning back in his wooden chair
Cowperwood
So you work for Waterman Company You want to make a record no doubt Thats why you came to me
Cowperwood merely smiled
Well Ill take your flour I need it Bill it to me
Cowperwood hurried out He went direct to a firm of brokers in Walnut Street with whom his firm dealt and had them bid in the grain he needed at prevailing rates Then he returned to the office
Well said Henry Waterman when he reported you did that quick Sold old Genderman two hundred barrels direct did you Thats doing pretty well He isnt on our books is he
No sir
I thought not Well if you can do that sort of work on the street you wont be on the books long
Thereafter in the course of time Frank became a familiar figure in the commission district and on change the Produce Exchange striking balances for his employer picking up odd lots of things they needed soliciting new customers breaking gluts by disposing of odd lots in unexpected quarters Indeed the Watermans were astonished at his facility in this respect He had an uncanny faculty for getting appreciative hearings making friends being introduced into new realms New life began to flow through the old channels of the Waterman company Their customers were better satisfied George was for sending him out into the rural districts to drum up trade and this was eventually done
Near Christmastime Henry said to George Well have to make Cowperwood a liberal present He hasnt any salary How would five hundred dollars do
Thats pretty much seeing the way times are but I guess hes worth it Hes certainly done everything weve expected and more Hes cut out for this business
What does he say about it Do you ever hear him say whether hes satisfied
Oh he likes it pretty much I guess You see him as much as I do
Well well make it five hundred That fellow wouldnt make a bad partner in this business some day He has the real knack for it You see that he gets the five hundred dollars with a word from both of us
So the night before Christmas as Cowperwood was looking over some waybills and certificates of consignment preparatory to leaving all in order for the intervening holiday George Waterman came to his desk
Hard at it he said standing under the flaring gaslight and looking at his brisk employee with great satisfaction
It was early evening and the snow was making a speckled pattern through the windows in front
Just a few points before I wind up smiled Cowperwood
My brother and I have been especially pleased with the way you have handled the work here during the past six months We wanted to make some acknowledgment and we thought about five hundred dollars would be right Beginning January first well give you a regular salary of thirty dollars a week
Im certainly much obliged to you said Frank I didnt expect that much Its a good deal Ive learned considerable here that Im glad to know
Oh dont mention it We know youve earned it You can stay with us as long as you like Were glad to have you with us
Cowperwood smiled his hearty genial smile He was feeling very comfortable under this evidence of approval He looked bright and cheery in his wellmade clothes of English tweed
On the way home that evening he speculated as to the nature of this business He knew he wasnt going to stay there long even in spite of this gift and promise of salary They were grateful of course but why shouldnt they be He was efficient he knew that under him things moved smoothly It never occurred to him that he belonged in the realm of clerkdom Those people were the kind of beings who ought to work for him and who would There was nothing savage in his attitude no rage against fate no dark fear of failure These two men he worked for were already nothing more than characters in his eyes—their business significated itself He could see their weaknesses and their shortcomings as a much older man might have viewed a boys
After dinner that evening before leaving to call on his girl Marjorie Stafford he told his father of the gift of five hundred dollars and the promised salary
Thats splendid said the older man Youre doing better than I thought I suppose youll stay there
No I wont I think Ill quit sometime next year
Why
Well it isnt exactly what I want to do Its all right but Id rather try my hand at brokerage I think That appeals to me
Dont you think you are doing them an injustice not to tell them
Not at all They need me All the while surveying himself in a mirror straightening his tie and adjusting his coat
Have you told your mother
No Im going to do it now
He went out into the diningroom where his mother was and slipping his arms around her little body said What do you think Mammy
Well what she asked looking affectionately into his eyes
I got five hundred dollars tonight and I get thirty a week next year What do you want for Christmas
You dont say Isnt that nice Isnt that fine They must like you Youre getting to be quite a man arent you
What do you want for Christmas
Nothing I dont want anything I have my children
He smiled All right Then nothing it is
But she knew he would buy her something
He went out pausing at the door to grab playfully at his sisters waist and saying that hed be back about midnight hurried to Marjories house because he had promised to take her to a show
Anything you want for Christmas this year Margy he asked after kissing her in the dimlylighted hall I got five hundred tonight
She was an innocent little thing only fifteen no guile no shrewdness
Oh you neednt get me anything
Neednt I he asked squeezing her waist and kissing her mouth again
It was fine to be getting on this way in the world and having such a good time
Chapter V
The following October having passed his eighteenth year by nearly six months and feeling sure that he would never want anything to do with the grain and commission business as conducted by the Waterman Company Cowperwood decided to sever his relations with them and enter the employ of Tighe Company bankers and brokers
Cowperwoods meeting with Tighe Company had come about in the ordinary pursuance of his duties as outside man for Waterman Company From the first Mr Tighe took a keen interest in this subtle young emissary
Hows business with you people he would ask genially or Find that youre getting many IOUs these days
Because of the unsettled condition of the country the overinflation of securities the slavery agitation and so forth there were prospects of hard times And Tighe—he could not have told you why—was convinced that this young man was worth talking to in regard to all this He was not really old enough to know and yet he did know
Oh things are going pretty well with us thank you Mr Tighe Cowperwood would answer
I tell you he said to Cowperwood one morning this slavery agitation if it doesnt stop is going to cause trouble
A negro slave belonging to a visitor from Cuba had just been abducted and set free because the laws of Pennsylvania made freedom the right of any negro brought into the state even though in transit only to another portion of the country and there was great excitement because of it Several persons had been arrested and the newspapers were discussing it roundly
I dont think the South is going to stand for this thing Its making trouble in our business and it must be doing the same thing for others Well have secession here sure as fate one of these days He talked with the vaguest suggestion of a brogue
Its coming I think said Cowperwood quietly It cant be healed in my judgment The negro isnt worth all this excitement but theyll go on agitating for him—emotional people always do this They havent anything else to do Its hurting our Southern trade
I thought so Thats what people tell me
He turned to a new customer as young Cowperwood went out but again the boy struck him as being inexpressibly sound and deepthinking on financial matters If that young fellow wanted a place Id give it to him he thought
Finally one day he said to him How would you like to try your hand at being a floor man for me in change I need a young man here One of my clerks is leaving
Id like it replied Cowperwood smiling and looking intensely gratified I had thought of speaking to you myself some time
Well if youre ready and can make the change the place is open Come any time you like
Ill have to give a reasonable notice at the other place Cowperwood said quietly Would you mind waiting a week or two
Not at all It isnt as important as that Come as soon as you can straighten things out I dont want to inconvenience your employers
It was only two weeks later that Frank took his departure from Waterman Company interested and yet in no way flustered by his new prospects And great was the grief of Mr George Waterman As for Mr Henry Waterman he was actually irritated by this defection
Why I thought he exclaimed vigorously when informed by Cowperwood of his decision that you liked the business Is it a matter of salary
No not at all Mr Waterman Its just that I want to get into the straightout brokerage business
Well that certainly is too bad Im sorry I dont want to urge you against your own best interests You know what you are doing But George and I had about agreed to offer you an interest in this thing after a bit Now youre picking up and leaving Why damn it man theres good money in this business
I know it smiled Cowperwood but I dont like it I have other plans in view Ill never be a grain and commission man Mr Henry Waterman could scarcely understand why obvious success in this field did not interest him He feared the effect of his departure on the business
And once the change was made Cowperwood was convinced that this new work was more suited to him in every way—as easy and more profitable of course In the first place the firm of Tighe Co unlike that of Waterman Co was located in a handsome greengray stone building at 66 South Third Street in what was then and for a number of years afterward the heart of the financial district Great institutions of national and international import and repute were near at hand—Drexel Co Edward Clark Co the Third National Bank the First National Bank the Stock Exchange and similar institutions Almost a score of smaller banks and brokerage firms were also in the vicinity Edward Tighe the head and brains of this concern was a Boston Irishman the son of an immigrant who had flourished and done well in that conservative city He had come to Philadelphia to interest himself in the speculative life there Sure its a right good place for those of us who are awake he told his friends with a slight Irish accent and he considered himself very much awake He was a mediumtall man not very stout slightly and prematurely gray and with a manner which was as lively and goodnatured as it was combative and selfreliant His upper lip was ornamented by a short gray mustache
May heaven preserve me he said not long after he came there these Pennsylvanians never pay for anything they can issue bonds for It was the period when Pennsylvanias credit and for that matter Philadelphias was very bad in spite of its great wealth If theres ever a war therell be battalions of Pennsylvanians marching around offering notes for their meals If I could just live long enough I could get rich buyin up Pennsylvania notes and bonds I think theyll pay some time but my God theyre mortal slow Ill be dead before the State government will ever catch up on the interest they owe me now
It was true The condition of the finances of the state and city was most reprehensible Both State and city were rich enough but there were so many schemes for looting the treasury in both instances that when any new work had to be undertaken bonds were necessarily issued to raise the money These bonds or warrants as they were called pledged interest at six per cent but when the interest fell due instead of paying it the city or State treasurer as the case might be stamped the same with the date of presentation and the warrant then bore interest for not only its original face value but the amount then due in interest In other words, it was being slowly compounded But this did not help the man who wanted to raise money for as security they could not be hypothecated for more than seventy per cent of their market value and they were not selling at par but at ninety A man might buy or accept them in foreclosure but he had a long wait Also in the final payment of most of them favoritism ruled for it was only when the treasurer knew that certain warrants were in the hands of a friend that he would advertise that such and such warrants—those particular ones that he knew about—would be paid
What was more the money system of the United States was only then beginning slowly to emerge from something approximating chaos to something more nearly approaching order The United States Bank of which Nicholas Biddle was the progenitor had gone completely in 1841 and the United States Treasury with its subtreasury system had come in 1846 but still there were many many wildcat banks sufficient in number to make the average exchangecounter broker a walking encyclopedia of solvent and insolvent institutions Still things were slowly improving for the telegraph had facilitated stockmarket quotations not only between New York Boston and Philadelphia but between a local brokers office in Philadelphia and his stock exchange In other words, the short private wire had been introduced Communication was quicker and freer and daily grew better
Railroads had been built to the South East North and West There was as yet no stockticker and no telephone and the clearinghouse had only recently been thought of in New York and had not yet been introduced in Philadelphia Instead of a clearinghouse service messengers ran daily between banks and brokerage firms balancing accounts on passbooks exchanging bills and once a week transferring the gold coin which was the only thing that could be accepted for balances due since there was no stable national currency On change when the gong struck announcing the close of the days business a company of young men known as settlement clerks after a system borrowed from London gathered in the center of the room and compared or gathered the various trades of the day in a ring thus eliminating all those sales and resales between certain firms which naturally canceled each other They carried long account books and called out the transactions—Delaware and Maryland sold to Beaumont and Company Delware and Maryland sold to Tighe and Company and so on This simplified the bookkeeping of the various firms and made for quicker and more stirring commercial transactions
Seats on change sold for two thousand dollars each The members of the exchange had just passed rules limiting the trading to the hours between ten and three before this they had been any time between morning and midnight and had fixed the rates at which brokers could do business in the face of cutthroat schemes which had previously held Severe penalties were fixed for those who failed to obey In other words, things were shaping up for a great change business and Edward Tighe felt with other brokers that there was a great future ahead
Chapter VI
The Cowperwood family was by this time established in its new and larger and more tastefully furnished house on North Front Street facing the river The house was four stories tall and stood twentyfive feet on the street front without a yard
Here the family began to entertain in a small way and there came to see them now and then representatives of the various interests that Henry Cowperwood had encountered in his upward climb to the position of cashier It was not a very distinguished company but it included a number of people who were about as successful as himself—heads of small businesses who traded at his bank dealers in drygoods leather groceries wholesale and grain The children had come to have intimacies of their own Now and then because of church connections Mrs Cowperwood ventured to have an afternoon tea or reception at which even Cowperwood attempted the gallant in so far as to stand about in a genially foolish way and greet those whom his wife had invited And so long as he could maintain his gravity very solemnly and greet people without being required to say much it was not too painful for him Singing was indulged in at times a little dancing on occasion and there was considerably more company to dinner informally than there had been previously
And here it was during the first year of the new life in this house that Frank met a certain Mrs Semple who interested him greatly Her husband had a pretentious shoe store on Chestnut Street near Third and was planning to open a second one farther out on the same street
The occasion of the meeting was an evening call on the part of the Semples Mr Semple being desirous of talking with Henry Cowperwood concerning a new transportation feature which was then entering the world—namely streetcars A tentative line incorporated by the North Pennsylvania Railway Company had been put into operation on a mile and a half of tracks extending from Willow Street along Front to Germantown Road and thence by various streets to what was then known as the Cohocksink Depot and it was thought that in time this mode of locomotion might drive out the hundreds of omnibuses which now crowded and made impassable the downtown streets Young Cowperwood had been greatly interested from the start Railway transportation as a whole interested him anyway but this particular phase was most fascinating It was already creating widespread discussion and he with others had gone to see it A strange but interesting new type of car fourteen feet long seven feet wide and nearly the same height running on small iron carwheels was giving great satisfaction as being quieter and easierriding than omnibuses and Alfred Semple was privately considering investing in another proposed line which if it could secure a franchise from the legislature was to run on Fifth and Sixth streets
Cowperwood Senior saw a great future for this thing but he did not see as yet how the capital was to be raised for it Frank believed that Tighe Co should attempt to become the selling agents of this new stock of the Fifth and Sixth Street Company in the event it succeeded in getting a franchise He understood that a company was already formed that a large amount of stock was to be issued against the prospective franchise and that these shares were to be sold at five dollars as against an ultimate par value of one hundred He wished he had sufficient money to take a large block of them
Meanwhile Lillian Semple caught and held his interest Just what it was about her that attracted him at this age it would be hard to say for she was really not suited to him emotionally intellectually or otherwise He was not without experience with women or girls and still held a tentative relationship with Marjorie Stafford but Lillian Semple in spite of the fact that she was married and that he could have legitimate interest in her seemed not wiser and saner but more worth while She was twentyfour as opposed to Franks nineteen but still young enough in her thoughts and looks to appear of his own age She was slightly taller than he—though he was now his full height five feet ten and onehalf inches—and despite her height shapely artistic in form and feature and with a certain unconscious placidity of soul which came more from lack of understanding than from force of character Her hair was the color of a dried English walnut rich and plentiful and her complexion waxen—cream wax—with lips of faint pink and eyes that varied from gray to blue and from gray to brown according to the light in which you saw them Her hands were thin and shapely her nose straight her face artistically narrow She was not brilliant not active but rather peaceful and statuesque without knowing it Cowperwood was carried away by her appearance Her beauty measured up to his present sense of the artistic She was lovely he thought—gracious dignified If he could have his choice of a wife this was the kind of a girl he would like to have
As yet Cowperwoods judgment of women was temperamental rather than intellectual Engrossed as he was by his desire for wealth prestige dominance he was confused if not chastened by considerations relating to position presentability and the like None the less the homely woman meant nothing to him And the passionate woman meant much He heard family discussions of this and that sacrificial soul among women as well as among men—women who toiled and slaved for their husbands or children or both who gave way to relatives or friends in crises or crucial moments because it was right and kind to do so—but somehow these stories did not appeal to him He preferred to think of people—even women—as honestly frankly selfinterested He could not have told you why People seemed foolish or at the best very unfortunate not to know what to do in all circumstances and how to protect themselves There was great talk concerning morality much praise of virtue and decency and much lifting of hands in righteous horror at people who broke or were even rumored to have broken the Seventh Commandment He did not take this talk seriously Already he had broken it secretly many times Other young men did Yet again he was a little sick of the women of the streets and the bagnio There were too many coarse evil features in connection with such contacts For a little while the false tinselglitter of the house of ill repute appealed to him for there was a certain force to its luxury—rich as a rule with redplush furniture showy red hangings some coarse but showilyframed pictures and above all the strongbodied or sensuously lymphatic women who dwelt there to as his mother phrased it prey on men The strength of their bodies the lust of their souls the fact that they could with a show of affection or goodnature receive man after man astonished and later disgusted him After all they were not smart There was no vivacity of thought there All that they could do in the main he fancied was this one thing He pictured to himself the dreariness of the mornings after the stale dregs of things when only sleep and thought of gain could aid in the least and more than once even at his age he shook his head He wanted contact which was more intimate subtle individual personal
So came Lillian Semple who was nothing more to him than the shadow of an ideal Yet she cleared up certain of his ideas in regard to women She was not physically as vigorous or brutal as those other women whom he had encountered in the lupanars thus far—raw unashamed contraveners of accepted theories and notions—and for that very reason he liked her And his thoughts continued to dwell on her notwithstanding the hectic days which now passed like flashes of light in his new business venture For this stock exchange world in which he now found himself primitive as it would seem today was most fascinating to Cowperwood The room that he went to in Third Street at Dock where the brokers or their agents and clerks gathered one hundred and fifty strong was nothing to speak of artistically—a square chamber sixty by sixty reaching from the second floor to the roof of a fourstory building but it was striking to him The windows were high and narrow a largefaced clock faced the west entrance of the room where you came in from the stairs a collection of telegraph instruments with their accompanying desks and chairs occupied the northeast corner On the floor in the early days of the exchange were rows of chairs where the brokers sat while various lots of stocks were offered to them Later in the history of the exchange the chairs were removed and at different points posts or floorsigns indicating where certain stocks were traded in were introduced Around these the men who were interested gathered to do their trading From a hall on the third floor a door gave entrance to a visitors gallery small and poorly furnished and on the west wall a large blackboard carried current quotations in stocks as telegraphed from New York and Boston A wicketlike fence in the center of the room surrounded the desk and chair of the official recorder and a very small gallery opening from the third floor on the west gave place for the secretary of the board when he had any special announcement to make There was a room off the southwest corner where reports and annual compendiums of chairs were removed and at different signs indicating where certain stocks of various kinds were kept and were available for the use of members
Young Cowperwood would not have been admitted at all as either a broker or brokers agent or assistant except that Tighe feeling that he needed him and believing that he would be very useful bought him a seat on change—charging the two thousand dollars it cost as a debt and then ostensibly taking him into partnership It was against the rules of the exchange to sham a partnership in this way in order to put a man on the floor but brokers did it These men who were known to be minor partners and floor assistants were derisively called eighth chasers and twodollar brokers because they were always seeking small orders and were willing to buy or sell for anybody on their commission accounting of course to their firms for their work Cowperwood regardless of his intrinsic merits was originally counted one of their number and he was put under the direction of Mr Arthur Rivers the regular floor man of Tighe Company
Rivers was an exceedingly forceful man of thirtyfive welldressed wellformed with a hard smooth evenly chiseled face which was ornamented by a short black mustache and fine black clearly penciled eyebrows His hair came to an odd point at the middle of his forehead where he divided it and his chin was faintly and attractively cleft He had a soft voice a quiet conservative manner and both in and out of this brokerage and trading world was controlled by good form Cowperwood wondered at first why Rivers should work for Tighe—he appeared almost as able—but afterward learned that he was in the company Tighe was the organizer and general handshaker Rivers the floor and outside man
It was useless as Frank soon found to try to figure out exactly why stocks rose and fell Some general reasons there were of course as he was told by Tighe but they could not always be depended on
Sure anything can make or break a market—Tighe explained in his delicate brogue—from the failure of a bank to the rumor that your second cousins grandmother has a cold Its a most unusual world Cowperwood No man can explain it Ive seen breaks in stocks that you could never explain at all—no one could It wouldnt be possible to find out why they broke Ive seen rises the same way My God the rumors of the stock exchange They beat the devil If theyre going down in ordinary times some one is unloading or theyre rigging the market If theyre going up—God knows times must be good or somebody must be buying—thats sure Beyond that—well ask Rivers to show you the ropes Dont you ever lose for me though Thats the cardinal sin in this office He grinned maliciously even if kindly at that
Cowperwood understood—none better This subtle world appealed to him It answered to his temperament
There were rumors rumors rumors—of great railway and streetcar undertakings land developments government revision of the tariff war between France and Turkey famine in Russia or Ireland and so on The first Atlantic cable had not been laid as yet and news of any kind from abroad was slow and meager Still there were great financial figures in the held men who like Cyrus Field or William H Vanderbilt or F X Drexel were doing marvelous things and their activities and the rumors concerning them counted for much
Frank soon picked up all of the technicalities of the situation A bull he learned was one who bought in anticipation of a higher price to come and if he was loaded up with a line of stocks he was said to be long He sold to realize his profit or if his margins were exhausted he was wiped out A bear was one who sold stocks which most frequently he did not have in anticipation of a lower price at which he could buy and satisfy his previous sales He was short when he had sold what he did not own and he covered when he bought to satisfy his sales and to realize his profits or to protect himself against further loss in case prices advanced instead of declining He was in a corner when he found that he could not buy in order to make good the stock he had borrowed for delivery and the return of which had been demanded He was then obliged to settle practically at a price fixed by those to whom he and other shorts had sold
He smiled at first at the air of great secrecy and wisdom on the part of the younger men They were so heartily and foolishly suspicious The older men as a rule were inscrutable They pretended indifference uncertainty They were like certain fish after a certain kind of bait however Snap and the opportunity was gone Somebody else had picked up what you wanted All had their little notebooks All had their peculiar squint of eye or position or motion which meant Done I take you Sometimes they seemed scarcely to confirm their sales or purchases—they knew each other so well—but they did If the market was for any reason active the brokers and their agents were apt to be more numerous than if it were dull and the trading indifferent A gong sounded the call to trading at ten oclock and if there was a noticeable rise or decline in a stock or a group of stocks you were apt to witness quite a spirited scene Fifty to a hundred men would shout gesticulate shove here and there in an apparently aimless manner endeavoring to take advantage of the stock offered or called for
Fiveeighths for five hundred P and W some one would call—Rivers or Cowperwood or any other broker
Five hundred at threefourths would come the reply from some one else who either had an order to sell the stock at that price or who was willing to sell it short hoping to pick up enough of the stock at a lower figure later to fill his order and make a little something besides If the supply of stock at that figure was large Rivers would probably continue to bid fiveeighths If on the other hand he noticed an increasing demand he would probably pay threefourths for it If the professional traders believed Rivers had a large buying order they would probably try to buy the stock before he could at threefourths believing they could sell it out to him at a slightly higher price The professional traders were of course keen students of psychology and their success depended on their ability to guess whether or not a broker representing a big manipulator like Tighe had an order large enough to affect the market sufficiently to give them an opportunity to get in and out as they termed it at a profit before he had completed the execution of his order They were like hawks watching for an opportunity to snatch their prey from under the very claws of their opponents
Four five ten fifteen twenty thirty forty fifty and sometimes the whole company would attempt to take advantage of the given rise of a given stock by either selling or offering to buy in which case the activity and the noise would become deafening Given groups might be trading in different things but the large majority of them would abandon what they were doing in order to take advantage of a speciality The eagerness of certain young brokers or clerks to discover all that was going on and to take advantage of any given rise or fall made for quick physical action darting to and fro the excited elevation of explanatory fingers Distorted faces were shoved over shoulders or under arms The most ridiculous grimaces were purposely or unconsciously indulged in At times there were situations in which some individual was fairly smothered with arms faces shoulders crowded toward him when he manifested any intention of either buying or selling at a profitable rate At first it seemed quite a wonderful thing to young Cowperwood—the very physical face of it—for he liked human presence and activity but a little later the sense of the thing as a picture or a dramatic situation of which he was a part faded and he came down to a clearer sense of the intricacies of the problem before him Buying and selling stocks as he soon learned was an art a subtlety almost a psychic emotion Suspicion intuition feeling—these were the things to be long on
Yet in time he also asked himself who was it who made the real money—the stockbrokers Not at all Some of them were making money but they were as he quickly saw like a lot of gulls or stormy petrels hanging on the lee of the wind hungry and anxious to snap up any unwary fish Back of them were other men men with shrewd ideas subtle resources Men of immense means whose enterprise and holdings these stocks represented the men who schemed out and built the railroads opened the mines organized trading enterprises and built up immense manufactories They might use brokers or other agents to buy and sell on change but this buying and selling must be and always was incidental to the actual fact—the mine the railroad the wheat crop the flour mill and so on Anything less than straightout sales to realize quickly on assets or buying to hold as an investment was gambling pure and simple and these men were gamblers He was nothing more than a gamblers agent It was not troubling him any just at this moment but it was not at all a mystery now what he was As in the case of Waterman Company he sized up these men shrewdly judging some to be weak some foolish some clever some slow but in the main all smallminded or deficient because they were agents tools or gamblers A man a real man must never be an agent a tool or a gambler—acting for himself or for others—he must employ such A real man—a financier—was never a tool He used tools He created He led
Clearly very clearly at nineteen twenty and twentyone years of age he saw all this but he was not quite ready yet to do anything about it He was certain however that his day would come
Chapter VII
In the meantime his interest in Mrs Semple had been secretly and strangely growing When he received an invitation to call at the Semple home he accepted with a great deal of pleasure Their house was located not so very far from his own on North Front Street in the neighborhood of what is now known as No 956 It had in summer quite a wealth of green leaves and vines The little side porch which ornamented its south wall commanded a charming view of the river and all the windows and doors were topped with lunettes of smallpaned glass The interior of the house was not as pleasing as he would have had it Artistic impressiveness as to the furniture at least was wanting although it was new and good The pictures were—well simply pictures There were no books to speak of—the Bible a few current novels some of the more significant histories and a collection of antiquated odds and ends in the shape of books inherited from relatives The china was good—of a delicate pattern The carpets and wallpaper were too high in key So it went Still the personality of Lillian Semple was worth something for she was really pleasing to look upon making a picture wherever she stood or sat
There were no children—a dispensation of sex conditions which had nothing to do with her for she longed to have them She was without any notable experience in social life except such as had come to the Wiggin family of which she was a member—relatives and a few neighborhood friends visiting Lillian Wiggin that was her maiden name—had two brothers and one sister all living in Philadelphia and all married at this time They thought she had done very well in her marriage
It could not be said that she had wildly loved Mr Semple at any time Although she had cheerfully married him he was not the kind of man who could arouse a notable passion in any woman He was practical methodic orderly His shoe store was a good one—wellstocked with styles reflecting the current tastes and a model of cleanliness and what one might term pleasing brightness He loved to talk when he talked at all of shoe manufacturing the development of lasts and styles The readymade shoe—machinemade to a certain extent—was just coming into its own slowly and outside of these supplies of which he kept he employed benchmaking shoemakers satisfying his customers with personal measurements and making the shoes to order
Mrs Semple read a little—not much She had a habit of sitting and apparently brooding reflectively at times but it was not based on any deep thought She had that curious beauty of body though that made her somewhat like a figure on an antique vase or out of a Greek chorus It was in this light unquestionably that Cowperwood saw her for from the beginning he could not keep his eyes off her In a way she was aware of this but she did not attach any significance to it Thoroughly conventional satisfied now that her life was bound permanently with that of her husband she had settled down to a staid and quiet existence
At first when Frank called she did not have much to say She was gracious but the burden of conversation fell on her husband Cowperwood watched the varying expression of her face from time to time and if she had been at all psychic she must have felt something Fortunately she was not Semple talked to him pleasantly because in the first place Frank was becoming financially significant was suave and ingratiating and in the next place he was anxious to get richer and somehow Frank represented progress to him in that line One spring evening they sat on the porch and talked—nothing very important—slavery streetcars the panic—it was on then that of 1857—the development of the West Mr Semple wanted to know all about the stock exchange In return Frank asked about the shoe business though he really did not care All the while inoffensively he watched Mrs Semple Her manner he thought was soothing attractive delightful She served tea and cake for them They went inside after a time to avoid the mosquitoes She played the piano At ten oclock he left
Thereafter for a year or so Cowperwood bought his shoes of Mr Semple Occasionally also he stopped in the Chestnut Street store to exchange the time of the day Semple asked his opinion as to the advisability of buying some shares in the Fifth and Sixth Street line which having secured a franchise was creating great excitement Cowperwood gave him his best judgment It was sure to be profitable He himself had purchased one hundred shares at five dollars a share and urged Semple to do so But he was not interested in him personally He liked Mrs Semple though he did not see her very often
About a year later Mr Semple died It was an untimely death one of those fortuitous and in a way insignificant episodes which are nevertheless dramatic in a dull way to those most concerned He was seized with a cold in the chest late in the fall—one of those seizures ordinarily attributed to wet feet or to going out on a damp day without an overcoat—and had insisted on going to business when Mrs Semple urged him to stay at home and recuperate He was in his way a very determined person not obstreperously so but quietly and under the surface Business was a great urge He saw himself soon to be worth about fifty thousand dollars Then this cold—nine more days of pneumonia—and he was dead The shoe store was closed for a few days the house was full of sympathetic friends and church people There was a funeral with burial service in the Callowhill Presbyterian Church to which they belonged and then he was buried Mrs Semple cried bitterly The shock of death affected her greatly and left her for a time in a depressed state A brother of hers David Wiggin undertook for the time being to run the shoe business for her There was no will but in the final adjustment which included the sale of the shoe business there being no desire on anybodys part to contest her right to all the property she received over eighteen thousand dollars She continued to reside in the Front Street house and was considered a charming and interesting widow
Throughout this procedure young Cowperwood only twenty years of age was quietly manifest He called during the illness He attended the funeral He helped her brother David Wiggin dispose of the shoe business He called once or twice after the funeral then stayed away for a considerable time In five months he reappeared and thereafter he was a caller at stated intervals—periods of a week or ten days
Again it would be hard to say what he saw in Semple Her prettiness waxlike in its quality fascinated him her indifference aroused perhaps his combative soul He could not have explained why but he wanted her in an urgent passionate way He could not think of her reasonably and he did not talk of her much to any one His family knew that he went to see her but there had grown up in the Cowperwood family a deep respect for the mental force of Frank He was genial cheerful gay at most times without being talkative and he was decidedly successful Everybody knew he was making money now His salary was fifty dollars a week and he was certain soon to get more Some lots of his in West Philadelphia bought three years before had increased notably in value His streetcar holdings augmented by still additional lots of fifty and one hundred and one hundred and fifty shares in new lines incorporated were slowly rising in spite of hard times from the initiative five dollars in each case to ten fifteen and twentyfive dollars a share—all destined to go to par He was liked in the financial district and he was sure that he had a successful future Because of his analysis of the brokerage situation he had come to the conclusion that he did not want to be a stock gambler Instead he was considering the matter of engaging in billbrokering a business which he had observed to be very profitable and which involved no risk as long as one had capital Through his work and his fathers connections he had met many people—merchants bankers traders He could get their business or a part of it he knew People in Drexel Co and Clark Co were friendly to him Jay Cooke a rising banking personality was a personal friend of his
Meanwhile he called on Mrs Semple and the more he called the better he liked her There was no exchange of brilliant ideas between them but he had a way of being comforting and social when he wished He advised her about her business affairs in so intelligent a way that even her relatives approved of it She came to like him because he was so considerate quiet reassuring and so ready to explain over and over until everything was quite plain to her She could see that he was looking on her affairs quite as if they were his own trying to make them safe and secure
Youre so very kind Frank she said to him one night Im awfully grateful I dont know what I would have done if it hadnt been for you
She looked at his handsome face which was turned to hers with childlike simplicity
Not at all Not at all I want to do it I wouldnt have been happy if I couldnt
His eyes had a peculiar subtle ray in them—not a gleam She felt warm toward him sympathetic quite satisfied that she could lean on him
Well I am very grateful just the same Youve been so good Come out Sunday again if you want to or any evening Ill be home
It was while he was calling on her in this way that his Uncle Seneca died in Cuba and left him fifteen thousand dollars This money made him worth nearly twentyfive thousand dollars in his own right and he knew exactly what to do with it A panic had come since Mr Semple had died which had illustrated to him very clearly what an uncertain thing the brokerage business was There was really a severe business depression Money was so scarce that it could fairly be said not to exist at all Capital frightened by uncertain trade and money conditions everywhere retired to its hidingplaces in banks vaults teakettles and stockings The country seemed to be going to the dogs War with the South or secession was vaguely looming up in the distance The temper of the whole nation was nervous People dumped their holdings on the market in order to get money Tighe discharged three of his clerks He cut down his expenses in every possible way and used up all his private savings to protect his private holdings He mortgaged his house his land holdings—everything and in many instances young Cowperwood was his intermediary carrying blocks of shares to different banks to get what he could on them
See if your fathers bank wont loan me fifteen thousand on these he said to Frank one day producing a bundle of Philadelphia Wilmington shares Frank had heard his father speak of them in times past as excellent
They ought to be good the elder Cowperwood said dubiously when shown the package of securities At any other time they would be But money is so tight We find it awfully hard these days to meet our own obligations Ill talk to Mr Kugel Mr Kugel was the president
There was a long conversation—a long wait His father came back to say it was doubtful whether they could make the loan Eight per cent then being secured for money was a small rate of interest considering its need For ten per cent Mr Kugel might make a callloan Frank went back to his employer whose commercial choler rose at the report
For Heavens sake is there no money at all in the town he demanded contentiously Why the interest they want is ruinous I cant stand that Well take em back and bring me the money Good God thisll never do at all at all
Frank went back Hell pay ten per cent he said quietly
Tighe was credited with a deposit of fifteen thousand dollars with privilege to draw against it at once He made out a check for the total fifteen thousand at once to the Girard National Bank to cover a shrinkage there So it went
During all these days young Cowperwood was following these financial complications with interest He was not disturbed by the cause of slavery or the talk of secession or the general progress or decline of the country except in so far as it affected his immediate interests He longed to become a stable financier but now that he saw the inside of the brokerage business he was not so sure that he wanted to stay in it Gambling in stocks according to conditions produced by this panic seemed very hazardous A number of brokers failed He saw them rush in to Tighe with anguished faces and ask that certain trades be canceled Their very homes were in danger they said They would be wiped out their wives and children put out on the street
This panic incidentally only made Frank more certain as to what he really wanted to do—now that he had this free money he would go into business for himself Even Tighes offer of a minor partnership failed to tempt him
I think you have a nice business he explained in refusing but I want to get in the notebrokerage business for myself I dont trust this stock game Id rather have a little business of my own than all the floor work in this world
But youre pretty young Frank argued his employer You have lots of time to work for yourself In the end he parted friends with both Tighe and Rivers Thats a smart young fellow observed Tighe ruefully
Hell make his mark rejoined Rivers Hes the shrewdest boy of his age I ever saw
Chapter VIII
Cowperwoods world at this time was of roseate hue He was in love and had money of his own to start his new business venture He could take his streetcar stocks which were steadily increasing in value and raise seventy per cent of their market value He could put a mortgage on his lots and get money there if necessary He had established financial relations with the Girard National Bank—President Davison there having taken a fancy to him—and he proposed to borrow from that institution some day All he wanted was suitable investments—things in which he could realize surely quickly He saw fine prospective profits in the streetcar lines which were rapidly developing into local ramifications
He purchased a horse and buggy about this time—the most attractivelooking animal and vehicle he could find—the combination cost him five hundred dollars—and invited Mrs Semple to drive with him She refused at first but later consented He had told her of his success his prospects his windfall of fifteen thousand dollars his intention of going into the notebrokerage business She knew his father was likely to succeed to the position of vicepresident in the Third National Bank and she liked the Cowperwoods Now she began to realize that there was something more than mere friendship here This erstwhile boy was a man and he was calling on her It was almost ridiculous in the face of things—her seniority her widowhood her placid retiring disposition—but the sheer quiet determined force of this young man made it plain that he was not to be balked by her sense of convention
Cowperwood did not delude himself with any noble theories of conduct in regard to her She was beautiful with a mental and physical lure for him that was irresistible and that was all he desired to know No other woman was holding him like that It never occurred to him that he could not or should not like other women at the same time There was a great deal of palaver about the sanctity of the home It rolled off his mental sphere like water off the feathers of a duck He was not eager for her money though he was well aware of it He felt that he could use it to her advantage He wanted her physically He felt a keen primitive interest in the children they would have He wanted to find out if he could make her love him vigorously and could rout out the memory of her former life Strange ambition Strange perversion one might almost say
In spite of her fears and her uncertainty Lillian Semple accepted his attentions and interest because equally in spite of herself she was drawn to him One night when she was going to bed she stopped in front of her dressing table and looked at her face and her bare neck and arms They were very pretty A subtle something came over her as she surveyed her long peculiarly shaded hair She thought of young Cowperwood and then was chilled and shamed by the vision of the late Mr Semple and the force and quality of public opinion
Why do you come to see me so often she asked him when he called the following evening
Oh dont you know he replied looking at her in an interpretive way
No
Sure you dont
Well I know you liked Mr Semple and I always thought you liked me as his wife Hes gone though now
And youre here he replied
And Im here
Yes I like you I like to be with you Dont you like me that way
Why Ive never thought of it Youre so much younger Im five years older than you are
In years he said certainly Thats nothing Im fifteen years older than you are in other ways I know more about life in some ways than you can ever hope to learn—dont you think so he added softly persuasively
Well thats true But I know a lot of things you dont know She laughed softly showing her pretty teeth
It was evening They were on the side porch The river was before them
Yes but thats only because youre a woman A man cant hope to get a womans point of view exactly But Im talking about practical affairs of this world Youre not as old that way as I am
Well what of it
Nothing You asked why I came to see you Thats why Partly
He relapsed into silence and stared at the water
She looked at him His handsome body slowly broadening was nearly full grown His face because of its full clear big inscrutable eyes had an expression which was almost babyish She could not have guessed the depths it veiled His cheeks were pink his hands not large but sinewy and strong Her pale uncertain lymphatic body extracted a form of dynamic energy from him even at this range
I dont think you ought to come to see me so often People wont think well of it She ventured to take a distant matronly air—the air she had originally held toward him
People he said dont worry about people People think what you want them to think I wish you wouldnt take that distant air toward me
Why
Because I like you
But you mustnt like me Its wrong I cant ever marry you Youre too young Im too old
Dont say that he said imperiously Theres nothing to it I want you to marry me You know I do Now when will it be
Why how silly I never heard of such a thing she exclaimed It will never be Frank It cant be
Why cant it he asked
Because—well because Im older People would think it strange Im not long enough free
Oh long enough nothing he exclaimed irritably Thats the one thing I have against you—you are so worried about what people think They dont make your life They certainly dont make mine Think of yourself first You have your own life to make Are you going to let what other people think stand in the way of what you want to do
But I dont want to she smiled
He arose and came over to her looking into her eyes
Well she asked nervously quizzically
He merely looked at her
Well she queried more flustered
He stooped down to take her arms but she got up
Now you must not come near me she pleaded determinedly Ill go in the house and Ill not let you come any more Its terrible Youre silly You mustnt interest yourself in me
She did show a good deal of determination and he desisted But for the time being only He called again and again Then one night when they had gone inside because of the mosquitoes and when she had insisted that he must stop coming to see her that his attentions were noticeable to others and that she would be disgraced he caught her under desperate protest in his arms
Now see here she exclaimed I told you Its silly You mustnt kiss me How dare you Oh oh oh—
She broke away and ran up the nearby stairway to her room Cowperwood followed her swiftly As she pushed the door to he forced it open and recaptured her He lifted her bodily from her feet and held her crosswise lying in his arms
Oh how could you she exclaimed I will never speak to you any more I will never let you come here any more if you dont put me down this minute Put me down
Ill put you down sweet he said Ill take you down at the same time pulling her face to him and kissing her He was very much aroused excited
While she was twisting and protesting he carried her down the stairs again into the livingroom and seated himself in the great armchair still holding her tight in his arms
Oh she sighed falling limp on his shoulder when he refused to let her go Then because of the set determination of his face some intense pull in him she smiled How would I ever explain if I did marry you she asked weakly Your father Your mother
You dont need to explain Ill do that And you neednt worry about my family They wont care
But mine she recoiled
Dont worry about yours Im not marrying your family Im marrying you We have independent means
She relapsed into additional protests but he kissed her the more There was a deadly persuasion to his caresses Mr Semple had never displayed any such fire He aroused a force of feeling in her which had not previously been there She was afraid of it and ashamed
Will you marry me in a month he asked cheerfully when she paused
You know I wont she exclaimed nervously The idea Why do you ask
What difference does it make Were going to get married eventually He was thinking how attractive he could make her look in other surroundings Neither she nor his family knew how to live
Well not in a month Wait a little while I will marry you after a while—after you see whether you want me
He caught her tight Ill show you he said
Please stop You hurt me
How about it Two months
Certainly not
Three
Well maybe
No maybe in that case We marry
But youre only a boy
Dont worry about me Youll find out how much of a boy I am
He seemed of a sudden to open up a new world to her and she realized that she had never really lived before This man represented something bigger and stronger than ever her husband had dreamed of In his young way he was terrible irresistible
Well in three months then she whispered while he rocked her cozily in his arms
Chapter IX
Cowperwood started in the note brokerage business with a small office at No 64 South Third Street where he very soon had the pleasure of discovering that his former excellent business connections remembered him He would go to one house where he suspected ready money might be desirable and offer to negotiate their notes or any paper they might issue bearing six per cent interest for a commission and then he would sell the paper for a small commission to some one who would welcome a secure investment Sometimes his father sometimes other people helped him with suggestions as to when and how Between the two ends he might make four and five per cent on the total transaction In the first year he cleared six thousand dollars over and above all expenses That wasnt much but he was augmenting it in another way which he believed would bring great profit in the future
Before the first streetcar line which was a shambling affair had been laid on Front Street the streets of Philadelphia had been crowded with hundreds of springless omnibuses rattling over rough hard cobblestones Now thanks to the idea of John Stephenson in New York the double rail track idea had come and besides the line on Fifth and Sixth Streets the cars running out one street and back on another which had paid splendidly from the start there were many other lines proposed or under way The city was as eager to see streetcars replace omnibuses as it was to see railroads replace canals There was opposition of course There always is in such cases The cry of probable monopoly was raised Disgruntled and defeated omnibus owners and drivers groaned aloud
Cowperwood had implicit faith in the future of the street railway In support of this belief he risked all he could spare on new issues of stock shares in new companies He wanted to be on the inside wherever possible always though this was a little difficult in the matter of the streetrailways he having been so young when they started and not having yet arranged his financial connections to make them count for much The Fifth and Sixth Street line which had been but recently started was paying six hundred dollars a day A project for a West Philadelphia line Walnut and Chestnut was on foot as were lines to occupy Second and Third Streets Race and Vine Spruce and Pine Green and Coates Tenth and Eleventh and so forth They were engineered and backed by some powerful capitalists who had influence with the State legislature and could in spite of great public protest obtain franchises Charges of corruption were in the air It was argued that the streets were valuable and that the companies should pay a road tax of a thousand dollars a mile Somehow however these splendid grants were gotten through and the public hearing of the Fifth and Sixth Street line profits was eager to invest Cowperwood was one of these and when the Second and Third Street line was engineered he invested in that and in the Walnut and Chestnut Street line also He began to have vague dreams of controlling a line himself some day but as yet he did not see exactly how it was to be done since his business was far from being a bonanza
In the midst of this early work he married Mrs Semple There was no vast todo about it as he did not want any and his bridetobe was nervous fearsome of public opinion His family did not entirely approve She was too old his mother and father thought and then Frank with his prospects could have done much better His sister Anna fancied that Mrs Semple was designing which was of course not true His brothers Joseph and Edward were interested but not certain as to what they actually thought since Mrs Semple was goodlooking and had some money
It was a warm October day when he and Lillian went to the altar in the First Presbyterian Church of Callowhill Street His bride Frank was satisfied looked exquisite in a trailing gown of cream lace—a creation that had cost months of labor His parents Mrs Seneca Davis the Wiggin family brothers and sisters and some friends were present He was a little opposed to this idea but Lillian wanted it He stood up straight and correct in black broadcloth for the wedding ceremony—because she wished it but later changed to a smart business suit for traveling He had arranged his affairs for a two weeks trip to New York and Boston They took an afternoon train for New York which required five hours to reach When they were finally alone in the Astor House New York after hours of makebelieve and public pretense of indifference he gathered her in his arms
Oh its delicious he exclaimed to have you all to myself
She met his eagerness with that smiling tantalizing passivity which he had so much admired but which this time was tinged strongly with a communicated desire He thought he should never have enough of her her beautiful face her lovely arms her smooth lymphatic body They were like two children billing and cooing driving dining seeing the sights He was curious to visit the financial sections of both cities New York and Boston appealed to him as commercially solid He wondered as he observed the former whether he should ever leave Philadelphia He was going to be very happy there now he thought with Lillian and possibly a brood of young Cowperwoods He was going to work hard and make money With his means and hers now at his command he might become very readily notably wealthy
Chapter X
The home atmosphere which they established when they returned from their honeymoon was a great improvement in taste over that which had characterized the earlier life of Mrs Cowperwood as Mrs Semple They had decided to occupy her house on North Front Street for a while at least Cowperwood aggressive in his current artistic mood had objected at once after they were engaged to the spirit of the furniture and decorations or lack of them and had suggested that he be allowed to have it brought more in keeping with his idea of what was appropriate During the years in which he had been growing into manhood he had come instinctively into sound notions of what was artistic and refined He had seen so many homes that were more distinguished and harmonious than his own One could not walk or drive about Philadelphia without seeing and being impressed with the general tendency toward a more cultivated and selective social life Many excellent and expensive houses were being erected The front lawn with some attempt at floral gardening was achieving local popularity In the homes of the Tighes the Leighs Arthur Rivers and others he had noticed art objects of some distinction—bronzes marbles hangings pictures clocks rugs
It seemed to him now that his comparatively commonplace house could be made into something charming and for comparatively little money The diningroom for instance which through two plain windows set in a hat side wall back of the veranda looked south over a stretch of grass and several trees and bushes to a dividing fence where the Semple property ended and a neighbors began could be made so much more attractive That fence—sharppointed gray palings—could be torn away and a hedge put in its place The wall which divided the diningroom from the parlor could be knocked through and a hanging of some pleasing character put in its place A baywindow could be built to replace the two present oblong windows—a bay which would come down to the floor and open out on the lawn via swiveled diamondshaped leadpaned frames All this shabby nondescript furniture collected from heaven knows where—partly inherited from the Semples and the Wiggins and partly bought—could be thrown out or sold and something better and more harmonious introduced He knew a young man by the name of Ellsworth an architect newly graduated from a local school with whom he had struck up an interesting friendship—one of those inexplicable inclinations of temperament Wilton Ellsworth was an artist in spirit quiet meditative refined From discussing the quality of a certain building on Chestnut Street which was then being erected and which Ellsworth pronounced atrocious they had fallen to discussing art in general or the lack of it in America And it occurred to him that Ellsworth was the man to carry out his decorative views to a nicety When he suggested the young man to Lillian she placidly agreed with him and also with his own ideas of how the house could be revised
So while they were gone on their honeymoon Ellsworth began the revision on an estimated cost of three thousand dollars including the furniture It was not completed for nearly three weeks after their return but when finished made a comparatively new house The diningroom bay hung low over the grass as Frank wished and the windows were diamondpaned and leaded swiveled on brass rods The parlor and diningroom were separated by sliding doors but the intention was to hang in this opening a silk hanging depicting a wedding scene in Normandy Old English oak was used in the diningroom an American imitation of Chippendale and Sheraton for the sittingroom and the bedrooms There were a few simple watercolors hung here and there some bronzes of Hosmer and Powers a marble venus by Potter a now forgotten sculptor and other objects of art—nothing of any distinction Pleasing appropriately colored rugs covered the floor Mrs Cowperwood was shocked by the nudity of the Venus which conveyed an atmosphere of European freedom not common to America but she said nothing It was all harmonious and soothing and she did not feel herself capable to judge Frank knew about these things so much better than she did Then with a maid and a man of all work installed a program of entertaining was begun on a small scale
Those who recall the early years of their married life can best realize the subtle changes which this new condition brought to Frank for like all who accept the hymeneal yoke he was influenced to a certain extent by the things with which he surrounded himself Primarily from certain traits of his character one would have imagined him called to be a citizen of eminent respectability and worth He appeared to be an ideal home man He delighted to return to his wife in the evenings leaving the crowded downtown section where traffic clamored and men hurried Here he could feel that he was wellstationed and physically happy in life The thought of the dinnertable with candles upon it his idea the thought of Lillian in a trailing gown of paleblue or green silk—he liked her in those colors the thought of a large fireplace flaming with solid lengths of cordwood and Lillian snuggling in his arms gripped his immature imagination As has been said before he cared nothing for books but life pictures trees physical contact—these in spite of his shrewd and already gripping financial calculations held him To live richly joyously fully—his whole nature craved that
And Mrs Cowperwood in spite of the difference in their years appeared to be a fit mate for him at this time She was once awakened and for the time being clinging responsive dreamy His mood and hers was for a baby and in a little while that happy expectation was whispered to him by her She had half fancied that her previous barrenness was due to herself and was rather surprised and delighted at the proof that it was not so It opened new possibilities—a seemingly glorious future of which she was not afraid He liked it the idea of selfduplication It was almost acquisitive this thought For days and weeks and months and years at least the first four or five he took a keen satisfaction in coming home evenings strolling about the yard driving with his wife having friends in to dinner talking over with her in an explanatory way the things he intended to do She did not understand his financial abstrusities and he did not trouble to make them clear
But love her pretty body her lips her quiet manner—the lure of all these combined and his two children when they came—two in four years—held him He would dandle Frank Jr who was the first to arrive on his knee looking at his chubby feet his kindling eyes his almost formless yet budlike mouth and wonder at the process by which children came into the world There was so much to think of in this connection—the spermatozoic beginning the strange period of gestation in women the danger of disease and delivery He had gone through a real period of strain when Frank Jr was born for Mrs Cowperwood was frightened He feared for the beauty of her body—troubled over the danger of losing her and he actually endured his first worry when he stood outside the door the day the child came Not much—he was too selfsufficient too resourceful and yet he worried conjuring up thoughts of death and the end of their present state Then word came after certain piercing harrowing cries that all was well and he was permitted to look at the new arrival The experience broadened his conception of things made him more solid in his judgment of life That old conviction of tragedy underlying the surface of things like wood under its veneer was emphasized Little Frank and later Lillian blueeyed and goldenhaired touched his imagination for a while There was a good deal to this home idea after all That was the way life was organized and properly so—its cornerstone was the home
It would be impossible to indicate fully how subtle were the material changes which these years involved—changes so gradual that they were like the lap of soft waters unnoticeable Considerable—a great deal considering how little he had to begin with—wealth was added in the next five years He came in his financial world to know fairly intimately as commercial relationships go some of the subtlest characters of the steadily enlarging financial world In his days at Tighes and on the exchange many curious figures had been pointed out to him—State and city officials of one grade and another who were making something out of politics and some national figures who came from Washington to Philadelphia at times to see Drexel Co Clark Co and even Tighe Co These men as he learned had tips or advance news of legislative or economic changes which were sure to affect certain stocks or trade opportunities A young clerk had once pulled his sleeve at Tighes
See that man going in to see Tighe
Yes
Thats Murtagh the city treasurer Say he dont do anything but play a fine game All that money to invest and he dont have to account for anything except the principal The interest goes to him
Cowperwood understood All these city and State officials speculated They had a habit of depositing city and State funds with certain bankers and brokers as authorized agents or designated State depositories The banks paid no interest—save to the officials personally They loaned it to certain brokers on the officials secret order and the latter invested it in sure winners The bankers got the free use of the money a part of the time the brokers another part the officials made money and the brokers received a fat commission There was a political ring in Philadelphia in which the mayor certain members of the council the treasurer the chief of police the commissioner of public works and others shared It was a case generally of You scratch my back and Ill scratch yours Cowperwood thought it rather shabby work at first but many men were rapidly getting rich and no one seemed to care The newspapers were always talking about civic patriotism and pride but never a word about these things And the men who did them were powerful and respected
There were many houses a constantly widening circle that found him a very trustworthy agent in disposing of note issues or note payment He seemed to know so quickly where to go to get the money From the first he made it a principle to keep twenty thousand dollars in cash on hand in order to be able to take up a proposition instantly and without discussion So often he was able to say Why certainly I can do that when otherwise on the face of things he would not have been able to do so He was asked if he would not handle certain stock transactions on change He had no seat and he intended not to take any at first but now he changed his mind and bought one not only in Philadelphia but in New York also A certain Joseph Zimmerman a drygoods man for whom he had handled various note issues suggested that he undertake operating in streetrailway shares for him and this was the beginning of his return to the floor
In the meanwhile his family life was changing—growing one might have said finer and more secure Mrs Cowperwood had for instance been compelled from time to time to make a subtle readjustment of her personal relationship with people as he had with his When Mr Semple was alive she had been socially connected with tradesmen principally—retailers and small wholesalers—a very few Some of the women of her own church the First Presbyterian were friendly with her There had been church teas and sociables which she and Mr Semple attended and dull visits to his relatives and hers The Cowperwoods the Watermans and a few families of that caliber had been the notable exceptions Now all this was changed Young Cowperwood did not care very much for her relatives and the Semples had been alienated by her second and to them outrageous marriage His own family was closely interested by ties of affection and mutual prosperity but better than this he was drawing to himself some really significant personalities He brought home with him socially—not to talk business for he disliked that idea—bankers investors customers and prospective customers Out on the Schuylkill the Wissahickon and elsewhere were popular dining places where one could drive on Sunday He and Mrs Cowperwood frequently drove out to Mrs Seneca Daviss to Judge Kitchens to the home of Andrew Sharpless a lawyer whom he knew to the home of Harper Steger his own lawyer and others Cowperwood had the gift of geniality None of these men or women suspected the depth of his nature—he was thinking thinking thinking but enjoyed life as he went
One of his earliest and most genuine leanings was toward paintings He admired nature but somehow without knowing why he fancied one could best grasp it through the personality of some interpreter just as we gain our ideas of law and politics through individuals Mrs Cowperwood cared not a whit one way or another but she accompanied him to exhibitions thinking all the while that Frank was a little peculiar He tried because he loved her to interest her in these things intelligently but while she pretended slightly she could not really see or care and it was very plain that she could not
The children took up a great deal of her time However Cowperwood was not troubled about this It struck him as delightful and exceedingly worth while that she should be so devoted At the same time her lethargic manner vague smile and her sometimes seeming indifference which sprang largely from a sense of absolute security attracted him also She was so different from him She took her second marriage quite as she had taken her first—a solemn fact which contained no possibility of mental alteration As for himself however he was bustling about in a world which financially at least seemed all alteration—there were so many sudden and almost unheardof changes He began to look at her at times with a speculative eye—not very critically for he liked her—but with an attempt to weigh her personality He had known her five years and more now What did he know about her The vigor of youth—those first years—had made up for so many things but now that he had her safely
There came in this period the slow approach and finally the declaration of war between the North and the South attended with so much excitement that almost all current minds were notably colored by it It was terrific Then came meetings public and stirring and riots the incident of John Browns body the arrival of Lincoln the great commoner on his way from Springfield Illinois to Washington via Philadelphia to take the oath of office the battle of Bull Run the battle of Vicksburg the battle of Gettysburg and so on Cowperwood was only twentyfive at the time a cool determined youth who thought the slave agitation might be well founded in human rights—no doubt was—but exceedingly dangerous to trade He hoped the North would win but it might go hard with him personally and other financiers He did not care to fight That seemed silly for the individual man to do Others might—there were many poor thinminded halfbaked creatures who would put themselves up to be shot but they were only fit to be commanded or shot down As for him his life was sacred to himself and his family and his personal interests He recalled seeing one day in one of the quiet side streets as the workingmen were coming home from their work a small enlisting squad of soldiers in blue marching enthusiastically along the Union flag flying the drummers drumming the fifes blowing the idea being of course to so impress the hitherto indifferent or wavering citizen to exalt him to such a pitch that he would lose his sense of proportion of selfinterest and forgetting all—wife parents home and children—and seeing only the great need of the country fall in behind and enlist He saw one workingman swinging his pail and evidently not contemplating any such denouement to his days work pause listen as the squad approached hesitate as it drew close and as it passed with a peculiar look of uncertainty or wonder in his eyes fall in behind and march solemnly away to the enlisting quarters What was it that had caught this man Frank asked himself How was he overcome so easily He had not intended to go His face was streaked with the grease and dirt of his work—he looked like a foundry man or machinist say twentyfive years of age Frank watched the little squad disappear at the end of the street round the corner under the trees
This current warspirit was strange The people seemed to him to want to hear nothing but the sound of the drum and fife to see nothing but troops of which there were thousands now passing through on their way to the front carrying cold steel in the shape of guns at their shoulders to hear of war and the rumors of war It was a thrilling sentiment no doubt great but unprofitable It meant selfsacrifice and he could not see that If he went he might be shot and what would his noble emotion amount to then He would rather make money regulate current political social and financial affairs The poor fool who fell in behind the enlisting squad—no not fool he would not call him that—the poor overwrought workingman—well Heaven pity him Heaven pity all of them They really did not know what they were doing
One day he saw Lincoln—a tall shambling man long bony gawky but tremendously impressive It was a raw slushy morning of a late February day and the great war President was just through with his solemn pronunciamento in regard to the bonds that might have been strained but must not be broken As he issued from the doorway of Independence Hall that famous birthplace of liberty his face was set in a sad meditative calm Cowperwood looked at him fixedly as he issued from the doorway surrounded by chiefs of staff local dignitaries detectives and the curious sympathetic faces of the public As he studied the strangely roughhewn countenance a sense of the great worth and dignity of the man came over him
A real man that he thought a wonderful temperament His every gesture came upon him with great force He watched him enter his carriage thinking So that is the railsplitter the country lawyer Well fate has picked a great man for this crisis
For days the face of Lincoln haunted him and very often during the war his mind reverted to that singular figure It seemed to him unquestionable that fortuitously he had been permitted to look upon one of the worlds really great men War and statesmanship were not for him but he knew how important those things were—at times
Chapter XI
It was while the war was on and after it was perfectly plain that it was not to be of a few days duration that Cowperwoods first great financial opportunity came to him There was a strong demand for money at the time on the part of the nation the State and the city In July 1861 Congress had authorized a loan of fifty million dollars to be secured by twentyyear bonds with interest not to exceed seven per cent and the State authorized a loan of three millions on much the same security the first being handled by financiers of Boston New York and Philadelphia the second by Philadelphia financiers alone Cowperwood had no hand in this He was not big enough He read in the papers of gatherings of men whom he knew personally or by reputation to consider the best way to aid the nation or the State but he was not included And yet his soul yearned to be of them He noticed how often a rich mans word sufficed—no money no certificates no collateral no anything—just his word If Drexel Co or Jay Cooke Co or Gould Fiske were rumored to be behind anything how secure it was Jay Cooke a young man in Philadelphia had made a great strike taking this State loan in company with Drexel Co and selling it at par The general opinion was that it ought to be and could only be sold at ninety Cooke did not believe this He believed that State pride and State patriotism would warrant offering the loan to small banks and private citizens and that they would subscribe it fully and more Events justified Cooke magnificently and his public reputation was assured Cowperwood wished he could make some such strike but he was too practical to worry over anything save the facts and conditions that were before him
His chance came about six months later when it was found that the State would have to have much more money Its quota of troops would have to be equipped and paid There were measures of defense to be taken the treasury to be replenished A call for a loan of twentythree million dollars was finally authorized by the legislature and issued There was great talk in the street as to who was to handle it—Drexel Co and Jay Cooke Co of course
Cowperwood pondered over this If he could handle a fraction of this great loan now—he could not possibly handle the whole of it for he had not the necessary connections—he could add considerably to his reputation as a broker while making a tidy sum How much could he handle That was the question Who would take portions of it His fathers bank Probably Waterman Co A little Judge Kitchen A small fraction The MillsDavid Company Yes He thought of different individuals and concerns who for one reason and another—personal friendship goodnature gratitude for past favors and so on—would take a percentage of the sevenpercent bonds through him He totaled up his possibilities and discovered that in all likelihood with a little preliminary missionary work he could dispose of one million dollars if personal influence through local political figures could bring this much of the loan his way
One man in particular had grown strong in his estimation as having some subtle political connection not visible on the surface and this was Edward Malia Butler Butler was a contractor undertaking the construction of sewers watermains foundations for buildings streetpaving and the like In the early days long before Cowperwood had known him he had been a garbagecontractor on his own account The city at that time had no extended streetcleaning service particularly in its outlying sections and some of the older poorer regions Edward Butler then a poor young Irishman had begun by collecting and hauling away the garbage free of charge and feeding it to his pigs and cattle Later he discovered that some people were willing to pay a small charge for this service Then a local political character a councilman friend of his—they were both Catholics—saw a new point in the whole thing Butler could be made official garbagecollector The council could vote an annual appropriation for this service Butler could employ more wagons than he did now—dozens of them scores Not only that but no other garbagecollector would be allowed There were others but the official contract awarded him would also officially be the end of the life of any and every disturbing rival A certain amount of the profitable proceeds would have to be set aside to assuage the feelings of those who were not contractors Funds would have to be loaned at election time to certain individuals and organizations—but no matter The amount would be small So Butler and Patrick Gavin Comiskey the councilman the latter silently entered into business relations Butler gave up driving a wagon himself He hired a young man a smart Irish boy of his neighborhood Jimmy Sheehan to be his assistant superintendent stableman bookkeeper and what not Since he soon began to make between four and five thousand a year where before he made two thousand he moved into a brick house in an outlying section of the south side and sent his children to school Mrs Butler gave up making soap and feeding pigs And since then times had been exceedingly good with Edward Butler
He could neither read nor write at first but now he knew how of course He had learned from association with Mr Comiskey that there were other forms of contracting—sewers watermains gasmains streetpaving and the like Who better than Edward Butler to do it He knew the councilmen many of them Het met them in the back rooms of saloons on Sundays and Saturdays at political picnics at election councils and conferences for as a beneficiary of the citys largess he was expected to contribute not only money but advice Curiously he had developed a strange political wisdom He knew a successful man or a coming man when he saw one So many of his bookkeepers superintendents timekeepers had graduated into councilmen and state legislators His nominees—suggested to political conferences—were so often known to make good First he came to have influence in his councilmans ward then in his legislative district then in the city councils of his party—Whig of course—and then he was supposed to have an organization
Mysterious forces worked for him in council He was awarded significant contracts and he always bid The garbage business was now a thing of the past His eldest boy Owen was a member of the State legislature and a partner in his business affairs His second son Callum was a clerk in the city water department and an assistant to his father also Aileen his eldest daughter fifteen years of age was still in St Agathas a convent school in Germantown Norah his second daughter and youngest child thirteen years old was in attendance at a local private school conducted by a Catholic sisterhood The Butler family had moved away from South Philadelphia into Girard Avenue near the twelve hundreds where a new and rather interesting social life was beginning They were not of it but Edward Butler contractor now fiftyfive years of age worth say five hundred thousand dollars had many political and financial friends No longer a rough neck but a solid reddishfaced man slightly tanned with broad shoulders and a solid chest gray eyes gray hair a typically Irish face made wise and calm and undecipherable by much experience His big hands and feet indicated a day when he had not worn the best English cloth suits and tanned leather but his presence was not in any way offensive—rather the other way about Though still possessed of a brogue he was softspoken winning and persuasive
He had been one of the first to become interested in the development of the streetcar system and had come to the conclusion as had Cowperwood and many others that it was going to be a great thing The money returns on the stocks or shares he had been induced to buy had been ample evidence of that He had dealt through one broker and another having failed to get in on the original corporate organizations He wanted to pick up such stock as he could in one organization and another for he believed they all had a future and most of all he wanted to get control of a line or two In connection with this idea he was looking for some reliable young man honest and capable who would work under his direction and do what he said Then he learned of Cowperwood and one day sent for him and asked him to call at his house
Cowperwood responded quickly for he knew of Butler his rise his connections his force He called at the house as directed one cold crisp February morning He remembered the appearance of the street afterward—broad brickpaved sidewalks macadamized roadway powdered over with a light snow and set with young leafless scrubby trees and lampposts Butlers house was not new—he had bought and repaired it—but it was not an unsatisfactory specimen of the architecture of the time It was fifty feet wide four stories tall of graystone and with four wide white stone steps leading up to the door The window arches framed in white had Ushaped keystones There were curtains of lace and a glimpse of red plush through the windows which gleamed warm against the cold and snow outside A trim Irish maid came to the door and he gave her his card and was invited into the house
Is Mr Butler home
Im not sure sir Ill find out He may have gone out
In a little while he was asked to come upstairs where he found Butler in a somewhat commerciallooking room It had a desk an office chair some leather furnishings and a bookcase but no completeness or symmetry as either an office or a living room There were several pictures on the wall—an impossible oil painting for one thing dark and gloomy a canal and barge scene in pink and nile green for another some daguerreotypes of relatives and friends which were not half bad Cowperwood noticed one of two girls one with reddishgold hair another with what appeared to be silky brown The beautiful silver effect of the daguerreotype had been tinted They were pretty girls healthy smiling Celtic their heads close together their eyes looking straight out at you He admired them casually and fancied they must be Butlers daughters
Mr Cowperwood inquired Butler uttering the name fully with a peculiar accent on the vowels He was a slowmoving man solemn and deliberate Cowperwood noticed that his body was hale and strong like seasoned hickory tanned by wind and rain The flesh of his cheeks was pulled taut and there was nothing soft or flabby about him
Im that man
I have a little matter of stocks to talk over with you matter almost sounded like mather and I thought youd better come here rather than that I should come down to your office We can be more privatelike and besides Im not as young as I used to be
He allowed a semitwinkle to rest in his eye as he looked his visitor over
Cowperwood smiled
Well I hope I can be of service to you he said genially
I happen to be interested just at present in pickin up certain streetrailway stocks on change Ill tell you about them later Wont you have somethin to drink Its a cold morning
No thanks I never drink
Never Thats a hard word when it comes to whisky Well no matter Its a good rule My boys dont touch anything and Im glad of it As I say Im interested in pickin up a few stocks on change but to tell you the truth Im more interested in findin some clever young felly like yourself through whom I can work One thing leads to another you know in this world And he looked at his visitor noncommittally and yet with a genial show of interest
Quite so replied Cowperwood with a friendly gleam in return
Well Butler meditated half to himself half to Cowperwood there are a number of things that a bright young man could do for me in the street if he were so minded I have two bright boys of my own but I dont want them to become stockgamblers and I dont know that they would or could if I wanted them to But this isnt a matter of stockgambling Im pretty busy as it is and as I said awhile ago Im getting along Im not as light on my toes as I once was But if I had the right sort of a young man—Ive been looking into your record by the way never fear—he might handle a number of little things—investments and loans—which might bring us each a little somethin Sometimes the young men around town ask advice of me in one way and another—they have a little somethin to invest and so—
He paused and looked tantalizingly out of the window knowing full well Cowperwood was greatly interested and that this talk of political influence and connections could only whet his appetite Butler wanted him to see clearly that fidelity was the point in this case—fidelity tact subtlety and concealment
Well if you have been looking into my record observed Cowperwood with his own elusive smile leaving the thought suspended
Butler felt the force of the temperament and the argument He liked the young mans poise and balance A number of people had spoken of Cowperwood to him It was now Cowperwood Co The company was fiction purely He asked him something about the street how the market was running what he knew about streetrailways Finally he outlined his plan of buying all he could of the stock of two given lines—the Ninth and Tenth and the Fifteenth and Sixteenth—without attracting any attention if possible It was to be done slowly part on change part from individual holders He did not tell him that there was a certain amount of legislative pressure he hoped to bring to bear to get him franchises for extensions in the regions beyond where the lines now ended in order that when the time came for them to extend their facilities they would have to see him or his sons who might be large minority stockholders in these very concerns It was a farsighted plan and meant that the lines would eventually drop into his or his sons basket
Ill be delighted to work with you Mr Butler in any way that you may suggest observed Cowperwood I cant say that I have so much of a business as yet—merely prospects But my connections are good I am now a member of the New York and Philadelphia exchanges Those who have dealt with me seem to like the results I get
I know a little something about your work already reiterated Butler wisely
Very well then whenever you have a commission you can call at my office or write or I will call here I will give you my secret operating code so that anything you say will be strictly confidential
Well well not say anything more now In a few days Ill have somethin for you When I do you can draw on my bank for what you need up to a certain amount He got up and looked out into the street and Cowperwood also arose
Its a fine day now isnt it
It surely is
Well well get to know each other better Im sure
He held out his hand
I hope so
Cowperwood went out Butler accompanying him to the door As he did so a young girl bounded in from the street redcheeked blueeyed wearing a scarlet cape with the peaked hood thrown over her redgold hair
Oh daddy I almost knocked you down
She gave her father and incidentally Cowperwood a gleaming radiant inclusive smile Her teeth were bright and small and her lips budred
Youre home early I thought you were going to stay all day
I was but I changed my mind
She passed on in swinging her arms
Yes well— Butler continued when she had gone Then well leave it for a day or two Good day
Good day
Cowperwood warm with this enhancing of his financial prospects went down the steps but incidentally he spared a passing thought for the gay spirit of youth that had manifested itself in this redcheeked maiden What a bright healthy bounding girl Her voice had the subtle vigorous ring of fifteen or sixteen She was all vitality What a fine catch for some young fellow some day and her father would make him rich no doubt or help to
Chapter XII
It was to Edward Malia Butler that Cowperwood turned now some nineteen months later when he was thinking of the influence that might bring him an award of a portion of the State issue of bonds Butler could probably be interested to take some of them himself or could help him place some He had come to like Cowperwood very much and was now being carried on the latters books as a prospective purchaser of large blocks of stocks And Cowperwood liked this great solid Irishman He liked his history He had met Mrs Butler a rather fat and phlegmatic Irish woman with a world of hard sense who cared nothing at all for show and who still liked to go into the kitchen and superintend the cooking He had met Owen and Callum Butler the boys and Aileen and Norah the girls Aileen was the one who had bounded up the steps the first day he had called at the Butler house several seasons before
There was a cozy gratefire burning in Butlers improvised private office when Cowperwood called Spring was coming on but the evenings were cool The older man invited Cowperwood to make himself comfortable in one of the large leather chairs before the fire and then proceeded to listen to his recital of what he hoped to accomplish
Well now that isnt so easy he commented at the end You ought to know more about that than I do Im not a financier as you well know And he grinned apologetically
Its a matter of influence went on Cowperwood And favoritism That I know Drexel Company and Cooke Company have connections at Harrisburg They have men of their own looking after their interests The attorneygeneral and the State treasurer are hand in glove with them Even if I put in a bid and can demonstrate that I can handle the loan it wont help me to get it Other people have done that I have to have friends—influence You know how it is
Them things Butler said is easy enough if you know the right parties to approach Now theres Jimmy Oliver—he ought to know something about that Jimmy Oliver was the whilom district attorney serving at this time and incidentally free adviser to Mr Butler in many ways He was also accidentally a warm personal friend of the State treasurer
How much of the loan do you want
Five million
Five million Butler sat up Man what are you talking about Thats a good deal of money Where are you going to sell all that
I want to bid for five million assuaged Cowperwood softly I only want one million but I want the prestige of putting in a bona fide bid for five million It will do me good on the street
Butler sank back somewhat relieved
Five million Prestige You want one million Well now thats different Thats not such a bad idea We ought to be able to get that
He rubbed his chin some more and stared into the fire
And Cowperwood felt confident when he left the house that evening that Butler would not fail him but would set the wheels working Therefore he was not surprised and knew exactly what it meant when a few days later he was introduced to City Treasurer Julian Bode who promised to introduce him to State Treasurer Van Nostrand and to see that his claims to consideration were put before the people Of course you know he said to Cowperwood in the presence of Butler for it was at the latters home that the conference took place this banking crowd is very powerful You know who they are They dont want any interference in this bond issue business I was talking to Terrence Relihan who represents them up there—meaning Harrisburg the State capital—and he says they wont stand for it at all You may have trouble right here in Philadelphia after you get it—theyre pretty powerful you know Are you sure just where you can place it
Yes Im sure replied Cowperwood
Well the best thing in my judgment is not to say anything at all Just put in your bid Van Nostrand with the governors approval will make the award We can fix the governor I think After you get it they may talk to you personally but thats your business
Cowperwood smiled his inscrutable smile There were so many ins and outs to this financial life It was an endless network of underground holes along which all sorts of influences were moving A little wit a little nimbleness a little lucktime and opportunity—these sometimes availed Here he was through his ambition to get on and nothing else coming into contact with the State treasurer and the governor They were going to consider his case personally because he demanded that it be considered—nothing more Others more influential than himself had quite as much right to a share but they didnt take it Nerve ideas aggressiveness how these counted when one had luck
He went away thinking how surprised Drexel Co and Cooke Co would be to see him appearing in the field as a competitor In his home in a little room on the second floor next his bedroom which he had fixed up as an office with a desk a safe and a leather chair he consulted his resources There were so many things to think of He went over again the list of people whom he had seen and whom he could count on to subscribe and in so far as that was concerned—the award of one million dollars—he was safe He figured to make two per cent on the total transaction or twenty thousand dollars If he did he was going to buy a house out on Girard Avenue beyond the Butlers or better yet buy a piece of ground and erect one mortgaging house and property so to do His father was prospering nicely He might want to build a house next to him and they could live side by side His own business aside from this deal would yield him ten thousand dollars this year His streetcar investments aggregating fifty thousand were paying six per cent His wifes property represented by this house some government bonds and some real estate in West Philadelphia amounted to forty thousand more Between them they were rich but he expected to be much richer All he needed now was to keep cool If he succeeded in this bondissue matter he could do it again and on a larger scale There would be more issues He turned out the light after a while and went into his wifes boudoir where she was sleeping The nurse and the children were in a room beyond
Well Lillian he observed when she awoke and turned over toward him I think I have that bond matter that I was telling you about arranged at last I think Ill get a million of it anyhow Thatll mean twenty thousand If I do well build out on Girard Avenue Thats going to be the street The college is making that neighborhood
Thatll be fine wont it Frank she observed and rubbed his arm as he sat on the side of the bed
Her remark was vaguely speculative
Well have to show the Butlers some attention from now on Hes been very nice to me and hes going to be useful—I can see that He asked me to bring you over some time We must go Be nice to his wife He can do a lot for me if he wants to He has two daughters too Well have to have them over here
Ill have them to dinner sometime she agreed cheerfully and helpfully and Ill stop and take Mrs Butler driving if shell go or she can take me
She had already learned that the Butlers were rather showy—the younger generation—that they were sensitive as to their lineage and that money in their estimation was supposed to make up for any deficiency in any other respect Butler himself is a very presentable man Cowperwood had once remarked to her but Mrs Butler—well shes all right but shes a little commonplace Shes a fine woman though I think goodnatured and goodhearted He cautioned her not to overlook Aileen and Norah because the Butlers mother and father were very proud of them
Mrs Cowperwood at this time was thirtytwo years old Cowperwood twentyseven The birth and care of two children had made some difference in her looks She was no longer as softly pleasing more angular Her face was hollowcheeked like so many of Rossettis and BurneJoness women Her health was really not as good as it had been—the care of two children and a late undiagnosed tendency toward gastritis having reduced her In short she was a little run down nervously and suffered from fits of depression Cowperwood had noticed this He tried to be gentle and considerate but he was too much of a utilitarian and practicalminded observer not to realize that he was likely to have a sickly wife on his hands later Sympathy and affection were great things but desire and charm must endure or one was compelled to be sadly conscious of their loss So often now he saw young girls who were quite in his mood and who were exceedingly robust and joyous It was fine advisable practical to adhere to the virtues as laid down in the current social lexicon but if you had a sickly wife—And anyhow was a man entitled to only one wife Must he never look at another woman Supposing he found some one He pondered those things between hours of labor and concluded that it did not make so much difference If a man could and not be exposed it was all right He had to be careful though Tonight as he sat on the side of his wifes bed he was thinking somewhat of this for he had seen Aileen Butler again playing and singing at her piano as he passed the parlor door She was like a bright bird radiating health and enthusiasm—a reminder of youth in general
Its a strange world he thought but his thoughts were his own and he didnt propose to tell any one about them
The bond issue when it came was a curious compromise for although it netted him his twenty thousand dollars and more and served to introduce him to the financial notice of Philadelphia and the State of Pennsylvania it did not permit him to manipulate the subscriptions as he had planned The State treasurer was seen by him at the office of a local lawyer of great repute where he worked when in the city He was gracious to Cowperwood because he had to be He explained to him just how things were regulated at Harrisburg The big financiers were looked to for campaign funds They were represented by henchmen in the State assembly and senate The governor and the treasurer were footfree but there were other influences—prestige friendship social power political ambitions etc The big men might constitute a close corporation which in itself was unfair but after all they were the legitimate sponsors for big money loans of this kind The State had to keep on good terms with them especially in times like these Seeing that Mr Cowperwood was so well able to dispose of the million he expected to get it would be perfectly all right to award it to him but Van Nostrand had a counterproposition to make Would Cowperwood if the financial crowd now handling the matter so desired turn over his award to them for a consideration—a sum equal to what he expected to make—in the event the award was made to him Certain financiers desired this It was dangerous to oppose them They were perfectly willing he should put in a bid for five million and get the prestige of that to have him awarded one million and get the prestige of that was well enough also but they desired to handle the twentythree million dollars in an unbroken lot It looked better He need not be advertised as having withdrawn They would be content to have him achieve the glory of having done what he started out to do Just the same the example was bad Others might wish to imitate him If it were known in the street privately that he had been coerced for a consideration into giving up others would be deterred from imitating him in the future Besides if he refused they could cause him trouble His loans might be called Various banks might not be so friendly in the future His constituents might be warned against him in one way or another
Cowperwood saw the point He acquiesced It was something to have brought so many high and mighties to their knees So they knew of him They were quite well aware of him Well and good He would take the award and twenty thousand or thereabouts and withdraw The State treasurer was delighted It solved a ticklish proposition for him
Im glad to have seen you he said Im glad weve met Ill drop in and talk with you some time when Im down this way Well have lunch together
The State treasurer for some odd reason felt that Mr Cowperwood was a man who could make him some money His eye was so keen his expression was so alert and yet so subtle He told the governor and some other of his associates about him
So the award was finally made Cowperwood after some private negotiations in which he met the officers of Drexel Co was paid his twenty thousand dollars and turned his share of the award over to them New faces showed up in his office now from time to time—among them that of Van Nostrand and one Terrence Relihan a representative of some other political forces at Harrisburg He was introduced to the governor one day at lunch His name was mentioned in the papers and his prestige grew rapidly
Immediately he began working on plans with young Ellsworth for his new house He was going to build something exceptional this time he told Lillian They were going to have to do some entertaining—entertaining on a larger scale than ever North Front Street was becoming too tame He put the house up for sale consulted with his father and found that he also was willing to move The sons prosperity had redounded to the credit of the father The directors of the bank were becoming much more friendly to the old man Next year President Kugel was going to retire Because of his sons noted coup as well as his long service he was going to be made president Frank was a large borrower from his fathers bank By the same token he was a large depositor His connection with Edward Butler was significant He sent his fathers bank certain accounts which it otherwise could not have secured The city treasurer became interested in it and the State treasurer Cowperwood Sr stood to earn twenty thousand a year as president and he owed much of it to his son The two families were now on the best of terms Anna now twentyone and Edward and Joseph frequently spent the night at Franks house Lillian called almost daily at his mothers There was much interchange of family gossip and it was thought well to build side by side So Cowperwood Sr bought fifty feet of ground next to his sons thirtyfive and together they commenced the erection of two charming commodious homes which were to be connected by a covered passageway or pergola which could be inclosed with glass in winter
The most popular local stone a green granite was chosen but Mr Ellsworth promised to present it in such a way that it would be especially pleasing Cowperwood Sr decided that he could afford to spent seventyfive thousand dollars—he was now worth two hundred and fifty thousand and Frank decided that he could risk fifty seeing that he could raise money on a mortgage He planned at the same time to remove his office farther south on Third Street and occupy a building of his own He knew where an option was to be had on a twentyfivefoot building which though old could be given a new brownstone front and made very significant He saw in his minds eye a handsome building fitted with an immense plateglass window inside his hardwood fixtures visible and over the door or to one side of it set in bronze letters Cowperwood Co Vaguely but surely he began to see looming before him like a fleecy tinted cloud on the horizon his future fortune He was to be rich very very rich
Chapter XIII
During all the time that Cowperwood had been building himself up thus steadily the great war of the rebellion had been fought almost to its close It was now October 1864 The capture of Mobile and the Battle of the Wilderness were fresh memories Grant was now before Petersburg and the great general of the South Lee was making that last brilliant and hopeless display of his ability as a strategist and a soldier There had been times—as for instance during the long dreary period in which the country was waiting for Vicksburg to fall for the Army of the Potomac to prove victorious when Pennsylvania was invaded by Lee—when stocks fell and commercial conditions were very bad generally In times like these Cowperwoods own manipulative ability was taxed to the utmost and he had to watch every hour to see that his fortune was not destroyed by some unexpected and destructive piece of news
His personal attitude toward the war however and aside from his patriotic feeling that the Union ought to be maintained was that it was destructive and wasteful He was by no means so wanting in patriotic emotion and sentiment but that he could feel that the Union as it had now come to be spreading its great length from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the snows of Canada to the Gulf was worth while Since his birth in 1837 he had seen the nation reach that physical growth—barring Alaska—which it now possesses Not so much earlier than his youth Florida had been added to the Union by purchase from Spain Mexico after the unjust war of 1848 had ceded Texas and the territory to the West The boundary disputes between England and the United States in the far Northwest had been finally adjusted To a man with great social and financial imagination these facts could not help but be significant and if they did nothing more they gave him a sense of the boundless commercial possibilities which existed potentially in so vast a realm His was not the order of speculative financial enthusiasm which in the type known as the promoter sees endless possibilities for gain in every unexplored rivulet and prairie reach but the very vastness of the country suggested possibilities which he hoped might remain undisturbed A territory covering the length of a whole zone and between two seas seemed to him to possess potentialities which it could not retain if the States of the South were lost
At the same time the freedom of the negro was not a significant point with him He had observed that race from his boyhood with considerable interest and had been struck with virtues and defects which seemed inherent and which plainly to him conditioned their experiences
He was not at all sure for instance that the negroes could be made into anything much more significant than they were At any rate it was a long uphill struggle for them of which many future generations would not witness the conclusion He had no particular quarrel with the theory that they should be free he saw no particular reason why the South should not protest vigorously against the destruction of their property and their system It was too bad that the negroes as slaves should be abused in some instances He felt sure that that ought to be adjusted in some way but beyond that he could not see that there was any great ethical basis for the contentions of their sponsors The vast majority of men and women as he could see were not essentially above slavery even when they had all the guarantees of a constitution formulated to prevent it There was mental slavery the slavery of the weak mind and the weak body He followed the contentions of such men as Sumner Garrison Phillips and Beecher with considerable interest but at no time could he see that the problem was a vital one for him He did not care to be a soldier or an officer of soldiers he had no gift for polemics his mind was not of the disputatious order—not even in the realm of finance He was concerned only to see what was of vast advantage to him and to devote all his attention to that This fratricidal war in the nation could not help him It really delayed he thought the true commercial and financial adjustment of the country and he hoped that it would soon end He was not of those who complained bitterly of the excessive war taxes though he knew them to be trying to many Some of the stories of death and disaster moved him greatly but alas they were among the unaccountable fortunes of life and could not be remedied by him So he had gone his way day by day watching the coming in and the departing of troops seeing the bands of dirty disheveled gaunt sickly men returning from the fields and hospitals and all he could do was to feel sorry This war was not for him He had taken no part in it and he felt sure that he could only rejoice in its conclusion—not as a patriot but as a financier It was wasteful pathetic unfortunate
The months proceeded apace A local election intervened and there was a new city treasurer a new assessor of taxes and a new mayor but Edward Malia Butler continued to have apparently the same influence as before The Butlers and the Cowperwoods had become quite friendly Mrs Butler rather liked Lillian though they were of different religious beliefs and they went driving or shopping together the younger woman a little critical and ashamed of the elder because of her poor grammar her Irish accent her plebeian tastes—as though the Wiggins had not been as plebeian as any On the other hand the old lady as she was compelled to admit was goodnatured and goodhearted She loved to give since she had plenty and sent presents here and there to Lillian the children and others Now youse must come over and take dinner with us—the Butlers had arrived at the eveningdinner period—or Youse must come drive with me tomorrow
Aileen God bless her is such a foine girl or Norah the darlin is sick the day
But Aileen her airs her aggressive disposition her love of attention her vanity irritated and at times disgusted Mrs Cowperwood She was eighteen now with a figure which was subtly provocative Her manner was boyish hoydenish at times and although conventtrained she was inclined to balk at restraint in any form But there was a softness lurking in her blue eyes that was most sympathetic and human
St Timothys and the convent school in Germantown had been the choice of her parents for her education—what they called a good Catholic education She had learned a great deal about the theory and forms of the Catholic ritual but she could not understand them The church with its tall dimly radiant windows its high white altar its figure of St Joseph on one side and the Virgin Mary on the other clothed in goldenstarred robes of blue wearing haloes and carrying scepters had impressed her greatly The church as a whole—any Catholic church—was beautiful to look at—soothing The altar during high mass lit with a halfhundred or more candles and dignified and made impressive by the rich lacy vestments of the priests and the acolytes the impressive needlework and gorgeous colorings of the amice chasuble cope stole and maniple took her fancy and held her eye Let us say there was always lurking in her a sense of grandeur coupled with a love of color and a love of love From the first she was somewhat sexconscious She had no desire for accuracy no desire for precise information Innate sensuousness rarely has It basks in sunshine bathes in color dwells in a sense of the impressive and the gorgeous and rests there Accuracy is not necessary except in the case of aggressive acquisitive natures when it manifests itself in a desire to seize True controlling sensuousness cannot be manifested in the most active dispositions nor again in the most accurate
There is need of defining these statements in so far as they apply to Aileen It would scarcely be fair to describe her nature as being definitely sensual at this time It was too rudimentary Any harvest is of long growth The confessional dim on Friday and Saturday evenings when the church was lighted by but a few lamps and the priests warnings penances and ecclesiastical forgiveness whispered through the narrow lattice moved her as something subtly pleasing She was not afraid of her sins Hell so definitely set forth did not frighten her Really it had not laid hold on her conscience The old women and old men hobbling into church bowed in prayer murmuring over their beads were objects of curious interest like the woodcarvings in the peculiar array of woodreliefs emphasizing the Stations of the Cross She herself had liked to confess particularly when she was fourteen and fifteen and to listen to the priests voice as he admonished her with Now my dear child A particularly old priest a French father who came to hear their confessions at school interested her as being kind and sweet His forgiveness and blessing seemed sincere—better than her prayers which she went through perfunctorily And then there was a young priest at St Timothys Father David hale and rosy with a curl of black hair over his forehead and an almost jaunty way of wearing his priestly hat who came down the aisle Sundays sprinkling holy water with a definite distinguished sweep of the hand who took her fancy He heard confessions and now and then she liked to whisper her strange thoughts to him while she actually speculated on what he might privately be thinking She could not if she tried associate him with any divine authority He was too young too human There was something a little malicious teasing in the way she delighted to tell him about herself and then walk demurely repentantly out At St Agathas she had been rather a difficult person to deal with She was as the good sisters of the school had readily perceived too full of life too active to be easily controlled That Miss Butler once observed Sister Constantia the Mother Superior to Sister Sempronia Aileens immediate mentor is a very spirited girl you may have a great deal of trouble with her unless you use a good deal of tact You may have to coax her with little gifts You will get on better So Sister Sempronia had sought to find what Aileen was most interested in and bribe her therewith Being intensely conscious of her fathers competence and vain of her personal superiority it was not so easy to do She had wanted to go home occasionally though she had wanted to be allowed to wear the sisters rosary of large beads with its pendent cross of ebony and its silver Christ and this was held up as a great privilege For keeping quiet in class walking softly and speaking softly—as much as it was in her to do—for not stealing into other girls rooms after lights were out and for abandoning crushes on this and that sympathetic sister these awards and others such as walking out in the grounds on Saturday afternoons being allowed to have all the flowers she wanted some extra dresses jewels etc were offered She liked music and the idea of painting though she had no talent in that direction and books novels interested her but she could not get them The rest—grammar spelling sewing church and general history—she loathed Deportment—well there was something in that She had liked the rather exaggerated curtsies they taught her and she had often reflected on how she would use them when she reached home
When she came out into life the little social distinctions which have been indicated began to impress themselves on her and she wished sincerely that her father would build a better home—a mansion—such as those she saw elsewhere and launch her properly in society Failing in that she could think of nothing save clothes jewels ridinghorses carriages and the appropriate changes of costume which were allowed her for these Her family could not entertain in any distinguished way where they were and so already at eighteen she was beginning to feel the sting of a blighted ambition She was eager for life How was she to get it
Her room was a study in the foibles of an eager and ambitious mind It was full of clothes beautiful things for all occasions—jewelry—which she had small opportunity to wear—shoes stockings lingerie laces In a crude way she had made a study of perfumes and cosmetics though she needed the latter not at all and these were present in abundance She was not very orderly and she loved lavishness of display and her curtains hangings table ornaments and pictures inclined to gorgeousness which did not go well with the rest of the house
Aileen always reminded Cowperwood of a highstepping horse without a checkrein He met her at various times shopping with her mother out driving with her father and he was always interested and amused at the affected bored tone she assumed before him—the Oh dear Oh dear Life is so tiresome dont you know when as a matter of fact every moment of it was of thrilling interest to her Cowperwood took her mental measurement exactly A girl with a high sense of life in her romantic full of the thought of love and its possibilities As he looked at her he had the sense of seeing the best that nature can do when she attempts to produce physical perfection The thought came to him that some lucky young dog would marry her pretty soon and carry her away but whoever secured her would have to hold her by affection and subtle flattery and attention if he held her at all
The little snip—she was not at all—she thinks the sun rises and sets in her fathers pocket Lillian observed one day to her husband To hear her talk youd think they were descended from Irish kings Her pretended interest in art and music amuses me
Oh dont be too hard on her coaxed Cowperwood diplomatically He already liked Aileen very much She plays very well and she has a good voice
Yes I know but she has no real refinement How could she have Look at her father and mother
I dont see anything so very much the matter with her insisted Cowperwood Shes bright and goodlooking Of course shes only a girl and a little vain but shell come out of that She isnt without sense and force at that
Aileen as he knew was most friendly to him She liked him She made a point of playing the piano and singing for him in his home and she sang only when he was there There was something about his steady even gait his stocky body and handsome head which attracted her In spite of her vanity and egotism she felt a little overawed before him at times—keyed up She seemed to grow gayer and more brilliant in his presence
The most futile thing in this world is any attempt perhaps at exact definition of character All individuals are a bundle of contradictions—none more so than the most capable
In the case of Aileen Butler it would be quite impossible to give an exact definition Intelligence of a raw crude order she had certainly—also a native force tamed somewhat by the doctrines and conventions of current society still showed clear at times in an elemental and not entirely unattractive way At this time she was only eighteen years of age—decidedly attractive from the point of view of a man of Frank Cowperwoods temperament She supplied something he had not previously known or consciously craved Vitality and vivacity No other woman or girl whom he had ever known had possessed so much innate force as she Her redgold hair—not so red as decidedly golden with a suggestion of red in it—looped itself in heavy folds about her forehead and sagged at the base of her neck She had a beautiful nose not sensitive but straightcut with small nostril openings and eyes that were big and yet noticeably sensuous They were to him a pleasing shade of bluegrayblue and her toilet due to her temperament of course suggested almost undue luxury the bangles anklets earrings and breastplates of the odalisque and yet of course they were not there She confessed to him years afterward that she would have loved to have stained her nails and painted the palms of her hands with madderred Healthy and vigorous she was chronically interested in men—what they would think of her—and how she compared with other women
The fact that she could ride in a carriage live in a fine home on Girard Avenue visit such homes as those of the Cowperwoods and others was of great weight and yet even at this age she realized that life was more than these things Many did not have them and lived
But these facts of wealth and advantage gripped her and when she sat at the piano and played or rode in her carriage or walked or stood before her mirror she was conscious of her figure her charms what they meant to men how women envied her Sometimes she looked at poor hollowchested or homelyfaced girls and felt sorry for them at other times she flared into inexplicable opposition to some handsome girl or woman who dared to brazen her socially or physically There were such girls of the better families who in Chestnut Street in the expensive shops or on the drive on horseback or in carriages tossed their heads and indicated as well as human motions can that they were betterbred and knew it When this happened each stared defiantly at the other She wanted ever so much to get up in the world and yet nambypamby men of better social station than herself did not attract her at all She wanted a man Now and then there was one something like but not entirely who appealed to her but most of them were politicians or legislators acquaintances of her father and socially nothing at all—and so they wearied and disappointed her Her father did not know the truly elite But Mr Cowperwood—he seemed so refined so forceful and so reserved She often looked at Mrs Cowperwood and thought how fortunate she was
Chapter XIV
The development of Cowperwood as Cowperwood Co following his arresting bond venture finally brought him into relationship with one man who was to play an important part in his life morally financially and in other ways This was George W Stener the new city treasurerelect who to begin with was a puppet in the hands of other men but who also in spite of this fact became a personage of considerable importance for the simple reason that he was weak Stener had been engaged in the real estate and insurance business in a small way before he was made city treasurer He was one of those men of whom there are so many thousands in every large community with no breadth of vision no real subtlety no craft no great skill in anything You would never hear a new idea emanating from Stener He never had one in his life On the other hand he was not a bad fellow He had a stodgy dusty commonplace look to him which was more a matter of mind than of body His eye was of vague grayblue his hair a dusty lightbrown and thin His mouth—there was nothing impressive there He was quite tall nearly six feet with moderately broad shoulders but his figure was anything but shapely He seemed to stoop a little his stomach was the least bit protuberant and he talked commonplaces—the small change of newspaper and street and business gossip People liked him in his own neighborhood He was thought to be honest and kindly and he was as far as he knew His wife and four children were as average and insignificant as the wives and children of such men usually are
Just the same and in spite of or perhaps politically speaking because of all this George W Stener was brought into temporary public notice by certain political methods which had existed in Philadelphia practically unmodified for the previous half hundred years First because he was of the same political faith as the dominant local political party he had become known to the local councilman and wardleader of his ward as a faithful soul—one useful in the matter of drumming up votes And next—although absolutely without value as a speaker for he had no ideas—you could send him from door to door asking the grocer and the blacksmith and the butcher how he felt about things and he would make friends and in the long run predict fairly accurately the probable vote Furthermore you could dole him out a few platitudes and he would repeat them The Republican party which was the newborn party then but dominant in Philadelphia needed your vote it was necessary to keep the rascally Democrats out—he could scarcely have said why They had been for slavery They were for free trade It never once occurred to him that these things had nothing to do with the local executive and financial administration of Philadelphia Supposing they didnt What of it
In Philadelphia at this time a certain United States Senator one Mark Simpson together with Edward Malia Butler and Henry A Mollenhauer a rich coal dealer and investor were supposed to and did control jointly the political destiny of the city They had representatives benchmen spies tools—a great company Among them was this same Stener—a minute cog in the silent machinery of their affairs
In scarcely any other city save this where the inhabitants were of a deadly average in so far as being commonplace was concerned could such a man as Stener have been elected city treasurer The rank and file did not except in rare instances make up their political program An inside ring had this matter in charge Certain positions were allotted to such and such men or to such and such factions of the party for such and such services rendered—but who does not know politics
In due course of time therefore George W Stener had become persona grata to Edward Strobik a quondam councilman who afterward became ward leader and still later president of council and who in private life was a stonedealer and owner of a brickyard Strobik was a benchman of Henry A Mollenhauer the hardest and coldest of all three of the political leaders The latter had things to get from council and Strobik was his tool He had Stener elected and because he was faithful in voting as he was told the latter was later made an assistant superintendent of the highways department
Here he came under the eyes of Edward Malia Butler and was slightly useful to him Then the central political committee with Butler in charge decided that some nice docile man who would at the same time be absolutely faithful was needed for city treasurer and Stener was put on the ticket He knew little of finance but was an excellent bookkeeper and anyhow was not corporation counsel Regan another political tool of this great triumvirate there to advise him at all times He was It was a very simple matter Being put on the ticket was equivalent to being elected and so after a few weeks of exceedingly trying platform experiences in which he had stammered through platitudinous declarations that the city needed to be honestly administered he was inducted into office and there you were
Now it wouldnt have made so much difference what George W Steners executive and financial qualifications for the position were but at this time the city of Philadelphia was still hobbling along under perhaps as evil a financial system or lack of it as any city ever endured—the assessor and the treasurer being allowed to collect and hold moneys belonging to the city outside of the citys private vaults and that without any demand on the part of anybody that the same be invested by them at interest for the citys benefit Rather all they were expected to do apparently was to restore the principal and that which was with them when they entered or left office It was not understood or publicly demanded that the moneys so collected or drawn from any source be maintained intact in the vaults of the city treasury They could be loaned out deposited in banks or used to further private interests of any one so long as the principal was returned and no one was the wiser Of course this theory of finance was not publicly sanctioned but it was known politically and journalistically and in high finance How were you to stop it
Cowperwood in approaching Edward Malia Butler had been unconsciously let in on this atmosphere of erratic and unsatisfactory speculation without really knowing it When he had left the office of Tighe Co seven years before it was with the idea that henceforth and forever he would have nothing to do with the stockbrokerage proposition but now behold him back in it again with more vim than he had ever displayed for now he was working for himself the firm of Cowperwood Co and he was eager to satisfy the world of new and powerful individuals who by degrees were drifting to him All had a little money All had tips and they wanted him to carry certain lines of stock on margin for them because he was known to other political men and because he was safe And this was true He was not or at least up to this time had not been a speculator or a gambler on his own account In fact he often soothed himself with the thought that in all these years he had never gambled for himself but had always acted strictly for others instead But now here was George W Stener with a proposition which was not quite the same thing as stockgambling and yet it was
During a long period of years preceding the Civil War and through it let it here be explained and remembered the city of Philadelphia had been in the habit as a corporation when there were no available funds in the treasury of issuing what were known as city warrants which were nothing more than notes or IOUs bearing six per cent interest and payable sometimes in thirty days sometimes in three sometimes in six months—all depending on the amount and how soon the city treasurer thought there would be sufficient money in the treasury to take them up and cancel them Small tradesmen and large contractors were frequently paid in this way the small tradesman who sold supplies to the city institutions for instance being compelled to discount his notes at the bank if he needed ready money usually for ninety cents on the dollar while the large contractor could afford to hold his and wait It can readily be seen that this might well work to the disadvantage of the small dealer and merchant and yet prove quite a fine thing for a large contractor or notebroker for the city was sure to pay the warrants at some time and six per cent interest was a fat rate considering the absolute security A banker or broker who gathered up these things from small tradesmen at ninety cents on the dollar made a fine thing of it all around if he could wait
Originally in all probability there was no intention on the part of the city treasurer to do any one an injustice and it is likely that there really were no funds to pay with at the time However that may have been there was later no excuse for issuing the warrants seeing that the city might easily have been managed much more economically But these warrants as can readily be imagined had come to be a fine source of profit for notebrokers bankers political financiers and inside political manipulators generally and so they remained a part of the citys fiscal policy
There was just one drawback to all this In order to get the full advantage of this condition the large banker holding them must be an inside banker one close to the political forces of the city for if he was not and needed money and he carried his warrants to the city treasurer he would find that he could not get cash for them But if he transferred them to some banker or notebroker who was close to the political force of the city it was quite another matter The treasury would find means to pay Or if so desired by the notebroker or banker—the right one—notes which were intended to be met in three months and should have been settled at that time were extended to run on years and years drawing interest at six per cent even when the city had ample funds to meet them Yet this meant of course an illegal interest drain on the city but that was all right also No funds could cover that The general public did not know It could not find out The newspapers were not at all vigilant being propolitical There were no persistent enthusiastic reformers who obtained any political credence During the war warrants outstanding in this manner arose in amount to much over two million dollars all drawing six per cent interest but then of course it began to get a little scandalous Besides at least some of the investors began to want their money back
In order therefore to clear up this outstanding indebtedness and make everything shipshape again it was decided that the city must issue a loan say for two million dollars—no need to be exact about the amount And this loan must take the shape of interestbearing certificates of a par value of one hundred dollars redeemable in six twelve or eighteen months as the case may be These certificates of loan were then ostensibly to be sold in the open market a sinkingfund set aside for their redemption and the money so obtained used to take up the longoutstanding warrants which were now such a subject of public comment
It is obvious that this was merely a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul There was no real clearing up of the outstanding debt It was the intention of the schemers to make it possible for the financial politicians on the inside to reap the same old harvest by allowing the certificates to be sold to the right parties for ninety or less setting up the claim that there was no market for them the credit of the city being bad To a certain extent this was true The war was just over Money was high Investors could get more than six per cent elsewhere unless the loan was sold at ninety But there were a few watchful politicians not in the administration and some newspapers and nonpolitical financiers who because of the high strain of patriotism existing at the time insisted that the loan should be sold at par Therefore a clause to that effect had to be inserted in the enabling ordinance
This as one might readily see destroyed the politicians little scheme to get this loan at ninety Nevertheless since they desired that the money tied up in the old warrants and now not redeemable because of lack of funds should be paid them the only way this could be done would be to have some broker who knew the subtleties of the stock market handle this new city loan on change in such a way that it would be made to seem worth one hundred and to be sold to outsiders at that figure Afterward if as it was certain to do it fell below that the politicians could buy as much of it as they pleased and eventually have the city redeem it at par
George W Stener entering as city treasurer at this time and bringing no special financial intelligence to the proposition was really troubled Henry A Mollenhauer one of the men who had gathered up a large amount of the old city warrants and who now wanted his money in order to invest it in bonanza offers in the West called on Stener and also on the mayor He with Simpson and Butler made up the Big Three
I think something ought to be done about these warrants that are outstanding he explained I am carrying a large amount of them and there are others We have helped the city a long time by saying nothing but now I think that something ought to be done Mr Butler and Mr Simpson feel the same way Couldnt these new loan certificates be listed on the stock exchange and the money raised that way Some clever broker could bring them to par
Stener was greatly flattered by the visit from Mollenhauer Rarely did he trouble to put in a personal appearance and then only for the weight and effect his presence would have He called on the mayor and the president of council much as he called on Stener with a lofty distant inscrutable air They were as officeboys to him
In order to understand exactly the motive for Mollenhauers interest in Stener and the significance of this visit and Steners subsequent action in regard to it it will be necessary to scan the political horizon for some little distance back Although George W Stener was in a way a political henchman and appointee of Mollenhauers the latter was only vaguely acquainted with him He had seen him before knew of him had agreed that his name should be put on the local slate largely because he had been assured by those who were closest to him and who did his bidding that Stener was all right that he would do as he was told that he would cause no one any trouble etc In fact during several previous administrations Mollenhauer had maintained a subsurface connection with the treasury but never so close a one as could easily be traced He was too conspicuous a man politically and financially for that But he was not above a plan in which Simpson if not Butler shared of using political and commercial stoolpigeons to bleed the city treasury as much as possible without creating a scandal In fact for some years previous to this various agents had already been employed—Edward Strobik president of council Asa Conklin the then incumbent of the mayors chair Thomas Wycroft alderman Jacob Harmon alderman and others—to organize dummy companies under various names whose business it was to deal in those things which the city needed—lumber stone steel iron cement—a long list—and of course always at a fat profit to those ultimately behind the dummy companies so organized It saved the city the trouble of looking far and wide for honest and reasonable dealers
Since the action of at least three of these dummies will have something to do with the development of Cowperwoods story they may be briefly described Edward Strobik the chief of them and the one most useful to Mollenhauer in a minor way was a very spry person of about thirtyfive at this time—lean and somewhat forceful with black hair black eyes and an inordinately large black mustache He was dapper inclined to noticeable clothing—a pair of striped trousers a white vest a black cutaway coat and a high silk hat His markedly ornamental shoes were always polished to perfection and his immaculate appearance gave him the nickname of The Dude among some Nevertheless he was quite able on a small scale and was well liked by many
His two closest associates Messrs Thomas Wycroft and Jacob Harmon were rather less attractive and less brilliant Jacob Harmon was a thick wit socially but no fool financially He was big and rather doleful to look upon with sandy brown hair and brown eyes but fairly intelligent and absolutely willing to approve anything which was not too broad in its crookedness and which would afford him sufficient protection to keep him out of the clutches of the law He was really not so cunning as dull and anxious to get along
Thomas Wycroft the last of this useful but minor triumvirate was a tall lean man candlewaxy holloweyed gaunt of face pathetic to look at physically but shrewd He was an ironmolder by trade and had gotten into politics much as Stener had—because he was useful and he had managed to make some money—via this triumvirate of which Strobik was the ringleader and which was engaged in various peculiar businesses which will now be indicated
The companies which these several henchmen had organized under previous administrations and for Mollenhauer dealt in meat building material lampposts highway supplies anything you will which the city departments or its institutions needed A city contract once awarded was irrevocable but certain councilmen had to be fixed in advance and it took money to do that The company so organized need not actually slaughter any cattle or mold lampposts All it had to do was to organize to do that obtain a charter secure a contract for supplying such material to the city from the city council which Strobik Harmon and Wycroft would attend to and then sublet this to some actual beefslaughterer or ironfounder who would supply the material and allow them to pocket their profit which in turn was divided or paid for to Mollenhauer and Simpson in the form of political donations to clubs or organizations It was so easy and in a way so legitimate The particular beefslaughterer or ironfounder thus favored could not hope of his own ability thus to obtain a contract Stener or whoever was in charge of the city treasury at the time for his services in loaning money at a low rate of interest to be used as surety for the proper performance of contract and to aid in some instances the beefkiller or ironfounder to carry out his end was to be allowed not only the one or two per cent which he might pocket other treasurers had but a fair proportion of the profits A complacent confidential chief clerk who was all right would be recommended to him It did not concern Stener that Strobik Harmon and Wycroft acting for Mollenhauer were incidentally planning to use a little of the money loaned for purposes quite outside those indicated It was his business to loan it
However to be going on Some time before he was even nominated Stener had learned from Strobik who by the way was one of his sureties as treasurer which suretyship was against the law as were those of Councilmen Wycroft and Harmon the law of Pennsylvania stipulating that one political servant might not become surety for another that those who had brought about this nomination and election would by no means ask him to do anything which was not perfectly legal but that he must be complacent and not stand in the way of big municipal perquisites nor bite the hands that fed him It was also made perfectly plain to him that once he was well in office a little money for himself was to be made As has been indicated he had always been a poor man He had seen all those who had dabbled in politics to any extent about him heretofore do very well financially indeed while he pegged along as an insurance and realestate agent He had worked hard as a small political henchman Other politicians were building themselves nice homes in newer portions of the city They were going off to New York or Harrisburg or Washington on jaunting parties They were seen in happy converse at roadhouses or country hotels in season with their wives or their women favorites and he was not as yet of this happy throng Naturally now that he was promised something he was interested and compliant What might he not get
When it came to this visit from Mollenhauer with its suggestion in regard to bringing city loan to par although it bore no obvious relation to Mollenhauers subsurface connection with Stener through Strobik and the others Stener did definitely recognize his own political subservience—his masters stentorian voice—and immediately thereafter hurried to Strobik for information
Just what would you do about this he asked of Strobik who knew of Mollenhauers visit before Stener told him and was waiting for Stener to speak to him Mr Mollenhauer talks about having this new loan listed on change and brought to par so that it will sell for one hundred
Neither Strobik Harmon nor Wycroft knew how the certificates of city loan which were worth only ninety on the open market were to be made to sell for one hundred on change but Mollenhauers secretary one Abner Sengstack had suggested to Strobik that since Butler was dealing with young Cowperwood and Mollenhauer did not care particularly for his private broker in this instance it might be as well to try Cowperwood
So it was that Cowperwood was called to Steners office And once there and not as yet recognizing either the hand of Mollenhauer or Simpson in this merely looked at the peculiarly shambling heavycheeked middleclass man before him without either interest or sympathy realizing at once that he had a financial baby to deal with If he could act as adviser to this man—be his sole counsel for four years
How do you do Mr Stener he said in his soft ingratiating voice as the latter held out his hand I am glad to meet you I have heard of you before of course
Stener was long in explaining to Cowperwood just what his difficulty was He went at it in a clumsy fashion stumbling through the difficulties of the situation he was suffered to meet
The main thing as I see it is to make these certificates sell at par I can issue them in any sized lots you like and as often as you like I want to get enough now to clear away two hundred thousand dollars worth of the outstanding warrants and as much more as I can get later
Cowperwood felt like a physician feeling a patients pulse—a patient who is really not sick at all but the reassurance of whom means a fat fee The abstrusities of the stock exchange were as his A B C's to him He knew if he could have this loan put in his hands—all of it if he could have the fact kept dark that he was acting for the city and that if Stener would allow him to buy as a bull for the sinkingfund while selling judiciously for a rise he could do wonders even with a big issue He had to have all of it though in order that he might have agents under him Looming up in his mind was a scheme whereby he could make a lot of the unwary speculators about change go short of this stock or loan under the impression of course that it was scattered freely in various persons hands and that they could buy as much of it as they wanted Then they would wake to find that they could not get it that he had it all Only he would not risk his secret that far Not he oh no But he would drive the city loan to par and then sell And what a fat thing for himself among others in so doing Wisely enough he sensed that there was politics in all this—shrewder and bigger men above and behind Stener But what of that And how slyly and shrewdly they were sending Stener to him It might be that his name was becoming very potent in their political world here And what might that not mean
I tell you what Id like to do Mr Stener he said after he had listened to his explanation and asked how much of the city loan he would like to sell during the coming year Ill be glad to undertake it But Id like to have a day or two in which to think it over
Why certainly certainly Mr Cowperwood replied Stener genially Thats all right Take your time If you know how it can be done just show me when youre ready By the way what do you charge
Well the stock exchange has a regular scale of charges which we brokers are compelled to observe Its onefourth of one per cent on the par value of bonds and loans Of course I may hav to add a lot of fictitious selling—Ill explain that to you later—but I wont charge you anything for that so long as it is a secret between us Ill give you the best service I can Mr Stener You can depend on that Let me have a day or two to think it over though
He shook hands with Stener and they parted Cowperwood was satisfied that he was on the verge of a significant combination and Stener that he had found someone on whom he could lean
Chapter XV
The plan Cowperwood developed after a few days meditation will be plain enough to any one who knows anything of commercial and financial manipulation but a dark secret to those who do not In the first place the city treasurer was to use his Cowperwoods office as a bank of deposit He was to turn over to him actually or set over to his credit on the citys books subject to his order certain amounts of city loans—two hundred thousand dollars at first since that was the amount it was desired to raise quickly—and he would then go into the market and see what could be done to have it brought to par The city treasurer was to ask leave of the stock exchange at once to have it listed as a security Cowperwood would then use his influence to have this application acted upon quickly Stener was then to dispose of all city loan certificates through him and him only He was to allow him to buy for the sinkingfund supposedly such amounts as he might have to buy in order to keep the price up to par To do this once a considerable number of the loan certificates had been unloaded on the public it might be necessary to buy back a great deal However these would be sold again The law concerning selling only at par would have to be abrogated to this extent—ie that the wash sales and preliminary sales would have to be considered no sales until par was reached
There was a subtle advantage here as Cowperwood pointed out to Stener In the first place since the certificates were going ultimately to reach par anyway there was no objection to Stener or any one else buying low at the opening price and holding for a rise Cowperwood would be glad to carry him on his books for any amount and he would settle at the end of each month He would not be asked to buy the certificates outright He could be carried on the books for a certain reasonable margin say ten points The money was as good as made for Stener now In the next place in buying for the sinkingfund it would be possible to buy these certificates very cheap for having the new and reserve issue entirely in his hands Cowperwood could throw such amounts as he wished into the market at such times as he wished to buy and consequently depress the market Then he could buy and later up would go the price Having the issues totally in his hands to boost or depress the market as he wished there was no reason why the city should not ultimately get par for all its issues and at the same time considerable money be made out of the manufactured fluctuations He Cowperwood would be glad to make most of his profit that way The city should allow him his normal percentage on all his actual sales of certificates for the city at par he would have to have that in order to keep straight with the stock exchange but beyond that and for all the other necessary manipulative sales of which there would be many he would depend on his knowledge of the stock market to reimburse him And if Stener wanted to speculate with him—well
Dark as this transaction may seem to the uninitiated it will appear quite clear to those who know Manipulative tricks have always been worked in connection with stocks of which one man or one set of men has had complete control It was no different from what subsequently was done with Erie Standard Oil Copper Sugar Wheat and what not Cowperwood was one of the first and one of the youngest to see how it could be done When he first talked to Stener he was twentyeight years of age When he last did business with him he was thirtyfour
The houses and the bankfront of Cowperwood Co had been proceeding apace The latter was early Florentine in its decorations with windows which grew narrower as they approached the roof and a door of wrought iron set between delicately carved posts and a straight lintel of brownstone It was low in height and distinguished in appearance In the center panel had been hammered a hand delicately wrought thin and artistic holding aloft a flaming brand Ellsworth informed him that this had formerly been a moneychangers sign used in old Venice the significance of which had long been forgotten
The interior was finished in highlypolished hardwood stained in imitation of the gray lichens which infest trees Large sheets of clear beveled glass were used some oval some oblong some square and some circular following a given theory of eye movement The fixtures for the gasjets were modeled after the early Roman flamebrackets and the office safe was made an ornament raised on a marble platform at the back of the office and lacquered a silvergray with Cowperwood Co lettered on it in gold One had a sense of reserve and taste pervading the place and yet it was also inestimably prosperous solid and assuring Cowperwood when he viewed it at its completion complimented Ellsworth cheerily I like this It is really beautiful It will be a pleasure to work here If those houses are going to be anything like this they will be perfect
Wait till you see them I think you will be pleased Mr Cowperwood I am taking especial pains with yours because it is smaller It is really easier to treat your fathers But yours— He went off into a description of the entrancehall receptionroom and parlor which he was arranging and decorating in such a way as to give an effect of size and dignity not really conformable to the actual space
And when the houses were finished they were effective and arresting—quite different from the conventional residences of the street They were separated by a space of twenty feet laid out as greensward The architect had borrowed somewhat from the Tudor school yet not so elaborated as later became the style in many of the residences in Philadelphia and elsewhere The most striking features were rather deeprecessed doorways under wide low slightly floriated arches and three projecting windows of rich form one on the second floor of Franks house two on the facade of his fathers There were six gables showing on the front of the two houses two on Franks and four on his fathers In the front of each house on the ground floor was a recessed window unconnected with the recessed doorways formed by setting the inner external wall back from the outer face of the building This window looked out through an arched opening to the street and was protected by a dwarf parapet or balustrade It was possible to set potted vines and flowers there which was later done giving a pleasant sense of greenery from the street and to place a few chairs there which were reached via heavily barred French casements
On the ground floor of each house was placed a conservatory of flowers facing each other and in the yard which was jointly used a pool of white marble eight feet in diameter with a marble Cupid upon which jets of water played The yard which was enclosed by a high but pierced wall of greengray brick especially burnt for the purpose the same color as the granite of the house and surmounted by a white marble coping which was sown to grass and had a lovely smooth velvety appearance The two houses as originally planned were connected by a low greencolumned pergola which could be enclosed in glass in winter
The rooms which were now slowly being decorated and furnished in period styles were very significant in that they enlarged and strengthened Frank Cowperwoods idea of the world of art in general It was an enlightening and agreeable experience—one which made for artistic and intellectual growth—to hear Ellsworth explain at length the styles and types of architecture and furniture the nature of woods and ornaments employed the qualities and peculiarities of hangings draperies furniture panels and door coverings Ellsworth was a student of decoration as well as of architecture and interested in the artistic taste of the American people which he fancied would some day have a splendid outcome He was wearied to death of the prevalent Romanesque composite combinations of country and suburban villa The time was ripe for something new He scarcely knew what it would be but this that he had designed for Cowperwood and his father was at least different as he said while at the same time being reserved simple and pleasing It was in marked contrast to the rest of the architecture of the street Cowperwoods diningroom receptionroom conservatory and butlers pantry he had put on the first floor together with the general entryhall staircase and coatroom under the stairs For the second floor he had reserved the library general livingroom parlor and a small office for Cowperwood together with a boudoir for Lillian connected with a dressingroom and bath
On the third floor neatly divided and accommodated with baths and dressingrooms were the nursery the servants quarters and several guestchambers
Ellsworth showed Cowperwood books of designs containing furniture hangings etageres cabinets pedestals and some exquisite piano forms He discussed woods with him—rosewood mahogany walnut English oak birdseye maple and the manufactured effects such as ormolu marquetry and Boule or buhl He explained the latter—how difficult it was to produce how unsuitable it was in some respects for this climate the brass and tortoiseshell inlay coming to swell with the heat or damp and so bulging or breaking He told of the difficulties and disadvantages of certain finishes but finally recommended ormolu furniture for the reception room medallion tapestry for the parlor French renaissance for the diningroom and library and birdseye maple dyed blue in one instance and left its natural color in another and a rather lightly constructed and daintily carved walnut for the other rooms The hangings wallpaper and floor coverings were to harmonize—not match—and the piano and musiccabinet for the parlor as well as the etagere cabinets and pedestals for the receptionrooms were to be of buhl or marquetry if Frank cared to stand the expense
Ellsworth advised a triangular piano—the square shapes were so inexpressibly wearisome to the initiated Cowperwood listened fascinated He foresaw a home which would be chaste soothing and delightful to look upon If he hung pictures gilt frames were to be the setting large and deep and if he wished a picturegallery the library could be converted into that and the general livingroom which lay between the library and the parlor on the secondfloor could be turned into a combination library and livingroom This was eventually done but not until his taste for pictures had considerably advanced
It was now that he began to take a keen interest in objects of art pictures bronzes little carvings and figurines for his cabinets pedestals tables and etageres Philadelphia did not offer much that was distinguished in this realm—certainly not in the open market There were many private houses which were enriched by travel but his connection with the best families was as yet small There were then two famous American sculptors Powers and Hosmer of whose work he had examples but Ellsworth told him that they were not the last word in sculpture and that he should look into the merits of the ancients He finally secured a head of David by Thorwaldsen which delighted him and some landscapes by Hunt Sully and Hart which seemed somewhat in the spirit of his new world
The effect of a house of this character on its owner is unmistakable We think we are individual separate above houses and material objects generally but there is a subtle connection which makes them reflect us quite as much as we reflect them They lend dignity subtlety force each to the other and what beauty or lack of it there is is shot back and forth from one to the other as a shuttle in a loom weaving weaving Cut the thread separate a man from that which is rightfully his own characteristic of him and you have a peculiar figure half success half failure much as a spider without its web which will never be its whole self again until all its dignities and emoluments are restored
The sight of his new house going up made Cowperwood feel of more weight in the world and the possession of his suddenly achieved connection with the city treasurer was as though a wide door had been thrown open to the Elysian fields of opportunity He rode about the city those days behind a team of spirited bays whose glossy hides and metaled harness bespoke the watchful care of hostler and coachman Ellsworth was building an attractive stable in the little side street back of the houses for the joint use of both families He told Mrs Cowperwood that he intended to buy her a victoria—as the low open fourwheeled coach was then known—as soon as they were well settled in their new home and that they were to go out more There was some talk about the value of entertaining—that he would have to reach out socially for certain individuals who were not now known to him Together with Anna his sister and his two brothers Joseph and Edward they could use the two houses jointly There was no reason why Anna should not make a splendid match Joe and Ed might marry well since they were not destined to set the world on fire in commerce At least it would not hurt them to try
Dont you think you will like that he asked his wife referring to his plans for entertaining
She smiled wanly I suppose so she said
Chapter XVI
It was not long after the arrangement between Treasurer Stener and Cowperwood had been made that the machinery for the carrying out of that politicalfinancial relationship was put in motion The sum of two hundred and ten thousand dollars in six per cent interestbearing certificates payable in ten years was set over to the credit of Cowperwood Co on the books of the city subject to his order Then with proper listing he began to offer it in small amounts at more than ninety at the same time creating the impression that it was going to be a prosperous investment The certificates gradually rose and were unloaded in rising amounts until one hundred was reached when all the two hundred thousand dollars worth—two thousand certificates in all—was fed out in small lots Stener was satisfied Two hundred shares had been carried for him and sold at one hundred which netted him two thousand dollars It was illegitimate gain unethical but his conscience was not very much troubled by that He had none truly He saw visions of a halcyon future
It is difficult to make perfectly clear what a subtle and significant power this suddenly placed in the hands of Cowperwood Consider that he was only twentyeight—nearing twentynine Imagine yourself by nature versed in the arts of finance capable of playing with sums of money in the forms of stocks certificates bonds and cash as the ordinary man plays with checkers or chess Or better yet imagine yourself one of those subtle masters of the mysteries of the higher forms of chess—the type of mind so well illustrated by the famous and historic chessplayers who could sit with their backs to a group of rivals playing fourteen men at once calling out all the moves in turn remembering all the positions of all the men on all the boards and winning This of course would be an overstatement of the subtlety of Cowperwood at this time and yet it would not be wholly out of bounds He knew instinctively what could be done with a given sum of money—how as cash it could be deposited in one place and yet as credit and the basis of moving checks used in not one but many other places at the same time When properly watched and followed this manipulation gave him the constructive and purchasing power of ten and a dozen times as much as his original sum might have represented He knew instinctively the principles of pyramiding and kiting He could see exactly not only how he could raise and lower the value of these certificates of loan day after day and year after year—if he were so fortunate as to retain his hold on the city treasurer—but also how this would give him a credit with the banks hitherto beyond his wildest dreams His fathers bank was one of the first to profit by this and to extend him loans The various local politicians and bosses—Mollenhauer Butler Simpson and others—seeing the success of his efforts in this direction speculated in city loan He became known to Mollenhauer and Simpson by reputation if not personally as the man who was carrying this city loan proposition to a successful issue Stener was supposed to have done a clever thing in finding him The stock exchange stipulated that all trades were to be compared the same day and settled before the close of the next but this working arrangement with the new city treasurer gave Cowperwood much more latitude and now he had always until the first of the month or practically thirty days at times in which to render an accounting for all deals connected with the loan issue
And moreover this was really not an accounting in the sense of removing anything from his hands Since the issue was to be so large the sum at his disposal would always be large and socalled transfers and balancing at the end of the month would be a mere matter of bookkeeping He could use these city loan certificates deposited with him for manipulative purposes deposit them at any bank as collateral for a loan quite as if they were his own thus raising seventy per cent of their actual value in cash and he did not hesitate to do so He could take this cash which need not be accounted for until the end of the month and cover other stock transactions on which he could borrow again There was no limit to the resources of which he now found himself possessed except the resources of his own energy ingenuity and the limits of time in which he had to work The politicians did not realize what a bonanza he was making of it all for himself because they were as yet unaware of the subtlety of his mind When Stener told him after talking the matter over with the mayor Strobik and others that he would formally during the course of the year set over on the citys books all of the two millions in city loan Cowperwood was silent—but with delight Two millions His to play with He had been called in as a financial adviser and he had given his advice and it had been taken Well He was not a man who inherently was troubled with conscientious scruples At the same time he still believed himself financially honest He was no sharper or shrewder than any other financier—certainly no sharper than any other would be if he could
It should be noted here that this proposition of Steners in regard to city money had no connection with the attitude of the principal leaders in local politics in regard to streetrailway control which was a new and intriguing phase of the citys financial life Many of the leading financiers and financierpoliticians were interested in that For instance Messrs Mollenhauer Butler and Simpson were interested in streetrailways separately on their own account There was no understanding between them on this score If they had thought at all on the matter they would have decided that they did not want any outsider to interfere As a matter of fact the streetrailway business in Philadelphia was not sufficiently developed at this time to suggest to any one the grand scheme of union which came later Yet in connection with this new arrangement between Stener and Cowperwood it was Strobik who now came forward to Stener with an idea of his own All were certain to make money through Cowperwood—he and Stener especially What was amiss therefore with himself and Stener and with Cowperwood as their—or rather Steners secret representative since Strobik did not dare to appear in the matter—buying now sufficient streetrailway shares in some one line to control it and then if he Strobik could by efforts of his own get the city council to set aside certain streets for its extension why there you were—they would own it Only later he proposed to shake Stener out if he could But this preliminary work had to be done by some one and it might as well be Stener At the same time as he saw this work had to be done very carefully because naturally his superiors were watchful and if they found him dabbling in affairs of this kind to his own advantage they might make it impossible for him to continue politically in a position where he could help himself just the same Any outside organization such as a streetrailway company already in existence had a right to appeal to the city council for privileges which would naturally further its and the citys growth and other things being equal these could not be refused It would not do for him to appear however both as a shareholder and president of the council But with Cowperwood acting privately for Stener it would be another thing
The interesting thing about this proposition as finally presented by Stener for Strobik to Cowperwood was that it raised without appearing to do so the whole question of Cowperwoods attitude toward the city administration Although he was dealing privately for Edward Butler as an agent and with this same plan in mind and although he had never met either Mollenhauer or Simpson he nevertheless felt that in so far as the manipulation of the city loan was concerned he was acting for them On the other hand in this matter of the private streetrailway purchase which Stener now brought to him he realized from the very beginning by Steners attitude that there was something untoward in it that Stener felt he was doing something which he ought not to do
Cowperwood he said to him the first morning he ever broached this matter—it was in Steners office at the old city hall at Sixth and Chestnut and Stener in view of his oncoming prosperity was feeling very good indeed—isnt there some streetrailway property around town here that a man could buy in on and get control of if he had sufficient money
Cowperwood knew that there were such properties His very alert mind had long since sensed the general opportunities here The omnibuses were slowly disappearing The best routes were already preempted Still there were other streets and the city was growing The incoming population would make great business in the future One could afford to pay almost any price for the short lines already built if one could wait and extend the lines into larger and better areas later And already he had conceived in his own mind the theory of the endless chain or argeeable formula as it was later termed of buying a certain property on a longtime payment and issuing stocks or bonds sufficient not only to pay your seller but to reimburse you for your trouble to say nothing of giving you a margin wherewith to invest in other things—allied properties for instance against which more bonds could be issued and so on ad infinitum It became an old story later but it was new at that time and he kept the thought closely to himself None the less he was glad to have Stener speak of this since streetrailways were his hobby and he was convinced that he would be a great master of them if he ever had an opportunity to control them
Why yes George he said noncommittally there are two or three that offer a good chance if a man had money enough I notice blocks of stock being offered on change now and then by one person and another It would be good policy to pick these things up as theyre offered and then to see later if some of the other stockholders wont want to sell out Green and Coates now looks like a good proposition to me If I had three or four hundred thousand dollars that I thought I could put into that by degrees I would follow it up It only takes about thirty per cent of the stock of any railroad to control it Most of the shares are scattered around so far and wide that they never vote and I think two or three hundred thousand dollars would control that road He mentioned one other line that might be secured in the same way in the course of time
Stener meditated Thats a good deal of money he said thoughtfully Ill talk to you about that some more later And he was off to see Strobik none the less
Cowperwood knew that Stener did not have any two or three hundred thousand dollars to invest in anything There was only one way that he could get it—and that was to borrow it out of the city treasury and forego the interest But he would not do that on his own initiative Some one else must be behind him and who else other than Mollenhauer or Simpson or possibly even Butler though he doubted that unless the triumvirate were secretly working together But what of it The larger politicians were always using the treasury and he was thinking now only of his own attitude in regard to the use of this money No harm could come to him if Steners ventures were successful and there was no reason why they should not be Even if they were not he would be merely acting as an agent In addition he saw how in the manipulation of this money for Stener he could probably eventually control certain lines for himself
There was one line being laid out to within a few blocks of his new home—the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line it was called—which interested him greatly He rode on it occasionally when he was delayed or did not wish to trouble about a vehicle It ran through two thriving streets of redbrick houses and was destined to have a great future once the city grew large enough As yet it was really not long enough If he could get that for instance and combine it with Butlers lines once they were secured—or Mollenhauers or Simpsons the legislature could be induced to give them additional franchises He even dreamed of a combination between Butler Mollenhauer Simpson and himself Between them politically they could get anything But Butler was not a philanthropist He would have to be approached with a very sizable bird in hand The combination must be obviously advisable Besides he was dealing for Butler in streetrailway stocks and if this particular line were such a good thing Butler might wonder why it had not been brought to him in the first place It would be better Frank thought to wait until he actually had it as his own in which case it would be a different matter Then he could talk as a capitalist He began to dream of a citywide streetrailway system controlled by a few men or preferably himself alone
Chapter XVII
The days that had been passing brought Frank Cowperwood and Aileen Butler somewhat closer together in spirit Because of the pressure of his growing affairs he had not paid so much attention to her as he might have but he had seen her often this past year She was now nineteen and had grown into some subtle thoughts of her own For one thing she was beginning to see the difference between good taste and bad taste in houses and furnishings
Papa why do we stay in this old barn she asked her father one evening at dinner when the usual family group was seated at the table
Whats the matter with this house Id like to know demanded Butler who was drawn up close to the table his napkin tucked comfortably under his chin for he insisted on this when company was not present I dont see anything the matter with this house Your mother and I manage to live in it well enough
Oh its terrible papa You know it supplemented Norah who was seventeen and quite as bright as her sister though a little less experienced Everybody says so Look at all the nice houses that are being built everywhere about here
Everybody Everybody Who is everybody Id like to know demanded Butler with the faintest touch of choler and much humor Im somebody and I like it Those that dont like it dont have to live in it Who are they Whats the matter with it Id like to know
The question in just this form had been up a number of times before and had been handled in just this manner or passed over entirely with a healthy Irish grin Tonight however it was destined for a little more extended thought
You know its bad papa corrected Aileen firmly Now whats the use getting mad about it Its old and cheap and dingy The furniture is all worn out That old piano in there ought to be given away I wont play on it any more The Cowperwoods—
Old is it exclaimed Butler his accent sharpening somewhat with his selfinduced rage He almost pronounced it owled Dingy hi Where do you get that At your convent I suppose And where is it worn Show me where its worn
He was coming to her reference to Cowperwood but he hadnt reached that when Mrs Butler interfered She was a stout broadfaced woman smilingmouthed most of the time with blurry gray Irish eyes and a touch of red in her hair now modified by grayness Her cheek below the mouth on the left side was sharply accented by a large wen
Children children Mr Butler for all his commercial and political responsibility was as much a child to her as any Youse mustnt quarrel now Come now Give your father the tomatoes
There was an Irish maid serving at table but plates were passed from one to the other just the same A heavily ornamented chandelier holding sixteen imitation candles in white porcelain hung low over the table and was brightly lighted another offense to Aileen
Mama how often have I told you not to say youse pleaded Norah very much disheartened by her mothers grammatical errors You know you said you wouldnt
And whos to tell your mother what she should say called Butler more incensed than ever at this sudden and unwarranted rebellion and assault Your mother talked before ever you was born Id have you know If it werent for her workin and slavin you wouldnt have any fine manners to be paradin before her Id have you know that Shes a better woman nor any youll be runnin with this day you little baggage you
Mama do you hear what hes calling me complained Norah hugging close to her mothers arm and pretending fear and dissatisfaction
Eddie Eddie cautioned Mrs Butler pleading with her husband You know he dont mean that Norah dear Dont you know he dont
She was stroking her babys head The reference to her grammar had not touched her at all
Butler was sorry that he had called his youngest a baggage but these children—God bless his soul—were a great annoyance Why in the name of all the saints wasnt this house good enough for them
Why dont you people quit fussing at the table observed Callum a likely youth with black hair laid smoothly over his forehead in a long distinguished layer reaching from his left to close to his right ear and his upper lip carrying a short crisp mustache His nose was short and retrousse and his ears were rather prominent but he was bright and attractive He and Owen both realized that the house was old and poorly arranged but their father and mother liked it and business sense and family peace dictated silence on this score
Well I think its mean to have to live in this old place when people not onefourth as good as we are are living in better ones The Cowperwoods—why even the Cowperwoods—
Yes the Cowperwoods What about the Cowperwoods demanded Butler turning squarely to Aileen—she was sitting beside him—his big red face glowing
Why even they have a better house than we have and hes merely an agent of yours
The Cowperwoods The Cowperwoods Ill not have any talk about the Cowperwoods Im not takin my rules from the Cowperwoods Suppose they have a fine house what of it My house is my house I want to live here Ive lived here too long to be pickin up and movin away If you dont like it you know what else you can do Move if you want to Ill not move
It was Butlers habit when he became involved in these family quarrels which were as shallow as puddles to wave his hands rather antagonistically under his wifes or his childrens noses
Oh well I will get out one of these days Aileen replied Thank heaven I wont have to live here forever
There flashed across her mind the beautiful receptionroom library parlor and boudoirs of the Cowperwoods which were now being arranged and about which Anna Cowperwood talked to her so much—their dainty lovely triangular grand piano in gold and painted pink and blue Why couldnt they have things like that Her father was unquestionably a dozen times as wealthy But no her father whom she loved dearly was of the old school He was just what people charged him with being a rough Irish contractor He might be rich She flared up at the injustice of things—why couldnt he have been rich and refined too Then they could have—but oh what was the use of complaining They would never get anywhere with her father and mother in charge She would just have to wait Marriage was the answer—the right marriage But whom was she to marry
You surely are not going to go on fighting about that now pleaded Mrs Butler as strong and patient as fate itself She knew where Aileens trouble lay
But we might have a decent house insisted Aileen Or this one done over whispered Norah to her mother
Hush now In good time replied Mrs Butler to Norah Wait Well fix it all up some day sure You run to your lessons now Youve had enough
Norah arose and left Aileen subsided Her father was simply stubborn and impossible And yet he was sweet too She pouted in order to compel him to apologize
Come now he said after they had left the table and conscious of the fact that his daughter was dissatisfied with him He must do something to placate her Play me somethin on the piano somethin nice He preferred showy clattery things which exhibited her skill and muscular ability and left him wondering how she did it That was what education was for—to enable her to play these very difficult things quickly and forcefully And you can have a new piano any time you like Go and see about it This looks pretty good to me but if you dont want it all right Aileen squeezed his arm What was the use of arguing with her father What good would a lone piano do when the whole house and the whole family atmosphere were at fault But she played Schumann Schubert Offenbach Chopin and the old gentleman strolled to and fro and mused smiling There was real feeling and a thoughtful interpretation given to some of these things for Aileen was not without sentiment though she was so strong vigorous and withal so defiant but it was all lost on him He looked on her his bright healthy enticingly beautiful daughter and wondered what was going to become of her Some rich man was going to many her—some fine rich young man with good business instincts—and he her father would leave her a lot of money
There was a reception and a dance to be given to celebrate the opening of the two Cowperwood homes—the reception to be held in Frank Cowperwoods residence and the dance later at his fathers The Henry Cowperwood domicile was much more pretentious the receptionroom parlor musicroom and conservatory being in this case all on the ground floor and much larger Ellsworth had arranged it so that those rooms on occasion could be thrown into one leaving excellent space for promenade auditorium dancing—anything in fact that a large company might require It had been the intention all along of the two men to use these houses jointly There was to begin with a combination use of the various servants the butler gardener laundress and maids Frank Cowperwood employed a governess for his children The butler was really not a butler in the best sense He was Henry Cowperwoods private servitor But he could carve and preside and he could be used in either house as occasion warranted There was also a hostler and a coachman for the joint stable When two carriages were required at once both drove It made a very agreeable and satisfactory working arrangement
The preparation of this reception had been quite a matter of importance for it was necessary for financial reasons to make it as extensive as possible and for social reasons as exclusive It was therefore decided that the afternoon reception at Franks house with its natural overflow into Henry Ws was to be for all—the Tighes Steners Butlers Mollenhauers as well as the more select groups to which for instance belonged Arthur Rivers Mrs Seneca Davis Mr and Mrs Trenor Drake and some of the younger Drexels and Clarks whom Frank had met It was not likely that the latter would condescend but cards had to be sent Later in the evening a less democratic group if possible was to be entertained albeit it would have to be extended to include the friends of Anna Mrs Cowperwood Edward and Joseph and any list which Frank might personally have in mind This was to be the list The best that could be persuaded commanded or influenced of the young and socially elect were to be invited here
It was not possible however not to invite the Butlers parents and children particularly the children for both afternoon and evening since Cowperwood was personally attracted to Aileen and despite the fact that the presence of the parents would be most unsatisfactory Even Aileen as he knew was a little unsatisfactory to Anna and Mrs Frank Cowperwood and these two when they were together supervising the list of invitations often talked about it
Shes so hoidenish observed Anna to her sisterinlaw when they came to the name of Aileen She thinks she knows so much and she isnt a bit refined Her father Well if I had her father I wouldnt talk so smart
Mrs Cowperwood who was before her secretaire in her new boudoir lifted her eyebrows
You know Anna I sometimes wish that Franks business did not compel me to have anything to do with them Mrs Butler is such a bore She means well enough but she doesnt know anything And Aileen is too rough Shes too forward I think She comes over here and plays upon the piano particularly when Franks here I wouldnt mind so much for myself but I know it must annoy him All her pieces are so noisy She never plays anything really delicate and refined
I dont like the way she dresses observed Anna sympathetically She gets herself up too conspicuously Now the other day I saw her out driving and oh dear you should have seen her She had on a crimson Zouave jacket heavily braided with black about the edges and a turban with a huge crimson feather and crimson ribbons reaching nearly to her waist Imagine that kind of a hat to drive in And her hands You should have seen the way she held her hands—oh—just so—selfconsciously They were curved just so—and she showed how She had on yellow gauntlets and she held the reins in one hand and the whip in the other She drives just like mad when she drives anyhow and William the footman was up behind her You should just have seen her Oh dear oh dear she does think she is so much And Anna giggled half in reproach half in amusement
I suppose well have to invite her I dont see how we can get out of it I know just how shell do though Shell walk about and pose and hold her nose up
Really I dont see how she can commented Anna Now I like Norah Shes much nicer She doesnt think shes so much
I like Norah too added Mrs Cowperwood Shes really very sweet and to me shes prettier
Oh indeed I think so too
It was curious though that it was Aileen who commanded nearly all their attention and fixed their minds on her socalled idiosyncrasies All they said was in its peculiar way true but in addition the girl was really beautiful and much above the average intelligence and force She was running deep with ambition and she was all the more conspicuous and in a way irritating to some because she reflected in her own consciousness her social defects against which she was inwardly fighting She resented the fact that people could justly consider her parents ineligible and for that reason her also She was intrinsically as worth while as any one Cowperwood so able and rapidly becoming so distinguished seemed to realize it The days that had been passing had brought them somewhat closer together in spirit He was nice to her and liked to talk to her Whenever he was at her home now or she was at his and he was present he managed somehow to say a word He would come over quite near and look at her in a warm friendly fashion
Well Aileen—she could see his genial eyes—how is it with you How are your father and mother Been out driving Thats fine I saw you today You looked beautiful
Oh Mr Cowperwood
You did You looked stunning A black ridinghabit becomes you I can tell your gold hair a long way off
Oh now you mustnt say that to me Youll make me vain My mother and father tell me Im too vain as it is
Never mind your mother and father I say you looked stunning and you did You always do
Oh
She gave a little gasp of delight The color mounted to her cheeks and temples Mr Cowperwood knew of course He was so informed and intensely forceful And already he was so much admired by so many her own father and mother included and by Mr Mollenhauer and Mr Simpson so she heard And his own home and office were so beautiful Besides his quiet intensity matched her restless force
Aileen and her sister were accordingly invited to the reception but the Butlers mere and pere were given to understand in as tactful a manner as possible that the dance afterward was principally for young people
The reception brought a throng of people There were many very many introductions There were tactful descriptions of little effects Mr Ellsworth had achieved under rather trying circumstances walks under the pergola viewings of both homes in detail Many of the guests were old friends They gathered in the libraries and diningrooms and talked There was much jesting some slappings of shoulders some good storytelling and so the afternoon waned into evening and they went away
Aileen had created an impression in a street costume of dark blue silk with velvet pelisse to match and trimmed with elaborate pleatings and shirrings of the same materials A toque of blue velvet with high crown and one large darkred imitation orchid had given her a jaunty dashing air Beneath the toque her redgold hair was arranged in an enormous chignon with one long curl escaping over her collar She was not exactly as daring as she seemed but she loved to give that impression
You look wonderful Cowperwood said as she passed him
Ill look different tonight was her answer
She had swung herself with a slight swaggering stride into the diningroom and disappeared Norah and her mother stayed to chat with Mrs Cowperwood
Well its lovely now isnt it breathed Mrs Butler Sure youll be happy here Sure you will When Eddie fixed the house were in now says I Eddie its almost too fine for us altogether—surely it is and he says says e Norah nothin this side o heavin or beyond is too good for ye—and he kissed me Now what dye think of that fer a big hulkin gossoon
Its perfectly lovely I think Mrs Butler commented Mrs Cowperwood a little bit nervous because of others
Mama does love to talk so Come on mama Lets look at the diningroom It was Norah talking
Well may ye always be happy in it I wish ye that Ive always been happy in mine May ye always be happy And she waddled goodnaturedly along
The Cowperwood family dined hastily alone between seven and eight At nine the evening guests began to arrive and now the throng was of a different complexion—girls in mauve and creamwhite and salmonpink and silvergray laying aside lace shawls and loose dolmans and the men in smooth black helping them Outside in the cold the carriage doors were slamming and new guests were arriving constantly Mrs Cowperwood stood with her husband and Anna in the main entrance to the reception room while Joseph and Edward Cowperwood and Mr and Mrs Henry W Cowperwood lingered in the background Lillian looked charming in a train gown of old rose with a low square neck showing a delicate chemisette of fine lace Her face and figure were still notable though her face was not as smoothly sweet as it had been years before when Cowperwood had first met her Anna Cowperwood was not pretty though she could not be said to be homely She was small and dark with a turnedup nose snapping black eyes a pert inquisitive intelligent and alas somewhat critical air She had considerable tact in the matter of dressing Black in spite of her darkness with shining beads of sequins on it helped her complexion greatly as did a red rose in her hair She had smooth white wellrounded arms and shoulders Bright eyes a pert manner clever remarks—these assisted to create an illusion of charm though as she often said it was of little use Men want the dolly things
In the evening inpour of young men and women came Aileen and Norah the former throwing off a thin net veil of black lace and a dolman of black silk which her brother Owen took from her Norah was with Callum a straight erect smiling young Irishman who looked as though he might carve a notable career for himself She wore a short girlish dress that came to a little below her shoetops a palefigured lavender and white silk with a fluffy hoopskirt of dainty lacededged ruffles against which tiny bows of lavender stood out in odd places There was a great sash of lavender about her waist and in her hair a rosette of the same color She looked exceedingly winsome—eager and brighteyed
But behind her was her sister in ravishing black satin scaled as a fish with glistening crimsonedsilver sequins her round smooth arms bare to the shoulders her corsage cut as low in the front and back as her daring in relation to her sense of the proprieties permitted She was naturally of exquisite figure erect fullbreasted with somewhat more than gently swelling hips which nevertheless melted into lovely harmonious lines and this lowcut corsage receding back and front into a deep V above a short gracefully draped overskirt of black tulle and silver tissue set her off to perfection Her full smooth roundly modeled neck was enhanced in its creampink whiteness by an inchwide necklet of black jet cut in many faceted black squares Her complexion naturally high in tone because of the pink of health was enhanced by the tiniest speck of black courtplaster laid upon her cheekbone and her hair heightened in its reddishgold by her dress was fluffed loosely and adroitly about her eyes The main mass of this treasure was done in two loose braids caught up in a black spangled net at the back of her neck and her eyebrows had been emphasized by a pencil into something almost as significant as her hair She was for the occasion a little too emphatic perhaps and yet more because of her burning vitality than of her costume Art for her should have meant subduing her physical and spiritual significance Life for her meant emphasizing them
Lillian Anna nudged her sisterinlaw She was grieved to think that Aileen was wearing black and looked so much better than either of them
I see Lillian replied in a subdued tone
So youre back again She was addressing Aileen Its chilly out isnt it
I dont mind Dont the rooms look lovely
She was gazing at the softly lighted chambers and the throng before her
Norah began to babble to Anna You know I just thought I never would get this old thing on She was speaking of her dress Aileen wouldnt help me—the mean thing
Aileen had swept on to Cowperwood and his mother who was near him She had removed from her arm the black satin ribbon which held her train and kicked the skirts loose and free Her eyes gleamed almost pleadingly for all her hauteur like a spirited collies and her even teeth showed beautifully
Cowperwood understood her precisely as he did any fine spirited animal
I cant tell you how nice you look he whispered to her familiarly as though there was an old understanding between them Youre like fire and song
He did not know why he said this He was not especially poetic He had not formulated the phrase beforehand Since his first glimpse of her in the hall his feelings and ideas had been leaping and plunging like spirited horses This girl made him set his teeth and narrow his eyes Involuntarily he squared his jaw looking more defiant forceful efficient as she drew near
But Aileen and her sister were almost instantly surrounded by young men seeking to be introduced and to write their names on dancecards and for the time being she was lost to view
Chapter XVIII
The seeds of change—subtle metaphysical—are rooted deeply From the first mention of the dance by Mrs Cowperwood and Anna Aileen had been conscious of a desire toward a more effective presentation of herself than as yet for all her fathers money she had been able to achieve The company which she was to encounter as she well knew was to be so much more impressive distinguished than anything she had heretofore known socially Then too Cowperwood appeared as something more definite in her mind than he had been before and to save herself she could not get him out of her consciousness
A vision of him had come to her but an hour before as she was dressing In a way she had dressed for him She was never forgetful of the times he had looked at her in an interested way He had commented on her hands once Today he had said that she looked stunning and she had thought how easy it would be to impress him tonight—to show him how truly beautiful she was
She had stood before her mirror between eight and nine—it was ninefifteen before she was really ready—and pondered over what she should wear There were two tall pierglasses in her wardrobe—an unduly large piece of furniture—and one in her closet door She stood before the latter looking at her bare arms and shoulders her shapely figure thinking of the fact that her left shoulder had a dimple and that she had selected garnet garters decorated with heartshaped silver buckles The corset could not be made quite tight enough at first and she chided her maid Kathleen Kelly She studied how to arrange her hair and there was much ado about that before it was finally adjusted She penciled her eyebrows and plucked at the hair about her forehead to make it loose and shadowy She cut black courtplaster with her nailshears and tried differentsized pieces in different places Finally she found one size and one place that suited her She turned her head from side to side looking at the combined effect of her hair her penciled brows her dimpled shoulder and the black beautyspot If some one man could see her as she was now some time Which man That thought scurried back like a frightened rat into its hole She was for all her strength afraid of the thought of the one—the very deadly—the man
And then she came to the matter of a traingown Kathleen laid out five for Aileen had come into the joy and honor of these things recently and she had with the permission of her mother and father indulged herself to the full She studied a goldenyellow silk with creamlace shoulderstraps and some gussets of garnet beads in the train that shimmered delightfully but set it aside She considered favorably a blackandwhite striped silk of odd gray effect and though she was sorely tempted to wear it finally let it go There was a maroon dress with basque and overskirt over white silk a rich creamcolored satin and then this black sequined gown which she finally chose She tried on the creamcolored satin first however being in much doubt about it but her penciled eyes and beautyspot did not seem to harmonize with it Then she put on the black silk with its glistening crimsonedsilver sequins and lo it touched her She liked its coquettish drapery of tulle and silver about the hips The overskirt which was at that time just coming into fashion though avoided by the more conservative had been adopted by Aileen with enthusiasm She thrilled a little at the rustle of this black dress and thrust her chin and nose forward to make it set right Then after having Kathleen tighten her corsets a little more she gathered the train over her arm by its trainband and looked again Something was wanting Oh yes her neck What to wear—red coral It did not look right A string of pearls That would not do either There was a necklace made of small cameos set in silver which her mother had purchased and another of diamonds which belonged to her mother but they were not right Finally her jet necklet which she did not value very highly came into her mind and oh how lovely it looked How soft and smooth and glistening her chin looked above it She caressed her neck affectionately called for her black lace mantilla her long black silk dolman lined with red and she was ready
The ballroom as she entered was lovely enough The young men and young women she saw there were interesting and she was not wanting for admirers The most aggressive of these youths—the most forceful—recognized in this maiden a fillip to life a sting to existence She was as a honeyjar surrounded by too hungry flies
But it occurred to her as her dancelist was filling up that there was not much left for Mr Cowperwood if he should care to dance with her
Cowperwood was meditating as he received the last of the guests on the subtlety of this matter of the sex arrangement of life Two sexes He was not at all sure that there was any law governing them By comparison now with Aileen Butler his wife looked rather dull quite too old and when he was ten years older she would look very much older
Oh yes Ellsworth had made quite an attractive arrangement out of these two houses—better than we ever thought he could do He was talking to Henry Hale Sanderson a young banker He had the advantage of combining two into one and I think hes done more with my little one considering the limitations of space than he has with this big one Fathers has the advantage of size I tell the old gentleman hes simply built a leanto for me
His father and a number of his cronies were over in the diningroom of his grand home glad to get away from the crowd He would have to stay and besides he wanted to Had he better dance with Aileen His wife cared little for dancing but he would have to dance with her at least once There was Mrs Seneca Davis smiling at him and Aileen By George how wonderful What a girl
I suppose your dancelist is full to overflowing Let me see He was standing before her and she was holding out the little bluebordered goldmonogrammed booklet An orchestra was playing in the music room The dance would begin shortly There were delicately constructed goldtinted chairs about the walls and behind palms
He looked down into her eyes—those excited lifeloving eager eyes
Youre quite full up Let me see Nine ten eleven Well that will be enough I dont suppose I shall want to dance very much Its nice to be popular
Im not sure about number three I think thats a mistake You might have that if you wish
She was falsifying
It doesnt matter so much about him does it
His cheeks flushed a little as he said this
No
Her own flamed
Well Ill see where you are when its called Youre darling Im afraid of you He shot a level interpretive glance into her eyes then left Aileens bosom heaved It was hard to breathe sometimes in this warm air
While he was dancing first with Mrs Cowperwood and later with Mrs Seneca Davis and still later with Mrs Martyn Walker Cowperwood had occasion to look at Aileen often and each time that he did so there swept over him a sense of great vigor there of beautiful if raw dynamic energy that to him was irresistible and especially so tonight She was so young She was beautiful this girl and in spite of his wifes repeated derogatory comments he felt that she was nearer to his clear aggressive unblinking attitude than any one whom he had yet seen in the form of woman She was unsophisticated in a way that was plain and yet in another way it would take so little to make her understand so much Largeness was the sense he had of her—not physically though she was nearly as tall as himself—but emotionally She seemed so intensely alive She passed close to him a number of times her eyes wide and smiling her lips parted her teeth agleam and he felt a stirring of sympathy and companionship for her which he had not previously experienced She was lovely all of her—delightful
Im wondering if that dance is open now he said to her as he drew near toward the beginning of the third set She was seated with her latest admirer in a far corner of the general livingroom a clear floor now waxed to perfection A few palms here and there made embrasured parapets of green I hope youll excuse me he added deferentially to her companion
Surely the latter replied rising
Yes indeed she replied And youd better stay here with me Its going to begin soon You wont mind she added giving her companion a radiant smile
Not at all Ive had a lovely waltz He strolled off
Cowperwood sat down Thats young Ledoux isnt it I thought so I saw you dancing You like it dont you
Im crazy about it
Well I cant say that myself Its fascinating though Your partner makes such a difference Mrs Cowperwood doesnt like it as much as I do
His mention of Lillian made Aileen think of her in a faintly derogative way for a moment
I think you dance very well I watched you too She questioned afterwards whether she should have said this It sounded most forward now—almost brazen
Oh did you
Yes
He was a little keyed up because of her—slightly cloudy in his thoughts—because she was generating a problem in his life or would if he let her and so his talk was a little tame He was thinking of something to say—some words which would bring them a little nearer together But for the moment he could not Truth to tell he wanted to say a great deal
Well that was nice of you he added after a moment What made you do it
He turned with a mock air of inquiry The music was beginning again The dancers were rising He arose
He had not intended to give this particular remark a serious turn but now that she was so near him he looked into her eyes steadily but with a soft appeal and said Yes why
They had come out from behind the palms He had put his hand to her waist His right arm held her left extended arm to arm palm to palm Her right hand was on his shoulder and she was close to him looking into his eyes As they began the gay undulations of the waltz she looked away and then down without answering Her movements were as light and airy as those of a butterfly He felt a sudden lightness himself communicated as by an invisible current He wanted to match the suppleness of her body with his own and did Her arms the flash and glint of the crimson sequins against the smooth black silk of her closely fitting dress her neck her glowing radiant hair all combined to provoke a slight intellectual intoxication She was so vigorously young so to him truly beautiful
But you didnt answer he continued
Isnt this lovely music
He pressed her fingers
She lifted shy eyes to him now for in spite of her gay aggressive force she was afraid of him His personality was obviously so dominating Now that he was so close to her dancing she conceived of him as something quite wonderful and yet she experienced a nervous reaction—a momentary desire to run away
Very well if you wont tell me he smiled mockingly
He thought she wanted him to talk to her so to tease her with suggestions of this concealed feeling of his—this strong liking He wondered what could come of any such understanding as this anyhow
Oh I just wanted to see how you danced she said tamely the force of her original feeling having been weakened by a thought of what she was doing He noted the change and smiled It was lovely to be dancing with her He had not thought mere dancing could hold such charm
You like me he said suddenly as the music drew to its close
She thrilled from head to toe at the question A piece of ice dropped down her back could not have startled her more It was apparently tactless and yet it was anything but tactless She looked up quickly directly but his strong eyes were too much for her
Why yes she answered as the music stopped trying to keep an even tone to her voice She was glad they were walking toward a chair
I like you so much he said that I have been wondering if you really like me There was an appeal in his voice soft and gentle His manner was almost sad
Why yes she replied instantly returning to her earlier mood toward him You know I do
I need some one like you to like me he continued in the same vein I need some one like you to talk to I didnt think so before—but now I do You are beautiful—wonderful
We mustnt she said I mustnt I dont know what Im doing She looked at a young man strolling toward her and asked I have to explain to him Hes the one I had this dance with
Cowperwood understood He walked away He was quite warm and tense now—almost nervous It was quite clear to him that he had done or was contemplating perhaps a very treacherous thing Under the current code of society he had no right to do it It was against the rules as they were understood by everybody Her father for instance—his father—every one in this particular walk of life However much breaking of the rules under the surface of things there might be the rules were still there As he had heard one young man remark once at school when some story had been told of a boy leading a girl astray and to a disastrous end That isnt the way at all
Still now that he had said this strong thoughts of her were in his mind And despite his involved social and financial position which he now recalled it was interesting to him to see how deliberately and even calculatingly—and worse enthusiastically—he was pumping the bellows that tended only to heighten the flames of his desire for this girl to feed a fire that might ultimately consume him—and how deliberately and resourcefully
Aileen toyed aimlessly with her fan as a blackhaired thinfaced young law student talked to her and seeing Norah in the distance she asked to be allowed to run over to her
Oh Aileen called Norah Ive been looking for you everywhere Where have you been
Dancing of course Where do you suppose Ive been Didnt you see me on the floor
No I didnt complained Norah as though it were most essential that she should How late are you going to stay
Until its over I suppose I dont know
Owen says hes going at twelve
Well that doesnt matter Some one will take me home Are you having a good time
Fine Oh let me tell you I stepped on a ladys dress over there last dance She was terribly angry She gave me such a look
Well never mind honey She wont hurt you Where are you going now
Aileen always maintained a most guardianlike attitude toward her sister
I want to find Callum He has to dance with me next time I know what hes trying to do Hes trying to get away from me But he wont
Aileen smiled Norah looked very sweet And she was so bright What would she think of her if she knew She turned back and her fourth partner sought her She began talking gayly for she felt that she had to make a show of composure but all the while there was ringing in her ears that definite question of his You like me dont you and her later uncertain but not less truthful answer Yes of course I do
Chapter XIX
The growth of a passion is a very peculiar thing In highly organized intellectual and artistic types it is so often apt to begin with keen appreciation of certain qualities modified by many many mental reservations The egoist the intellectual gives but little of himself and asks much Nevertheless the lover of life male or female finding himself or herself in sympathetic accord with such a nature is apt to gain much
Cowperwood was innately and primarily an egoist and intellectual though blended strongly therewith was a humane and democratic spirit We think of egoism and intellectualism as closely confined to the arts Finance is an art And it presents the operations of the subtlest of the intellectuals and of the egoists Cowperwood was a financier Instead of dwelling on the works of nature its beauty and subtlety to his material disadvantage he found a happy mean owing to the swiftness of his intellectual operations whereby he could intellectually and emotionally rejoice in the beauty of life without interfering with his perpetual material and financial calculations And when it came to women and morals which involved so much relating to beauty happiness a sense of distinction and variety in living he was but now beginning to suspect for himself at least that apart from maintaining organized society in its present form there was no basis for this onelife onelove idea How had it come about that so many people agreed on this single point that it was good and necessary to marry one woman and cleave to her until death He did not know It was not for him to bother about the subtleties of evolution which even then was being noised abroad or to ferret out the curiosities of history in connection with this matter He had no time Suffice it that the vagaries of temperament and conditions with which he came into immediate contact proved to him that there was great dissatisfaction with that idea People did not cleave to each other until death and in thousands of cases where they did they did not want to Quickness of mind subtlety of idea fortuitousness of opportunity made it possible for some people to right their matrimonial and social infelicities whereas for others because of dullness of wit thickness of comprehension poverty and lack of charm there was no escape from the slough of their despond They were compelled by some devilish accident of birth or lack of force or resourcefulness to stew in their own juice of wretchedness or to shuffle off this mortal coil—which under other circumstances had such glittering possibilities—via the rope the knife the bullet or the cup of poison
I would die too he thought to himself one day reading of a man who confined by disease and poverty had lived for twelve years alone in a back bedroom attended by an old and probably decrepit housekeeper A darningneedle forced into his heart had ended his earthly woes To the devil with such a life Why twelve years Why not at the end of the second or third
Again it was so very evident in so many ways that force was the answer—great mental and physical force Why these giants of commerce and money could do as they pleased in this life and did He had already had ample local evidence of it in more than one direction Worse—the little guardians of socalled law and morality the newspapers the preachers the police and the public moralists generally so loud in their denunciation of evil in humble places were cowards all when it came to corruption in high ones They did not dare to utter a feeble squeak until some giant had accidentally fallen and they could do so without danger to themselves Then O Heavens the palaver What beatings of tomtoms What mouthings of pharisaical moralities—platitudes Run now good people for you may see clearly how evil is dealt with in high places It made him smile Such hypocrisy Such cant Still so the world was organized and it was not for him to set it right Let it wag as it would The thing for him to do was to get rich and hold his own—to build up a seeming of virtue and dignity which would pass muster for the genuine thing Force would do that Quickness of wit And he had these I satisfy myself was his motto and it might well have been emblazoned upon any coat of arms which he could have contrived to set forth his claim to intellectual and social nobility
But this matter of Aileen was up for consideration and solution at this present moment and because of his forceful determined character he was presently not at all disturbed by the problem it presented It was a problem like some of those knotty financial complications which presented themselves daily but it was not insoluble What did he want to do He couldnt leave his wife and fly with Aileen that was certain He had too many connections He had too many social and thinking of his children and parents emotional as well as financial ties to bind him Besides he was not at all sure that he wanted to He did not intend to leave his growing interests and at the same time he did not intend to give up Aileen immediately The unheralded manifestation of interest on her part was too attractive Mrs Cowperwood was no longer what she should be physically and mentally and that in itself to him was sufficient to justify his present interest in this girl Why fear anything if only he could figure out a way to achieve it without harm to himself At the same time he thought it might never be possible for him to figure out any practical or protective program for either himself or Aileen and that made him silent and reflective For by now he was intensely drawn to her as he could feel—something chemic and hence dynamic was uppermost in him now and clamoring for expression
At the same time in contemplating his wife in connection with all this he had many qualms some emotional some financial While she had yielded to his youthful enthusiasm for her after her husbands death he had only since learned that she was a natural conservator of public morals—the cold purity of the snowdrift in so far as the world might see combined at times with the murky mood of the wanton And yet as he had also learned she was ashamed of the passion that at times swept and dominated her This irritated Cowperwood as it would always irritate any strong acquisitive directseeing temperament While he had no desire to acquaint the whole world with his feelings why should there be concealment between them or at least mental evasion of a fact which physically she subscribed to Why do one thing and think another To be sure she was devoted to him in her quiet way not passionately as he looked back he could not say that she had ever been that but intellectually Duty as she understood it played a great part in this She was dutiful And then what people thought what the timespirit demanded—these were the great things Aileen on the contrary was probably not dutiful and it was obvious that she had no temperamental connection with current convention No doubt she had been as well instructed as many another girl but look at her She was not obeying her instructions
In the next three months this relationship took on a more flagrant form Aileen knowing full well what her parents would think how unspeakable in the mind of the current world were the thoughts she was thinking persisted nevertheless in so thinking and longing Cowperwood now that she had gone thus far and compromised herself in intention if not in deed took on a peculiar charm for her It was not his body—great passion is never that exactly The flavor of his spirit was what attracted and compelled like the glow of a flame to a moth There was a light of romance in his eyes which however governed and controlled—was directive and almost allpowerful to her
When he touched her hand at parting it was as though she had received an electric shock and she recalled that it was very difficult for her to look directly into his eyes Something akin to a destructive force seemed to issue from them at times Other people men particularly found it difficult to face Cowperwoods glazed stare It was as though there were another pair of eyes behind those they saw watching through thin obscuring curtains You could not tell what he was thinking
And during the next few months she found herself coming closer and closer to Cowperwood At his home one evening seated at the piano no one else being present at the moment he leaned over and kissed her There was a cold snowy street visible through the interstices of the hangings of the windows and gaslamps flickering outside He had come in early and hearing Aileen he came to where she was seated at the piano She was wearing a rough gray wool cloth dress ornately banded with fringed Oriental embroidery in blue and burntorange and her beauty was further enhanced by a gray hat planned to match her dress with a plume of shaded orange and blue On her fingers were four or five rings far too many—an opal an emerald a ruby and a diamond—flashing visibly as she played
She knew it was he without turning He came beside her and she looked up smiling the reverie evoked by Schubert partly vanishing—or melting into another mood Suddenly he bent over and pressed his lips firmly to hers His mustache thrilled her with its silky touch She stopped playing and tried to catch her breath for strong as she was it affected her breathing Her heart was beating like a triphammer She did not say Oh or You mustnt but rose and walked over to a window where she lifted a curtain pretending to look out She felt as though she might faint so intensely happy was she
Cowperwood followed her quickly Slipping his arms about her waist he looked at her flushed cheeks her clear moist eyes and red mouth
You love me he whispered stern and compelling because of his desire
Yes Yes You know I do
He crushed her face to his and she put up her hands and stroked his hair
A thrilling sense of possession mastery happiness and understanding love of her and of her body suddenly overwhelmed him
I love you he said as though he were surprised to hear himself say it I didnt think I did but I do Youre beautiful Im wild about you
And I love you she answered I cant help it I know I shouldnt but—oh— Her hands closed tight over his ears and temples She put her lips to his and dreamed into his eyes Then she stepped away quickly looking out into the street and he walked back into the livingroom They were quite alone He was debating whether he should risk anything further when Norah having been in to see Anna next door appeared and not long afterward Mrs Cowperwood Then Aileen and Norah left
Chapter XX
This definite and final understanding having been reached it was but natural that this liaison should proceed to a closer and closer relationship Despite her religious upbringing Aileen was decidedly a victim of her temperament Current religious feeling and belief could not control her For the past nine or ten years there had been slowly forming in her mind a notion of what her lover should be like He should be strong handsome direct successful with clear eyes a ruddy glow of health and a certain native understanding and sympathy—a love of life which matched her own Many young men had approached her Perhaps the nearest realization of her ideal was Father David of St Timothys and he was of course a priest and sworn to celibacy No word had ever passed between them but he had been as conscious of her as she of him Then came Frank Cowperwood and by degrees because of his presence and contact he had been slowly built up in her mind as the ideal person She was drawn as planets are drawn to their sun
It is a question as to what would have happened if antagonistic forces could have been introduced just at this time Emotions and liaisons of this character can of course occasionally be broken up and destroyed The characters of the individuals can be modified or changed to a certain extent but the force must be quite sufficient Fear is a great deterrent—fear of material loss where there is no spiritual dread—but wealth and position so often tend to destroy this dread It is so easy to scheme with means Aileen had no spiritual dread whatever Cowperwood was without spiritual or religious feeling He looked at this girl and his one thought was how could he so deceive the world that he could enjoy her love and leave his present state undisturbed Love her he did surely
Business necessitated his calling at the Butlers quite frequently and on each occasion he saw Aileen She managed to slip forward and squeeze his hand the first time he came—to steal a quick vivid kiss and another time as he was going out she suddenly appeared from behind the curtains hanging at the parlor door
Honey
The voice was soft and coaxing He turned giving her a warning nod in the direction of her fathers room upstairs
She stood there holding out one hand and he stepped forward for a second Instantly her arms were about his neck as he slipped his about her waist
I long to see you so
I too Ill fix some way Im thinking
He released her arms and went out and she ran to the window and looked out after him He was walking west on the street for his house was only a few blocks away and she looked at the breadth of his shoulders the balance of his form He stepped so briskly so incisively Ah this was a man He was her Frank She thought of him in that light already Then she sat down at the piano and played pensively until dinner
And it was so easy for the resourceful mind of Frank Cowperwood wealthy as he was to suggest ways and means In his younger gallivantings about places of ill repute and his subsequent occasional variations from the straight and narrow path he had learned much of the curious resources of immorality Being a city of five hundred thousand and more at this time Philadelphia had its nondescript hotels where one might go cautiously and fairly protected from observation and there were houses of a conservative residential character where appointments might be made for a consideration And as for safeguards against the production of new life—they were not mysteries to him any longer He knew all about them Care was the point of caution He had to be cautious for he was so rapidly coming to be an influential and a distinguished man Aileen of course was not conscious except in a vague way of the drift of her passion the ultimate destiny to which this affection might lead was not clear to her Her craving was for love—to be fondled and caressed—and she really did not think so much further Further thoughts along this line were like rats that showed their heads out of dark holes in shadowy corners and scuttled back at the least sound And anyhow all that was to be connected with Cowperwood would be beautiful She really did not think that he loved her yet as he should but he would She did not know that she wanted to interfere with the claims of his wife She did not think she did But it would not hurt Mrs Cowperwood if Frank loved her—Aileen—also
How shall we explain these subtleties of temperament and desire Life has to deal with them at every turn They will not down and the large placid movements of nature outside of mans little organisms would indicate that she is not greatly concerned We see much punishment in the form of jails diseases failures and wrecks but we also see that the old tendency is not visibly lessened Is there no law outside of the subtle will and power of the individual to achieve If not it is surely high time that we knew it—one and all We might then agree to do as we do but there would be no silly illusion as to divine regulation Vox populi vox Dei
So there were other meetings lovely hours which they soon began to spend the moment her passion waxed warm enough to assure compliance without great fear and without thought of the deadly risk involved From odd moments in his own home stolen when there was no one about to see they advanced to clandestine meetings beyond the confines of the city Cowperwood was not one who was temperamentally inclined to lose his head and neglect his business As a matter of fact the more he thought of this rather unexpected affectional development the more certain he was that he must not let it interfere with his business time and judgment His office required his full attention from nine until three anyhow He could give it until fivethirty with profit but he could take several afternoons off from threethirty until fivethirty or six and no one would be the wiser It was customary for Aileen to drive alone almost every afternoon a spirited pair of bays or to ride a mount bought by her father for her from a noted horsedealer in Baltimore Since Cowperwood also drove and rode it was not difficult to arrange meetingplaces far out on the Wissahickon or the Schuylkill road There were many spots in the newly laidout park which were as free from interruption as the depths of a forest It was always possible that they might encounter some one but it was also always possible to make a rather plausible explanation or none at all since even in case of such an encounter nothing ordinarily would be suspected
So for the time being there was lovemaking the usual billing and cooing of lovers in a simple and much less than final fashion and the lovely horseback rides together under the green trees of the approaching spring were idyllic Cowperwood awakened to a sense of joy in life such as he fancied in the blush of this new desire he had never experienced before Lillian had been lovely in those early days in which he had first called on her in North Front Street and he had fancied himself unspeakably happy at that time but that was nearly ten years since and he had forgotten Since then he had had no great passion no notable liaison and then all at once in the midst of his new great business prosperity Aileen Her young body and soul her passionate illusions He could see always for all her daring that she knew so little of the calculating brutal world with which he was connected Her father had given her all the toys she wanted without stint her mother and brothers had coddled her particularly her mother Her young sister thought she was adorable No one imagined for one moment that Aileen would ever do anything wrong She was too sensible after all too eager to get up in the world Why should she when her life lay open and happy before her—a delightful lovematch some day soon with some very eligible and satisfactory lover
When you marry Aileen her mother used to say to her well have a grand time here Sure well do the house over then if we dont do it before Eddie will have to fix it up or Ill do it meself Never fear
Yes—well Id rather youd fix it now was her reply
Butler himself used to strike her jovially on the shoulder in a rough loving way and ask Well have you found him yet or Is he hanging around the outside watchin for ye
If she said No he would reply Well he will be never fear—worse luck Ill hate to see ye go girlie You can stay here as long as ye want to and ye want to remember that you can always come back
Aileen paid very little attention to this bantering She loved her father but it was all such a matter of course It was the commonplace of her existence and not so very significant though delightful enough
But how eagerly she yielded herself to Cowperwood under the spring trees these days She had no sense of that ultimate yielding that was coming for now he merely caressed and talked to her He was a little doubtful about himself His growing liberties for himself seemed natural enough but in a sense of fairness to her he began to talk to her about what their love might involve Would she Did she understand This phase of it puzzled and frightened Aileen a little at first She stood before him one afternoon in her black ridinghabit and high silk ridinghat perched jauntily on her redgold hair and striking her ridingskirt with her short whip pondering doubtfully as she listened He had asked her whether she knew what she was doing Whither they were drifting If she loved him truly enough The two horses were tethered in a thicket a score of yards away from the main road and from the bank of a tumbling stream which they had approached She was trying to discover if she could see them It was pretense There was no interest in her glance She was thinking of him and the smartness of his habit and the exquisiteness of this moment He had such a charming calico pony The leaves were just enough developed to make a diaphanous lacework of green It was like looking through a greenspangled arras to peer into the woods beyond or behind The gray stones were already faintly messy where the water rippled and sparkled and early birds were calling—robins and blackbirds and wrens
Baby mine he said do you understand all about this Do you know exactly what youre doing when you come with me this way
I think I do
She struck her boot and looked at the ground and then up through the trees at the blue sky
Look at me honey
I dont want to
But look at me sweet I want to ask you something
Dont make me Frank please I cant
Oh yes you can look at me
No
She backed away as he took her hands but came forward again easily enough
Now look in my eyes
I cant
See here
I cant Dont ask me Ill answer you but dont make me look at you
His hand stole to her cheek and fondled it He petted her shoulder and she leaned her head against him
Sweet youre so beautiful he said finally I cant give you up I know what I ought to do You know too I suppose but I cant I must have you If this should end in exposure it would be quite bad for you and me Do you understand
Yes
I dont know your brothers very well but from looking at them I judge theyre pretty determined people They think a great deal of you
Indeed they do Her vanity prinked slightly at this
They would probably want to kill me and very promptly for just this much What do you think they would want to do if—well if anything should happen some time
He waited watching her pretty face
But nothing need happen We neednt go any further
Aileen
I wont look at you You neednt ask I cant
Aileen Do you mean that
I dont know Dont ask me Frank
You know it cant stop this way dont you You know it This isnt the end Now if— He explained the whole theory of illicit meetings calmly dispassionately You are perfectly safe except for one thing chance exposure It might just so happen and then of course there would be a great deal to settle for Mrs Cowperwood would never give me a divorce she has no reason to If I should clean up in the way I hope to—if I should make a million—I wouldnt mind knocking off now I dont expect to work all my days I have always planned to knock off at thirtyfive Ill have enough by that time Then I want to travel It will only be a few more years now If you were free—if your father and mother were dead—curiously she did not wince at this practical reference—it would be a different matter
He paused She still gazed thoughtfully at the water below her mind running out to a yacht on the sea with him a palace somewhere—just they two Her eyes half closed saw this happy world and listening to him she was fascinated
Hanged if I see the way out of this exactly But I love you He caught her to him I love you—love you
Oh yes she replied intensely I want you to Im not afraid
Ive taken a house in North Tenth Street he said finally as they walked over to the horses and mounted them It isnt furnished yet but it will be soon I know a woman who will take charge
Who is she
An interesting widow of nearly fifty Very intelligent—she is attractive and knows a good deal of life I found her through an advertisement You might call on her some afternoon when things are arranged and look the place over You neednt meet her except in a casual way Will you
She rode on thinking making no reply He was so direct and practical in his calculations
Will you It will be all right You might know her She isnt objectionable in any way Will you
Let me know when it is ready was all she said finally
Chapter XXI
The vagaries of passion Subtleties Risks What sacrifices are not laid willfully upon its altar In a little while this more than average residence to which Cowperwood had referred was prepared solely to effect a satisfactory method of concealment The house was governed by a seemingly recentlybereaved widow and it was possible for Aileen to call without seeming strangely out of place In such surroundings and under such circumstances it was not difficult to persuade her to give herself wholly to her lover governed as she was by her wild and unreasoning affection and passion In a way there was a saving element of love for truly above all others she wanted this man She had no thought or feeling toward any other All her mind ran toward visions of the future when somehow she and he might be together for all time Mrs Cowperwood might die or he might run away with her at thirtyfive when he had a million Some adjustment would be made somehow Nature had given her this man She relied on him implicitly When he told her that he would take care of her so that nothing evil should befall she believed him fully Such sins are the commonplaces of the confessional
It is a curious fact that by some subtlety of logic in the Christian world it has come to be believed that there can be no love outside the conventional process of courtship and marriage One life one love is the Christian idea and into this sluice or mold it has been endeavoring to compress the whole world Pagan thought held no such belief A writing of divorce for trivial causes was the theory of the elders and in the primeval world nature apparently holds no scheme for the unity of two beyond the temporary care of the young That the modern home is the most beautiful of schemes when based upon mutual sympathy and understanding between two need not be questioned And yet this fact should not necessarily carry with it a condemnation of all love not so fortunate as to find so happy a denouement Life cannot be put into any mold and the attempt might as well be abandoned at once Those so fortunate as to find harmonious companionship for life should congratulate themselves and strive to be worthy of it Those not so blessed though they be written down as pariahs have yet some justification And besides whether we will or not theory or no theory the basic facts of chemistry and physics remain Like is drawn to like Changes in temperament bring changes in relationship Dogma may bind some minds fear others But there are always those in whom the chemistry and physics of life are large and in whom neither dogma nor fear is operative Society lifts its hands in horror but from age to age the Helens the Messalinas the Du Barrys the Pompadours the Maintenons and the Nell Gwyns flourish and point a freer basis of relationship than we have yet been able to square with our lives
These two felt unutterably bound to each other Cowperwood once he came to understand her fancied that he had found the one person with whom he could live happily the rest of his life She was so young so confident so hopeful so undismayed All these months since they had first begun to reach out to each other he had been hourly contrasting her with his wife As a matter of fact his dissatisfaction though it may be said to have been faint up to this time was now surely tending to become real enough Still his children were pleasing to him his home beautiful Lillian phlegmatic and now thin was still not homely All these years he had found her satisfactory enough but now his dissatisfaction with her began to increase She was not like Aileen—not young not vivid not as unschooled in the commonplaces of life And while ordinarily he was not one who was inclined to be querulous still now on occasion he could be He began by asking questions concerning his wifes appearance—irritating little whys which are so trivial and yet so exasperating and discouraging to a woman Why didnt she get a mauve hat nearer the shade of her dress Why didnt she go out more Exercise would do her good Why didnt she do this and why didnt she do that He scarcely noticed that he was doing this but she did and she felt the undertone—the real significance—and took umbrage
Oh why—why she retorted one day curtly Why do you ask so many questions You dont care so much for me any more thats why I can tell
He leaned back startled by the thrust It had not been based on any evidence of anything save his recent remarks but he was not absolutely sure He was just the least bit sorry that he had irritated her and he said so
Oh its all right she replied I dont care But I notice that you dont pay as much attention to me as you used to Its your business now first last and all the time You cant get your mind off of that
He breathed a sigh of relief She didnt suspect then
But after a little time as he grew more and more in sympathy with Aileen he was not so disturbed as to whether his wife might suspect or not He began to think on occasion as his mind followed the various ramifications of the situation that it would be better if she did She was really not of the contentious fighting sort He now decided because of various calculations in regard to her character that she might not offer as much resistance to some ultimate rearrangement as he had originally imagined She might even divorce him Desire dreams even in him were evoking calculations not as sound as those which ordinarily generated in his brain
No as he now said to himself the rub was not nearly so much in his own home as it was in the Butler family His relations with Edward Malia Butler had become very intimate He was now advising with him constantly in regard to the handling of his securities which were numerous Butler held stocks in such things as the Pennsylvania Coal Company the Delaware and Hudson Canal the Morris and Essex Canal the Reading Railroad As the old gentlemans mind had broadened to the significance of the local streetrailway problem in Philadelphia he had decided to close out his other securities at such advantageous terms as he could and reinvest the money in local lines He knew that Mollenhauer and Simpson were doing this and they were excellent judges of the significance of local affairs Like Cowperwood he had the idea that if he controlled sufficient of the local situation in this field he could at last effect a joint relationship with Mollenhauer and Simpson Political legislation advantageous to the combined lines could then be so easily secured Franchises and necessary extensions to existing franchises could be added This conversion of his outstanding stock in other fields and the picking up of odd lots in the local streetrailway was the business of Cowperwood Butler through his sons Owen and Callum was also busy planning a new line and obtaining a franchise sacrificing of course great blocks of stock and actual cash to others in order to obtain sufficient influence to have the necessary legislation passed Yet it was no easy matter seeing that others knew what the general advantages of the situation were and because of this Cowperwood who saw the great source of profit here was able betimes to serve himself—buying blocks a part of which only went to Butler Mollenhauer or others In short he was not as eager to serve Butler or any one else as he was to serve himself if he could
In this connection the scheme which George W Stener had brought forward representing actually in the background Strobik Wycroft and Harmon was an opening wedge for himself Steners plan was to loan him money out of the city treasury at two per cent or if he would waive all commissions for nothing an agent for selfprotective purposes was absolutely necessary and with it take over the North Pennsylvania Companys line on Front Street which because of the shortness of its length one mile and a half and the brevity of the duration of its franchise was neither doing very well nor being rated very high Cowperwood in return for his manipulative skill was to have a fair proportion of the stock—twenty per cent Strobik and Wycroft knew the parties from whom the bulk of the stock could be secured if engineered properly Their plan was then with this borrowed treasury money to extend its franchise and then the line itself and then later again by issuing a great block of stock and hypothecating it with a favored bank be able to return the principal to the city treasury and pocket their profits from the line as earned There was no trouble in this in so far as Cowperwood was concerned except that it divided the stock very badly among these various individuals and left him but a comparatively small share—for his thought and pains
But Cowperwood was an opportunist And by this time his financial morality had become special and local in its character He did not think it was wise for any one to steal anything from anybody where the act of taking or profiting was directly and plainly considered stealing That was unwise—dangerous—hence wrong There were so many situations wherein what one might do in the way of taking or profiting was open to discussion and doubt Morality varied in his mind at least with conditions if not climates Here in Philadelphia the tradition politically mind you—not generally was that the city treasurer might use the money of the city without interest so long as he returned the principal intact The city treasury and the city treasurer were like a honeyladen hive and a queen bee around which the drones—the politicians—swarmed in the hope of profit The one disagreeable thing in connection with this transaction with Stener was that neither Butler Mollenhauer nor Simpson who were the actual superiors of Stener and Strobik knew anything about it Stener and those behind him were through him acting for themselves If the larger powers heard of this it might alienate them He had to think of this Still if he refused to make advantageous deals with Stener or any other man influential in local affairs he was cutting off his nose to spite his face for other bankers and brokers would and gladly And besides it was not at all certain that Butler Mollenhauer and Simpson would ever hear
In this connection there was another line which he rode on occasionally the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line which he felt was a much more interesting thing for him to think about if he could raise the money It had been originally capitalized for five hundred thousand dollars but there had been a series of bonds to the value of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars added for improvements and the company was finding great difficulty in meeting the interest The bulk of the stock was scattered about among small investors and it would require all of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to collect it and have himself elected president or chairman of the board of directors Once in however he could vote this stock as he pleased hypothecating it meanwhile at his fathers bank for as much as he could get and issuing more stocks with which to bribe legislators in the matter of extending the line and in taking up other opportunities to either add to it by purchase or supplement it by working agreements The word bribe is used here in this matteroffact American way because bribery was what was in every ones mind in connection with the State legislature Terrence Relihan—the small darkfaced Irishman a dandy in dress and manners—who represented the financial interests at Harrisburg and who had come to Cowperwood after the five million bond deal had been printed had told him that nothing could be done at the capital without money or its equivalent negotiable securities Each significant legislator if he yielded his vote or his influence must be looked after If he Cowperwood had any scheme which he wanted handled at any time Relihan had intimated to him that he would be glad to talk with him Cowperwood had figured on this Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line scheme more than once but he had never felt quite sure that he was willing to undertake it His obligations in other directions were so large But the lure was there and he pondered and pondered
Steners scheme of loaning him money wherewith to manipulate the North Pennsylvania line deal put this Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street dream in a more favorable light As it was he was constantly watching the certificates of loan issue for the city treasury—buying large quantities when the market was falling to protect it and selling heavily though cautiously when he saw it rising and to do this he had to have a great deal of free money to permit him to do it He was constantly fearful of some break in the market which would affect the value of all his securities and result in the calling of his loans There was no storm in sight He did not see that anything could happen in reason but he did not want to spread himself out too thin As he saw it now therefore if he took one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of this city money and went after this Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street matter it would not mean that he was spreading himself out too thin for because of this new proposition could he not call on Stener for more as a loan in connection with these other ventures But if anything should happen—well—
Frank said Stener strolling into his office one afternoon after four oclock when the main rush of the days work was over—the relationship between Cowperwood and Stener had long since reached the Frank and George period—Strobik thinks he has that North Pennsylvania deal arranged so that we can take it up if we want to The principal stockholder we find is a man by the name of Coltan—not Ike Colton but Ferdinand Hows that for a name Stener beamed fatly and genially
Things had changed considerably for him since the days when he had been fortuitously and almost indifferently made city treasurer His method of dressing had so much improved since he had been inducted into office and his manner expressed so much more good feeling confidence aplomb that he would not have recognized himself if he had been permitted to see himself as had those who had known him before An old nervous shifting of the eyes had almost ceased and a feeling of restfulness which had previously been restlessness and had sprung from a sense of necessity had taken its place His large feet were incased in good squaretoed softleather shoes his stocky chest and fat legs were made somewhat agreeable to the eye by a wellcut suit of brownishgray cloth and his neck was now surrounded by a low wingpoint white collar and brownsilk tie His ample chest which spread out a little lower in around and constantly enlarging stomach was ornamented by a heavylink gold chain and his white cuffs had large gold cuffbuttons set with rubies of a very notable size He was rosy and decidedly well fed In fact he was doing very well indeed
He had moved his family from a shabby twostory frame house in South Ninth Street to a very comfortable brick one three stories in height and three times as large on Spring Garden Street His wife had a few acquaintances—the wives of other politicians His children were attending the high school a thing he had hardly hoped for in earlier days He was now the owner of fourteen or fifteen pieces of cheap real estate in different portions of the city which might eventually become very valuable and he was a silent partner in the South Philadelphia Foundry Company and the American Beef and Pork Company two corporations on paper whose principal business was subletting contracts secured from the city to the humble butchers and foundrymen who would carry out orders as given and not talk too much or ask questions
Well that is an odd name said Cowperwood blandly So he has it I never thought that road would pay as it was laid out Its too short It ought to run about three miles farther out into the Kensington section
Youre right said Stener dully
Did Strobik say what Colton wants for his shares
Sixtyeight I think
The current market rate He doesnt want much does he Well George at that rate it will take about—he calculated quickly on the basis of the number of shares Cotton was holding—one hundred and twenty thousand to get him out alone That isnt all Theres Judge Kitchen and Joseph Zimmerman and Senator Donovan—he was referring to the State senator of that name Youll be paying a pretty fair price for that stud when you get it It will cost considerable more to extend the line Its too much I think
Cowperwood was thinking how easy it would be to combine this line with his dreamedof Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line and after a time and with this in view he added
Say George why do you work all your schemes through Strobik and Harmon and Wycroft Couldnt you and I manage some of these things for ourselves alone instead of for three or four It seems to me that plan would be much more profitable to you
It would it would exclaimed Stener his round eyes fixed on Cowperwood in a rather helpless appealing way He liked Cowperwood and had always been hoping that mentally as well as financially he could get close to him Ive thought of that But these fellows have had more experience in these matters than I have had Frank Theyve been longer at the game I dont know as much about these things as they do
Cowperwood smiled in his soul though his face remained passive
Dont worry about them George he continued genially and confidentially You and I together can know and do as much as they ever could and more Im telling you Take this railroad deal youre in on now George you and I could manipulate that just as well and better than it can be done with Wycroft Strobik and Harmon in on it Theyre not adding anything to the wisdom of the situation Theyre not putting up any money Youre doing that All theyre doing is agreeing to see it through the legislature and the council and as far as the legislature is concerned they cant do any more with that than any one else could—than I could for instance Its all a question of arranging things with Relihan anyhow putting up a certain amount of money for him to work with Here in town there are other people who can reach the council just as well as Strobik He was thinking once he controlled a road of his own of conferring with Butler and getting him to use his influence It would serve to quiet Strobik and his friends Im not asking you to change your plans on this North Pennsylvania deal You couldnt do that very well But there are other things In the future why not lets see if you and I cant work some one thing together Youll be much better off and so will I Weve done pretty well on the cityloan proposition so far havent we
The truth was they had done exceedingly well Aside from what the higher powers had made Steners new house his lots his bankaccount his good clothes and his changed and comfortable sense of life were largely due to Cowperwoods successful manipulation of these cityloan certificates Already there had been four issues of two hundred thousand dollars each Cowperwood had bought and sold nearly three million dollars worth of these certificates acting one time as a bull and another as a bear Stener was now worth all of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
Theres a line that I know of here in the city which could be made into a splendidly paying property continued Cowperwood meditatively if the right things could be done with it Just like this North Pennsylvania line it isnt long enough The territory it serves isnt big enough It ought to be extended but if you and I could get it it might eventually be worked with this North Pennsylvania Company or some other as one company That would save officers and offices and a lot of things There is always money to be made out of a larger purchasing power
He paused and looked out the window of his handsome little hardwood office speculating upon the future The window gave nowhere save into a back yard behind another office building which had formerly been a residence Some grass grew feebly there The red wall and oldfashioned brick fence which divided it from the next lot reminded him somehow of his old home in New Market Street to which his Uncle Seneca used to come as a Cuban trader followed by his black Portuguese servitor He could see him now as he sat here looking at the yard
Well asked Stener ambitiously taking the bait why dont we get hold of that—you and me I suppose I could fix it so far as the money is concerned How much would it take
Cowperwood smiled inwardly again
I dont know exactly he said after a time I want to look into it more carefully The one trouble is that Im carrying a good deal of the citys money as it is You see I have that two hundred thousand dollars against your cityloan deals And this new scheme will take two or three hundred thousand more If that were out of the way—
He was thinking of one of the inexplicable stock panics—those strange American depressions which had so much to do with the temperament of the people and so little to do with the basic conditions of the country If this North Pennsylvania deal were through and done with—
He rubbed his chin and pulled at his handsome silky mustache
Dont ask me any more about it George he said finally as he saw that the latter was beginning to think as to which line it might be Dont say anything at all about it I want to get my facts exactly right and then Ill talk to you I think you and I can do this thing a little later when we get the North Pennsylvania scheme under way Im so rushed just now Im not sure that I want to undertake it at once but you keep quiet and well see He turned toward his desk and Stener got up
Ill make any sized deposit with you that you wish the moment you think youre ready to act Frank exclaimed Stener and with the thought that Cowperwood was not nearly as anxious to do this as he should be since he could always rely on him Stener when there was anything really profitable in the offing Why should not the able and wonderful Cowperwood be allowed to make the two of them rich Just notify Stires and hell send you a check Strobik thought we ought to act pretty soon
Ill tend to it George replied Cowperwood confidently It will come out all right Leave it to me
Stener kicked his stout legs to straighten his trousers and extended his hand He strolled out in the street thinking of this new scheme Certainly if he could get in with Cowperwood right he would be a rich man for Cowperwood was so successful and so cautious His new house this beautiful banking office his growing fame and his subtle connections with Butler and others put Stener in considerable awe of him Another line They would control it and the North Pennsylvania Why if this went on he might become a magnate—he really might—he George W Stener once a cheap realestate and insurance agent He strolled up the street thinking but with no more idea of the importance of his civic duties and the nature of the social ethics against which he was offending than if they had never existed
Chapter XXII
The services which Cowperwood performed during the ensuing year and a half for Stener Strobik Butler State Treasurer Van Nostrand State Senator Relihan representative of the interests socalled at Harrisburg and various banks which were friendly to these gentlemen were numerous and confidential For Stener Strobik Wycroft Harmon and himself he executed the North Pennsylvania deal by which he became a holder of a fifth of the controlling stock Together he and Stener joined to purchase the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line and in the concurrent gambling in stocks
By the summer of 1871 when Cowperwood was nearly thirtyfour years of age he had a banking business estimated at nearly two million dollars personal holdings aggregating nearly half a million and prospects which other things being equal looked to wealth which might rival that of any American The city through its treasurer—still Mr Stener—was a depositor with him to the extent of nearly five hundred thousand dollars The State through its State treasurer Van Nostrand carried two hundred thousand dollars on his books Bode was speculating in streetrailway stocks to the extent of fifty thousand dollars Relihan to the same amount A small army of politicians and political hangerson were on his books for various sums And for Edward Malia Butler he occasionally carried as high as one hundred thousand dollars in margins His own loans at the banks varying from day to day on variously hypothecated securities were as high as seven and eight hundred thousand dollars Like a spider in a spangled net every thread of which he knew had laid had tested he had surrounded and entangled himself in a splendid glittering network of connections and he was watching all the details
His one pet idea the thing he put more faith in than anything else was his streetrailway manipulations and particularly his actual control of the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line Through an advance to him on deposit made in his bank by Stener at a time when the stock of the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line was at a low ebb he had managed to pick up fiftyone per cent of the stock for himself and Stener by virtue of which he was able to do as he pleased with the road To accomplish this however he had resorted to some very peculiar methods as they afterward came to be termed in financial circles to get this stock at his own valuation Through agents he caused suits for damages to be brought against the company for nonpayment of interest due A little stock in the hands of a hireling a request made to a court of record to examine the books of the company in order to determine whether a receivership were not advisable a simultaneous attack in the stock market selling at three five seven and ten points off brought the frightened stockholders into the market with their holdings The banks considered the line a poor risk and called their loans in connection with it His fathers bank had made one loan to one of the principal stockholders and that was promptly called of course Then through an agent the several heaviest shareholders were approached and an offer was made to help them out The stocks would be taken off their hands at forty They had not really been able to discover the source of all their woes and they imagined that the road was in bad condition which it was not Better let it go The money was immediately forthcoming and Cowperwood and Stener jointly controlled fiftyone per cent But as in the case of the North Pennsylvania line Cowperwood had been quietly buying all of the small minority holdings so that he had in reality fiftyone per cent of the stock and Stener twentyfive per cent more
This intoxicated him for immediately he saw the opportunity of fulfilling his longcontemplated dream—that of reorganizing the company in conjunction with the North Pennsylvania line issuing three shares where one had been before and after unloading all but a control on the general public using the money secured to buy into other lines which were to be boomed and sold in the same way In short he was one of those early daring manipulators who later were to seize upon other and ever larger phases of American natural development for their own aggrandizement
In connection with this first consolidation his plan was to spread rumors of the coming consolidation of the two lines to appeal to the legislature for privileges of extension to get up an arresting prospectus and later annual reports and to boom the stock on the stock exchange as much as his swelling resources would permit The trouble is that when you are trying to make a market for a stock—to unload a large issue such as his was over five hundred thousand dollars worth—while retaining five hundred thousand for yourself it requires large capital to handle it The owner in these cases is compelled not only to go on the market and do much fictitious buying thus creating a fictitious demand but once this fictitious demand has deceived the public and he has been able to unload a considerable quantity of his wares he is unless he rids himself of all his stock compelled to stand behind it If for instance he sold five thousand shares as was done in this instance and retained five thousand he must see that the public price of the outstanding five thousand shares did not fall below a certain point because the value of his private shares would fall with it And if as is almost always the case the private shares had been hypothecated with banks and trust companies for money wherewith to conduct other enterprises the falling of their value in the open market merely meant that the banks would call for large margins to protect their loans or call their loans entirely This meant that his work was a failure and he might readily fail He was already conducting one such difficult campaign in connection with this cityloan deal the price of which varied from day to day and which he was only too anxious to have vary for in the main he profited by these changes
But this second burden interesting enough as it was meant that he had to be doubly watchful Once the stock was sold at a high price the money borrowed from the city treasurer could be returned his own holdings created out of foresight by capitalizing the future by writing the shrewd prospectuses and reports would be worth their face value or little less He would have money to invest in other lines He might obtain the financial direction of the whole in which case he would be worth millions One shrewd thing he did which indicated the foresight and subtlety of the man was to make a separate organization or company of any extension or addition which he made to his line Thus if he had two or three miles of track on a street and he wanted to extend it two or three miles farther on the same street instead of including this extension in the existing corporation he would make a second corporation to control the additional two or three miles of right of way This corporation he would capitalize at so much and issue stocks and bonds for its construction equipment and manipulation Having done this he would then take the subcorporation over into the parent concern issuing more stocks and bonds of the parent company wherewith to do it and of course selling these bonds to the public Even his brothers who worked for him did not know the various ramifications of his numerous deals and executed his orders blindly Sometimes Joseph said to Edward in a puzzled way Well Frank knows what he is about I guess
On the other hand he was most careful to see that every current obligation was instantly met and even anticipated for he wanted to make a great show of regularity Nothing was so precious as reputation and standing His forethought caution and promptness pleased the bankers They thought he was one of the sanest shrewdest men they had ever met
However by the spring and summer of 1871 Cowperwood had actually without being in any conceivable danger from any source spread himself out very thin Because of his great success he had grown more liberal—easier—in his financial ventures By degrees and largely because of his own confidence in himself he had induced his father to enter upon his streetcar speculations to use the resources of the Third National to carry a part of his loans and to furnish capital at such times as quick resources were necessary In the beginning the old gentleman had been a little nervous and skeptical but as time had worn on and nothing but profit eventuated he grew bolder and more confident
Frank he would say looking up over his spectacles arent you afraid youre going a little too fast in these matters Youre carrying a lot of loans these days
No more than I ever did father considering my resources You cant turn large deals without large loans You know that as well as I do
Yes I know but—now that Green and Coates—arent you going pretty strong there
Not at all I know the inside conditions there The stock is bound to go up eventually Ill bull it up Ill combine it with my other lines if necessary
Cowperwood stared at his boy Never was there such a defiant daring manipulator
You neednt worry about me father If you are going to do that call my loans Other banks will loan on my stocks Id like to see your bank have the interest
So Cowperwood Sr was convinced There was no gainsaying this argument His bank was loaning Frank heavily but not more so than any other And as for the great blocks of stocks he was carrying in his sons companies he was to be told when to get out should that prove necessary Franks brothers were being aided in the same way to make money on the side and their interests were also now bound up indissolubly with his own
With his growing financial opportunities however Cowperwood had also grown very liberal in what might be termed his standard of living Certain young art dealers in Philadelphia learning of his artistic inclinations and his growing wealth had followed him up with suggestions as to furniture tapestries rugs objects of art and paintings—at first the American and later the foreign masters exclusively His own and his fathers house had not been furnished fully in these matters and there was that other house in North Tenth Street which he desired to make beautiful Aileen had always objected to the condition of her own home Love of distinguished surroundings was a basic longing with her though she had not the gift of interpreting her longings But this place where they were secretly meeting must be beautiful She was as keen for that as he was So it became a veritable treasuretrove more distinguished in furnishings than some of the rooms of his own home He began to gather here some rare examples of altar cloths rugs and tapestries of the Middle Ages He bought furniture after the Georgian theory—a combination of Chippendale Sheraton and Heppelwhite modified by the Italian Renaissance and the French Louis He learned of handsome examples of porcelain statuary Greek vase forms lovely collections of Japanese ivories and netsukes Fletcher Gray a partner in Cable Gray a local firm of importers of art objects called on him in connection with a tapestry of the fourteenth century weaving Gray was an enthusiast and almost instantly he conveyed some of his suppressed and yet fiery love of the beautiful to Cowperwood
There are fifty periods of one shade of blue porcelain alone Mr Cowperwood Gray informed him There are at least seven distinct schools or periods of rugs—Persian Armenian Arabian Flemish Modern Polish Hungarian and so on If you ever went into that it would be a distinguished thing to get a complete—I mean a representative—collection of some one period or of all these periods They are beautiful I have seen some of them others Ive read about
Youll make a convert of me yet Fletcher replied Cowperwood You or art will be the ruin of me Im inclined that way temperamentally as it is I think and between you and Ellsworth and Gordon Strake—another young man intensely interested in painting—youll complete my downfall Strake has a splendid idea He wants me to begin right now—Im using that word right in the sense of properly he commented—and get what examples I can of just the few rare things in each school or period of art which would properly illustrate each He tells me the great pictures are going to increase in value and what I could get for a few hundred thousand now will be worth millions later He doesnt want me to bother with American art
Hes right exclaimed Gray although it isnt good business for me to praise another art man It would take a great deal of money though
Not so very much At least not all at once It would be a matter of years of course Strake thinks that some excellent examples of different periods could be picked up now and later replaced if anything better in the same held showed up
His mind in spite of his outward placidity was tinged with a great seeking Wealth in the beginning had seemed the only goal to which had been added the beauty of women And now art for arts sake—the first faint radiance of a rosy dawn—had begun to shine in upon him and to the beauty of womanhood he was beginning to see how necessary it was to add the beauty of life—the beauty of material background—how in fact the only background for great beauty was great art This girl this Aileen Butler her raw youth and radiance was nevertheless creating in him a sense of the distinguished and a need for it which had never existed in him before to the same degree It is impossible to define these subtleties of reaction temperament on temperament for no one knows to what degree we are marked by the things which attract us A love affair such as this had proved to be was little less or more than a drop of coloring added to a glass of clear water or a foreign chemical agent introduced into a delicate chemical formula
In short for all her crudeness Aileen Butler was a definite force personally Her nature in a way a protest against the clumsy conditions by which she found herself surrounded was almost irrationally ambitious To think that for so long having been born into the Butler family she had been the subject as well as the victim of such commonplace and inartistic illusions and conditions whereas now owing to her contact with and mental subordination to Cowperwood she was learning so many wonderful phases of social as well as financial refinement of which previously she had guessed nothing The wonder for instance of a future social career as the wife of such a man as Frank Cowperwood The beauty and resourcefulness of his mind which after hours of intimate contact with her he was pleased to reveal and which so definite were his comments and instructions she could not fail to sense The wonder of his financial and artistic and future social dreams And oh oh she was his and he was hers She was actually beside herself at times with the glory as well as the delight of all this
At the same time her fathers local reputation as a quondam garbage contractor slopcollector was the unfeeling comment of the vulgarian cognoscenti her own unavailing efforts to right a condition of material vulgarity or artistic anarchy in her own home the hopelessness of ever being admitted to those distinguished portals which she recognized afar off as the last sanctum sanctorum of established respectability and social distinction had bred in her even at this early age a feeling of deadly opposition to her home conditions as they stood Such a house compared to Cowperwoods Her dear but ignorant father And this great man her lover had now condescended to love her—see in her his future wife Oh God that it might not fail Through the Cowperwoods at first she had hoped to meet a few people young men and women—and particularly men—who were above the station in which she found herself and to whom her beauty and prospective fortune would commend her but this had not been the case The Cowperwoods themselves in spite of Frank Cowperwoods artistic proclivities and growing wealth had not penetrated the inner circle as yet In fact aside from the subtle preliminary consideration which they were receiving they were a long way off
None the less and instinctively in Cowperwood Aileen recognized a way out—a door—and by the same token a subtle impending artistic future of great magnificence This man would rise beyond anything he now dreamed of—she felt it There was in him in some nebulous unrecognizable form a great artistic reality which was finer than anything she could plan for herself She wanted luxury magnificence social station Well if she could get this man they would come to her There were apparently insuperable barriers in the way but hers was no weakling nature and neither was his They ran together temperamentally from the first like two leopards Her own thoughts—crude half formulated half spoken—nevertheless matched his to a degree in the equality of their force and their raw directness
I dont think papa knows how to do she said to him one day It isnt his fault He cant help it He knows that he cant And he knows that I know it For years I wanted him to move out of that old house there He knows that he ought to But even that wouldnt do much good
She paused looking at him with a straight clear vigorous glance He liked the medallion sharpness of her features—their smooth Greek modeling
Never mind pet he replied We will arrange all these things later I dont see my way out of this just now but I think the best thing to do is to confess to Lillian some day and see if some other plan cant be arranged I want to fix it so the children wont suffer I can provide for them amply and I wouldnt be at all surprised if Lillian would be willing to let me go She certainly wouldnt want any publicity
He was counting practically and manfashion on her love for her children
Aileen looked at him with clear questioning uncertain eyes She was not wholly without sympathy but in a way this situation did not appeal to her as needing much Mrs Cowperwood was not friendly in her mood toward her It was not based on anything save a difference in their point of view Mrs Cowperwood could never understand how a girl could carry her head so high and put on such airs and Aileen could not understand how any one could be so lymphatic and lackadaisical as Lillian Cowperwood Life was made for riding driving dancing going It was made for airs and banter and persiflage and coquetry To see this woman the wife of a young forceful man like Cowperwood acting even though she were five years older and the mother of two children as though life on its romantic and enthusiastic pleasurable side were all over was too much for her Of course Lillian was unsuited to Frank of course he needed a young woman like herself and fate would surely give him to her Then what a delicious life they would lead
Oh Frank she exclaimed to him over and over if we could only manage it Do you think we can
Do I think we can Certainly I do Its only a matter of time I think if I were to put the matter to her clearly she wouldnt expect me to stay You look out how you conduct your affairs If your father or your brother should ever suspect me thered be an explosion in this town if nothing worse Theyd fight me in all my money deals if they didnt kill me Are you thinking carefully of what you are doing
All the time If anything happens Ill deny everything They cant prove it if I deny it Ill come to you in the long run just the same
They were in the Tenth Street house at the time She stroked his cheeks with the loving fingers of the wildly enamored woman
Ill do anything for you sweetheart she declared Id die for you if I had to I love you so
Well pet no danger You wont have to do anything like that But be careful
Chapter XXIII
Then after several years of this secret relationship in which the ties of sympathy and understanding grew stronger instead of weaker came the storm It burst unexpectedly and out of a clear sky and bore no relation to the intention or volition of any individual It was nothing more than a fire a distant one—the great Chicago fire October 7th 1871 which burned that city—its vast commercial section—to the ground and instantly and incidentally produced a financial panic vicious though of short duration in various other cities in America The fire began on Saturday and continued apparently unabated until the following Wednesday It destroyed the banks the commercial houses the shipping conveniences and vast stretches of property The heaviest loss fell naturally upon the insurance companies which instantly in many cases—the majority—closed their doors This threw the loss back on the manufacturers and wholesalers in other cities who had had dealings with Chicago as well as the merchants of that city Again very grievous losses were borne by the host of eastern capitalists which had for years past partly owned or held heavy mortgages on the magnificent buildings for business purposes and residences in which Chicago was already rivaling every city on the continent Transportation was disturbed and the keen scent of Wall Street and Third Street in Philadelphia and State Street in Boston instantly perceived in the early reports the gravity of the situation Nothing could be done on Saturday or Sunday after the exchange closed for the opening reports came too late On Monday however the facts were pouring in thick and fast and the owners of railroad securities government securities streetcar securities and indeed all other forms of stocks and bonds began to throw them on the market in order to raise cash The banks naturally were calling their loans and the result was a stock stampede which equaled the Black Friday of Wall Street of two years before
Cowperwood and his father were out of town at the time the fire began They had gone with several friends—bankers—to look at a proposed route of extension of a local steamrailroad on which a loan was desired In buggies they had driven over a good portion of the route and were returning to Philadelphia late Sunday evening when the cries of newsboys hawking an extra reached their ears
Ho Extra Extra All about the big Chicago fire
Ho Extra Extra Chicago burning down Extra Extra
The cries were longdrawnout ominous pathetic In the dusk of the dreary Sunday afternoon when the city had apparently retired to Sabbath meditation and prayer with that tinge of the dying year in the foliage and in the air one caught a sense of something grim and gloomy
Hey boy called Cowperwood listening seeing a shabbily clothed misfit of a boy with a bundle of papers under his arm turning a corner Whats that Chicago burning
He looked at his father and the other men in a significant way as he reached for the paper and then glancing at the headlines realized the worst
ALL CHICAGO BURNING
FIRE RAGES UNCHECKED IN COMMERCIAL SECTION SINCE YESTERDAY EVENING BANKS COMMERCIAL HOUSES PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN RUINS DIRECT TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION SUSPENDED SINCE THREE OCLOCK TODAY NO END TO PROGRESS OF DISASTER IN SIGHT
That looks rather serious he said calmly to his companions a cold commanding force coming into his eyes and voice To his father he said a little later Its panic unless the majority of the banks and brokerage firms stand together
He was thinking quickly brilliantly resourcefully of his own outstanding obligations His fathers bank was carrying one hundred thousand dollars worth of his streetrailway securities at sixty and fifty thousand dollars worth of city loan at seventy His father had up with him over forty thousand dollars in cash covering market manipulations in these stocks The banking house of Drexel Co was on his books as a creditor for one hundred thousand and that loan would be called unless they were especially merciful which was not likely Jay Cooke Co were his creditors for another one hundred and fifty thousand They would want their money At four smaller banks and three brokerage companies he was debtor for sums ranging from fifty thousand dollars down The city treasurer was involved with him to the extent of nearly five hundred thousand dollars and exposure of that would create a scandal the State treasurer for two hundred thousand There were small accounts hundreds of them ranging from one hundred dollars up to five and ten thousand A panic would mean not only a withdrawal of deposits and a calling of loans but a heavy depression of securities How could he realize on his securities—that was the question—how without selling so many points off that his fortune would be swept away and he would be ruined
He figured briskly the while he waved adieu to his friends who hurried away struck with their own predicament
You had better go on out to the house father and Ill send some telegrams The telephone had not yet been invented Ill be right out and well go into this thing together It looks like black weather to me Dont say anything to any one until after we have had our talk then we can decide what to do
Cowperwood Sr was already plucking at his sidewhiskers in a confused and troubled way He was cogitating as to what might happen to him in case his son failed for he was deeply involved with him He was a little gray in his complexion now frightened for he had already strained many points in his affairs to accommodate his son If Frank should not be able promptly on the morrow to meet the call which the bank might have to make for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars the onus and scandal of the situation would be on him
On the other hand his son was meditating on the tangled relation in which he now found himself in connection with the city treasurer and the fact that it was not possible for him to support the market alone Those who should have been in a position to help him were now as bad off as himself There were many unfavorable points in the whole situation Drexel Co had been booming railway stocks—loaning heavily on them Jay Cooke Co had been backing Northern Pacific—were practically doing their best to build that immense transcontinental system alone Naturally they were long on that and hence in a ticklish position At the first word they would throw over their surest securities—government bonds and the like—in order to protect their more speculative holdings The bears would see the point They would hammer and hammer selling short all along the line But he did not dare to do that He would be breaking his own back quickly and what he needed was time If he could only get time—three days a week ten days—this storm would surely blow over
The thing that was troubling him most was the matter of the halfmillion invested with him by Stener A fall election was drawing near Stener although he had served two terms was slated for reelection A scandal in connection with the city treasury would be a very bad thing It would end Steners career as an official—would very likely send him to the penitentiary It might wreck the Republican partys chances to win It would certainly involve himself as having much to do with it If that happened he would have the politicians to reckon with For if he were hard pressed as he would be and failed the fact that he had been trying to invade the city streetrailway preserves which they held sacred to themselves with borrowed city money and that this borrowing was liable to cost them the city election would all come out They would not view all that with a kindly eye It would be useless to say as he could that he had borrowed the money at two per cent most of it to save himself had been covered by a protective clause of that kind or that he had merely acted as an agent for Stener That might go down with the unsophisticated of the outer world but it would never be swallowed by the politicians They knew better than that
There was another phase to this situation however that encouraged him and that was his knowledge of how city politics were going in general It was useless for any politician however loftly to take a high and mighty tone in a crisis like this All of them great and small were profiting in one way and another through city privileges Butler Mollenhauer and Simpson he knew made money out of contracts—legal enough though they might be looked upon as rank favoritism—and also out of vast sums of money collected in the shape of taxes—land taxes water taxes etc—which were deposited in the various banks designated by these men and others as legal depositories for city money The banks supposedly carried the citys money in their vaults as a favor without paying interest of any kind and then reinvested it—for whom Cowperwood had no complaint to make for he was being well treated but these men could scarcely expect to monopolize all the citys benefits He did not know either Mollenhauer or Simpson personally—but he knew they as well as Butler had made money out of his own manipulation of city loan Also Butler was most friendly to him It was not unreasonable for him to think in a crisis like this that if worst came to worst he could make a clean breast of it to Butler and receive aid In case he could not get through secretly with Steners help Cowperwood made up his mind that he would do this
His first move he decided would be to go at once to Steners house and demand the loan of an additional three or four hundred thousand dollars Stener had always been very tractable and in this instance would see how important it was that his shortage of half a million should not be made public Then he must get as much more as possible But where to get it Presidents of banks and trust companies large stock jobbers and the like would have to be seen Then there was a loan of one hundred thousand dollars he was carrying for Butler The old contractor might be induced to leave that He hurried to his home secured his runabout and drove rapidly to Steners
As it turned out however much to his distress and confusion Stener was out of town—down on the Chesapeake with several friends shooting ducks and fishing and was not expected back for several days He was in the marshes back of some small town Cowperwood sent an urgent wire to the nearest point and then to make assurance doubly sure to several other points in the same neighborhood asking him to return immediately He was not at all sure however that Stener would return in time and was greatly nonplussed and uncertain for the moment as to what his next step would be Aid must be forthcoming from somewhere and at once
Suddenly a helpful thought occurred to him Butler and Mollenhauer and Simpson were long on local streetrailways They must combine to support the situation and protect their interests They could see the big bankers Drexel Co and Cooke Co and others and urge them to sustain the market They could strengthen things generally by organizing a buying ring and under cover of their support if they would he might sell enough to let him out and even permit him to go short and make something—a whole lot It was a brilliant thought worthy of a greater situation and its only weakness was that it was not absolutely certain of fulfillment
He decided to go to Butler at once the only disturbing thought being that he would now be compelled to reveal his own and Steners affairs So reentering his runabout he drove swiftly to the Butler home
When he arrived there the famous contractor was at dinner He had not heard the calling of the extras and of course did not understand as yet the significance of the fire The servants announcement of Cowperwood brought him smiling to the door
Wont you come in and join us Were just havin a light supper Have a cup of coffee or tea now—do
I cant replied Cowperwood Not tonight Im in too much of a hurry I want to see you for just a few moments and then Ill be off again I wont keep you very long
Why if thats the case Ill come right out And Butler returned to the diningroom to put down his napkin Aileen who was also dining had heard Cowperwoods voice and was on the qui vive to see him She wondered what it was that brought him at this time of night to see her father She could not leave the table at once but hoped to before he went Cowperwood was thinking of her even in the face of this impending storm as he was of his wife and many other things If his affairs came down in a heap it would go hard with those attached to him In this first clouding of disaster he could not tell how things would eventuate He meditated on this desperately but he was not panicstricken His naturally evenmolded face was set in fine classic lines his eyes were as hard as chilled steel
Well now exclaimed Butler returning his countenance manifesting a decidedly comfortable relationship with the world as at present constituted Whats up with you tonight Nawthin wrong I hope Its been too fine a day
Nothing very serious I hope myself replied Cowperwood But I want to talk with you a few minutes anyhow Dont you think we had better go up to your room
I was just going to say that replied Butler—the cigars are up there
They started from the receptionroom to the stairs Butler preceding and as the contractor mounted Aileen came out from the diningroom in a froufrou of silk Her splendid hair was drawn up from the base of the neck and the line of the forehead into some quaint convolutions which constituted a reddishgold crown Her complexion was glowing and her bare arms and shoulders shone white against the dark red of her evening gown She realized there was something wrong
Oh Mr Cowperwood how do you do she exclaimed coming forward and holding out her hand as her father went on upstairs She was delaying him deliberately in order to have a word with him and this bold acting was for the benefit of the others
Whats the trouble honey she whispered as soon as her father was out of hearing You look worried
Nothing much I hope sweet he said Chicago is burning up and theres going to be trouble tomorrow I have to talk to your father
She had time only for a sympathetic distressed Oh before he withdrew his hand and followed Butler upstairs She squeezed his arm and went through the receptionroom to the parlor She sat down thinking for never before had she seen Cowperwoods face wearing such an expression of stern disturbed calculation It was placid like fine white wax and quite as cold and those deep vague inscrutable eyes So Chicago was burning What would happen to him Was he very much involved He had never told her in detail of his affairs She would not have understood fully any more than would have Mrs Cowperwood But she was worried nevertheless because it was her Frank and because she was bound to him by what to her seemed indissoluble ties
Literature outside of the masters has given us but one idea of the mistress the subtle calculating siren who delights to prey on the souls of men The journalism and the moral pamphleteering of the time seem to foster it with almost partisan zeal It would seem that a censorship of life had been established by divinity and the care of its execution given into the hands of the utterly conservative Yet there is that other form of liaison which has nothing to do with conscious calculation In the vast majority of cases it is without design or guile The average woman controlled by her affections and deeply in love is no more capable than a child of anything save sacrificial thought—the desire to give and so long as this state endures she can only do this She may change—Hell hath no fury etc—but the sacrificial yielding solicitous attitude is more often the outstanding characteristic of the mistress and it is this very attitude in contradistinction to the grasping legality of established matrimony that has caused so many wounds in the defenses of the latter The temperament of man either male or female cannot help falling down before and worshiping this nonseeking sacrificial note It approaches vast distinction in life It appears to be related to that last word in art that largeness of spirit which is the first characteristic of the great picture the great building the great sculpture the great decoration—namely a giving freely and without stint of itself of beauty Hence the significance of this particular mood in Aileen
All the subtleties of the present combination were troubling Cowperwood as he followed Butler into the room upstairs
Sit down sit down You wont take a little somethin You never do I remember now Well have a cigar anyhow Now whats this thats troublin you tonight
Voices could be heard faintly in the distance far off toward the thicker residential sections
Extra Extra All about the big Chicago fire Chicago burning down
Just that replied Cowperwood hearkening to them Have you heard the news
No Whats that theyre calling
Its a big fire out in Chicago
Oh replied Butler still not gathering the significance of it
Its burning down the business section there Mr Butler went on Cowperwood ominously and I fancy its going to disturb financial conditions here tomorrow That is what I have come to see you about How are your investments Pretty well drawn in
Butler suddenly gathered from Cowperwoods expression that there was something very wrong He put up his large hand as he leaned back in his big leather chair and covered his mouth and chin with it Over those big knuckles and bigger nose thick and cartilaginous his large shaggyeyebrowed eyes gleamed His gray bristly hair stood up stiffly in a short even growth all over his head
So thats it he said Youre expectin trouble tomorrow How are your own affairs
Im in pretty good shape I think all told if the money element of this town doesnt lose its head and go wild There has to be a lot of common sense exercised tomorrow or tonight even You know we are facing a real panic Mr Butler you may as well know that It may not last long but while it does it will be bad Stocks are going to drop tomorrow ten or fifteen points on the opening The banks are going to call their loans unless some arrangement can be made to prevent them No one man can do that It will have to be a combination of men You and Mr Simpson and Mr Mollenhauer might do it—that is you could if you could persuade the big banking people to combine to back the market There is going to be a raid on local streetrailways—all of them Unless they are sustained the bottom is going to drop out I have always known that you were long on those I thought you and Mr Mollenhauer and some of the others might want to act If you dont I might as well confess that it is going to go rather hard with me I am not strong enough to face this thing alone
He was meditating on how he should tell the whole truth in regard to Stener
Well now thats pretty bad said Butler calmly and meditatively He was thinking of his own affairs A panic was not good for him either but he was not in a desperate state He could not fail He might lose some money but not a vast amount—before he could adjust things Still he did not care to lose any money
How is it youre so bad off he asked curiously He was wondering how the fact that the bottom was going to drop out of local streetrailways would affect Cowperwood so seriously Youre not carryin any of them things are you he added
It was now a question of lying or telling the truth and Cowperwood was literally afraid to risk lying in this dilemma If he did not gain Butlers comprehending support he might fail and if he failed the truth would come out anyhow
I might as well make a clean breast of this Mr Butler he said throwing himself on the old mans sympathies and looking at him with that brisk assurance which Butler so greatly admired He felt as proud of Cowperwood at times as he did of his own sons He felt that he had helped to put him where he was
The fact is that I have been buying streetrailway stocks but not for myself exactly I am going to do something now which I think I ought not to do but I cannot help myself If I dont do it it will injure you and a lot of people whom I do not wish to injure I know you are naturally interested in the outcome of the fall election The truth is I have been carrying a lot of stocks for Mr Stener and some of his friends I do not know that all the money has come from the city treasury but I think that most of it has I know what that means to Mr Stener and the Republican party and your interests in case I fail I dont think Mr Stener started this of his own accord in the first place—I think I am as much to blame as anybody—but it grew out of other things As you know I handled that matter of city loan for him and then some of his friends wanted me to invest in streetrailways for them I have been doing that ever since Personally I have borrowed considerable money from Mr Stener at two per cent In fact originally the transactions were covered in that way Now I dont want to shift the blame on any one It comes back to me and I am willing to let it stay there except that if I fail Mr Stener will be blamed and that will reflect on the administration Naturally I dont want to fail There is no excuse for my doing so Aside from this panic I have never been in a better position in my life But I cannot weather this storm without assistance and I want to know if you wont help me If I pull through I will give you my word that I will see that the money which has been taken from the treasury is put back there Mr Stener is out of town or I would have brought him here with me
Cowperwood was lying out of the whole cloth in regard to bringing Stener with him and he had no intention of putting the money back in the city treasury except by degrees and in such manner as suited his convenience but what he had said sounded well and created a great seeming of fairness
How much money is it Stener has invested with you asked Butler He was a little confused by this curious development It put Cowperwood and Stener in an odd light
About five hundred thousand dollars replied Cowperwood
The old man straightened up Is it as much as that he said
Just about—a little more or a little less Im not sure which
The old contractor listened solemnly to all Cowperwood had to say on this score thinking of the effect on the Republican party and his own contracting interests He liked Cowperwood but this was a rough thing the latter was telling him—rough and a great deal to ask He was a slowthinking and a slowmoving man but he did well enough when he did think He had considerable money invested in Philadelphia streetrailway stocks—perhaps as much as eight hundred thousand dollars Mollenhauer had perhaps as much more Whether Senator Simpson had much or little he could not tell Cowperwood had told him in the past that he thought the Senator had a good deal Most of their holdings as in the case of Cowperwoods were hypothecated at the various banks for loans and these loans invested in other ways It was not advisable or comfortable to have these loans called though the condition of no one of the triumvirate was anything like as bad as that of Cowperwood They could see themselves through without much trouble though not without probable loss unless they took hurried action to protect themselves
He would not have thought so much of it if Cowperwood had told him that Stener was involved say to the extent of seventyfive or a hundred thousand dollars That might be adjusted But five hundred thousand dollars
Thats a lot of money said Butler thinking of the amazing audacity of Stener but failing at the moment to identify it with the astute machinations of Cowperwood Thats something to think about Theres no time to lose if theres going to be a panic in the morning How much good will it do ye if we do support the market
A great deal returned Cowperwood although of course I have to raise money in other ways I have that one hundred thousand dollars of yours on deposit Is it likely that youll want that right away
It may be said Butler
Its just as likely that Ill need it so badly that I cant give it up without seriously injuring myself added Cowperwood Thats just one of a lot of things If you and Senator Simpson and Mr Mollenhauer were to get together—youre the largest holders of streetrailway stocks—and were to see Mr Drexel and Mr Cooke you could fix things so that matters would be considerably easier I will be all right if my loans are not called and my loans will not be called if the market does not slump too heavily If it does all my securities are depreciated and I cant hold out
Old Butler got up This is serious business he said I wish youd never gone in with Stener in that way It dont look quite right and it cant be made to Its bad bad business he added dourly Still Ill do what I can I cant promise much but Ive always liked ye and Ill not be turning on ye now unless I have to But Im sorry—very And Im not the only one that has a hand in things in this town At the same time he was thinking it was right decent of Cowperwood to forewarn him this way in regard to his own affairs and the city election even though he was saving his own neck by so doing He meant to do what he could
I dont suppose you could keep this matter of Stener and the city treasury quiet for a day or two until I see how I come out suggested Cowperwood warily
I cant promise that replied Butler Ill have to do the best I can I wont lave it go any further than I can help—you can depend on that He was thinking how the effect of Steners crime could be overcome if Cowperwood failed
Owen
He stepped to the door and opening it called down over the banister
Yes father
Have Dan hitch up the light buggy and bring it around to the door And you get your hat and coat I want you to go along with me
Yes father
He came back
Sure thats a nice little storm in a teapot now isnt it Chicago begins to burn and I have to worry here in Philadelphia Well well— Cowperwood was up now and moving to the door And where are you going
Back to the house I have several people coming there to see me But Ill come back here later if I may
Yes yes replied Butler To be sure Ill be here by midnight anyhow Well good night Ill see you later then I suppose Ill tell you what I find out
He went back in his room for something and Cowperwood descended the stair alone From the hangings of the receptionroom entryway Aileen signaled him to draw near
I hope its nothing serious honey she sympathized looking into his solemn eyes
It was not time for love and he felt it
No he said almost coldly I think not
Frank dont let this thing make you forget me for long please You wont will you I love you so
No no I wont he replied earnestly quickly and yet absently
I cant Dont you know I wont He had started to kiss her but a noise disturbed him Sh
He walked to the door and she followed him with eager sympathetic eyes
What if anything should happen to her Frank What if anything could What would she do That was what was troubling her What would what could she do to help him He looked so pale—strained
Chapter XXIV
The condition of the Republican party at this time in Philadelphia its relationship to George W Stener Edward Malia Butler Henry A Mollenhauer Senator Mark Simpson and others will have to be briefly indicated here in order to foreshadow Cowperwoods actual situation Butler as we have seen was normally interested in and friendly to Cowperwood Stener was Cowperwoods tool Mollenhauer and Senator Simpson were strong rivals of Butler for the control of city affairs Simpson represented the Republican control of the State legislature which could dictate to the city if necessary making new election laws revising the city charter starting political investigations and the like He had many influential newspapers corporations banks at his beck and call Mollenhauer represented the Germans some Americans and some large stable corporations—a very solid and respectable man All three were strong able and dangerous politically The two latter counted on Butlers influence particularly with the Irish and a certain number of ward leaders and Catholic politicians and laymen who were as loyal to him as though he were a part of the church itself Butlers return to these followers was protection influence aid and goodwill generally The citys return to him via Mollenhauer and Simpson was in the shape of contracts—fat ones—streetpaving bridges viaducts sewers And in order for him to get these contracts the affairs of the Republican party of which he was a beneficiary as well as a leader must be kept reasonably straight At the same time it was no more a part of his need to keep the affairs of the party straight than it was of either Mollenhauers or Simpsons and Stener was not his appointee The latter was more directly responsible to Mollenhauer than to any one else
As Butler stepped into the buggy with his son he was thinking about this and it was puzzling him greatly
Cowperwoods just been here he said to Owen who had been rapidly coming into a sound financial understanding of late and was already a shrewder man politically and socially than his father though he had not the latters magnetism Hes been tellin me that hes in a rather tight place You hear that he continued as some voice in the distance was calling Extra Extra Thats Chicago burnin and theres goin to be trouble on the stock exchange tomorrow We have a lot of our streetrailway stocks around at the different banks If we dont look sharp theyll be callin our loans We have to tend to that the first thing in the mornin Cowperwood has a hundred thousand of mine with him that he wants me to let stay there and he has some money that belongs to Stener he tells me
Stener asked Owen curiously Has he been dabbling in stocks Owen had heard some rumors concerning Stener and others only very recently which he had not credited nor yet communicated to his father How much money of his has Cowperwood he asked
Butler meditated Quite a bit Im afraid he finally said As a matter of fact its a great deal—about five hundred thousand dollars If that should become known it would be makin a good deal of noise Im thinkin
Whew exclaimed Owen in astonishment Five hundred thousand dollars Good Lord father Do you mean to say Stener has got away with five hundred thousand dollars Why I wouldnt think he was clever enough to do that Five hundred thousand dollars It will make a nice row if that comes out
Aisy now Aisy now replied Butler doing his best to keep all phases of the situation in mind We cant tell exactly what the circumstances were yet He maynt have meant to take so much It may all come out all right yet The moneys invested Cowperwood hasnt failed yet It may be put back The thing to be settled on now is whether anything can be done to save him If hes tellin me the truth—and I never knew him to lie—he can get out of this if streetrailway stocks dont break too heavy in the mornin Im going over to see Henry Mollenhauer and Mark Simpson Theyre in on this Cowperwood wanted me to see if I couldnt get them to get the bankers together and have them stand by the market He thought we might protect our loans by comin on and buyin and holdin up the price
Owen was running swiftly in his mind over Cowperwoods affairs—as much as he knew of them He felt keenly that the banker ought to be shaken out This dilemma was his fault not Steners—he felt It was strange to him that his father did not see it and resent it
You see what it is father he said dramatically after a time Cowperwoods been using this money of Steners to pick up stocks and hes in a hole If it hadnt been for this fire hed have got away with it but now he wants you and Simpson and Mollenhauer and the others to pull him out Hes a nice fellow and I like him fairly well but youre a fool if you do as he wants you to He has more than belongs to him already I heard the other day that he has the Front Street line and almost all of Green and Coates and that he and Stener own the Seventeenth and Nineteenth but I didnt believe it Ive been intending to ask you about it I think Cowperwood has a majority for himself stowed away somewhere in every instance Stener is just a pawn He moves him around where he pleases
Owens eyes gleamed avariciously opposingly Cowperwood ought to be punished sold out driven out of the streetrailway business in which Owen was anxious to rise
Now you know observed Butler thickly and solemnly I always thought that young felly was clever but I hardly thought he was as clever as all that So thats his game Youre pretty shrewd yourself arent you Well we can fix that if we think well of it But theres more than that to all this You dont want to forget the Republican party Our success goes with the success of that you know—and he paused and looked at his son If Cowperwood should fail and that money couldnt be put back— He broke off abstractedly The thing thats troublin me is this matter of Stener and the city treasury If somethin aint done about that it may go hard with the party this fall and with some of our contracts You dont want to forget that an election is comin along in November Im wonderin if I ought to call in that one hundred thousand dollars Its goin to take considerable money to meet my loans in the mornin
It is a curious matter of psychology but it was only now that the real difficulties of the situation were beginning to dawn on Butler In the presence of Cowperwood he was so influenced by that young mans personality and his magnetic presentation of his need and his own liking for him that he had not stopped to consider all the phases of his own relationship to the situation Out here in the cool night air talking to Owen who was ambitious on his own account and anything but sentimentally considerate of Cowperwood he was beginning to sober down and see things in their true light He had to admit that Cowperwood had seriously compromised the city treasury and the Republican party and incidentally Butlers own private interests Nevertheless he liked Cowperwood He was in no way prepared to desert him He was now going to see Mollenhauer and Simpson as much to save Cowperwood really as the party and his own affairs And yet a scandal He did not like that—resented it This young scalawag To think he should be so sly None the less he still liked him even here and now and was feeling that he ought to do something to help the young man if anything could help him He might even leave his hundredthousanddollar loan with him until the last hour as Cowperwood had requested if the others were friendly
Well father said Owen after a time I dont see why you need to worry any more than Mollenhauer or Simpson If you three want to help him out you can but for the life of me I dont see why you should I know this thing will have a bad effect on the election if it comes out before then but it could be hushed up until then couldnt it Anyhow your streetrailway holdings are more important than this election and if you can see your way clear to getting the streetrailway lines in your hands you wont need to worry about any elections My advice to you is to call that onehundredthousanddollar loan of yours in the morning and meet the drop in your stocks that way It may make Cowperwood fail but that wont hurt you any You can go into the market and buy his stocks I wouldnt be surprised if he would run to you and ask you to take them You ought to get Mollenhauer and Simpson to scare Stener so that he wont loan Cowperwood any more money If you dont Cowperwood will run there and get more Steners in too far now If Cowperwood wont sell out well and good the chances are he will bust anyhow and then you can pick up as much on the market as any one else I think hell sell You cant afford to worry about Steners five hundred thousand dollars No one told him to loan it Let him look out for himself It may hurt the party but you can look after that later You and Mollenhauer can fix the newspapers so they wont talk about it till after election
Aisy Aisy was all the old contractor would say He was thinking hard
Chapter XXV
The residence of Henry A Mollenhauer was at that time in a section of the city which was almost as new as that in which Butler was living It was on South Broad Street near a handsome library building which had been recently erected It was a spacious house of the type usually affected by men of new wealth in those days—a structure four stories in height of yellow brick and white stone built after no school which one could readily identify but not unattractive in its architectural composition A broad flight of steps leading to a wide veranda gave into a decidedly ornate door which was set on either side by narrow windows and ornamented to the right and left with paleblue jardinieres of considerable charm of outline The interior divided into twenty rooms was paneled and parqueted in the most expensive manner for homes of that day There was a great receptionhall a large parlor or drawingroom a diningroom at least thirty feet square paneled in oak and on the second floor were a musicroom devoted to the talents of Mollenhauers three ambitious daughters a library and private office for himself a boudoir and bath for his wife and a conservatory
Mollenhauer was and felt himself to be a very important man His financial and political judgment was exceedingly keen Although he was a German or rather an American of German parentage he was a man of a rather impressive American presence He was tall and heavy and shrewd and cold His large chest and wide shoulders supported a head of distinguished proportions both round and long when seen from different angles The frontal bone descended in a protruding curve over the nose and projected solemnly over the eyes which burned with a shrewd inquiring gaze And the nose and mouth and chin below as well as his smooth hard cheeks confirmed the impression that he knew very well what he wished in this world and was very able without regard to let or hindrance to get it It was a big face impressive well modeled He was an excellent friend of Edward Malia Butlers as such friendships go and his regard for Mark Simpson was as sincere as that of one tiger for another He respected ability he was willing to play fair when fair was the game When it was not the reach of his cunning was not easily measured
When Edward Butler and his son arrived on this Sunday evening this distinguished representative of onethird of the citys interests was not expecting them He was in his library reading and listening to one of his daughters playing the piano His wife and his other two daughters had gone to church He was of a domestic turn of mind Still Sunday evening being an excellent one for conference purposes generally in the world of politics he was not without the thought that some one or other of his distinguished confreres might call and when the combination footman and butler announced the presence of Butler and his son he was well pleased
So there you are he remarked to Butler genially extending his hand Im certainly glad to see you And Owen How are you Owen What will you gentlemen have to drink and what will you smoke I know youll have something John—to the servitor—see if you can find something for these gentlemen I have just been listening to Caroline play but I think youve frightened her off for the time being
He moved a chair into position for Butler and indicated to Owen another on the other side of the table In a moment his servant had returned with a silver tray of elaborate design carrying whiskies and wines of various dates and cigars in profusion Owen was the new type of young financier who neither smoked nor drank His father temperately did both
Its a comfortable place you have here said Butler without any indication of the important mission that had brought him I dont wonder you stay at home Sunday evenings Whats new in the city
Nothing much so far as I can see replied Mollenhauer pacifically Things seem to be running smooth enough You dont know anything that we ought to worry about do you
Well yes said Butler draining off the remainder of a brandy and soda that had been prepared for him One thing You havent seen an avenin paper have you
No I havent said Mollenhauer straightening up Is there one out Whats the trouble anyhow
Nothing—except Chicagos burning and it looks as though wed have a little moneystorm here in the morning
You dont say I didnt hear that Theres a paper out is there Well well—is it much of a fire
The city is burning down so they say put in Owen who was watching the face of the distinguished politician with considerable interest
Well that is news I must send out and get a paper John he called His manservant appeared See if you can get me a paper somewhere The servant disappeared What makes you think that would have anything to do with us observed Mollenhauer returning to Butler
Well theres one thing that goes with that that I didnt know till a little while ago and that is that our man Stener is apt to be short in his accounts unless things come out better than some people seem to think suggested Butler calmly That might not look so well before election would it His shrewd gray Irish eyes looked into Mollenhauers who returned his gaze
Where did you get that queried Mr Mollenhauer icily He hasnt deliberately taken much money has he How much has he taken—do you know
Quite a bit replied Butler quietly Nearly five hundred thousand so I understand Only I wouldnt say that it has been taken as yet Its in danger of being lost
Five hundred thousand exclaimed Mollenhauer in amazement and yet preserving his usual calm You dont tell me How long has this been going on What has he been doing with the money
Hes loaned a good deal—about five hundred thousand dollars to this young Cowperwood in Third Street thats been handlin city loan Theyve been investin it for themselves in one thing and another—mostly in buyin up streetrailways At the mention of streetrailways Mollenhauers impassive countenance underwent a barely perceptible change This fire accordin to Cowperwood is certain to produce a panic in the mornin and unless he gets considerable help he doesnt see how hes to hold out If he doesnt hold out therell be five hundred thousand dollars missin from the city treasury which cant be put back Steners out of town and Cowperwoods come to me to see what can be done about it As a matter of fact hes done a little business for me in times past and he thought maybe I could help him now—that is that I might get you and the Senator to see the big bankers with me and help support the market in the mornin If we dont hes goin to fail and he thought the scandal would hurt us in the election He doesnt appear to me to be workin any game—just anxious to save himself and do the square thing by me—by us if he can Butler paused
Mollenhauer sly and secretive himself was apparently not at all moved by this unexpected development At the same time never having thought of Stener as having any particular executive or financial ability he was a little stirred and curious So his treasurer was using money without his knowing it and now stood in danger of being prosecuted Cowperwood he knew of only indirectly as one who had been engaged to handle city loan He had profited by his manipulation of city loan Evidently the banker had made a fool of Stener and had used the money for streetrailway shares He and Stener must have quite some private holdings then That did interest Mollenhauer greatly
Five hundred thousand dollars he repeated when Butler had finished That is quite a little money If merely supporting the market would save Cowperwood we might do that although if its a severe panic I do not see how anything we can do will be of very much assistance to him If hes in a very tight place and a severe slump is coming it will take a great deal more than our merely supporting the market to save him Ive been through that before You dont know what his liabilities are
I do not said Butler
He didnt ask for money you say
He wants me to lave a hundred thousand he has of mine until he sees whether he can get through or not
Stener is really out of town I suppose Mollenhauer was innately suspicious
So Cowperwood says We can send and find out
Mollenhauer was thinking of the various aspects of the case Supporting the market would be all very well if that would save Cowperwood and the Republican party and his treasurer At the same time Stener could then be compelled to restore the five hundred thousand dollars to the city treasury and release his holdings to some one—preferably to him—Mollenhauer But here was Butler also to be considered in this matter What might he not want He consulted with Butler and learned that Cowperwood had agreed to return the five hundred thousand in case he could get it together The various streetcar holdings were not asked after But what assurance had any one that Cowperwood could be so saved And could or would get the money together And if he were saved would he give the money back to Stener If he required actual money who would loan it to him in a time like this—in case a sharp panic was imminent What security could he give On the other hand under pressure from the right parties he might be made to surrender all his streetrailway holdings for a song—his and Steners If he Mollenhauer could get them he would not particularly care whether the election was lost this fall or not although he felt satisfied as had Owen that it would not be lost It could be bought as usual The defalcation—if Cowperwoods failure made Steners loan into one—could be concealed long enough Mollenhauer thought to win Personally as it came to him now he would prefer to frighten Stener into refusing Cowperwood additional aid and then raid the latters streetrailway stock in combination with everybody elses for that matter—Simpsons and Butlers included One of the big sources of future wealth in Philadelphia lay in these lines For the present however he had to pretend an interest in saving the party at the polls
I cant speak for the Senator thats sure pursued Mollenhauer reflectively I dont know what he may think As for myself I am perfectly willing to do what I can to keep up the price of stocks if that will do any good I would do so naturally in order to protect my loans The thing that we ought to be thinking about in my judgment is how to prevent exposure in case Mr Cowperwood does fail until after election We have no assurance of course that however much we support the market we will be able to sustain it
We have not replied Butler solemnly
Owen thought he could see Cowperwoods approaching doom quite plainly At that moment the doorbell rang A maid in the absence of the footman brought in the name of Senator Simpson
Just the man said Mollenhauer Show him up You can see what he thinks
Perhaps I had better leave you alone now suggested Owen to his father Perhaps I can find Miss Caroline and she will sing for me Ill wait for you father he added
Mollenhauer cast him an ingratiating smile and as he stepped out Senator Simpson walked in
A more interesting type of his kind than Senator Mark Simpson never flourished in the State of Pennsylvania which has been productive of interesting types Contrasted with either of the two men who now greeted him warmly and shook his hand he was physically unimpressive He was small—five feet nine inches to Mollenhauers six feet and Butlers five feet eleven inches and a half and then his face was smooth with a receding jaw In the other two this feature was prominent Nor were his eyes as frank as those of Butler nor as defiant as those of Mollenhauer but for subtlety they were unmatched by either—deep strange receding cavernous eyes which contemplated you as might those of a cat looking out of a dark hole and suggesting all the artfulness that has ever distinguished the feline family He had a strange mop of black hair sweeping down over a fine low white forehead and a skin as pale and bluish as poor health might make it but there was nevertheless resident here a strange resistant capable force that ruled men—the subtlety with which he knew how to feed cupidity with hope and gain and the ruthlessness with which he repaid those who said him nay He was a still man as such a man might well have been—feeble and fishlike in his handshake wan and slightly lackadaisical in his smile but speaking always with eyes that answered for every defect
Avnin Mark Im glad to see you was Butlers greeting
How are you Edward came the quiet reply
Well Senator youre not looking any the worse for wear Can I pour you something
Nothing tonight Henry replied Simpson I havent long to stay I just stopped by on my way home My wifes over here at the Cavanaghs and I have to stop by to fetch her
Well its a good thing you dropped in Senator just when you did began Mollenhauer seating himself after his guest Butler here has been telling me of a little political problem that has arisen since I last saw you I suppose youve heard that Chicago is burning
Yes Cavanagh was just telling me It looks to be quite serious I think the market will drop heavily in the morning
I wouldnt be surprised myself put in Mollenhauer laconically
Heres the paper now said Butler as John the servant came in from the street bearing the paper in his hand Mollenhauer took it and spread it out before them It was among the earliest of the extras that were issued in this country and contained a rather impressive spread of type announcing that the conflagration in the lake city was growing hourly worse since its inception the day before
Well that is certainly dreadful said Simpson Im very sorry for Chicago I have many friends there I shall hope to hear that it is not so bad as it seems
The man had a rather grandiloquent manner which he never abandoned under any circumstances
The matter that Butler was telling me about continued Mollenhauer has something to do with this in a way You know the habit our city treasurers have of loaning out their money at two per cent
Yes said Simpson inquiringly
Well Mr Stener it seems has been loaning out a good deal of the citys money to this young Cowperwood in Third Street who has been handling city loans
You dont say said Simpson putting on an air of surprise Not much I hope The Senator like Butler and Mollenhauer was profiting greatly by cheap loans from the same source to various designated city depositories
Well it seems that Stener has loaned him as much as five hundred thousand dollars and if by any chance Cowperwood shouldnt be able to weather this storm Stener is apt to be short that amount and that wouldnt look so good as a voting proposition to the people in November do you think Cowperwood owes Mr Butler here one hundred thousand dollars and because of that he came to see him tonight He wanted Butler to see if something couldnt be done through us to tide him over If not—he waved one hand suggestively—well he might fail
Simpson fingered his strange wide mouth with his delicate hand What have they been doing with the five hundred thousand dollars he asked
Oh the boys must make a little somethin on the side said Butler cheerfully I think theyve been buyin up streetrailways for one thing He stuck his thumbs in the armholes of his vest Both Mollenhauer and Simpson smiled wan smiles
Quite so said Mollenhauer Senator Simpson merely looked the deep things that he thought
He too was thinking how useless it was for any one to approach a group of politicians with a proposition like this particularly in a crisis such as bid fair to occur He reflected that if he and Butler and Mollenhauer could get together and promise Cowperwood protection in return for the surrender of his streetrailway holdings it would be a very different matter It would be very easy in this case to carry the city treasury loan along in silence and even issue more money to support it but it was not sure in the first place that Cowperwood could be made to surrender his stocks and in the second place that either Butler or Mollenhauer would enter into any such deal with him Simpson Butler had evidently come here to say a good word for Cowperwood Mollenhauer and himself were silent rivals Although they worked together politically it was toward essentially different financial ends They were allied in no one particular financial proposition any more than Mollenhauer and Butler were And besides in all probability Cowperwood was no fool He was not equally guilty with Stener the latter had loaned him money The Senator reflected on whether he should broach some such subtle solution of the situation as had occurred to him to his colleagues but he decided not Really Mollenhauer was too treacherous a man to work with on a thing of this kind It was a splendid chance but dangerous He had better go it alone For the present they should demand of Stener that he get Cowperwood to return the five hundred thousand dollars if he could If not Stener could be sacrificed for the benefit of the party if need be Cowperwoods stocks with this tip as to his condition would Simpson reflected offer a good opportunity for a little stockexchange work on the part of his own brokers They could spread rumors as to Cowperwoods condition and then offer to take his shares off his hands—for a song of course It was an evil moment that led Cowperwood to Butler
Well now said the Senator after a prolonged silence I might sympathize with Mr Cowperwood in his situation and I certainly dont blame him for buying up streetrailways if he can but I really dont see what can be done for him very well in this crisis I dont know about you gentlemen but I am rather certain that I am not in a position to pick other peoples chestnuts out of the fire if I wanted to just now It all depends on whether we feel that the danger to the party is sufficient to warrant our going down into our pockets and assisting him
At the mention of real money to be loaned Mollenhauer pulled a long face I cant see that I will be able to do very much for Mr Cowperwood he sighed
Begad said Buler with a keen sense of humor it looks to me as if Id better be gettin in my one hundred thousand dollars Thats the first business of the early mornin Neither Simpson nor Mollenhauer condescended on this occasion to smile even the wan smile they had smiled before They merely looked wise and solemn
But this matter of the city treasury now said Senator Simpson after the atmosphere had been allowed to settle a little is something to which we shall have to devote a little thought If Mr Cowperwood should fail and the treasury lose that much money it would embarrass us no little What lines are they he added as an afterthought that this man has been particularly interested in
I really dont know replied Butler who did not care to say what Owen had told him on the drive over
I dont see said Mollenhauer unless we can make Stener get the money back before this man Cowperwood fails how we can save ourselves from considerable annoyance later but if we did anything which would look as though we were going to compel restitution he would probably shut up shop anyhow So theres no remedy in that direction And it wouldnt be very kind to our friend Edward here to do it until we hear how he comes out on his affair He was referring to Butlers loan
Certainly not said Senator Simpson with true political sagacity and feeling
Ill have that one hundred thousand dollars in the mornin said Butler and never fear
I think said Simpson if anything comes of this matter that we will have to do our best to hush it up until after the election The newspapers can just as well keep silent on that score as not Theres one thing I would suggest—and he was now thinking of the streetrailway properties which Cowperwood had so judiciously collected—and that is that the city treasurer be cautioned against advancing any more money in a situation of this kind He might readily be compromised into advancing much more I suppose a word from you Henry would prevent that
Yes I can do that said Mollenhauer solemnly
My judgement would be said Butler in a rather obscure manner thinking of Cowperwoods mistake in appealing to these noble protectors of the public that its best to let sleepin dogs run be thimselves
Thus ended Frank Cowperwoods dreams of what Butler and his political associates might do for him in his hour of distress
The energies of Cowperwood after leaving Butler were devoted to the task of seeing others who might be of some assistance to him He had left word with Mrs Stener that if any message came from her husband he was to be notified at once He hunted up Walter Leigh of Drexel Co Avery Stone of Jay Cooke Co and President Davison of the Girard National Bank He wanted to see what they thought of the situation and to negotiate a loan with President Davison covering all his real and personal property
I cant tell you Frank Walter Leigh insisted I dont know how things will be running by tomorrow noon Im glad to know how you stand Im glad youre doing what youre doing—getting all your affairs in shape It will help a lot Ill favor you all I possibly can But if the chief decides on a certain group of loans to be called theyll have to be called thats all Ill do my best to make things look better If the whole of Chicago is wiped out the insurance companies—some of them anyhow—are sure to go and then look out I suppose youll call in all your loans
Not any more than I have to
Well thats just the way it is here—or will be
The two men shook hands They liked each other Leigh was of the citys fashionable coterie a society man to the manner born but with a wealth of common sense and a great deal of worldly experience
Ill tell you Frank he observed at parting Ive always thought you were carrying too much streetrailway Its great stuff if you can get away with it but its just in a pinch like this that youre apt to get hurt Youve been making money pretty fast out of that and city loans
He looked directly into his longtime friends eyes and they smiled
It was the same with Avery Stone President Davison and others They had all already heard rumors of disaster when he arrived They were not sure what the morrow would bring forth It looked very unpromising
Cowperwood decided to stop and see Butler again for he felt certain his interview with Mollenhauer and Simpson was now over Butler who had been meditating what he should say to Cowperwood was not unfriendly in his manner So youre back he said when Cowperwood appeared
Yes Mr Butler
Well Im not sure that Ive been able to do anything for you Im afraid not Butler said cautiously Its a hard job you set me Mollenhauer seems to think that hell support the market on his own account I think he will Simpson has interests which he has to protect Im going to buy for myself of course
He paused to reflect
I couldnt get them to call a conference with any of the big moneyed men as yet he added warily Theyd rather wait and see what happens in the mornin Still I wouldnt be downhearted if I were you If things turn out very bad they may change their minds I had to tell them about Stener Its pretty bad but theyre hopin youll come through and straighten that out I hope so About my own loan—well Ill see how things are in the mornin If I raisonably can Ill lave it with you Youd better see me again about it I wouldnt try to get any more money out of Stener if I were you Its pretty bad as it is
Cowperwood saw at once that he was to get no aid from the politicians The one thing that disturbed him was this reference to Stener Had they already communicated with him—warned him If so his own coming to Butler had been a bad move and yet from the point of view of his possible failure on the morrow it had been advisable At least now the politicians knew where he stood If he got in a very tight corner he would come to Butler again—the politicians could assist him or not as they chose If they did not help him and he failed and the election were lost it was their own fault Anyhow if he could see Stener first the latter would not be such a fool as to stand in his own light in a crisis like this
Things look rather dark tonight Mr Butler he said smartly but I still think Ill come through I hope so anyhow Im sorry to have put you to so much trouble I wish of course that you gentlemen could see your way clear to assist me but if you cant you cant I have a number of things that I can do I hope that you will leave your loan as long as you can
He went briskly out and Butler meditated A clever young chap that he said Its too bad But he may come out all right at that
Cowperwood hurried to his own home only to find his father awake and brooding To him he talked with that strong vein of sympathy and understanding which is usually characteristic of those drawn by ties of flesh and blood He liked his father He sympathized with his painstaking effort to get up in the world He could not forget that as a boy he had had the loving sympathy and interest of his father The loan which he had from the Third National on somewhat weak Union Street Railway shares he could probably replace if stocks did not drop too tremendously He must replace this at all costs But his fathers investments in streetrailways which had risen with his own ventures and which now involved an additional two hundred thousand—how could he protect those The shares were hypothecated and the money was used for other things Additional collateral would have to be furnished the several banks carrying them It was nothing except loans loans loans and the need of protecting them If he could only get an additional deposit of two or three hundred thousand dollars from Stener But that in the face of possible financial difficulties was rank criminality All depended on the morrow
Monday the ninth dawned gray and cheerless He was up with the first ray of light shaved and dressed and went over under the graygreen pergola to his fathers house He was up also and stirring about for he had not been able to sleep His gray eyebrows and gray hair looked rather shaggy and disheveled and his sidewhiskers anything but decorative The old gentlemans eyes were tired and his face was gray Cowperwood could see that he was worrying He looked up from a small ornate escritoire of buhl which Ellsworth had found somewhere and where he was quietly tabulating a list of his resources and liabilities Cowperwood winced He hated to see his father worried but he could not help it He had hoped sincerely when they built their houses together that the days of worry for his father had gone forever
Counting up he asked familiarly with a smile He wanted to hearten the old gentleman as much as possible
I was just running over my affairs again to see where I stood in case— He looked quizzically at his son and Frank smiled again
I wouldnt worry father I told you how I fixed it so that Butler and that crowd will support the market I have Rivers and Targool and Harry Eltinge on change helping me sell out and they are the best men there Theyll handle the situation carefully I couldnt trust Ed or Joe in this case for the moment they began to sell everybody would know what was going on with me This way my men will seem like bears hammering the market but not hammering too hard I ought to be able to unload enough at ten points off to raise five hundred thousand The market may not go lower than that You cant tell It isnt going to sink indefinitely If I just knew what the big insurance companies were going to do The morning paper hasnt come yet has it
He was going to pull a bell but remembered that the servants would scarcely be up as yet He went to the front door himself There were the Press and the Public Ledger lying damp from the presses He picked them up and glanced at the front pages His countenance fell On one the Press was spread a great black map of Chicago a most funereallooking thing the black portion indicating the burned section He had never seen a map of Chicago before in just this clear definite way That white portion was Lake Michigan and there was the Chicago River dividing the city into three almost equal portions—the north side the west side the south side He saw at once that the city was curiously arranged somewhat like Philadelphia and that the business section was probably an area of two or three miles square set at the juncture of the three sides and lying south of the main stem of the river where it flowed into the lake after the southwest and northwest branches had united to form it This was a significant central area but according to this map it was all burned out Chicago in Ashes ran a great sideheading set in heavily leaded black type It went on to detail the sufferings of the homeless the number of the dead the number of those whose fortunes had been destroyed Then it descanted upon the probable effect in the East Insurance companies and manufacturers might not be able to meet the great strain of all this
Damn said Cowperwood gloomily I wish I were out of this stockjobbing business I wish I had never gotten into it He returned to his drawingroom and scanned both accounts most carefully
Then though it was still early he and his father drove to his office There were already messages awaiting him a dozen or more to cancel or sell While he was standing there a messengerboy brought him three more One was from Stener and said that he would be back by twelve oclock the very earliest he could make it Cowperwood was relieved and yet distressed He would need large sums of money to meet various loans before three Every hour was precious He must arrange to meet Stener at the station and talk to him before any one else should see him Clearly this was going to be a hard dreary strenuous day
Third Street by the time he reached there was stirring with other bankers and brokers called forth by the exigencies of the occasion There was a suspicious hurrying of feet—that intensity which makes all the difference in the world between a hundred people placid and a hundred people disturbed At the exchange the atmosphere was feverish At the sound of the gong the staccato uproar began Its metallic vibrations were still in the air when the two hundred men who composed this local organization at its utmost stress of calculation threw themselves upon each other in a gibbering struggle to dispose of or seize bargains of the hour The interests were so varied that it was impossible to say at which pole it was best to sell or buy
Targool and Rivers had been delegated to stay at the center of things Joseph and Edward to hover around on the outside and to pick up such opportunities of selling as might offer a reasonable return on the stock The bears were determined to jam things down and it all depended on how well the agents of Mollenhauer Simpson Butler and others supported things in the streetrailway world whether those stocks retained any strength or not The last thing Butler had said the night before was that they would do the best they could They would buy up to a certain point Whether they would support the market indefinitely he would not say He could not vouch for Mollenhauer and Simpson Nor did he know the condition of their affairs
While the excitement was at its highest Cowperwood came in As he stood in the door looking to catch the eye of Rivers the change gong sounded and trading stopped All the brokers and traders faced about to the little balcony where the secretary of the change made his announcements and there he stood the door open behind him a small dark clerkly man of thirtyeight or forty whose spare figure and pale face bespoke the methodic mind that knows no venturous thought In his right hand he held a slip of white paper
The American Fire Insurance Company of Boston announces its inability to meet its obligations The gong sounded again
Immediately the storm broke anew more voluble than before because if after one hour of investigation on this Monday morning one insurance company had gone down what would four or five hours or a day or two bring forth It meant that men who had been burned out in Chicago would not be able to resume business It meant that all loans connected with this concern had been or would be called now And the cries of frightened bulls offering thousand and five thousand lot holdings in Northern Pacific Illinois Central Reading Lake Shore Wabash in all the local streetcar lines and in Cowperwoods city loans at constantly falling prices was sufficient to take the heart out of all concerned He hurried to Arthur Riverss side in the lull but there was little he could say
It looks as though the Mollenhauer and Simpson crowds arent doing much for the market he observed gravely
Theyve had advices from New York explained Rivers solemnly It cant be supported very well There are three insurance companies over there on the verge of quitting I understand I expect to see them posted any minute
They stepped apart from the pandemonium to discuss ways and means Under his agreement with Stener Cowperwood could buy up to one hundred thousand dollars of city loan above the customary wash sales or market manipulation by which they were making money This was in case the market had to be genuinely supported He decided to buy sixty thousand dollars worth now and use this to sustain his loans elsewhere Stener would pay him for this instantly giving him more ready cash It might help him in one way and another and anyhow it might tend to strengthen the other securities long enough at least to allow him to realize a little something now at better than ruinous rates If only he had the means to go short on this market If only doing so did not really mean ruin to his present position It was characteristic of the man that even in this crisis he should be seeing how the very thing that of necessity because of his present obligations might ruin him might also under slightly different conditions yield him a great harvest He could not take advantage of it however He could not be on both sides of this market It was either bear or bull and of necessity he was bull It was strange but true His subtlety could not avail him here He was about to turn and hurry to see a certain banker who might loan him something on his house when the gong struck again Once more trading ceased Arthur Rivers from his position at the State securities post where city loan was sold and where he had started to buy for Cowperwood looked significantly at him Newton Targool hurried to Cowperwoods side
Youre up against it he exclaimed I wouldnt try to sell against this market Its no use Theyre cutting the ground from under you The bottoms out Things are bound to turn in a few days Cant you hold out Heres more trouble
He raised his eyes to the announcers balcony
The Eastern and Western Fire Insurance Company of New York announces that it cannot meet its obligations
A low sound something like Haw broke forth The announcers gavel struck for order
The Erie Fire Insurance Company of Rochester announces that it cannot meet its obligations
Again that Haaaw
Once more the gavel
The American Trust Company of New York has suspended payment
Haaaw
The storm was on
What do you think asked Targool You cant brave this storm Cant you quit selling and hold out for a few days Why not sell short
They ought to close this thing up Cowperwood said shortly It would be a splendid way out Then nothing could be done
He hurried to consult with those who finding themselves in a similar predicament with himself might use their influence to bring it about It was a sharp trick to play on those who now finding the market favorable to their designs in its falling condition were harvesting a fortune But what was that to him Business was business There was no use selling at ruinous figures and he gave his lieutenants orders to stop Unless the bankers favored him heavily or the stock exchange was closed or Stener could be induced to deposit an additional three hundred thousand with him at once he was ruined He hurried down the street to various bankers and brokers suggesting that they do this—close the exchange At a few minutes before twelve oclock he drove rapidly to the station to meet Stener but to his great disappointment the latter did not arrive It looked as though he had missed his train Cowperwood sensed something some trick and decided to go to the city hall and also to Steners house Perhaps he had returned and was trying to avoid him
Not finding him at his office he drove direct to his house Here he was not surprised to meet Stener just coming out looking very pale and distraught At the sight of Cowperwood he actually blanched
Why hello Frank he exclaimed sheepishly where do you come from
Whats up George asked Cowperwood I thought you were coming into Broad Street
So I was returned Stener foolishly but I thought I would get off at West Philadelphia and change my clothes Ive a lot of things to tend to yet this afternoon I was coming in to see you After Cowperwoods urgent telegram this was silly but the young banker let it pass
Jump in George he said I have something very important to talk to you about I told you in my telegram about the likelihood of a panic Its on There isnt a moment to lose Stocks are way down and most of my loans are being called I want to know if you wont let me have three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a few days at four or five per cent Ill pay it all back to you I need it very badly If I dont get it Im likely to fail You know what that means George It will tie up every dollar I have Those streetcar holdings of yours will be tied up with me I wont be able to let you realize on them and that will put those loans of mine from the treasury in bad shape You wont be able to put the money back and you know what that means Were in this thing together I want to see you through safely but I cant do it without your help I had to go to Butler last night to see about a loan of his and Im doing my best to get money from other sources But I cant see my way through on this Im afraid unless youre willing to help me Cowperwood paused He wanted to put the whole case clearly and succinctly to him before he had a chance to refuse—to make him realize it as his own predicament
As a matter of fact what Cowperwood had keenly suspected was literally true Stener had been reached The moment Butler and Simpson had left him the night before Mollenhauer had sent for his very able secretary Abner Sengstack and despatched him to learn the truth about Steners whereabouts Sengstack had then sent a long wire to Strobik who was with Stener urging him to caution the latter against Cowperwood The state of the treasury was known Stener and Strobik were to be met by Sengstack at Wilmington this to forefend against the possibility of Cowperwoods reaching Stener first—and the whole state of affairs made perfectly plain No more money was to be used under penalty of prosecution If Stener wanted to see any one he must see Mollenhauer Sengstack having received a telegram from Strobik informing him of their proposed arrival at noon the next day had proceeded to Wilmington to meet them The result was that Stener did not come direct into the business heart of the city but instead got off at West Philadelphia proposing to go first to his house to change his clothes and then to see Mollenhauer before meeting Cowperwood He was very badly frightened and wanted time to think
I cant do it Frank he pleaded piteously Im in pretty bad in this matter Mollenhauers secretary met the train out at Wilmington just now to warn me against this situation and Strobik is against it They know how much money Ive got outstanding You or somebody has told them I cant go against Mollenhauer I owe everything Ive got to him in a way He got me this place
Listen George Whatever you do at this time dont let this political loyalty stuff cloud your judgment Youre in a very serious position and so am I If you dont act for yourself with me now no one is going to act for you—now or later—no one And later will be too late I proved that last night when I went to Butler to get help for the two of us They all know about this business of our streetrailway holdings and they want to shake us out and thats the big and little of it—nothing more and nothing less Its a case of dog eat dog in this game and this particular situation and its up to us to save ourselves against everybody or go down together and thats just what Im here to tell you Mollenhauer doesnt care any more for you today than he does for that lamppost It isnt that money youve paid out to me thats worrying him but whos getting something for it and what Well they know that you and I are getting streetrailways dont you see and they dont want us to have them Once they get those out of our hands they wont waste another day on you or me Cant you see that Once weve lost all weve invested youre down and so am I—and no one is going to turn a hand for you or me politically or in any other way I want you to understand that George because its true And before you say you wont or you will do anything because Mollenhauer says so you want to think over what I have to tell you
He was in front of Stener now looking him directly in the eye and by the kinetic force of his mental way attempting to make Stener take the one step that might save him—Cowperwood—however little in the long run it might do for Stener And more interesting still he did not care Stener as he saw him now was a pawn in whosoevers hands he happened to be at the time and despite Mr Mollenhauer and Mr Simpson and Mr Butler he proposed to attempt to keep him in his own hands if possible And so he stood there looking at him as might a snake at a bird determined to galvanize him into selfish selfinterest if possible But Stener was so frightened that at the moment it looked as though there was little to be done with him His face was a grayishblue his eyelids and eye rings puffy and his hands and lips moist God what a hole he was in now
Say thats all right Frank he exclaimed desperately I know what you say is true But look at me and my position if I do give you this money What cant they do to me and wont If you only look at it from my point of view If only you hadnt gone to Butler before you saw me
As though I could see you George when you were off duck shooting and when I was wiring everywhere I knew to try to get in touch with you How could I The situation had to be met Besides I thought Butler was more friendly to me than he proved But theres no use being angry with me now George for going to Butler as I did and anyhow you cant afford to be now Were in this thing together Its a case of sink or swim for just us two—not any one else—just us—dont you get that Butler couldnt or wouldnt do what I wanted him to do—get Mollenhauer and Simpson to support the market Instead of that they are hammering it They have a game of their own Its to shake us out—cant you see that Take everything that you and I have gathered It is up to you and me George to save ourselves and thats what Im here for now If you dont let me have three hundred and fifty thousand dollars—three hundred thousand anyhow—you and I are ruined It will be worse for you George than for me for Im not involved in this thing in any way—not legally anyhow But thats not what Im thinking of What I want to do is to save us both—put us on easy street for the rest of our lives whatever they say or do and its in your power with my help to do that for both of us Cant you see that I want to save my business so then I can help you to save your name and money He paused hoping this had convinced Stener but the latter was still shaking
But what can I do Frank he pleaded weakly I cant go against Mollenhauer They can prosecute me if I do that They can do it anyhow I cant do that Im not strong enough If they didnt know if you hadnt told them it might be different but this way— He shook his head sadly his gray eyes filled with a pale distress
George replied Cowperwood who realized now that only the sternest arguments would have any effect here dont talk about what I did What I did I had to do Youre in danger of losing your head and your nerve and making a serious mistake here and I dont want to see you make it I have five hundred thousand of the citys money invested for you—partly for me and partly for you but more for you than for me—which by the way was not true—and here you are hesitating in an hour like this as to whether you will protect your interest or not I cant understand it This is a crisis George Stocks are tumbling on every side—everybodys stocks Youre not alone in this—neither am I This is a panic brought on by a fire and you cant expect to come out of a panic alive unless you do something to protect yourself You say you owe your place to Mollenhauer and that youre afraid of what hell do If you look at your own situation and mine youll see that it doesnt make much difference what he does so long as I dont fail If I fail where are you Whos going to save you from prosecution Will Mollenhauer or any one else come forward and put five hundred thousand dollars in the treasury for you He will not If Mollenhauer and the others have your interests at heart why arent they helping me on change today Ill tell you why They want your streetrailway holdings and mine and they dont care whether you go to jail afterward or not Now if youre wise you will listen to me Ive been loyal to you havent I Youve made money through me—lots of it If youre wise George youll go to your office and write me your check for three hundred thousand dollars anyhow before you do a single other thing Dont see anybody and dont do anything till youve done that You cant be hung any more for a sheep than you can for a lamb No one can prevent you from giving me that check Youre the city treasurer Once I have that I can see my way out of this and Ill pay it all back to you next week or the week after—this panic is sure to end in that time With that put back in the treasury we can see them about the five hundred thousand a little later In three months or less I can fix it so that you can put that back As a matter of fact I can do it in fifteen days once I am on my feet again Time is all I want You wont have lost your holdings and nobody will cause you any trouble if you put the money back They dont care to risk a scandal any more than you do Now whatll you do George Mollenhauer cant stop you from doing this any more than I can make you Your life is in your own hands What will you do
Stener stood there ridiculously meditating when as a matter of fact his very financial blood was oozing away Yet he was afraid to act He was afraid of Mollenhauer afraid of Cowperwood afraid of life and of himself The thought of panic loss was not so much a definite thing connected with his own property his money as it was with his social and political standing in the community Few people have the sense of financial individuality strongly developed They do not know what it means to be a controller of wealth to have that which releases the sources of social action—its medium of exchange They want money but not for moneys sake They want it for what it will buy in the way of simple comforts whereas the financier wants it for what it will control—for what it will represent in the way of dignity force power Cowperwood wanted money in that way Stener not That was why he had been so ready to let Cowperwood act for him and now when he should have seen more clearly than ever the significance of what Cowperwood was proposing he was frightened and his reason obscured by such things as Mollenhauers probable opposition and rage Cowperwoods possible failure his own inability to face a real crisis Cowperwoods innate financial ability did not reassure Stener in this hour The banker was too young too new Mollenhauer was older richer So was Simpson so was Butler These men with their wealth represented the big forces the big standards in his world And besides did not Cowperwood himself confess that he was in great danger—that he was in a corner That was the worst possible confession to make to Stener—although under the circumstances it was the only one that could be made—for he had no courage to face danger
So it was that now Stener stood by Cowperwood meditating—pale flaccid unable to see the main line of his interests quickly unable to follow it definitely surely vigorously—while they drove to his office Cowperwood entered it with him for the sake of continuing his plea
Well George he said earnestly I wish youd tell me Times short We havent a moment to lose Give me the money wont you and Ill get out of this quick We havent a moment I tell you Dont let those people frighten you off Theyre playing their own little game you play yours
I cant Frank said Stener finally very weakly his sense of his own financial future overcome for the time being by the thought of Mollenhauers hard controlling face Ill have to think I cant do it right now Strobik just left me before I saw you and—
Good God George exclaimed Cowperwood scornfully dont talk about Strobik Whats he got to do with it Think of yourself Think of where you will be Its your future—not Strobiks—that you have to think of
I know Frank persisted Stener weakly but really I dont see how I can Honestly I dont You say yourself youre not sure whether you can come out of things all right and three hundred thousand more is three hundred thousand more I cant Frank I really cant It wouldnt be right Besides I want to talk to Mollenhauer first anyhow
Good God how you talk exploded Cowperwood angrily looking at him with illconcealed contempt Go ahead See Mollenhauer Let him tell you how to cut your own throat for his benefit It wont be right to loan me three hundred thousand dollars more but it will be right to let the five hundred thousand dollars you have loaned stand unprotected and lose it Thats right isnt it Thats just what you propose to do—lose it and everything else besides I want to tell you what it is George—youve lost your mind Youve let a single message from Mollenhauer frighten you to death and because of that youre going to risk your fortune your reputation your standing—everything Do you really realize what this means if I fail You will be a convict I tell you George You will go to prison This fellow Mollenhauer who is so quick to tell you what not to do now will be the last man to turn a hand for you once youre down Why look at me—Ive helped you havent I Havent I handled your affairs satisfactorily for you up to now What in Heavens name has got into you What have you to be afraid of
Stener was just about to make another weak rejoinder when the door from the outer office opened and Albert Stires Steners chief clerk entered Stener was too flustered to really pay any attention to Stires for the moment but Cowperwood took matters in his own hands
What is it Albert he asked familiarly
Mr Sengstack from Mr Mollenhauer to see Mr Stener
At the sound of this dreadful name Stener wilted like a leaf Cowperwood saw it He realized that his last hope of getting the three hundred thousand dollars was now probably gone Still he did not propose to give up as yet
Well George he said after Albert had gone out with instructions that Stener would see Sengstack in a moment I see how it is This man has got you mesmerized You cant act for yourself now—youre too frightened Ill let it rest for the present Ill come back But for Heavens sake pull yourself together Think what it means Im telling you exactly whats going to happen if you dont Youll be independently rich if you do Youll be a convict if you dont
And deciding he would make one more effort in the street before seeing Butler again he walked out briskly jumped into his light spring runabout waiting outside—a handsome little yellowglazed vehicle with a yellow leather cushion seat drawn by a young highstepping bay mare—and sent her scudding from door to door throwing down the lines indifferently and bounding up the steps of banks and into office doors
But all without avail All were interested considerate but things were very uncertain The Girard National Bank refused an hours grace and he had to send a large bundle of his most valuable securities to cover his stock shrinkage there Word came from his father at two that as president of the Third National he would have to call for his one hundred and fifty thousand dollars due there The directors were suspicious of his stocks He at once wrote a check against fifty thousand dollars of his deposits in that bank took twentyfive thousand of his available office funds called a loan of fifty thousand against Tighe Co and sold sixty thousand Green Coates a line he had been tentatively dabbling in for onethird their value—and combining the general results sent them all to the Third National His father was immensely relieved from one point of view but sadly depressed from another He hurried out at the noonhour to see what his own holdings would bring He was compromising himself in a way by doing it but his parental heart as well as is own financial interests were involved By mortgaging his house and securing loans on his furniture carriages lots and stocks he managed to raise one hundred thousand in cash and deposited it in his own bank to Franks credit but it was a very light anchor to windward in this swirling storm at that Frank had been counting on getting all of his loans extended three or four days at least Reviewing his situation at two oclock of this Monday afternoon he said to himself thoughtfully but grimly Well Stener has to loan me three hundred thousand—thats all there is to it And Ill have to see Butler now or hell be calling his loan before three
He hurried out and was off to Butlers house driving like mad
Chapter XXVI
Things had changed greatly since last Cowperwood had talked with Butler Although most friendly at the time the proposition was made that he should combine with Mollenhauer and Simpson to sustain the market alas now on this Monday morning at nine oclock an additional complication had been added to the already tangled situation which had changed Butlers attitude completely As he was leaving his home to enter his runabout at nine oclock in the morning of this same day in which Cowperwood was seeking Steners aid the postman coming up had handed Butler four letters all of which he paused for a moment to glance at One was from a subcontractor by the name of OHiggins the second was from Father Michel his confessor of St Timothys thanking him for a contribution to the parish poor fund a third was from Drexel Co relating to a deposit and the fourth was an anonymous communication on cheap stationery from some one who was apparently not very literate—a woman most likely—written in a scrawling hand which read
DEAR SIR—This is to warn you that your daughter
Aileen is running around with a man that she shouldnt
Frank A Cowperwood the banker If you dont believe
it watch the house at 931 North Tenth Street Then you
can see for yourself
There was neither signature nor mark of any kind to indicate from whence it might have come Butler got the impression strongly that it might have been written by some one living in the vicinity of the number indicated His intuitions were keen at times As a matter of fact it was written by a girl a member of St Timothys Church who did live in the vicinity of the house indicated and who knew Aileen by sight and was jealous of her airs and her position She was a thin anemic dissatisfied creature who had the type of brain which can reconcile the gratification of personal spite with a comforting sense of having fulfilled a moral duty Her home was some five doors north of the unregistered Cowperwood domicile on the opposite side of the street and by degrees in the course of time she made out or imagined that she had the significance of this institution piecing fact to fancy and fusing all with that keen intuition which is so closely related to fact The result was eventually this letter which now spread clear and grim before Butlers eyes
The Irish are a philosophic as well as a practical race Their first and strongest impulse is to make the best of a bad situation—to put a better face on evil than it normally wears On first reading these lines the intelligence they conveyed sent a peculiar chill over Butlers sturdy frame His jaw instinctively closed and his gray eyes narrowed Could this be true If it were not would the author of the letter say so practically If you dont believe it watch the house at 931 North Tenth Street Wasnt that in itself proof positive—the hard matteroffact realism of it And this was the man who had come to him the night before seeking aid—whom he had done so much to assist There forced itself into his naturally slowmoving but rather accurate mind a sense of the distinction and charm of his daughter—a considerably sharper picture than he had ever had before and at the same time a keener understanding of the personality of Frank Algernon Cowperwood How was it he had failed to detect the real subtlety of this man How was it he had never seen any sign of it if there had been anything between Cowperwood and Aileen
Parents are frequently inclined because of a timeflattered sense of security to take their children for granted Nothing ever has happened so nothing ever will happen They see their children every day and through the eyes of affection and despite their natural charm and their own strong parental love the children are apt to become not only commonplaces but ineffably secure against evil Mary is naturally a good girl—a little wild but what harm can befall her John is a straightforward steadygoing boy—how could he get into trouble The astonishment of most parents at the sudden accidental revelation of evil in connection with any of their children is almost invariably pathetic My John My Mary Impossible But it is possible Very possible Decidedly likely Some through lack of experience or understanding or both grow hard and bitter on the instant They feel themselves astonishingly abased in the face of notable tenderness and sacrifice Others collapse before the grave manifestation of the insecurity and uncertainty of life—the mystic chemistry of our being Still others taught roughly by life or endowed with understanding or intuition or both see in this the latest manifestation of that incomprehensible chemistry which we call life and personality and knowing that it is quite vain to hope to gainsay it save by greater subtlety put the best face they can upon the matter and call a truce until they can think We all know that life is unsolvable—we who think The remainder imagine a vain thing and are full of sound and fury signifying nothing
So Edward Butler being a man of much wit and hard grim experience stood there on his doorstep holding in his big rough hand his thin slip of cheap paper which contained such a terrific indictment of his daughter There came to him now a picture of her as she was when she was a very little girl—she was his first baby girl—and how keenly he had felt about her all these years She had been a beautiful child—her redgold hair had been pillowed on his breast many a time and his hard rough fingers had stroked her soft cheeks lo these thousands of times Aileen his lovely dashing daughter of twentythree He was lost in dark strange unhappy speculations without any present ability to think or say or do the right thing He did not know what the right thing was he finally confessed to himself Aileen Aileen His Aileen If her mother knew this it would break her heart She mustnt She mustnt And yet mustnt she
The heart of a father The world wanders into many strange bypaths of affection The love of a mother for her children is dominant leonine selfish and unselfish It is concentric The love of a husband for his wife or of a lover for his sweetheart is a sweet bond of agreement and exchange trade in a lovely contest The love of a father for his son or daughter where it is love at all is a broad generous sad contemplative giving without thought of return a hail and farewell to a troubled traveler whom he would do much to guard a balanced judgment of weakness and strength with pity for failure and pride in achievement It is a lovely generous philosophic blossom which rarely asks too much and seeks only to give wisely and plentifully That my boy may succeed That my daughter may be happy Who has not heard and dwelt upon these twin fervors of fatherly wisdom and tenderness
As Butler drove downtown his huge slowmoving in some respects chaotic mind turned over as rapidly as he could all of the possibilities in connection with this unexpected sad and disturbing revelation Why had Cowperwood not been satisfied with his wife Why should he enter into his Butlers home of all places to establish a clandestine relationship of this character Was Aileen in any way to blame She was not without mental resources of her own She must have known what she was doing She was a good Catholic or at least had been raised so All these years she had been going regularly to confession and communion True of late Butler had noticed that she did not care so much about going to church would sometimes make excuses and stay at home on Sundays but she had gone as a rule And now now—his thoughts would come to the end of a blind alley and then he would start back as it were mentally to the center of things and begin all over again
He went up the stairs to his own office slowly He went in and sat down and thought and thought Ten oclock came and eleven His son bothered him with an occasional matter of interest but finding him moody finally abandoned him to his own speculations It was twelve and then one and he was still sitting there thinking when the presence of Cowperwood was announced
Cowperwood on finding Butler not at home and not encountering Aileen had hurried up to the office of the Edward Butler Contracting Company which was also the center of some of Butlers streetrailway interests The floor space controlled by the company was divided into the usual official compartments with sections for the bookkeepers the roadmanagers the treasurer and so on Owen Butler and his father had small but attractively furnished offices in the rear where they transacted all the important business of the company
During this drive curiously by reason of one of those strange psychologic intuitions which so often precede a human difficulty of one sort or another he had been thinking of Aileen He was thinking of the peculiarity of his relationship with her and of the fact that now he was running to her father for assistance As he mounted the stairs he had a peculiar sense of the untoward but he could not in his view of life give it countenance One glance at Butler showed him that something had gone amiss He was not so friendly his glance was dark and there was a certain sternness to his countenance which had never previously been manifested there in Cowperwoods memory He perceived at once that here was something different from a mere intention to refuse him aid and call his loan What was it Aileen It must be that Somebody had suggested something They had been seen together Well even so nothing could be proved Butler would obtain no sign from him But his loan—that was to be called surely And as for an additional loan he could see now before a word had been said that that thought was useless
I came to see you about that loan of yours Mr Butler he observed briskly with an oldtime jaunty air You could not have told from his manner or his face that he had observed anything out of the ordinary
Butler who was alone in the room—Owen having gone into an adjoining room—merely stared at him from under his shaggy brows
Ill have to have that money he said brusquely darkly
An oldtime Irish rage suddenly welled up in his bosom as he contemplated this jaunty sophisticated undoer of his daughters virtue He fairly glared at him as he thought of him and her
I judged from the way things were going this morning that you might want it Cowperwood replied quietly without sign of tremor The bottoms out I see
The bottoms out and itll not be put back soon Im thinkin Ill have to have whats belongin to me today I havent any time to spare
Very well replied Cowperwood who saw clearly how treacherous the situation was The old man was in a dour mood His presence was an irritation to him for some reason—a deadly provocation Cowperwood felt clearly that it must be Aileen that he must know or suspect something
He must pretend business hurry and end this Im sorry I thought I might get an extension but thats all right I can get the money though Ill send it right over
He turned and walked quickly to the door
Butler got up He had thought to manage this differently
He had thought to denounce or even assault this man He was about to make some insinuating remark which would compel an answer some direct charge but Cowperwood was out and away as jaunty as ever
The old man was flustered enraged disappointed He opened the small office door which led into the adjoining room and called Owen
Yes father
Send over to Cowperwoods office and get that money
You decided to call it eh
I have
Owen was puzzled by the old mans angry mood He wondered what it all meant but thought he and Cowperwood might have had a few words He went out to his desk to write a note and call a clerk Butler went to the window and stared out He was angry bitter brutal in his vein
The dirty dog he suddenly exclaimed to himself in a low voice Ill take every dollar hes got before Im through with him Ill send him to jail I will Ill break him I will Wait
He clinched his big fists and his teeth
Ill fix him Ill show him The dog The damned scoundrel
Never in his life before had he been so bitter so cruel so relentless in his mood
He walked his office floor thinking what he could do Question Aileen—that was what he would do If her face or her lips told him that his suspicion was true he would deal with Cowperwood later This city treasurer business now It was not a crime in so far as Cowperwood was concerned but it might be made to be
So now telling the clerk to say to Owen that he had gone down the street for a few moments he boarded a streetcar and rode out to his home where he found his elder daughter just getting ready to go out She wore a purplevelvet street dress edged with narrow flat gilt braid and a striking goldandpurple turban She had on dainty new boots of bronze kid and long gloves of lavender suede In her ears was one of her latest affectations a pair of long jet earrings The old Irishman realized on this occasion when he saw her perhaps more clearly than he ever had in his life that he had grown a bird of rare plumage
Where are you going daughter he asked with a rather unsuccessful attempt to conceal his fear distress and smoldering anger
To the library she said easily and yet with a sudden realization that all was not right with her father His face was too heavy and gray He looked tired and gloomy
Come up to my office a minute he said I want to see you before you go
Aileen heard this with a strange feeling of curiosity and wonder It was not customary for her father to want to see her in his office just when she was going out and his manner indicated in this instance that the exceptional procedure portended a strange revelation of some kind Aileen like every other person who offends against a rigid convention of the time was conscious of and sensitive to the possible disastrous results which would follow exposure She had often thought about what her family would think if they knew what she was doing she had never been able to satisfy herself in her mind as to what they would do Her father was a very vigorous man But she had never known him to be cruel or cold in his attitude toward her or any other member of the family and especially not toward her Always he seemed too fond of her to be completely alienated by anything that might happen yet she could not be sure
Butler led the way planting his big feet solemnly on the steps as he went up Aileen followed with a single glance at herself in the tall piermirror which stood in the hall realizing at once how charming she looked and how uncertain she was feeling about what was to follow What could her father want It made the color leave her cheeks for the moment as she thought what he might want
Butler strolled into his stuffy room and sat down in the big leather chair disproportioned to everything else in the chamber but which nevertheless accompanied his desk Before him against the light was the visitors chair in which he liked to have those sit whose faces he was anxious to study When Aileen entered he motioned her to it which was also ominous to her and said Sit down there
She took the seat not knowing what to make of his procedure On the instant her promise to Cowperwood to deny everything whatever happened came back to her If her father was about to attack her on that score he would get no satisfaction she thought She owed it to Frank Her pretty face strengthened and hardened on the instant Her small white teeth set themselves in two even rows and her father saw quite plainly that she was consciously bracing herself for an attack of some kind He feared by this that she was guilty and he was all the more distressed ashamed outraged made wholly unhappy He fumbled in the lefthand pocket of his coat and drew forth from among the various papers the fatal communication so cheap in its physical texture His big fingers fumbled almost tremulously as he fished the lettersheet out of the small envelope and unfolded it without saying a word Aileen watched his face and his hands wondering what it could be that he had here He handed the paper over small in his big fist and said Read that
Aileen took it and for a second was relieved to be able to lower her eyes to the paper Her relief vanished in a second when she realized how in a moment she would have to raise them again and look him in the face
DEAR SIR—This is to warn you that your daughter
Aileen is running around with a man that she shouldnt
Frank A Cowperwood the banker If you dont believe
it watch the house at 931 North Tenth Street Then you
can see for yourself
In spite of herself the color fled from her cheeks instantly only to come back in a hot defiant wave
Why what a lie she said lifting her eyes to her fathers To think that any one should write such a thing of me How dare they I think its a shame
Old Butler looked at her narrowly solemnly He was not deceived to any extent by her bravado If she were really innocent he knew she would have jumped to her feet in her defiant way Protest would have been written all over her As it was she only stared haughtily He read through her eager defiance to the guilty truth
How do ye know daughter that I havent had the house watched he said quizzically How do ye know that ye havent been seen goin in there
Only Aileens solemn promise to her lover could have saved her from this subtle thrust As it was she paled nervously but she saw Frank Cowperwood solemn and distinguished asking her what she would say if she were caught
Its a lie she said catching her breath I wasnt at any house at that number and no one saw me going in there How can you ask me that father
In spite of his mixed feelings of uncertainty and yet unshakable belief that his daughter was guilty he could not help admiring her courage—she was so defiant as she sat there so set in her determination to lie and thus defend herself Her beauty helped her in his mood raised her in his esteem After all what could you do with a woman of this kind She was not a tenyearold girl any more as in a way he sometimes continued to fancy her
Ye oughtnt to say that if it isnt true Aileen he said Ye oughtnt to lie Its against your faith Why would anybody write a letter like that if it wasnt so
But its not so insisted Aileen pretending anger and outraged feeling and I dont think you have any right to sit there and say that to me I havent been there and Im not running around with Mr Cowperwood Why I hardly know the man except in a social way
Butler shook his head solemnly
Its a great blow to me daughter Its a great blow to me he said Im willing to take your word if ye say so but I cant help thinkin what a sad thing it would be if ye were lyin to me I havent had the house watched I only got this this mornin And whats written here may not be so I hope it isnt But well not say any more about that now If there is anythin in it and ye havent gone too far yet to save yourself I want ye to think of your mother and your sister and your brothers and be a good girl Think of the church ye was raised in and the name weve got to stand up for in the world Why if ye were doin anything wrong and the people of Philadelphy got a hold of it the city big as it is wouldnt be big enough to hold us Your brothers have got a reputation to make their work to do here You and your sister want to get married sometime How could ye expect to look the world in the face and do anythin at all if ye are doin what this letter says ye are and it was told about ye
The old mans voice was thick with a strange sad alien emotion He did not want to believe that his daughter was guilty even though he knew she was He did not want to face what he considered in his vigorous religious way to be his duty that of reproaching her sternly There were some fathers who would have turned her out he fancied There were others who might possibly kill Cowperwood after a subtle investigation That course was not for him If vengeance he was to have it must be through politics and finance—he must drive him out But as for doing anything desperate in connection with Aileen he could not think of it
Oh father returned Aileen with considerable histrionic ability in her assumption of pettishness how can you talk like this when you know Im not guilty When I tell you so
The old Irishman saw through her makebelieve with profound sadness—the feeling that one of his dearest hopes had been shattered He had expected so much of her socially and matrimonially Why any one of a dozen remarkable young men might have married her and she would have had lovely children to comfort him in his old age
Well well not talk any more about it now daughter he said wearily Yeve been so much to me during all these years that I can scarcely belave anythin wrong of ye I dont want to God knows Yere a grown woman though now and if ye are doin anythin wrong I dont suppose I could do so much to stop ye I might turn ye out of course as many a father would but I wouldnt like to do anythin like that But if ye are doin anythin wrong—and he put up his hand to stop a proposed protest on the part of Aileen—remember Im certain to find it out in the long run and Philadelphy wont be big enough to hold me and the man thats done this thing to me Ill get him he said getting up dramatically Ill get him and when I do— He turned a livid face to the wall and Aileen saw clearly that Cowperwood in addition to any other troubles which might beset him had her father to deal with Was this why Frank had looked so sternly at her the night before
Why your mother would die of a broken heart if she thought there was anybody could say the least word against ye pursued Butler in a shaken voice This man has a family—a wife and children Ye oughtnt to want to do anythin to hurt them Theyll have trouble enough if Im not mistaken—facin whats comin to them in the future and Butlers jaw hardened just a little Yere a beautiful girl Yere young Ye have money Theres dozens of young mend be proud to make ye their wife Whatever ye may be thinkin or doin dont throw away your life Dont destroy your immortal soul Dont break my heart entirely
Aileen not ungenerous—fool of mingled affection and passion—could now have cried She pitied her father from her heart but her allegiance was to Cowperwood her loyalty unshaken She wanted to say something to protest much more but she knew that it was useless Her father knew that she was lying
Well theres no use of my saying anything more father she said getting up The light of day was fading in the windows The downstairs door closed with a light slam indicating that one of the boys had come in Her proposed trip to the library was now without interest to her You wont believe me anyhow I tell you though that Im innocent just the same
Butler lifted his big brown hand to command silence She saw that this shameful relationship as far as her father was concerned had been made quite clear and that this trying conference was now at an end She turned and walked shamefacedly out He waited until he heard her steps fading into faint nothings down the hall toward her room Then he arose Once more he clinched his big fists
The scoundrel he said The scoundrel Ill drive him out of Philadelphy if it takes the last dollar I have in the world
Chapter XXVII
For the first time in his life Cowperwood felt conscious of having been in the presence of that interesting social phenomenon—the outraged sentiment of a parent While he had no absolute knowledge as to why Butler had been so enraged he felt that Aileen was the contributing cause He himself was a father His boy Frank Jr was to him not so remarkable But little Lillian with her dainty little slip of a body and brightaureoled head had always appealed to him She was going to be a charming woman one day he thought and he was going to do much to establish her safely He used to tell her that she had eyes like buttons feet like a pussycat and hands that were just five cents worth they were so little The child admired her father and would often stand by his chair in the library or the sittingroom or his desk in his private office or by his seat at the table asking him questions
This attitude toward his own daughter made him see clearly how Butler might feel toward Aileen He wondered how he would feel if it were his own little Lillian and still he did not believe he would make much fuss over the matter either with himself or with her if she were as old as Aileen Children and their lives were more or less above the willing of parents anyhow and it would be a difficult thing for any parent to control any child unless the child were naturally docileminded and willing to be controlled
It also made him smile in a grim way to see how fate was raining difficulties on him The Chicago fire Steners early absence Butler Mollenhauer and Simpsons indifference to Steners fate and his And now this probable revelation in connection with Aileen He could not be sure as yet but his intuitive instincts told him that it must be something like this
Now he was distressed as to what Aileen would do say if suddenly she were confronted by her father If he could only get to her But if he was to meet Butlers call for his loan and the others which would come yet today or on the morrow there was not a moment to lose If he did not pay he must assign at once Butlers rage Aileen his own danger were brushed aside for the moment His mind concentrated wholly on how to save himself financially
He hurried to visit George Waterman David Wiggin his wifes brother who was now fairly well to do Joseph Zimmerman the wealthy drygoods dealer who had dealt with him in the past Judge Kitchen a private manipulator of considerable wealth Frederick Van Nostrand the State treasurer who was interested in local streetrailway stocks and others Of all those to whom he appealed one was actually not in a position to do anything for him another was afraid a third was calculating eagerly to drive a hard bargain a fourth was too deliberate anxious to have much time All scented the true value of his situation all wanted time to consider and he had no time to consider Judge Kitchen did agree to lend him thirty thousand dollars—a paltry sum Joseph Zimmerman would only risk twentyfive thousand dollars He could see where all told he might raise seventyfive thousand dollars by hypothecating double the amount in shares but this was ridiculously insufficient He had figured again to a dollar and he must have at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars above all his present holdings or he must close his doors Tomorrow at two oclock he would know If he didnt he would be written down as failed on a score of ledgers in Philadelphia
What a pretty pass for one to come to whose hopes had so recently run so high There was a loan of one hundred thousand dollars from the Girard National Bank which he was particularly anxious to clear off This bank was the most important in the city and if he retained its good will by meeting this loan promptly he might hope for favors in the future whatever happened Yet at the moment he did not see how he could do it He decided however after some reflection that he would deliver the stocks which Judge Kitchen Zimmerman and others had agreed to take and get their checks or cash yet this night Then he would persuade Stener to let him have a check for the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan he had purchased this morning on change Out of it he could take twentyfive thousand dollars to make up the balance due the bank and still have thirtyfive thousand for himself
The one unfortunate thing about such an arrangement was that by doing it he was building up a rather complicated situation in regard to these same certificates Since their purchase in the morning he had not deposited them in the sinkingfund where they belonged they had been delivered to his office by half past one in the afternoon but on the contrary had immediately hypothecated them to cover another loan It was a risky thing to have done considering that he was in danger of failing and that he was not absolutely sure of being able to take them up in time
But he reasoned he had a working agreement with the city treasurer illegal of course which would make such a transaction rather plausible and almost all right even if he failed and that was that none of his accounts were supposed necessarily to be put straight until the end of the month If he failed and the certificates were not in the sinkingfund he could say as was the truth that he was in the habit of taking his time and had forgotten This collecting of a check therefore for these as yet undeposited certificates would be technically if not legally and morally plausible The city would be out only an additional sixty thousand dollars—making five hundred and sixty thousand dollars all told which in view of its probable loss of five hundred thousand did not make so much difference But his caution clashed with his need on this occasion and he decided that he would not call for the check unless Stener finally refused to aid him with three hundred thousand more in which case he would claim it as his right In all likelihood Stener would not think to ask whether the certificates were in the sinkingfund or not If he did he would have to lie—that was all
He drove rapidly back to his office and finding Butlers note as he expected wrote a check on his fathers bank for the one hundred thousand dollars which had been placed to his credit by his loving parent and sent it around to Butlers office There was another note from Albert Stires Steners secretary advising him not to buy or sell any more city loan—that until further notice such transactions would not be honored Cowperwood immediately sensed the source of this warning Stener had been in conference with Butler or Mollenhauer and had been warned and frightened Nevertheless he got in his buggy again and drove directly to the city treasurers office
Since Cowperwoods visit Stener had talked still more with Sengstack Strobik and others all sent to see that a proper fear of things financial had been put in his heart The result was decidedly one which spelled opposition to Cowperwood
Strobik was considerably disturbed himself He and Wycroft and Harmon had also been using money out of the treasury—much smaller sums of course for they had not Cowperwoods financial imagination—and were disturbed as to how they would return what they owed before the storm broke If Cowperwood failed and Stener was short in his accounts the whole budget might be investigated and then their loans would be brought to light The thing to do was to return what they owed and then at least no charge of malfeasance would lie against them
Go to Mollenhauer Strobik had advised Stener shortly after Cowperwood had left the latters office and tell him the whole story He put you here He was strong for your nomination Tell him just where you stand and ask him what to do Hell probably be able to tell you Offer him your holdings to help you out You have to You cant help yourself Dont loan Cowperwood another damned dollar whatever you do Hes got you in so deep now you can hardly hope to get out Ask Mollenhauer if he wont help you to get Cowperwood to put that money back He may be able to influence him
There was more in this conversation to the same effect and then Stener hurried as fast as his legs could carry him to Mollenhauers office He was so frightened that he could scarcely breathe and he was quite ready to throw himself on his knees before the big GermanAmerican financier and leader Oh if Mr Mollenhauer would only help him If he could just get out of this without going to jail
Oh Lord Oh Lord Oh Lord he repeated over and over to himself as he walked What shall I do
The attitude of Henry A Mollenhauer grim political boss that he was—trained in a hard school—was precisely the attitude of every such man in all such trying circumstances
He was wondering in view of what Butler had told him just how much he could advantage himself in this situation If he could he wanted to get control of whatever streetrailway stock Stener now had without in any way compromising himself Steners shares could easily be transferred on change through Mollenhauers brokers to a dummy who would eventually transfer them to himself Mollenhauer Stener must be squeezed thoroughly though this afternoon and as for his five hundred thousand dollars indebtedness to the treasury Mollenhauer did not see what could be done about that If Cowperwood could not pay it the city would have to lose it but the scandal must be hushed up until after election Stener unless the various party leaders had more generosity than Mollenhauer imagined would have to suffer exposure arrest trial confiscation of his property and possibly sentence to the penitentiary though this might easily be commuted by the governor once public excitement died down He did not trouble to think whether Cowperwood was criminally involved or not A hundred to one he was not Trust a shrewd man like that to take care of himself But if there was any way to shoulder the blame on to Cowperwood and so clear the treasurer and the skirts of the party he would not object to that He wanted to hear the full story of Steners relations with the broker first Meanwhile the thing to do was to seize what Stener had to yield
The troubled city treasurer on being shown in Mr Mollenhauers presence at once sank feebly in a chair and collapsed He was entirely done for mentally His nerve was gone his courage exhausted like a breath
Well Mr Stener queried Mr Mollenhauer impressively pretending not to know what brought him
I came about this matter of my loans to Mr Cowperwood
Well what about them
Well he owes me or the city treasury rather five hundred thousand dollars and I understand that he is going to fail and that he cant pay it back
Who told you that
Mr Sengstack and since then Mr Cowperwood has been to see me He tells me he must have more money or he will fail and he wants to borrow three hundred thousand dollars more He says he must have it
So said Mr Mollenhauer impressively and with an air of astonishment which he did not feel You would not think of doing that of course Youre too badly involved as it is If he wants to know why refer him to me Dont advance him another dollar If you do and this case comes to trial no court would have any mercy on you Its going to be difficult enough to do anything for you as it is However if you dont advance him any more—we will see It may be possible I cant say but at any rate no more money must leave the treasury to bolster up this bad business Its much too difficult as it now is He stared at Stener warningly And he shaken and sick yet because of the faint suggestion of mercy involved somewhere in Mollenhauers remarks now slipped from his chair to his knees and folded his hands in the uplifted attitude of a devotee before a sacred image
Oh Mr Mollenhauer he choked beginning to cry I didnt mean to do anything wrong Strobik and Wycroft told me it was all right You sent me to Cowperwood in the first place I only did what I thought the others had been doing Mr Bode did it just like I have been doing He dealt with Tighe and Company I have a wife and four children Mr Mollenhauer My youngest boy is only seven years old Think of them Mr Mollenhauer Think of what my arrest will mean to them I dont want to go to jail I didnt think I was doing anything very wrong—honestly I didnt Ill give up all Ive got You can have all my stocks and houses and lots—anything—if youll only get me out of this You wont let em send me to jail will you
His fat white lips were trembling—wabbling nervously—and big hot tears were coursing down his previously pale but now flushed cheeks He presented one of those almost unbelievable pictures which are yet so intensely human and so true If only the great financial and political giants would for once accurately reveal the details of their lives
Mollenhauer looked at him calmly meditatively How often had he seen weaklings no more dishonest than himself but without his courage and subtlety pleading to him in this fashion not on their knees exactly but intellectually so Life to him as to every other man of large practical knowledge and insight was an inexplicable tangle What were you going to do about the socalled morals and precepts of the world This man Stener fancied that he was dishonest and that he Mollenhauer was honest He was here selfconvicted of sin pleading to him Mollenhauer as he would to a righteous unstained saint As a matter of fact Mollenhauer knew that he was simply shrewder more farseeing more calculating not less dishonest Stener was lacking in force and brains—not morals This lack was his principal crime There were people who believed in some esoteric standard of right—some ideal of conduct absolutely and very far removed from practical life but he had never seen them practice it save to their own financial not moral—he would not say that destruction They were never significant practical men who clung to these fatuous ideals They were always poor nondescript negligible dreamers He could not have made Stener understand all this if he had wanted to and he certainly did not want to It was too bad about Mrs Stener and the little Steners No doubt she had worked hard as had Stener to get up in the world and be something—just a little more than miserably poor and now this unfortunate complication had to arise to undo them—this Chicago fire What a curious thing that was If any one thing more than another made him doubt the existence of a kindly overruling Providence it was the unheralded storms out of clear skies—financial social anything you choose—that so often brought ruin and disaster to so many
Get Up Stener he said calmly after a few moments You mustnt give way to your feelings like this You must not cry These troubles are never unraveled by tears You must do a little thinking for yourself Perhaps your situation isnt so bad
As he was saying this Stener was putting himself back in his chair getting out his handkerchief and sobbing hopelessly in it
Ill do what I can Stener I wont promise anything I cant tell you what the result will be There are many peculiar political forces in this city I may not be able to save you but I am perfectly willing to try You must put yourself absolutely under my direction You must not say or do anything without first consulting with me I will send my secretary to you from time to time He will tell you what to do You must not come to me unless I send for you Do you understand that thoroughly
Yes Mr Mollenhauer
Well now dry your eyes I dont want you to go out of this office crying Go back to your office and I will send Sengstack to see you He will tell you what to do Follow him exactly And whenever I send for you come at once
He got up large selfconfident reserved Stener buoyed up by the subtle reassurance of his remarks recovered to a degree his equanimity Mr Mollenhauer the great powerful Mr Mollenhauer was going to help him out of his scrape He might not have to go to jail after all He left after a few moments his face a little red from weeping but otherwise free of telltale marks and returned to his office
Threequarters of an hour later Sengstack called on him for the second time that day—Abner Sengstack small darkfaced clubfooted a great sole of leather three inches thick under his short withered right leg his slightly Slavic highly intelligent countenance burning with a pair of keen piercing inscrutable black eyes Sengstack was a fit secretary for Mollenhauer You could see at one glance that he would make Stener do exactly what Mollenhauer suggested His business was to induce Stener to part with his streetrailway holdings at once through Tighe Co Butlers brokers to the political subagent who would eventually transfer them to Mollenhauer What little Stener received for them might well go into the treasury Tighe Co would manage the change subtleties of this without giving any one else a chance to bid while at the same time making it appear an openmarket transaction At the same time Sengstack went carefully into the state of the treasurers office for his masters benefit—finding out what it was that Strobik Wycroft and Harmon had been doing with their loans Via another source they were ordered to disgorge at once or face prosecution They were a part of Mollenhauers political machine Then having cautioned Stener not to set over the remainder of his property to any one and not to listen to any one most of all to the Machiavellian counsel of Cowperwood Sengstack left
Needless to say Mollenhauer was greatly gratified by this turn of affairs Cowperwood was now most likely in a position where he would have to come and see him or if not a good share of the properties he controlled were already in Mollenhauers possession If by some hook or crook he could secure the remainder Simpson and Butler might well talk to him about this streetrailway business His holdings were now as large as any if not quite the largest
Chapter XXVIII
It was in the face of this very altered situation that Cowperwood arrived at Steners office late this Monday afternoon
Stener was quite alone worried and distraught He was anxious to see Cowperwood and at the same time afraid
George began Cowperwood briskly on seeing him I havent much time to spare now but Ive come finally to tell you that youll have to let me have three hundred thousand more if you dont want me to fail Things are looking very bad today Theyve caught me in a corner on my loans but this storm isnt going to last You can see by the very character of it that it cant
He was looking at Steners face and seeing fear and a pained and yet very definite necessity for opposition written there Chicago is burning but it will be built up again Business will be all the better for it later on Now I want you to be reasonable and help me Dont get frightened
Stener stirred uneasily Dont let these politicians scare you to death It will all blow over in a few days and then well be better off than ever Did you see Mollenhauer
Yes
Well what did he have to say
He said just what I thought hed say He wont let me do this I cant Frank I tell you exclaimed Stener jumping up He was so nervous that he had had a hard time keeping his seat during this short direct conversation I cant Theyve got me in a corner Theyre after me They all know what weve been doing Oh say Frank—he threw up his arms wildly—youve got to get me out of this Youve got to let me have that five hundred thousand back and get me out of this If you dont and you should fail theyll send me to the penitentiary Ive got a wife and four children Frank I cant go on in this Its too big for me I never should have gone in on it in the first place I never would have if you hadnt persuaded me in a way I never thought when I began that I would ever get in as bad as all this I cant go on Frank I cant Im willing you should have all my stock Only give me back that five hundred thousand and well call it even His voice rose nervously as he talked and he wiped his wet forehead with his hand and stared at Cowperwood pleadingly foolishly
Cowperwood stared at him in return for a few moments with a cold fishy eye He knew a great deal about human nature and he was ready for and expectant of any queer shift in an individuals attitude particularly in time of panic but this shift of Steners was quite too much Whom else have you been talking to George since I saw you Whom have you seen What did Sengstack have to say
He says just what Mollenhauer does that I mustnt loan any more money under any circumstances and he says I ought to get that five hundred thousand back as quickly as possible
And you think Mollenhauer wants to help you do you inquired Cowperwood finding it hard to efface the contempt which kept forcing itself into his voice
I think he does yes I dont know who else will Frank if he dont Hes one of the big political forces in this town
Listen to me began Cowperwood eyeing him fixedly Then he paused What did he say you should do about your holdings
Sell them through Tighe Company and put the money back in the treasury if you wont take them
Sell them to whom asked Cowperwood thinking of Steners last words
To any one on change wholl take them I suppose I dont know
I thought so said Cowperwood comprehendingly I might have known as much Theyre working you George Theyre simply trying to get your stocks away from you Mollenhauer is leading you on He knows I cant do what you want—give you back the five hundred thousand dollars He wants you to throw your stocks on the market so that he can pick them up Depend on it thats all arranged for already When you do hes got me in his clutches or he thinks he has—he and Butler and Simpson They want to get together on this local streetrailway situation and I know it I feel it Ive felt it coming all along Mollenhauer hasnt any more intention of helping you than he has of flying Once youve sold your stocks hes through with you—mark my word Do you think hell turn a hand to keep you out of the penitentiary once youre out of this streetrailway situation He will not And if you think so youre a bigger fool than I take you to be George Dont go crazy Dont lose your head Be sensible Look the situation in the face Let me explain it to you If you dont help me now—if you dont let me have three hundred thousand dollars by tomorrow noon at the very latest Im through and so are you There is not a thing the matter with our situation Those stocks of ours are as good today as they ever were Why great heavens man the railways are there behind them Theyre paying The Seventeenth and Nineteenth Street line is earning one thousand dollars a day right now What better evidence do you want than that Green Coates is earning five hundred dollars Youre frightened George These damned political schemers have scared you Why youve as good a right to loan that money as Bode and Murtagh had before you They did it Youve been doing it for Mollenhauer and the others only so long as you do it for them its all right Whats a designated city depository but a loan
Cowperwood was referring to the system under which certain portions of city money like the sinkingfund were permitted to be kept in certain banks at a low rate of interest or no rate—banks in which Mollenhauer and Butler and Simpson were interested This was their safe graft
Dont throw your chances away George Dont quit now Youll be worth millions in a few years and you wont have to turn a hand All you will have to do will be to keep what you have If you dont help me mark my word theyll throw you over the moment Im out of this and theyll let you go to the penitentiary Whos going to put up five hundred thousand dollars for you George Where is Mollenhauer going to get it or Butler or anybody in these times They cant They dont intend to When Im through youre through and youll be exposed quicker than any one else They cant hurt me George Im an agent I didnt ask you to come to me You came to me in the first place of your own accord If you dont help me youre through I tell you and youre going to be sent to the penitentiary as sure as there are jails Why dont you take a stand George Why dont you stand your ground You have your wife and children to look after You cant be any worse off loaning me three hundred thousand more than you are right now What difference does it make—five hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand Its all one and the same thing if youre going to be tried for it Besides if you loan me this there isnt going to be any trial Im not going to fail This storm will blow over in a week or ten days and well be rich again For Heavens sake George dont go to pieces this way Be sensible Be reasonable
He paused for Steners face had become a jellylike mass of woe
I cant Frank he wailed I tell you I cant Theyll punish me worse than ever if I do that Theyll never let up on me You dont know these people
In Steners crumpling weakness Cowperwood read his own fate What could you do with a man like that How brace him up You couldnt And with a gesture of infinite understanding disgust noble indifference he threw up his hands and started to walk out At the door he turned
George he said Im sorry Im sorry for you not for myself Ill come out of things all right eventually Ill be rich But George youre making the one great mistake of your life Youll be poor youll be a convict and youll have only yourself to blame There isnt a thing the matter with this money situation except the fire There isnt a thing wrong with my affairs except this slump in stocks—this panic You sit there a fortune in your hands and you allow a lot of schemers highbinders who dont know any more of your affairs or mine than a rabbit and who havent any interest in you except to plan what they can get out of you to frighten you and prevent you from doing the one thing that will save your life Three hundred thousand paltry dollars that in three or four weeks from now I can pay back to you four and five times over and for that you will see me go broke and yourself to the penitentiary I cant understand it George Youre out of your mind Youre going to rue this the longest day that you live
He waited a few moments to see if this by any twist of chance would have any effect then noting that Stener still remained a wilted helpless mass of nothing he shook his head gloomily and walked out
It was the first time in his life that Cowperwood had ever shown the least sign of weakening or despair He had felt all along as though there were nothing to the Greek theory of being pursued by the furies Now however there seemed an untoward fate which was pursuing him It looked that way Still fate or no fate he did not propose to be daunted Even in this very beginning of a tendency to feel despondent he threw back his head expanded his chest and walked as briskly as ever
In the large room outside Steners private office he encountered Albert Stires Steners chief clerk and secretary He and Albert had exchanged many friendly greetings in times past and all the little minor transactions in regard to city loan had been discussed between them for Albert knew more of the intricacies of finance and financial bookkeeping than Stener would ever know
At the sight of Stires the thought in regard to the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan certificates previously referred to flashed suddenly through his mind He had not deposited them in the sinkingfund and did not intend to for the present—could not unless considerable free money were to reach him shortly—for he had used them to satisfy other pressing demands and had no free money to buy them back—or in other words, release them And he did not want to just at this moment Under the law governing transactions of this kind with the city treasurer he was supposed to deposit them at once to the credit of the city and not to draw his pay therefor from the city treasurer until he had To be very exact the city treasurer under the law was not supposed to pay him for any transaction of this kind until he or his agents presented a voucher from the bank or other organization carrying the sinkingfund for the city showing that the certificates so purchased had actually been deposited there As a matter of fact under the custom which had grown up between him and Stener the law had long been ignored in this respect He could buy certificates of city loan for the sinkingfund up to any reasonable amount hypothecate them where he pleased and draw his pay from the city without presenting a voucher At the end of the month sufficient certificates of city loan could usually be gathered from one source and another to make up the deficiency or the deficiency could actually be ignored as had been done on more than one occasion for long periods of time while he used money secured by hypothecating the shares for speculative purposes This was actually illegal but neither Cowperwood nor Stener saw it in that light or cared
The trouble with this particular transaction was the note that he had received from Stener ordering him to stop both buying and selling which put his relations with the city treasury on a very formal basis He had bought these certificates before receiving this note but had not deposited them He was going now to collect his check but perhaps the old easy system of balancing matters at the end of the month might not be said to obtain any longer Stires might ask him to present a voucher of deposit If so he could not now get this check for sixty thousand dollars for he did not have the certificates to deposit If not he might get the money but also it might constitute the basis of some subsequent legal action If he did not eventually deposit the certificates before failure some charge such as that of larceny might be brought against him Still he said to himself he might not really fail even yet If any of his banking associates should for any reason modify their decision in regard to calling his loans he would not Would Stener make a row about this if he so secured this check Would the city officials pay any attention to him if he did Could you get any district attorney to take cognizance of such a transaction if Stener did complain No not in all likelihood and anyhow nothing would come of it No jury would punish him in the face of the understanding existing between him and Stener as agent or broker and principal And once he had the money it was a hundred to one Stener would think no more about it It would go in among the various unsatisfied liabilities and nothing more would be thought about it Like lightning the entire situation hashed through his mind He would risk it He stopped before the chief clerks desk
Albert he said in a low voice I bought sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan for the sinkingfund this morning Will you give my boy a check for it in the morning or better yet will you give it to me now I got your note about no more purchases Im going back to the office You can just credit the sinkingfund with eight hundred certificates at from seventyfive to eighty Ill send you the itemized list later
Certainly Mr Cowperwood certainly replied Albert with alacrity Stocks are getting an awful knock arent they I hope youre not very much troubled by it
Not very Albert replied Cowperwood smiling the while the chief clerk was making out his check He was wondering if by any chance Stener would appear and attempt to interfere with this It was a legal transaction He had a right to the check provided he deposited the certificates as was his custom with the trustee of the fund He waited tensely while Albert wrote and finally with the check actually in his hand breathed a sigh of relief Here at least was sixty thousand dollars and tonights work would enable him to cash the seventyfive thousand that had been promised him Tomorrow once more he must see Leigh Kitchen Jay Cooke Co Edward Clark Co—all the long list of people to whom he owed loans and find out what could be done If he could only get time If he could get just a week
Chapter XXIX
But time was not a thing to be had in this emergency With the seventyfive thousand dollars his friends had extended to him and sixty thousand dollars secured from Stires Cowperwood met the Girard call and placed the balance thirtyfive thousand dollars in a private safe in his own home He then made a final appeal to the bankers and financiers but they refused to help him He did not however commiserate himself in this hour He looked out of his office window into the little court and sighed What more could he do He sent a note to his father asking him to call for lunch He sent a note to his lawyer Harper Steger a man of his own age whom he liked very much and asked him to call also He evolved in his own mind various plans of delay addresses to creditors and the like but alas he was going to fail And the worst of it was that this matter of the city treasurers loans was bound to become a public and more than a public a political scandal And the charge of conniving if not illegally at least morally at the misuse of the citys money was the one thing that would hurt him most
How industriously his rivals would advertise this fact He might get on his feet again if he failed but it would be uphill work And his father His father would be pulled down with him It was probable that he would be forced out of the presidency of his bank With these thoughts Cowperwood sat there waiting As he did so Aileen Butler was announced by his officeboy and at the same time Albert Stires
Show in Miss Butler he said getting up Tell Mr Stires to wait Aileen came briskly vigorously in her beautiful body clothed as decoratively as ever The street suit that she wore was of a light goldenbrown broadcloth faceted with small darkred buttons Her head was decorated with a brownishred shake of a type she had learned was becoming to her brimless and with a trailing plume and her throat was graced by a threestrand necklace of gold beads Her hands were smoothly gloved as usual and her little feet daintily shod There was a look of girlish distress in her eyes which however she was trying hard to conceal
Honey she exclaimed on seeing him her arms extended—what is the trouble I wanted so much to ask you the other night Youre not going to fail are you I heard father and Owen talking about you last night
What did they say he inquired putting his arm around her and looking quietly into her nervous eyes
Oh you know I think papa is very angry with you He suspects Some one sent him an anonymous letter He tried to get it out of me last night but he didnt succeed I denied everything I was in here twice this morning to see you but you were out I was so afraid that he might see you first and that you might say something
Me Aileen
Well no not exactly I didnt think that I dont know what I thought Oh honey Ive been so worried You know I didnt sleep at all I thought I was stronger than that but I was so worried about you You know he put me in a strong light by his desk where he could see my face and then he showed me the letter I was so astonished for a moment I hardly know what I said or how I looked
What did you say
Why I said What a shame It isnt so But I didnt say it right away My heart was going like a triphammer Im afraid he must have been able to tell something from my face I could hardly get my breath
Hes a shrewd man your father he commented He knows something about life Now you see how difficult these situations are Its a blessing he decided to show you the letter instead of watching the house I suppose he felt too bad to do that He cant prove anything now But he knows You cant deceive him
How do you know he knows
I saw him yesterday
Did he talk to you about it
No I saw his face He simply looked at me
Honey Im so sorry for him
I know you are So am I But it cant be helped now We should have thought of that in the first place
But I love you so Oh honey he will never forgive me He loves me so He mustnt know I wont admit anything But oh dear
She put her hands tightly together on his bosom and he looked consolingly into her eyes Her eyelids were trembling and her lips She was sorry for her father herself Cowperwood Through her he could sense the force of Butlers parental affection the volume and danger of his rage There were so many many things as he saw it now converging to make a dramatic denouement
Never mind he replied it cant be helped now Where is my strong determined Aileen I thought you were going to be so brave Arent you going to be I need to have you that way now
Do you
Yes
Are you in trouble
I think I am going to fail dear
Oh no
Yes honey Im at the end of my rope I dont see any way out just at present Ive sent for my father and my lawyer You mustnt stay here sweet Your father may come in here at any time We must meet somewhere—tomorrow say—tomorrow afternoon You remember Indian Rock out on the Wissahickon
Yes
Could you be there at four
Yes
Look out for whos following If Im not there by fourthirty dont wait You know why It will be because I think some one is watching There wont be though if we work it right And now you must run sweet We cant use Ninethirtyone any more Ill have to rent another place somewhere else
Oh honey Im so sorry
Arent you going to be strong and brave You see I need you to be
He was almost for the first time a little sad in his mood
Yes dear yes she declared slipping her arms under his and pulling him tight Oh yes You can depend on me Oh Frank I love you so Im so sorry Oh I do hope you dont fail But it doesnt make any difference dear between you and me whatever happens does it We will love each other just the same Ill do anything for you honey Ill do anything you say You can trust me They shant know anything from me
She looked at his still pale face and a sudden strong determination to fight for him welled up in her heart Her love was unjust illegal outlawed but it was love just the same and had much of the fiery daring of the outcast from justice
I love you I love you I love you Frank she declared He unloosed her hands
Run sweet Tomorrow at four Dont fail And dont talk And dont admit anything whatever you do
I wont
And dont worry about me Ill be all right
He barely had time to straighten his tie to assume a nonchalant attitude by the window when in hurried Steners chief clerk—pale disturbed obviously out of key with himself
Mr Cowperwood You know that check I gave you last night Mr Stener says its illegal that I shouldnt have given it to you that he will hold me responsible He says I can be arrested for compounding a felony and that he will discharge me and have me sent to prison if I dont get it back Oh Mr Cowperwood I am only a young man Im just really starting out in life Ive got my wife and little boy to look after You wont let him do that to me Youll give me that check back wont you I cant go back to the office without it He says youre going to fail and that you knew it and that you havent any right to it
Cowperwood looked at him curiously He was surprised at the variety and character of these emissaries of disaster Surely when troubles chose to multiply they had great skill in presenting themselves in rapid order Stener had no right to make any such statement The transaction was not illegal The man had gone wild True he Cowperwood had received an order after these securities were bought not to buy or sell any more city loan but that did not invalidate previous purchases Stener was browbeating and frightening his poor underling a better man than himself in order to get back this sixtythousanddollar check What a petty creature he was How true it was as somebody had remarked that you could not possibly measure the petty meannesses to which a fool could stoop
You go back to Mr Stener Albert and tell him that it cant be done The certificates of loan were purchased before his order arrived and the records of the exchange will prove it There is no illegality here I am entitled to that check and could have collected it in any qualified court of law The man has gone out of his head I havent failed yet You are not in any danger of any legal proceedings and if you are Ill help defend you I cant give you the check back because I havent it to give and if I had I wouldnt That would be allowing a fool to make a fool of me Im sorry very but I cant do anything for you
Oh Mr Cowperwood Tears were in Stiress eyes Hell discharge me Hell forfeit my sureties Ill be turned out into the street I have only a little property of my own—outside of my salary
He wrung his hands and Cowperwood shook his head sadly
This isnt as bad as you think Albert He wont do what he says He cant Its unfair and illegal You can bring suit and recover your salary Ill help you in that as much as Im able But I cant give you back this sixtythousanddollar check because I havent it to give I couldnt if I wanted to It isnt here any more Ive paid for the securities I bought with it The securities are not here Theyre in the sinkingfund or will be
He paused wishing he had not mentioned that fact It was a slip of the tongue one of the few he ever made due to the peculiar pressure of the situation Stires pleaded longer It was no use Cowperwood told him Finally he went away crestfallen fearsome broken There were tears of suffering in his eyes Cowperwood was very sorry And then his father was announced
The elder Cowperwood brought a haggard face He and Frank had had a long conversation the evening before lasting until early morning but it had not been productive of much save uncertainty
Hello father exclaimed Cowperwood cheerfully noting his fathers gloom He was satisfied that there was scarcely a coal of hope to be raked out of these ashes of despair but there was no use admitting it
Well said his father lifting his sad eyes in a peculiar way
Well it looks like stormy weather doesnt it Ive decided to call a meeting of my creditors father and ask for time There isnt anything else to do I cant realize enough on anything to make it worth while talking about I thought Stener might change his mind but hes worse rather than better His head bookkeeper just went out of here
What did he want asked Henry Cowperwood
He wanted me to give him back a check for sixty thousand that he paid me for some city loan I bought yesterday morning Frank did not explain to his father however that he had hypothecated the certificates this check had paid for and used the check itself to raise money enough to pay the Girard National Bank and to give himself thirtyfive thousand in cash besides
Well I declare replied the old man Youd think hed have better sense than that Thats a perfectly legitimate transaction When did you say he notified you not to buy city loan
Yesterday noon
Hes out of his mind Cowperwood Sr commented laconically
Its Mollenhauer and Simpson and Butler I know They want my streetrailway lines Well they wont get them Theyll get them through a receivership and after the panics all over Our creditors will have first chance at these If they buy theyll buy from them If it werent for that fivehundredthousanddollar loan I wouldnt think a thing of this My creditors would sustain me nicely But the moment that gets noised around And this election I hypothecated those city loan certificates because I didnt want to get on the wrong side of Davison I expected to take in enough by now to take them up They ought to be in the sinkingfund really
The old gentleman saw the point at once and winced
They might cause you trouble there Frank
Its a technical question replied his son I might have been intending to take them up As a matter of fact I will if I can before three Ive been taking eight and ten days to deposit them in the past In a storm like this Im entitled to move my pawns as best I can
Cowperwood the father put his hand over his mouth again He felt very disturbed about this He saw no way out however He was at the end of his own resources He felt the sidewhiskers on his left cheek He looked out of the window into the little green court Possibly it was a technical question who should say The financial relations of the city treasury with other brokers before Frank had been very lax Every banker knew that Perhaps precedent would or should govern in this case He could not say Still it was dangerous—not straight If Frank could get them out and deposit them it would be so much better
Id take them up if I were you and I could he added
I will if I can
How much money have you
Oh twenty thousand all told If I suspend though Ill have to have a little ready cash
I have eight or ten thousand or will have by night I hope
He was thinking of some one who would give him a second mortgage on his house
Cowperwood looked quietly at him There was nothing more to be said to his father Im going to make one more appeal to Stener after you leave here he said Im going over there with Harper Steger when he comes If he wont change Ill send out notice to my creditors and notify the secretary of the exchange I want you to keep a stiff upper lip whatever happens I know you will though Im going into the thing head down If Stener had any sense— He paused But whats the use talking about a damn fool
He turned to the window thinking of how easy it would have been if Aileen and he had not been exposed by this anonymous note to have arranged all with Butler Rather than injure the party Butler in extremis would have assisted him Now
His father got up to go He was as stiff with despair as though he were suffering from cold
Well he said wearily
Cowperwood suffered intensely for him What a shame His father He felt a great surge of sorrow sweep over him but a moment later mastered it and settled to his quick defiant thinking As the old man went out Harper Steger was brought in They shook hands and at once started for Steners office But Stener had sunk in on himself like an empty gasbag and no efforts were sufficient to inflate him They went out finally defeated
I tell you Frank said Steger I wouldnt worry We can tie this thing up legally until election and after and that will give all this row a chance to die down Then you can get your people together and talk sense to them Theyre not going to give up good properties like this even if Stener does go to jail
Steger did not know of the sixty thousand dollars worth of hypothecated securities as yet Neither did he know of Aileen Butler and her fathers boundless rage
Chapter XXX
There was one development in connection with all of this of which Cowperwood was as yet unaware The same day that brought Edward Butler the anonymous communication in regard to his daughter brought almost a duplicate of it to Mrs Frank Algernon Cowperwood only in this case the name of Aileen Butler had curiously been omitted
Perhaps you dont know that your husband is running with another woman If you dont believe it watch the house at 931 North Tenth Street
Mrs Cowperwood was in the conservatory watering some plants when this letter was brought by her maid Monday morning She was most placid in her thoughts for she did not know what all the conferring of the night before meant Frank was occasionally troubled by financial storms but they did not see to harm him
Lay it on the table in the library Annie Ill get it
She thought it was some social note
In a little while such was her deliberate way she put down her sprinklingpot and went into the library There it was lying on the green leather sheepskin which constituted a part of the ornamentation of the large library table She picked it up glanced at it curiously because it was on cheap paper and then opened it Her face paled slightly as she read it and then her hand trembled—not much Hers was not a soul that ever loved passionately hence she could not suffer passionately She was hurt disgusted enraged for the moment and frightened but she was not broken in spirit entirely Thirteen years of life with Frank Cowperwood had taught her a number of things He was selfish she knew now selfcentered and not as much charmed by her as he had been The fear she had originally felt as to the effect of her preponderance of years had been to some extent justified by the lapse of time Frank did not love her as he had—he had not for some time she had felt it What was it—she had asked herself at times—almost who was it Business was engrossing him so
Finance was his master Did this mean the end of her regime she queried Would he cast her off Where would she go What would she do She was not helpless of course for she had money of her own which he was manipulating for her Who was this other woman Was she young beautiful of any social position Was it— Suddenly she stopped Was it Could it be by any chance—her mouth opened—Aileen Butler
She stood still staring at this letter for she could scarcely countenance her own thought She had observed often in spite of all their caution how friendly Aileen had been to him and he to her He liked her he never lost a chance to defend her Lillian had thought of them at times as being curiously suited to each other temperamentally He liked young people But of course he was married and Aileen was infinitely beneath him socially and he had two children and herself And his social and financial position was so fixed and stable that he did not dare trifle with it Still she paused for forty years and two children and some slight wrinkles and the suspicion that we may be no longer loved as we once were is apt to make any woman pause even in the face of the most significant financial position Where would she go if she left him What would people think What about the children Could she prove this liaison Could she entrap him in a compromising situation Did she want to
She saw now that she did not love him as some women love their husbands She was not wild about him In a way she had been taking him for granted all these years had thought that he loved her enough not to be unfaithful to her at least fancied that he was so engrossed with the more serious things of life that no petty liaison such as this letter indicated would trouble him or interrupt his great career Apparently this was not true What should she do What say How act Her none too brilliant mind was not of much service in this crisis She did not know very well how either to plan or to fight
The conventional mind is at best a petty piece of machinery It is oysterlike in its functioning or perhaps better clamlike It has its little siphon of thoughtprocesses forced up or down into the mighty ocean of fact and circumstance but it uses so little pumps so faintly that the immediate contiguity of the vast mass is not disturbed Nothing of the subtlety of life is perceived No least inkling of its storms or terrors is ever discovered except through accident When some crude suggestive fact such as this letter proved to be suddenly manifests itself in the placid flow of events there is great agony or disturbance and clogging of the socalled normal processes The siphon does not work right It sucks in fear and distress There is great grinding of maladjusted parts—not unlike sand in a machine—and life as is so often the case ceases or goes lamely ever after
Mrs Cowperwood was possessed of a conventional mind She really knew nothing about life And life could not teach her Reaction in her from salty thoughtprocesses was not possible She was not alive in the sense that Aileen Butler was and yet she thought that she was very much alive All illusion She wasnt She was charming if you loved placidity If you did not she was not She was not engaging brilliant or forceful Frank Cowperwood might well have asked himself in the beginning why he married her He did not do so now because he did not believe it was wise to question the past as to ones failures and errors It was according to him most unwise to regret He kept his face and thoughts to the future
But Mrs Cowperwood was truly distressed in her way and she went about the house thinking feeling wretchedly She decided since the letter asked her to see for herself to wait She must think how she would watch this house if at all Frank must not know If it were Aileen Butler by any chance—but surely not—she thought she would expose her to her parents Still that meant exposing herself She determined to conceal her mood as best she could at dinnertime—but Cowperwood was not able to be there He was so rushed so closeted with individuals so closely in conference with his father and others that she scarcely saw him this Monday night nor the next day nor for many days
For on Tuesday afternoon at twothirty he issued a call for a meeting of his creditors and at fivethirty he decided to go into the hands of a receiver And yet as he stood before his principal creditors—a group of thirty men—in his office he did not feel that his life was ruined He was temporarily embarrassed Certainly things looked very black The citytreasurership deal would make a great fuss Those hypothecated city loan certificates to the extent of sixty thousand would make another if Stener chose Still he did not feel that he was utterly destroyed
Gentlemen he said in closing his address of explanation at the meeting quite as erect secure defiant convincing as he had ever been you see how things are These securities are worth just as much as they ever were There is nothing the matter with the properties behind them If you will give me fifteen days or twenty I am satisfied that I can straighten the whole matter out I am almost the only one who can for I know all about it The market is bound to recover Business is going to be better than ever Its time I want Time is the only significant factor in this situation I want to know if you wont give me fifteen or twenty days—a month if you can That is all I want
He stepped aside and out of the general room where the blinds were drawn into his private office in order to give his creditors an opportunity to confer privately in regard to his situation He had friends in the meeting who were for him He waited one two nearly three hours while they talked Finally Walter Leigh Judge Kitchen Avery Stone of Jay Cooke Co and several others came in They were a committee appointed to gather further information
Nothing more can be done today Frank Walter Leigh informed him quietly The majority want the privilege of examining the books There is some uncertainty about this entanglement with the city treasurer which you say exists They feel that youd better announce a temporary suspension anyhow and if they want to let you resume later they can do so
Im sorry for that gentlemen replied Cowperwood the least bit depressed I would rather do anything than suspend for one hour if I could help it for I know just what it means You will find assets here far exceeding the liabilities if you will take the stocks at their normal market value but that wont help any if I close my doors The public wont believe in me I ought to keep open
Sorry Frank old boy observed Leigh pressing his hand affectionately If it were left to me personally you could have all the time you want Theres a crowd of old fogies out there that wont listen to reason Theyre panicstruck I guess theyre pretty hard hit themselves You can scarcely blame them Youll come out all right though I wish you didnt have to shut up shop We cant do anything with them however Why damn it man I dont see how you can fail really In ten days these stocks will be all right
Judge Kitchen commiserated with him also but what good did that do He was being compelled to suspend An expert accountant would have to come in and go over his books Butler might spread the news of this citytreasury connection Stener might complain of this last cityloan transaction A halfdozen of his helpful friends stayed with him until four oclock in the morning but he had to suspend just the same And when he did that he knew he was seriously crippled if not ultimately defeated in his race for wealth and fame
When he was really and finally quite alone in his private bedroom he stared at himself in the mirror His face was pale and tired he thought but strong and effective Pshaw he said to himself Im not whipped Im still young Ill get out of this in some way yet Certainly I will Ill find some way out
And so cogitating heavily wearily he began to undress Finally he sank upon his bed and in a little while strange as it may seem with all the tangle of trouble around him slept He could do that—sleep and gurgle most peacefully the while his father paced the floor in his room refusing to be comforted All was dark before the older man—the future hopeless Before the younger man was still hope
And in her room Lillian Cowperwood turned and tossed in the face of this new calamity For it had suddenly appeared from news from her father and Frank and Anna and her motherinlaw that Frank was about to fail or would or had—it was almost impossible to say just how it was Frank was too busy to explain The Chicago fire was to blame There was no mention as yet of the city treasurership Frank was caught in a trap and was fighting for his life
In this crisis for the moment she forgot about the note as to his infidelity or rather ignored it She was astonished frightened dumbfounded confused Her little placid beautiful world was going around in a dizzy ring The charming ornate ship of their fortune was being blown most ruthlessly here and there She felt it a sort of duty to stay in bed and try to sleep but her eyes were quite wide and her brain hurt her Hours before Frank had insisted that she should not bother about him that she could do nothing and she had left him wondering more than ever what and where was the line of her duty To stick by her husband convention told her and so she decided Yes religion dictated that also custom There were the children They must not be injured Frank must be reclaimed if possible He would get over this But what a blow
Chapter XXXI
The suspension of the banking house of Frank A Cowperwood Co created a great stir on change and in Philadelphia generally It was so unexpected and the amount involved was comparatively so large Actually he failed for one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and his assets under the depressed condition of stock values barely totaled seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars There had been considerable work done on the matter of his balancesheet before it was finally given to the public but when it was stocks dropped an additional three points generally and the papers the next day devoted notable headlines to it Cowperwood had no idea of failing permanently he merely wished to suspend temporarily and later if possible to persuade his creditors to allow him to resume There were only two things which stood in the way of this the matter of the five hundred thousand dollars borrowed from the city treasury at a ridiculously low rate of interest which showed plainer than words what had been going on and the other the matter of the sixtythousanddollar check His financial wit had told him there were ways to assign his holdings in favor of his largest creditors which would tend to help him later to resume and he had been swift to act Indeed Harper Steger had drawn up documents which named Jay Cooke Co Edward Clark Co Drexel Co and others as preferred He knew that even though dissatisfied holders of smaller shares in his company brought suit and compelled readjustment or bankruptcy later the intention shown to prefer some of his most influential aids was important They would like it and might help him later when all this was over Besides suits in plenty are an excellent way of tiding over a crisis of this kind until stocks and common sense are restored and he was for many suits Harper Steger smiled once rather grimly even in the whirl of the financial chaos where smiles were few as they were figuring it out
Frank he said youre a wonder Youll have a network of suits spread here shortly which no one can break through Theyll all be suing each other
Cowperwood smiled
I only want a little time thats all he replied Nevertheless for the first time in his life he was a little depressed for now this business to which he had devoted years of active work and thought was ended
The thing that was troubling him most in all of this was not the five hundred thousand dollars which was owing the city treasury and which he knew would stir political and social life to the center once it was generally known—that was a legal or semilegal transaction at least—but rather the matter of the sixty thousand dollars worth of unrestored city loan certificates which he had not been able to replace in the sinkingfund and could not now even though the necessary money should fall from heaven The fact of their absence was a matter of source He pondered over the situation a good deal The thing to do he thought if he went to Mollenhauer or Simpson or both he had never met either of them but in view of Butlers desertion they were his only recourse was to say that although he could not at present return the five hundred thousand dollars if no action were taken against him now which would prevent his resuming his business on a normal scale a little later he would pledge his word that every dollar of the involved five hundred thousand dollars would eventually be returned to the treasury If they refused and injury was done him he proposed to let them wait until he was good and ready which in all probability would be never But really it was not quite clear how action against him was to be prevented—even by them The money was down on his books as owing the city treasury and it was down on the city treasurys books as owing from him Besides there was a local organization known as the Citizens Municipal Reform Association which occasionally conducted investigations in connection with public affairs His defalcation would be sure to come to the ears of this body and a public investigation might well follow Various private individuals knew of it already His creditors for instance who were now examining his books
This matter of seeing Mollenhauer or Simpson or both was important anyhow he thought but before doing so he decided to talk it all over with Harper Steger So several days after he had closed his doors he sent for Steger and told him all about the transaction except that he did not make it clear that he had not intended to put the certificates in the sinkingfund unless he survived quite comfortably
Harper Steger was a tall thin graceful rather elegant man of gentle voice and perfect manners who walked always as though he were a cat and a dog were prowling somewhere in the offing He had a longish thin face of a type that is rather attractive to women His eyes were blue his hair brown with a suggestion of sandy red in it He had a steady inscrutable gaze which sometimes came to you over a thin delicate hand which he laid meditatively over his mouth He was cruel to the limit of the word not aggressively but indifferently for he had no faith in anything He was not poor He had not even been born poor He was just innately subtle with the rather constructive thought which was about the only thing that compelled him to work that he ought to be richer than he was—more conspicuous Cowperwood was an excellent avenue toward legal prosperity Besides he was a fascinating customer Of all his clients Steger admired Cowperwood most
Let them proceed against you he said on this occasion his brilliant legal mind taking in all the phases of the situation at once I dont see that there is anything more here than a technical charge If it ever came to anything like that which I dont think it will the charge would be embezzlement or perhaps larceny as bailee In this instance you were the bailee And the only way out of that would be to swear that you had received the check with Steners knowledge and consent Then it would only be a technical charge of irresponsibility on your part as I see it and I dont believe any jury would convict you on the evidence of how this relationship was conducted Still it might you never can tell what a jury is going to do All this would have to come out at a trial however The whole thing it seems to me would depend on which of you two—yourself or Stener—the jury would be inclined to believe and on how anxious this city crowd is to find a scapegoat for Stener This coming election is the rub If this panic had come at any other time—
Cowperwood waved for silence He knew all about that It all depends on what the politicians decide to do Im doubtful The situation is too complicated It cant be hushed up They were in his private office at his house What will be will be he added
What would that mean Harper legally if I were tried on a charge of larceny as bailee as you put it and convicted How many years in the penitentiary at the outside
Steger thought a minute rubbing his chin with his hand Let me see he said that is a serious question isnt it The law says one to five years at the outside but the sentences usually average from one to three years in embezzlement cases Of course in this case—
I know all about that interrupted Cowperwood irritably My case isnt any different from the others and you know it Embezzlement is embezzlement if the politicians want to have it so He fell to thinking and Steger got up and strolled about leisurely He was thinking also
And would I have to go to jail at any time during the proceedings—before a final adjustment of the case by the higher courts Cowperwood added directly grimly after a time
Yes there is one point in all legal procedure of the kind replied Steger cautiously now rubbing his ear and trying to put the matter as delicately as possible You can avoid jail sentences all through the earlier parts of a case like this but if you are once tried and convicted its pretty hard to do anything—as a matter of fact it becomes absolutely necessary then to go to jail for a few days five or so pending the motion for a new trial and the obtaining of a certificate of reasonable doubt It usually takes that long
The young banker sat there staring out of the window and Steger observed It is a bit complicated isnt it
Well I should say so returned Frank and he added to himself Jail Five days in prison That would be a terrific slap all things considered Five days in jail pending the obtaining of a certificate of reasonable doubt if one could be obtained He must avoid this Jail The penitentiary His commercial reputation would never survive that
Chapter XXXII
The necessity of a final conference between Butler Mollenhauer and Simpson was speedily reached for this situation was hourly growing more serious Rumors were floating about in Third Street that in addition to having failed for so large an amount as to have further unsettled the already panicky financial situation induced by the Chicago fire Cowperwood and Stener or Stener working with Cowperwood or the other way round had involved the city treasury to the extent of five hundred thousand dollars And the question was how was the matter to be kept quiet until after election which was still three weeks away Bankers and brokers were communicating odd rumors to each other about a check that had been taken from the city treasury after Cowperwood knew he was to fail and without Steners consent Also that there was danger that it would come to the ears of that very uncomfortable political organization known as the Citizens Municipal Reform Association of which a wellknown ironmanufacturer of great probity and moral rectitude one Skelton C Wheat was president Wheat had for years been following on the trail of the dominant Republican administration in a vain attempt to bring it to a sense of some of its political iniquities He was a serious and austere man—one of those solemn selfrighteous souls who see life through a peculiar veil of duty and who undisturbed by notable animal passions of any kind go their way of upholding the theory of the Ten Commandments over the order of things as they are
The committee in question had originally been organized to protest against some abuses in the tax department but since then from election to election it had been drifting from one subject to another finding an occasional evidence of its worthwhileness in some newspaper comment and the frightened reformation of some minor political official who ended usually by taking refuge behind the skirts of some higher political power—in the last reaches Messrs Butler Mollenhauer and Simpson Just now it was without important fuel or ammunition and this assignment of Cowperwood with its attendant crime so far as the city treasury was concerned threatened as some politicians and bankers saw it to give it just the club it was looking for
However the decisive conference took place between Cowperwood and the reigning political powers some five days after Cowperwoods failure at the home of Senator Simpson which was located in Rittenhouse Square—a region central for the older order of wealth in Philadelphia Simpson was a man of no little refinement artistically of Quaker extraction and of great wealthbreeding judgment which he used largely to satisfy his craving for political predominance He was most liberal where money would bring him a powerful or necessary political adherent He fairly showered offices—commissionerships trusteeships judgeships political nominations and executive positions generally—on those who did his bidding faithfully and without question Compared with Butler and Mollenhauer he was more powerful than either for he represented the State and the nation When the political authorities who were trying to swing a national election were anxious to discover what the State of Pennsylvania would do so far as the Republican party was concerned it was to Senator Simpson that they appealed In the literal sense of the word he knew The Senator had long since graduated from State to national politics and was an interesting figure in the United States Senate at Washington where his voice in all the conservative and moneyed councils of the nation was of great weight
The house that he occupied of Venetian design and four stories in height bore many architectural marks of distinction such as the floriated window the door with the semipointed arch and medallions of colored marble set in the walls The Senator was a great admirer of Venice He had been there often as he had to Athens and Rome and had brought back many artistic objects representative of the civilizations and refinements of older days He was fond for one thing of the stern sculptured heads of the Roman emperors and the fragments of gods and goddesses which are the best testimony of the artistic aspirations of Greece In the entresol of this house was one of his finest treasures—a carved and floriated base bearing a tapering monolith some four feet high crowned by the head of a peculiarly goatish Pan by the side of which were the problematic remains of a lovely nude nymph—just the little feet broken off at the ankles The base on which the feet of the nymph and the monolith stood was ornamented with carved oxskulls intertwined with roses In his reception hall were replicas of Caligula Nero and other Roman emperors and on his stairwalls reliefs of dancing nymphs in procession and priests bearing offerings of sheep and swine to the sacrificial altars There was a clock in some corner of the house which chimed the quarter the half the threequarters and the hour in strange euphonious and pathetic notes On the walls of the rooms were tapestries of Flemish origin and in the receptionhall the library the livingroom and the drawingroom richly carved furniture after the standards of the Italian Renaissance The Senators taste in the matter of paintings was inadequate and he mistrusted it but such as he had were of distinguished origin and authentic He cared more for his curiocases filled with smaller imported bronzes Venetian glass and Chinese jade He was not a collector of these in any notable sense—merely a lover of a few choice examples Handsome tiger and leopard skin rugs the fur of a muskox for his divan and tanned and brownstained goat and kid skins for his tables gave a sense of elegance and reserved profusion In addition the Senator had a diningroom done after the Jacobean idea of artistic excellence and a winecellar which the best of the local vintners looked after with extreme care He was a man who loved to entertain lavishly and when his residence was thrown open for a dinner a reception or a ball the best of local society was to be found there
The conference was in the Senators library and he received his colleagues with the genial air of one who has much to gain and little to lose There were whiskies wines cigars on the table and while Mollenhauer and Simpson exchanged the commonplaces of the day awaiting the arrival of Butler they lighted cigars and kept their inmost thoughts to themselves
It so happened that upon the previous afternoon Butler had learned from Mr David Pettie the district attorney of the sixtythousanddollarcheck transaction At the same time the matter had been brought to Mollenhauers attention by Stener himself It was Mollenhauer not Butler who saw that by taking advantage of Cowperwoods situation he might save the local party from blame and at the same time most likely fleece Cowperwood out of his streetrailway shares without letting Butler or Simpson know anything about it The thing to do was to terrorize him with a private threat of prosecution
Butler was not long in arriving and apologized for the delay Concealing his recent grief behind as jaunty an air as possible he began with
Its a lively life Im leadin what with every bank in the city wantin to know how their loans are goin to be taken care of He took a cigar and struck a match
It does look a little threatening said Senator Simpson smiling Sit down I have just been talking with Avery Stone of Jay Cooke Company and he tells me that the talk in Third Street about Steners connection with this Cowperwood failure is growing very strong and that the newspapers are bound to take up the matter shortly unless something is done about it I am sure that the news will also reach Mr Wheat of the Citizens Reform Association very shortly We ought to decide now gentlemen what we propose to do One thing I am sure is to eliminate Stener from the ticket as quietly as possible This really looks to me as if it might become a very serious issue and we ought to be doing what we can now to offset its effect later
Mollenhauer pulled a long breath through his cigar and blew it out in a rolling steelblue cloud He studied the tapestry on the opposite wall but said nothing
There is one thing sure continued Senator Simpson after a time seeing that no one else spoke and that is if we do not begin a prosecution on our own account within a reasonable time some one else is apt to and that would put rather a bad face on the matter My own opinion would be that we wait until it is very plain that prosecution is going to be undertaken by some one else—possibly the Municipal Reform Association—but that we stand ready to step in and act in such a way as to make it look as though we had been planning to do it all the time The thing to do is to gain time and so I would suggest that it be made as difficult as possible to get at the treasurers books An investigation there if it begins at all—as I think is very likely—should be very slow in producing the facts
The Senator was not at all for mincing words with his important confreres when it came to vital issues He preferred in his grandiloquent way to call a spade a spade
Now that sounds like very good sense to me said Butler sinking a little lower in his chair for comforts sake and concealing his true mood in regard to all this The boys could easily make that investigation last three weeks I should think Theyre slow enough with everything else if me memory doesnt fail me At the same time he was cogitating as to how to inject the personality of Cowperwood and his speedy prosecution without appearing to be neglecting the general welfare of the local party too much
Yes that isnt a bad idea said Mollenhauer solemnly blowing a ring of smoke and thinking how to keep Cowperwoods especial offense from coming up at this conference and until after he had seen him
We ought to map out our program very carefully continued Senator Simpson so that if we are compelled to act we can do so very quickly I believe myself that this thing is certain to come to an issue within a week if not sooner and we have no time to lose If my advice were followed now I should have the mayor write the treasurer a letter asking for information and the treasurer write the mayor his answer and also have the mayor with the authority of the common council suspend the treasurer for the time being—I think we have the authority to do that—or at least take over his principal duties but without for the time being anyhow making any of these transactions public—until we have to of course We ought to be ready with these letters to show to the newspapers at once in case this action is forced upon us
I could have those letters prepared if you gentlemen have no objection put in Mollenhauer quietly but quickly
Well that strikes me as sinsible said Butler easily Its about the only thing we can do under the circumstances unless we could find some one else to blame it on and I have a suggestion to make in that direction Maybe were not as helpless as we might be all things considered
There was a slight gleam of triumph in his eye as he said this at the same time that there was a slight shadow of disappointment in Mollenhauers So Butler knew and probably Simpson too
Just what do you mean asked the Senator looking at Butler interestedly He knew nothing of the sixtythousanddollar check transaction He had not followed the local treasury dealings very closely nor had he talked to either of his confreres since the original conference between them There havent been any outside parties mixed up with this have there His own shrewd political mind was working
Noo I wouldnt call him an outside party exactly Senator went on Butler suavely Its Cowperwood himself Im thinkin of Theres somethin that has come up since I saw you gentlemen last that makes me think that perhaps that young man isnt as innocent as he might be It looks to me as though he was the ringleader in this business as though he had been leadin Stener on against his will Ive been lookin into the matter on me own account and as far as I can make out this man Stener isnt as much to blame as I thought From all I can learn Cowperwoods been threatenin Stener with one thing and another if he didnt give him more money and only the other day he got a big sum on false pretinses which might make him equally guilty with Stener Theres sixtythousand dollars of city loan certificates that has been paid for that arent in the sinkingfund And since the reputation of the partys in danger this fall I dont see that we need to have any particular consideration for him He paused strong in the conviction that he had sent a most dangerous arrow flying in the direction of Cowperwood as indeed he had Yet at this moment both the Senator and Mollenhauer were not a little surprised seeing at their last meeting he had appeared rather friendly to the young banker and this recent discovery seemed scarcely any occasion for a vicious attitude on his part Mollenhauer in particular was surprised for he had been looking on Butlers friendship for Cowperwood as a possible stumbling block
Umm you dont tell me observed Senator Simpson thoughtfully stroking his mouth with his pale hand
Yes I can confirm that said Mollenhauer quietly seeing his own little private plan of browbeating Cowperwood out of his streetrailway shares going glimmering I had a talk with Stener the other day about this very matter and he told me that Cowperwood had been trying to force him to give him three hundred thousand dollars more and that when he refused Cowperwood managed to get sixty thousand dollars further without his knowledge or consent
How could he do that asked Senator Simpson incredulously Mollenhauer explained the transaction
Oh said the Senator when Mollenhauer had finished that indicates a rather sharp person doesnt it And the certificates are not in the sinkingfund eh
Theyre not chimed in Butler with considerable enthusiasm
Well I must say said Simpson rather relieved in his manner this looks like a rather good thing than not to me A scapegoat possibly We need something like this I see no reason under the circumstances for trying to protect Mr Cowperwood We might as well try to make a point of that if we have to The newspapers might just as well talk loud about that as anything else They are bound to talk and if we give them the right angle I think that the election might well come and go before the matter could be reasonably cleared up even though Mr Wheat does interfere I will be glad to undertake to see what can be done with the papers
Well that bein the case said Butler I dont see that theres so much more we can do now but I do think it will be a mistake if Cowperwood isnt punished with the other one Hes equally guilty with Stener if not more so and I for one want to see him get what he deserves He belongs in the penitentiary and thats where hell go if I have my say Both Mollenhauer and Simpson turned a reserved and inquiring eye on their usually genial associate What could be the reason for his sudden determination to have Cowperwood punished Cowperwood as Mollenhauer and Simpson saw it and as Butler would ordinarily have seen it was well within his human if not his strictly legal rights They did not blame him half as much for trying to do what he had done as they blamed Stener for letting him do it But since Butler felt as he did and there was an actual technical crime here they were perfectly willing that the party should have the advantage of it even if Cowperwood went to the penitentiary
You may be right said Senator Simpson cautiously You might have those letters prepared Henry and if we have to bring any action at all against anybody before election it would perhaps be advisable to bring it against Cowperwood Include Stener if you have to but not unless you have to I leave it to you two as I am compelled to start for Pittsburg next Friday but I know you will not overlook any point
The Senator arose His time was always valuable Butler was highly gratified by what he had accomplished He had succeeded in putting the triumvirate on record against Cowperwood as the first victim in case of any public disturbance or demonstration against the party All that was now necessary was for that disturbance to manifest itself and from what he could see of local conditions it was not far off There was now the matter of Cowperwoods disgruntled creditors to look into and if by buying in these he should succeed in preventing the financier from resuming business he would have him in a very precarious condition indeed It was a sad day for Cowperwood Butler thought—the day he had first tried to lead Aileen astray—and the time was not far off when he could prove it to him
Chapter XXXIII
In the meantime Cowperwood from what he could see and hear was becoming more and more certain that the politicians would try to make a scapegoat of him and that shortly For one thing Stires had called only a few days after he closed his doors and imparted a significant bit of information Albert was still connected with the city treasury as was Stener and engaged with Sengstack and another personal appointee of Mollenhauers in going over the treasurers books and explaining their financial significance Stires had come to Cowperwood primarily to get additional advice in regard to the sixtythousanddollar check and his personal connection with it Stener it seemed was now threatening to have his chief clerk prosecuted saying that he was responsible for the loss of the money and that his bondsmen could be held responsible Cowperwood had merely laughed and assured Stires that there was nothing to this
Albert he had said smilingly I tell you positively theres nothing in it Youre not responsible for delivering that check to me Ill tell you what you do now Go and consult my lawyer—Steger It wont cost you a cent and hell tell you exactly what to do Now go on back and dont worry any more about it I am sorry this move of mine has caused you so much trouble but its a hundred to one you couldnt have kept your place with a new city treasurer anyhow and if I see any place where you can possibly fit in later Ill let you know
Another thing that made Cowperwood pause and consider at this time was a letter from Aileen detailing a conversation which had taken place at the Butler dinner table one evening when Butler the elder was not at home She related how her brother Owen in effect had stated that they—the politicians—her father Mollenhauer and Simpson were going to get him yet meaning Cowperwood for some criminal financial manipulation of something—she could not explain what—a check or something Aileen was frantic with worry Could they mean the penitentiary she asked in her letter Her dear lover Her beloved Frank Could anything like this really happen to him
His brow clouded and he set his teeth with rage when he read her letter He would have to do something about this—see Mollenhauer or Simpson or both and make some offer to the city He could not promise them money for the present—only notes—but they might take them Surely they could not be intending to make a scapegoat of him over such a trivial and uncertain matter as this check transaction When there was the five hundred thousand advanced by Stener to say nothing of all the past shady transactions of former city treasurers How rotten How political but how real and dangerous
But Simpson was out of the city for a period of ten days and Mollenhauer having in mind the suggestion made by Butler in regard to utilizing Cowperwoods misdeed for the benefit of the party had already moved as they had planned The letters were ready and waiting Indeed since the conference the smaller politicians taking their cue from the overlords had been industriously spreading the story of the sixtythousanddollar check and insisting that the burden of guilt for the treasury defalcation if any lay on the banker The moment Mollenhauer laid eyes on Cowperwood he realized however that he had a powerful personality to deal with Cowperwood gave no evidence of fright He merely stated in his bland way that he had been in the habit of borrowing money from the city treasury at a low rate of interest and that this panic had involved him so that he could not possibly return it at present
I have heard rumors Mr Mollenhauer he said to the effect that some charge is to be brought against me as a partner with Mr Stener in this matter but I am hoping that the city will not do that and I thought I might enlist your influence to prevent it My affairs are not in a bad way at all if I had a little time to arrange matters I am making all of my creditors an offer of fifty cents on the dollar now and giving notes at one two and three years but in this matter of the city treasury loans if I could come to terms I would be glad to make it a hundred cents—only I would want a little more time Stocks are bound to recover as you know and barring my losses at this time I will be all right I realize that the matter has gone pretty far already The newspapers are likely to start talking at any time unless they are stopped by those who can control them He looked at Mollenhauer in a complimentary way But if I could be kept out of the general proceedings as much as possible my standing would not be injured and I would have a better chance of getting on my feet It would be better for the city for then I could certainly pay it what I owe it He smiled his most winsome and engaging smile And Mollenhauer seeing him for the first time was not unimpressed Indeed he looked at this young financial David with an interested eye If he could have seen a way to accept this proposition of Cowperwoods so that the money offered would have been eventually payable to him and if Cowperwood had had any reasonable prospect of getting on his feet soon he would have considered carefully what he had to say For then Cowperwood could have assigned his recovered property to him As it was there was small likelihood of this situation ever being straightened out The Citizens Municipal Reform Association from all he could hear was already on the move—investigating or about to and once they had set their hands to this would unquestionably follow it closely to the end
The trouble with this situation Mr Cowperwood he said affably is that it has gone so far that it is practically out of my hands I really have very little to do with it I dont suppose though really it is this matter of the fivehundredthousanddollar loan that is worrying you so much as it is this other matter of the sixtythousanddollar check you received the other day Mr Stener insists that you secured that illegally and he is very much wrought up about it The mayor and the other city officials know of it now and they may force some action I dont know
Mollenhauer was obviously not frank in his attitude—a little bit evasive in his sly reference to his official tool the mayor and Cowperwood saw it It irritated him greatly but he was tactful enough to be quite suave and respectful
I did get a check for sixty thousand dollars thats true he replied with apparent frankness the day before I assigned It was for certificates I had purchased however on Mr Steners order and was due me I needed the money and asked for it I dont see that there is anything illegal in that
Not if the transaction was completed in all its details replied Mollenhauer blandly As I understand it the certificates were bought for the sinkingfund and they are not there How do you explain that
An oversight merely replied Cowperwood innocently and quite as blandly as Mollenhauer They would have been there if I had not been compelled to assign so unexpectedly It was not possible for me to attend to everything in person It has not been our custom to deposit them at once Mr Stener will tell you that if you ask him
You dont say replied Mollenhauer He did not give me that impression However they are not there and I believe that that makes some difference legally I have no interest in the matter one way or the other more than that of any other good Republican I dont see exactly what I can do for you What did you think I could do
I dont believe you can do anything for me Mr Mollenhauer replied Cowperwood a little tartly unless you are willing to deal quite frankly with me I am not a beginner in politics in Philadelphia I know something about the powers in command I thought that you could stop any plan to prosecute me in this matter and give me time to get on my feet again I am not any more criminally responsible for that sixty thousand dollars than I am for the five hundred thousand dollars that I had as loan before it—not as much so I did not create this panic I did not set Chicago on fire Mr Stener and his friends have been reaping some profit out of dealing with me I certainly was entitled to make some effort to save myself after all these years of service and I cant understand why I should not receive some courtesy at the hands of the present city administration after I have been so useful to it I certainly have kept city loan at par and as for Mr Steners money he has never wanted for his interest on that and more than his interest
Quite so replied Mollenhauer looking Cowperwood in the eye steadily and estimating the force and accuracy of the man at their real value I understand exactly how it has all come about Mr Cowperwood No doubt Mr Stener owes you a debt of gratitude as does the remainder of the city administration Im not saying what the city administration ought or ought not do All I know is that you find yourself wittingly or unwittingly in a dangerous situation and that public sentiment in some quarters is already very strong against you I personally have no feeling one way or the other and if it were not for the situation itself which looks to be out of hand would not be opposed to assisting you in any reasonable way But how The Republican party is in a very bad position so far as this election is concerned In a way however innocently you have helped to put it there Mr Cowperwood Mr Butler for some reason to which I am not a party seems deeply and personally incensed And Mr Butler is a great power here— Cowperwood began to wonder whether by any chance Butler had indicated the nature of his social offense against himself but he could not bring himself to believe that It was not probable I sympathize with you greatly Mr Cowperwood but what I suggest is that you first See Mr Butler and Mr Simpson If they agree to any program of aid I will not be opposed to joining But apart from that I do not know exactly what I can do I am only one of those who have a slight say in the affairs of Philadelphia
At this point Mollenhauer rather expected Cowperwood to make an offer of his own holdings but he did not Instead he said Im very much obliged to you Mr Mollenhauer for the courtesy of this interview I believe you would help me if you could I shall just have to fight it out the best way I can Good day
And he bowed himself out He saw clearly how hopeless was his quest
In the meanwhile finding that the rumors were growing in volume and that no one appeared to be willing to take steps to straighten the matter out Mr Skelton C Wheat President of the Citizens Municipal Reform Association was at last and that by no means against his will compelled to call together the committee of ten estimable Philadelphians of which he was chairman in a local committeehall on Market Street and lay the matter of the Cowperwood failure before it
It strikes me gentlemen he announced that this is an occasion when this organization can render a signal service to the city and the people of Philadelphia and prove the significance and the merit of the title originally selected for it by making such a thoroughgoing investigation as will bring to light all the facts in this case and then by standing vigorously behind them insist that such nefarious practices as we are informed were indulged in in this case shall cease I know it may prove to be a difficult task The Republican party and its local and State interests are certain to be against us Its leaders are unquestionably most anxious to avoid comment and to have their ticket go through undisturbed and they will not contemplate with any equanimity our opening activity in this matter but if we persevere great good will surely come of it There is too much dishonesty in public life as it is There is a standard of right in these matters which cannot permanently be ignored and which must eventually be fulfilled I leave this matter to your courteous consideration
Mr Wheat sat down and the body before him immediately took the matter which he proposed under advisement It was decided to appoint a subcommittee to investigate to quote the statement eventually given to the public the peculiar rumors now affecting one of the most important and distinguished offices of our municipal government and to report at the next meeting which was set for the following evening at nine oclock The meeting adjourned and the following night at nine reassembled four individuals of very shrewd financial judgment having meantime been about the task assigned them They drew up a very elaborate statement not wholly in accordance with the facts but as nearly so as could be ascertained in so short a space of time
It appears read the report after a preamble which explained why the committee had been appointed that it has been the custom of city treasurers for years when loans have been authorized by councils to place them in the hands of some favorite broker for sale the broker accounting to the treasurer for the moneys received by such sales at short periods generally the first of each month In the present case Frank A Cowperwood has been acting as such broker for the city treasurer But even this vicious and unbusinesslike system appears not to have been adhered to in the case of Mr Cowperwood The accident of the Chicago fire the consequent depression of stock values and the subsequent failure of Mr Frank A Cowperwood have so involved matters temporarily that the committee has not been able to ascertain with accuracy that regular accounts have been rendered but from the manner in which Mr Cowperwood has had possession of bonds city loan for hypothecation etc it would appear that he has been held to no responsibility in these matters and that there have always been under his control several hundred thousand dollars of cash or securities belonging to the city which he has manipulated for various purposes but the details of the results of these transactions are not easily available
Some of the operations consisted of hypothecation of large amounts of these loans before the certificates were issued the lender seeing that the order for the hypothecated securities was duly made to him on the books of the treasurer Such methods appear to have been occurring for a long time and it being incredible that the city treasurer could be unaware of the nature of the business there is indication of a complicity between him and Mr Cowperwood to benefit by the use of the city credit in violation of the law
Furthermore at the very time these hypothecations were being made and the city paying interest upon such loans the money representing them was in the hands of the treasurers broker and bearing no interest to the city The payment of municipal warrants was postponed and they were being purchased at a discount in large amounts by Mr Cowperwood with the very money that should have been in the city treasury The bona fide holders of the orders for certificates of loans are now unable to obtain them and thus the citys credit is injured to a greater extent than the present defalcation which amounts to over five hundred thousand dollars An accountant is now at work on the treasurers books and a few days should make clear the whole modus operandi It is hoped that the publicity thus obtained will break up such vicious practices
There was appended to this report a quotation from the law governing the abuse of a public trust and the committee went on to say that unless some taxpayer chose to initiate proceedings for the prosecution of those concerned the committee itself would be called upon to do so although such action hardly came within the object for which it was formed
This report was immediately given to the papers Though some sort of a public announcement had been anticipated by Cowperwood and the politicians this was nevertheless a severe blow Stener was beside himself with fear He broke into a cold sweat when he saw the announcement which was conservatively headed Meeting of the Municipal Reform Association All of the papers were so closely identified with the political and financial powers of the city that they did not dare to come out openly and say what they thought The chief facts had already been in the hands of the various editors and publishers for a week and more but word had gone around from Mollenhauer Simpson and Butler to use the soft pedal for the present It was not good for Philadelphia for local commerce etc to make a row The fair name of the city would be smirched It was the old story
At once the question was raised as to who was really guilty the city treasurer or the broker or both How much money had actually been lost Where had it gone Who was Frank Algernon Cowperwood anyway Why was he not arrested How did he come to be identified so closely with the financial administration of the city And though the day of what later was termed yellow journalism had not arrived and the local papers were not given to such vital personal comment as followed later it was not possible even bound as they were hand and foot by the local political and social magnates to avoid comment of some sort Editorials had to be written Some solemn conservative references to the shame and disgrace which one single individual could bring to a great city and a noble political party had to be ventured upon
That desperate scheme to cast the blame on Cowperwood temporarily which had been concocted by Mollenhauer Butler and Simpson to get the odium of the crime outside the party lines for the time being was now lugged forth and put in operation It was interesting and strange to note how quickly the newspapers and even the Citizens Municipal Reform Association adopted the argument that Cowperwood was largely if not solely to blame Stener had loaned him the money it is true—had put bond issues in his hands for sale it is true but somehow every one seemed to gain the impression that Cowperwood had desperately misused the treasurer The fact that he had taken a sixtythousanddollar check for certificates which were not in the sinkingfund was hinted at though until they could actually confirm this for themselves both the newspapers and the committee were too fearful of the State libel laws to say so
In due time there were brought forth several noble municipal letters purporting to be a stern call on the part of the mayor Mr Jacob Borchardt on Mr George W Stener for an immediate explanation of his conduct and the latters reply which were at once given to the newspapers and the Citizens Municipal Reform Association These letters were enough to show so the politicians figured that the Republican party was anxious to purge itself of any miscreant within its ranks and they also helped to pass the time until after election
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
GEORGE W STENER ESQ October 18
1871 City Treasurer
DEAR SIR—Information has been given
me that certificates of city loan to a large amount issued
by you for sale on account of the city and I presume
after the usual requisition from the mayor of the city have
passed out of your custody and that the proceeds of the
sale of said certificates have not been paid into the city
treasury
I have also been informed that a large amount of the citys
money has been permitted to pass into the hands of some one
or more brokers or bankers doing business on Third Street
and that said brokers or bankers have since met with
financial difficulties whereby and by reason of the above
generally the interests of the city are likely to be very
seriously affected
I have therefore to request that you will promptly advise me
of the truth or falsity of these statements so that such
duties as devolve upon me as the chief magistrate of the
city in view of such facts if they exist may be
intelligently discharged Yours respectfully
JACOB BORCHARDT Mayor of Philadelphia
OFFICE OF THE TREASURER OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
HON JACOB BORCHARDT October 19 1871
DEAR SIR—I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication of the 21st instant and to express my regret
that I cannot at this time give you the information you ask
There is undoubtedly an embarrassment in the city treasury
owing to the delinquency of the broker who for several years
past has negotiated the city loans and I have been since
the discovery of this fact and still am occupied in
endeavoring to avert or lessen the loss with which the city
is threatened I am very respectfully GEORGE W STENER
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
GEORGE W STENER ESQ October 21 1871
City Treasurer
DEAR SIR—Under the existing
circumstances you will consider this as a notice of
withdrawal and revocation of any requisition or authority by
me for the sale of loan so far as the same has not been
fulfilled Applications for loans may for the present be
made at this office Very respectfully
JACOB BORCHARDT Mayor of Philadelphia
And did Mr Jacob Borchardt write the letters to which his name was attached He did not Mr Abner Sengstack wrote them in Mr Mollenhauers office and Mr Mollenhauers comment when he saw them was that he thought they would do—that they were very good in fact And did Mr George W Stener city treasurer of Philadelphia write that very politic reply He did not Mr Stener was in a state of complete collapse even crying at one time at home in his bathtub Mr Abner Sengstack wrote that also and had Mr Stener sign it And Mr Mollenhauers comment on that before it was sent was that he thought it was all right It was a time when all the little rats and mice were scurrying to cover because of the presence of a great fieryeyed public cat somewhere in the dark and only the older and wiser rats were able to act
Indeed at this very time and for some days past now Messrs Mollenhauer Butler and Simpson were and had been considering with Mr Pettie the district attorney just what could be done about Cowperwood if anything and in order to further emphasize the blame in that direction and just what defense if any could be made for Stener Butler of course was strong for Cowperwoods prosecution Pettie did not see that any defense could be made for Stener since various records of streetcar stocks purchased for him were spread upon Cowperwoods books but for Cowperwood—Let me see he said They were speculating first of all as to whether it might not be good policy to arrest Cowperwood and if necessary try him since his mere arrest would seem to the general public at least positive proof of his greater guilt to say nothing of the virtuous indignation of the administration and in consequence might tend to divert attention from the evil nature of the party until after election
So finally on the afternoon of October 26 1871 Edward Strobik president of the common council of Philadelphia appeared before the mayor as finally ordered by Mollenhauer and charged by affidavit that Frank A Cowperwood as broker employed by the treasurer to sell the bonds of the city had committed embezzlement and larceny as bailee It did not matter that he charged George W Stener with embezzlement at the same time Cowperwood was the scapegoat they were after
Chapter XXXIV
The contrasting pictures presented by Cowperwood and Stener at this time are well worth a moments consideration Steners face was grayishwhite his lips blue Cowperwood despite various solemn thoughts concerning a possible period of incarceration which this hue and cry now suggested and what that meant to his parents his wife and children his business associates and his friends was as calm and collected as one might assume his great mental resources would permit him to be During all this whirl of disaster he had never once lost his head or his courage That thing conscience which obsesses and rides some people to destruction did not trouble him at all He had no consciousness of what is currently known as sin There were just two faces to the shield of life from the point of view of his peculiar mindstrength and weakness Right and wrong He did not know about those They were bound up in metaphysical abstrusities about which he did not care to bother Good and evil Those were toys of clerics by which they made money And as for social favor or social ostracism which on occasion so quickly followed upon the heels of disaster of any kind well what was social ostracism Had either he or his parents been of the best society as yet And since not and despite this present mixup might not the future hold social restoration and position for him It might Morality and immorality He never considered them But strength and weakness—oh yes If you had strength you could protect yourself always and be something If you were weak—pass quickly to the rear and get out of the range of the guns He was strong and he knew it and somehow he always believed in his star Something—he could not say what—it was the only metaphysics he bothered about—was doing something for him It had always helped him It made things come out right at times It put excellent opportunities in his way Why had he been given so fine a mind Why always favored financially personally He had not deserved it—earned it Accident perhaps but somehow the thought that he would always be protected—these intuitions the hunches to act which he frequently had—could not be so easily explained Life was a dark insoluble mystery but whatever it was strength and weakness were its two constituents Strength would win—weakness lose He must rely on swiftness of thought accuracy his judgment and on nothing else He was really a brilliant picture of courage and energy—moving about briskly in a jaunty dapper way his mustaches curled his clothes pressed his nails manicured his face cleanshaven and tinted with health
In the meantime Cowperwood had gone personally to Skelton C Wheat and tried to explain his side of the situation alleging that he had done no differently from many others before him but Wheat was dubious He did not see how it was that the sixty thousand dollars worth of certificates were not in the sinkingfund Cowperwoods explanation of custom did not avail Nevertheless Mr Wheat saw that others in politics had been profiting quite as much as Cowperwood in other ways and he advised Cowperwood to turn states evidence This however he promptly refused to do—he was no squealer and indicated as much to Mr Wheat who only smiled wryly
Butler Sr was delighted concerned though he was about party success at the polls for now he had this villain in the toils and he would have a fine time getting out of this The incoming district attorney to succeed David Pettie if the Republican party won would be as was now planned an appointee of Butlers—a young Irishman who had done considerable legal work for him—one Dennis Shannon The other two party leaders had already promised Butler that Shannon was a smart athletic goodlooking fellow all of five feet ten inches in height sandyhaired pinkcheeked blueeyed considerable of an orator and a fine legal fighter He was very proud to be in the old mans favor—to be promised a place on the ticket by him—and would he said if elected do his bidding to the best of his knowledge and ability
There was only one fly in the ointment so far as some of the politicians were concerned and that was that if Cowperwood were convicted Stener must needs be also There was no escape in so far as any one could see for the city treasurer If Cowperwood was guilty of securing by trickery sixty thousand dollars worth of the city money Stener was guilty of securing five hundred thousand dollars The prison term for this was five years He might plead not guilty and by submitting as evidence that what he did was due to custom save himself from the odious necessity of pleading guilty but he would be convicted nevertheless No jury could get by the fact in regard to him In spite of public opinion when it came to a trial there might be considerable doubt in Cowperwoods case There was none in Steners
The practical manner in which the situation was furthered after Cowperwood and Stener were formally charged may be quickly noted Steger Cowperwoods lawyer learned privately beforehand that Cowperwood was to be prosecuted He arranged at once to have his client appear before any warrant could be served and to forestall the newspaper palaver which would follow it if he had to be searched for
The mayor issued a warrant for Cowperwoods arrest and in accordance with Stegers plan Cowperwood immediately appeared before Borchardt in company with his lawyer and gave bail in twenty thousand dollars W C Davison president of the Girard National Bank being his surety for his appearance at the central police station on the following Saturday for a hearing Marcus Oldslaw a lawyer had been employed by Strobik as president of the common council to represent him in prosecuting the case for the city The mayor looked at Cowperwood curiously for he being comparatively new to the political world of Philadelphia was not so familiar with him as others were and Cowperwood returned the look pleasantly enough
This is a great dumb show Mr Mayor he observed once to Borchardt quietly and the latter replied with a smile and a kindly eye that as far as he was concerned it was a form of procedure which was absolutely unavoidable at this time
You know how it is Mr Cowperwood he observed The latter smiled I do indeed he said
Later there followed several more or less perfunctory appearances in a local police court known as the Central Court where when arraigned he pleaded not guilty and finally his appearance before the November grand jury where owing to the complicated nature of the charge drawn up against him by Pettie he thought it wise to appear He was properly indicted by the latter body Shannon the newly elected district attorney making a demonstration in force and his trial ordered for December 5th before a certain Judge Payderson in Part I of Quarter Sessions which was the local branch of the State courts dealing with crimes of this character His indictment did not occur however before the coming and going of the muchmooted fall election which resulted thanks to the clever political manipulations of Mollenhauer and Simpson ballotbox stuffing and personal violence at the polls not barred in another victory by however a greatly reduced majority The Citizens Municipal Reform Association in spite of a resounding defeat at the polls which could not have happened except by fraud continued to fire courageously away at those whom it considered to be the chief malefactors
Aileen Butler during all this time was following the trend of Cowperwoods outward vicissitudes as heralded by the newspapers and the local gossip with as much interest and bias and enthusiasm for him as her powerful physical and affectional nature would permit She was no great reasoner where affection entered in but shrewd enough without it and although she saw him often and he told her much—as much as his natural caution would permit—she yet gathered from the newspapers and private conversation at her own familys table and elsewhere that as bad as they said he was he was not as bad as he might be One item only clipped from the Philadelphia Public Ledger soon after Cowperwood had been publicly accused of embezzlement comforted and consoled her She cut it out and carried it in her bosom for somehow it seemed to show that her adored Frank was far more sinned against than sinning It was a part of one of those very numerous pronunciamientos or reports issued by the Citizens Municipal Reform Association and it ran
The aspects of the case are graver than have yet been allowed to reach the public Five hundred thousand dollars of the deficiency arises not from city bonds sold and not accounted for but from loans made by the treasurer to his broker The committee is also informed on what it believes to be good authority that the loans sold by the broker were accounted for in the monthly settlements at the lowest prices current during the month and that the difference between this rate and that actually realized was divided between the treasurer and the broker thus making it to the interest of both parties to bear the market at some time during the month so as to obtain a low quotation for settlement Nevertheless the committee can only regard the prosecution instituted against the broker Mr Cowperwood as an effort to divert public attention from more guilty parties while those concerned may be able to fix matters to suit themselves
There thought Aileen when she read it there you have it These politicians—her father among them as she gathered after his conversation with her—were trying to put the blame of their own evil deeds on her Frank He was not nearly as bad as he was painted The report said so She gloated over the words an effort to divert public attention from more guilty parties That was just what her Frank had been telling her in those happy private hours when they had been together recently in one place and another particularly the new rendezvous in South Sixth Street which he had established since the old one had to be abandoned He had stroked her rich hair caressed her body and told her it was all a prearranged political scheme to cast the blame as much as possible on him and make it as light as possible for Stener and the party generally He would come out of it all right he said but he cautioned her not to talk He did not deny his long and profitable relations with Stener He told her exactly how it was She understood or thought she did Anyhow her Frank was telling her and that was enough
As for the two Cowperwood households so recently and pretentiously joined in success now so gloomily tied in failure the life was going out of them Frank Algernon was that life He was the courage and force of his father the spirit and opportunity of his brothers the hope of his children the estate of his wife the dignity and significance of the Cowperwood name All that meant opportunity force emolument dignity and happiness to those connected with him he was And his marvelous sun was waning apparently to a black eclipse
Since the fatal morning for instance when Lillian Cowperwood had received that utterly destructive note like a cannonball ripping through her domestic affairs she had been walking like one in a trance Each day now for weeks she had been going about her duties placidly enough to all outward seeming but inwardly she was running with a troubled tide of thought She was so utterly unhappy Her fortieth year had come for her at a time when life ought naturally to stand fixed and firm on a solid base and here she was about to be torn bodily from the domestic soil in which she was growing and blooming and thrown out indifferently to wither in the blistering noonday sun of circumstance
As for Cowperwood Senior his situation at his bank and elsewhere was rapidly nearing a climax As has been said he had had tremendous faith in his son but he could not help seeing that an error had been committed as he thought and that Frank was suffering greatly for it now He considered of course that Frank had been entitled to try to save himself as he had but he so regretted that his son should have put his foot into the trap of any situation which could stir up discussion of the sort that was now being aroused Frank was wonderfully brilliant He need never have taken up with the city treasurer or the politicians to have succeeded marvelously Local streetrailways and speculative politicians were his undoing The old man walked the floor all of the days realizing that his sun was setting that with Franks failure he failed and that this disgrace—these public charges—meant his own undoing His hair had grown very gray in but a few weeks his step slow his face pallid his eyes sunken His rather showy sidewhiskers seemed now like flags or ornaments of a better day that was gone His only consolation through it all was that Frank had actually got out of his relationship with the Third National Bank without owing it a single dollar Still as he knew the directors of that institution could not possibly tolerate the presence of a man whose son had helped loot the city treasury and whose name was now in the public prints in this connection Besides Cowperwood Sr was too old He ought to retire
The crisis for him therefore came on the day when Frank was arrested on the embezzlement charge The old man through Frank who had it from Steger knew it was coming still had the courage to go to the bank but it was like struggling under the weight of a heavy stone to do it But before going and after a sleepless night he wrote his resignation to Frewen Kasson the chairman of the board of directors in order that he should be prepared to hand it to him at once Kasson a stocky wellbuilt magnetic man of fifty breathed an inward sigh of relief at the sight of it
I know its hard Mr Cowperwood he said sympathetically We—and I can speak for the other members of the board—we feel keenly the unfortunate nature of your position We know exactly how it is that your son has become involved in this matter He is not the only banker who has been involved in the citys affairs By no means It is an old system We appreciate all of us keenly the services you have rendered this institution during the past thirtyfive years If there were any possible way in which we could help to tide you over the difficulties at this time we would be glad to do so but as a banker yourself you must realize just how impossible that would be Everything is in a turmoil If things were settled—if we knew how soon this would blow over— He paused for he felt that he could not go on and say that he or the bank was sorry to be forced to lose Mr Cowperwood in this way at present Mr Cowperwood himself would have to speak
During all this Cowperwood Sr had been doing his best to pull himself together in order to be able to speak at all He had gotten out a large white linen handkerchief and blown his nose and had straightened himself in his chair and laid his hands rather peacefully on his desk Still he was intensely wrought up
I cant stand this he suddenly exclaimed I wish you would leave me alone now
Kasson very carefully dressed and manicured arose and walked out of the room for a few moments He appreciated keenly the intensity of the strain he had just witnessed The moment the door was closed Cowperwood put his head in his hands and shook convulsively I never thought Id come to this he muttered I never thought it Then he wiped away his salty hot tears and went to the window to look out and to think of what else to do from now on
Chapter XXXV
As time went on Butler grew more and more puzzled and restive as to his duty in regard to his daughter He was sure by her furtive manner and her apparent desire to avoid him that she was still in touch with Cowperwood in some way and that this would bring about a social disaster of some kind He thought once of going to Mrs Cowperwood and having her bring pressure to bear on her husband but afterwards he decided that that would not do He was not really positive as yet that Aileen was secretly meeting Cowperwood and besides Mrs Cowperwood might not know of her husbands duplicity He thought also of going to Cowperwood personally and threatening him but that would be a severe measure and again as in the other case he lacked proof He hesitated to appeal to a detective agency and he did not care to take the other members of the family into his confidence He did go out and scan the neighborhood of 931 North Tenth Street once looking at the house but that helped him little The place was for rent Cowperwood having already abandoned his connection with it
Finally he hit upon the plan of having Aileen invited to go somewhere some distance off—Boston or New Orleans where a sister of his wife lived It was a delicate matter to engineer and in such matters he was not exactly the soul of tact but he undertook it He wrote personally to his wifes sister at New Orleans and asked her if she would without indicating in any way that she had heard from him write his wife and ask if she would not permit Aileen to come and visit her writing Aileen an invitation at the same time but he tore the letter up A little later he learned accidentally that Mrs Mollenhauer and her three daughters Caroline Felicia and Alta were going to Europe early in December to visit Paris the Riviera and Rome and he decided to ask Mollenhauer to persuade his wife to invite Norah and Aileen or Aileen only to go along giving as an excuse that his own wife would not leave him and that the girls ought to go It would be a fine way of disposing of Aileen for the present The party was to be gone six months Mollenhauer was glad to do so of course The two families were fairly intimate Mrs Mollenhauer was willing—delighted from a politic point of view—and the invitation was extended Norah was overjoyed She wanted to see something of Europe and had always been hoping for some such opportunity Aileen was pleased from the point of view that Mrs Mollenhauer should invite her Years before she would have accepted in a flash But now she felt that it only came as a puzzling interruption one more of the minor difficulties that were tending to interrupt her relations with Cowperwood She immediately threw cold water on the proposition which was made one evening at dinner by Mrs Butler who did not know of her husbands share in the matter but had received a call that afternoon from Mrs Mollenhauer when the invitation had been extended
Shes very anxious to have you two come along if your father dont mind volunteered the mother and I should think yed have a fine time Theyre going to Paris and the Riveera
Oh fine exclaimed Norah Ive always wanted to go to Paris Havent you Ai Oh wouldnt that be fine
I dont know that I want to go replied Aileen She did not care to compromise herself by showing any interest at the start Its coming on winter and I havent any clothes Id rather wait and go some other time
Oh Aileen Butler exclaimed Norah How you talk Ive heard you say a dozen times youd like to go abroad some winter Now when the chance comes—besides you can get your clothes made over there
Couldnt you get somethin over there inquired Mrs Butler Besides youve got two or three weeks here yet
They wouldnt want a man around as a sort of guide and adviser would they mother put in Callum
I might offer my services in that capacity myself observed Owen reservedly
Im sure I dont know returned Mrs Butler smiling and at the same time chewing a lusty mouthful Youll have to ast em my sons
Aileen still persisted She did not want to go It was too sudden It was this It was that Just then old Butler came in and took his seat at the head of the table Knowing all about it he was most anxious to appear not to
You wouldnt object Edward would you queried his wife explaining the proposition in general
Object he echoed with a well simulated but rough attempt at gayety A fine thing Id be doing for meself—objectin Id be glad if I could get shut of the whole pack of ye for a time
What talk ye have said his wife A fine mess youd make of it livin alone
Id not be alone belave me replied Butler Theres many a place Id be welcome in this town—no thanks to ye
And theres many a place ye wouldnt have been if it hadnt been for me Im tellin ye that retorted Mrs Butler genially
And thats not stretchin the troot much aither he answered fondly
Aileen was adamant No amount of argument both on the part of Norah and her mother had any effect whatever Butler witnessed the failure of his plan with considerable dissatisfaction but he was not through When he was finally convinced that there was no hope of persuading her to accept the Mollenhauer proposition he decided after a while to employ a detective
At that time the reputation of William A Pinkerton of detective fame and of his agency was great The man had come up from poverty through a series of vicissitudes to a high standing in his peculiar and to many distasteful profession but to any one in need of such in themselves calamitous services his very famous and decidedly patriotic connection with the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln was a recommendation He or rather his service had guarded the latter all his stormy incumbency at the executive mansion There were offices for the management of the companys business in Philadelphia Washington and New York to say nothing of other places Butler was familiar with the Philadelphia sign but did not care to go to the office there He decided once his mind was made up on this score that he would go over to New York where he was told the principal offices were
He made the simple excuse one day of business which was common enough in his case and journeyed to New York—nearly five hours away as the trains ran then—arriving at two oclock At the offices on lower Broadway he asked to see the manager whom he found to be a large grossfeatured heavybodied man of fifty grayeyed grayhaired puffily outlined as to countenance but keen and shrewd and with short fatfingered hands which drummed idly on his desk as he talked He was dressed in a suit of darkbrown wool cloth which struck Butler as peculiarly showy and wore a large horseshoe diamond pin The old man himself invariably wore conservative gray
How do you do said Butler when a boy ushered him into the presence of this worthy whose name was Martinson—Gilbert Martinson of American and Irish extraction The latter nodded and looked at Butler shrewdly recognizing him at once as a man of force and probably of position He therefore rose and offered him a chair
Sit down he said studying the old Irishman from under thick bushy eyebrows What can I do for you
Youre the manager are you asked Butler solemnly eyeing the man with a shrewd inquiring eye
Yes sir replied Martinson simply Thats my position here
This Mr Pinkerton that runs this agency—he wouldnt be about this place now would he asked Butler carefully Id like to talk to him personally if I might meaning no offense to you
Mr Pinkerton is in Chicago at present replied Mr Martinson I dont expect him back for a week or ten days You can talk to me though with the same confidence that you could to him Im the responsible head here However youre the best judge of that
Butler debated with himself in silence for a few moments estimating the man before him Are you a family man yourself he asked oddly
Yes sir Im married replied Martinson solemnly I have a wife and two children
Martinson from long experience conceived that this must be a matter of family misconduct—a son daughter wife Such cases were not infrequent
I thought I would like to talk to Mr Pinkerton himself but if youre the responsible head— Butler paused
I am replied Martinson You can talk to me with the same freedom that you could to Mr Pinkerton Wont you come into my private office We can talk more at ease in there
He led the way into an adjoining room which had two windows looking down into Broadway an oblong table heavy brown smoothly polished four leatherbacked chairs and some pictures of the Civil War battles in which the North had been victorious Butler followed doubtfully He hated very much to take any one into his confidence in regard to Aileen He was not sure that he would even now He wanted to look these fellys over as he said in his mind He would decide then what he wanted to do He went to one of the windows and looked down into the street where there was a perfect swirl of omnibuses and vehicles of all sorts Mr Martinson quietly closed the door
Now then if theres anything I can do for you Mr Martinson paused He thought by this little trick to elicit Buders real name—it often worked—but in this instance the name was not forthcoming Butler was too shrewd
Im not so sure that I want to go into this said the old man solemnly Certainly not if theres any risk of the thing not being handled in the right way Theres somethin I want to find out about—somethin that I ought to know but its a very private matter with me and— He paused to think and conjecture looking at Mr Martinson the while The latter understood his peculiar state of mind He had seen many such cases
Let me say right here to begin with Mr—
Scanlon interpolated Butler easily thats as good a name as any if you want to use one Im keepin me own to meself for the present
Scanlon continued Martinson easily I really dont care whether its your right name or not I was just going to say that it might not be necessary to have your right name under any circumstances—it all depends upon what you want to know But so far as your private affairs are concerned they are as safe with us as if you had never told them to any one Our business is built upon confidence and we never betray it We wouldnt dare We have men and women who have been in our employ for over thirty years and we never retire any one except for cause and we dont pick people who are likely to need to be retired for cause Mr Pinkerton is a good judge of men There are others here who consider that they are We handle over ten thousand separate cases in all parts of the United States every year We work on a case only so long as we are wanted We try to find out only such things as our customers want We do not pry unnecessarily into anybodys affairs If we decide that we cannot find out what you want to know we are the first to say so Many cases are rejected right here in this office before we ever begin Yours might be such a one We dont want cases merely for the sake of having them and we are frank to say so Some matters that involve public policy or some form of small persecution we dont touch at all—we wont be a party to them You can see how that is You look to me to be a man of the world I hope I am one Does it strike you that an organization like ours would be likely to betray any ones confidence He paused and looked at Butler for confirmation of what he had just said
It wouldnt seem likely said the latter thats the truth Its not aisy to bring your private affairs into the light of day though added the old man sadly
They both rested
Well said Butler finally you look to me to be all right and Id like some advice Mind ye Im willing to pay for it well enough and it isnt anything thatll be very hard to find out I want to know whether a certain man where I live is goin with a certain woman and where You could find that out aisy enough I belave—couldnt you
Nothing easier replied Martinson We are doing it all the time Let me see if I can help you just a moment Mr Scanlon in order to make it easier for you It is very plain to me that you dont care to tell any more than you can help and we dont care to have you tell any more than we absolutely need We will have to have the name of the city of course and the name of either the man or the woman but not necessarily both of them unless you want to help us in that way Sometimes if you give us the name of one party—say the man for illustration—and the description of the woman—an accurate one—or a photograph we can tell you after a little while exactly what you want to know Of course its always better if we have full information You suit yourself about that Tell me as much or as little as you please and Ill guarantee that we will do our best to serve you and that you will be satisfied afterward
He smiled genially
Well that bein the case said Butler finally taking the leap with many mental reservations however Ill be plain with you My names not Scanlon Its Butler I live in Philadelphy Theres a man there a banker by the name of Cowperwood—Frank A Cowperwood—
Wait a moment said Martinson drawing an ample pad out of his pocket and producing a leadpencil I want to get that How do you spell it
Butler told him
Yes now go on
He has a place in Third Street—Frank A Cowperwood—any one can show you where it is Hes just failed there recently
Oh thats the man interpolated Martinson Ive heard of him Hes mixed up in some city embezzlement case over there I suppose the reason you didnt go to our Philadelphia office is because you didnt want our local men over there to know anything about it Isnt that it
Thats the man and thats the reason said Butler I dont care to have anything of this known in Philadelphy Thats why Im here This man has a house on Girard Avenue—Nineteenthirtyseven You can find that out too when you get over there
Yes agreed Mr Martinson
Well its him that I want to know about—him—and a certain woman or girl rather The old man paused and winced at this necessity of introducing Aileen into the case He could scarcely think of it—he was so fond of her He had been so proud of Aileen A dark smoldering rage burned in his heart against Cowperwood
A relative of yours—possibly I suppose remarked Martinson tactfully You neednt tell me any more—just give me a description if you wish We may be able to work from that He saw quite clearly what a fine old citizen in his way he was dealing with here and also that the man was greatly troubled Butlers heavy meditative face showed it You can be quite frank with me Mr Butler he added I think I understand We only want such information as we must have to help you nothing more
Yes said the old man dourly She is a relative Shes me daughter in fact You look to me like a sensible honest man Im her father and I wouldnt do anything for the world to harm her Its tryin to save her I am Its him I want He suddenly closed one big fist forcefully
Martinson who had two daughters of his own observed the suggestive movement
I understand how you feel Mr Butler he observed I am a father myself Well do all we can for you If you can give me an accurate description of her or let one of my men see her at your house or office accidentally of course I think we can tell you in no time at all if they are meeting with any regularity Thats all you want to know is it—just that
Thats all said Butler solemnly
Well that oughtnt to take any time at all Mr Butler—three or four days possibly if we have any luck—a week ten days two weeks It depends on how long you want us to shadow him in case there is no evidence the first few days
I want to know however long it takes replied Butler bitterly I want to know if it takes a month or two months or three to find out I want to know The old man got up as he said this very positive very rugged And dont send me men that havent sinse—lots of it plase I want men that are fathers if youve got em—and that have sinse enough to hold their tongues—not bys
I understand Mr Butler Martinson replied Depend on it youll have the best we have and you can trust them Theyll be discreet You can depend on that The way Ill do will be to assign just one man to the case at first some one you can see for yourself whether you like or not Ill not tell him anything You can talk to him If you like him tell him and hell do the rest Then if he needs any more help he can get it What is your address
Butler gave it to him
And therell be no talk about this
None whatever—I assure you
And whenll he be comin along
Tomorrow if you wish I have a man I could send tonight He isnt here now or Id have him talk with you Ill talk to him though and make everything clear You neednt worry about anything Your daughters reputation will be safe in his hands
Thank you kindly commented Butler softening the least bit in a gingerly way Im much obliged to you Ill take it as a great favor and pay you well
Never mind about that Mr Butler replied Martinson Youre welcome to anything this concern can do for you at its ordinary rates
He showed Butler to the door and the old man went out He was feeling very depressed over this—very shabby To think he should have to put detectives on the track of his Aileen his daughter
Chapter XXXVI
The very next day there called at Butlers office a long preternaturally solemn man of noticeable height and angularity darkhaired darkeyed sallow with a face that was long and leathery and particularly hawklike who talked with Butler for over an hour and then departed That evening he came to the Butler house around dinnertime and being shown into Butlers room was given a look at Aileen by a ruse Butler sent for her standing in the doorway just far enough to one side to yield a good view of her The detective stood behind one of the heavy curtains which had already been put up for the winter pretending to look out into the street
Did any one drive Sissy this mornin asked Butler of Aileen inquiring after a favorite family horse Butlers plan in case the detective was seen was to give the impression that he was a horseman who had come either to buy or to sell His name was Jonas Alderson and be looked sufficiently like a horsetrader to be one
I dont think so father replied Aileen I didnt Ill find out
Never mind What I want to know is did you intend using her tomorrow
No not if you want her Jerry suits me just as well
Very well then Leave her in the stable Butler quietly closed the door Aileen concluded at once that it was a horse conference She knew he would not dispose of any horse in which she was interested without first consulting her and so she thought no more about it
After she was gone Alderson stepped out and declared that he was satisfied Thats all I need to know he said Ill let you know in a few days if I find out anything
He departed and within thirtysix hours the house and office of Cowperwood the house of Butler the office of Harper Steger Cowperwoods lawyer and Cowperwood and Aileen separately and personally were under complete surveillance It took six men to do it at first and eventually a seventh when the second meetingplace which was located in South Sixth Street was discovered All the detectives were from New York In a week all was known to Alderson It bad been agreed between him and Butler that if Aileen and Cowperwood were discovered to have any particular rendezvous Butler was to be notified some time when she was there so that he might go immediately and confront her in person if he wished He did not intend to kill Cowperwood—and Alderson would have seen to it that he did not in his presence at least but he would give him a good tonguelashing fell him to the floor in all likelihood and march Aileen away There would be no more lying on her part as to whether she was or was not going with Cowperwood She would not be able to say after that what she would or would not do Butler would lay down the law to her She would reform or he would send her to a reformatory Think of her influence on her sister or on any good girl—knowing what she knew or doing what she was doing She would go to Europe after this or any place he chose to send her
In working out his plan of action it was necessary for Butler to take Alderson into his confidence and the detective made plain his determination to safeguard Cowperwoods person
We couldnt allow you to strike any blows or do any violence Alderson told Butler when they first talked about it Its against the rules You can go in there on a searchwarrant if we have to have one I can get that for you without anybodys knowing anything about your connection with the case We can say its for a girl from New York But youll have to go in in the presence of my men They wont permit any trouble You can get your daughter all right—well bring her away and him too if you say so but youll have to make some charge against him if we do Then theres the danger of the neighbors seeing You cant always guarantee you wont collect a crowd that way Butler had many misgivings about the matter It was fraught with great danger of publicity Still he wanted to know He wanted to terrify Aileen if he could—to reform her drastically
Within a week Alderson learned that Aileen and Cowperwood were visiting an apparently private residence which was anything but that The house on South Sixth Street was one of assignation purely but in its way it was superior to the average establishment of its kind—of red brick whitestone trimmings four stories high and all the rooms some eighteen in number furnished in a showy but cleanly way Its patronage was highly exclusive only those being admitted who were known to the mistress having been introduced by others This guaranteed that privacy which the illicit affairs of this world so greatly required The mere phrase I have an appointment was sufficient where either of the parties was known to cause them to be shown to a private suite Cowperwood had known of the place from previous experiences and when it became necessary to abandon the North Tenth Street house he had directed Aileen to meet him here
The matter of entering a place of this kind and trying to find any one was as Alderson informed Butler on hearing of its character exceedingly difficult It involved the right of search which was difficult to get To enter by sheer force was easy enough in most instances where the business conducted was in contradistinction to the moral sentiment of the community but sometimes one encountered violent opposition from the tenants themselves It might be so in this case The only sure way of avoiding such opposition would be to take the woman who ran the place into ones confidence and by paying her sufficiently insure silence But I do not advise that in this instance Alderson had told Butler for I believe this woman is particularly friendly to your man It might be better in spite of the risk to take it by surprise To do that he explained it would be necessary to have at least three men in addition to the leader—perhaps four who once one man had been able to make his entrance into the hallway on the door being opened in response to a ring would appear quickly and enter with and sustain him Quickness of search was the next thing—the prompt opening of all doors The servants if any would have to be overpowered and silenced in some way Money sometimes did this force accomplished it at other times Then one of the detectives simulating a servant could tap gently at the different doors—Butler and the others standing by—and in case a face appeared identify it or not as the case might be If the door was not opened and the room was not empty it could eventually be forced The house was one of a solid block so that there was no chance of escape save by the front and rear doors which were to be safeguarded It was a daringly conceived scheme In spite of all this secrecy in the matter of removing Aileen was to be preserved
When Butler heard of this he was nervous about the whole terrible procedure He thought once that without going to the house he would merely talk to his daughter declaring that he knew and that she could not possibly deny it He would then give her her choice between going to Europe or going to a reformatory But a sense of the raw brutality of Aileens disposition and something essentially coarse in himself made him eventually adopt the other method He ordered Alderson to perfect his plan and once he found Aileen or Cowperwood entering the house to inform him quickly He would then drive there and with the assistance of these men confront her
It was a foolish scheme a brutalizing thing to do both from the point of view of affection and any corrective theory he might have had No good ever springs from violence But Butler did not see that He wanted to frighten Aileen to bring her by shock to a realization of the enormity of the offense she was committing He waited fully a week after his word had been given and then one afternoon when his nerves were worn almost thin from fretting the climax came Cowperwood had already been indicted and was now awaiting trial Aileen had been bringing him news from time to time of just how she thought her father was feeling toward him She did not get this evidence direct from Butler of course—he was too secretive in so far as she was concerned to let her know how relentlessly he was engineering Cowperwoods final downfall—but from odd bits confided to Owen who confided them to Callum who in turn innocently enough confided them to Aileen For one thing she had learned in this way of the new district attorney elect—his probable attitude—for he was a constant caller at the Butler house or office Owen had told Callum that he thought Shannon was going to do his best to send Cowperwood up—that the old man thought he deserved it
In the next place she had learned that her father did not want Cowperwood to resume business—did not feel he deserved to be allowed to It would be a Gods blessing if the community were shut of him he had said to Owen one morning apropos of a notice in the papers of Cowperwoods legal struggles and Owen had asked Callum why he thought the old man was so bitter The two sons could not understand it Cowperwood heard all this from her and more—bits about Judge Payderson the judge who was to try him who was a friend of Butlers—also about the fact that Stener might be sent up for the full term of his crime but that he would be pardoned soon afterward
Apparently Cowperwood was not very much frightened He told her that he had powerful financial friends who would appeal to the governor to pardon him in case he was convicted and anyhow that he did not think that the evidence was strong enough to convict him He was merely a political scapegoat through public clamor and her fathers influence since the latters receipt of the letter about them he had been the victim of Butlers enmity and nothing more If it werent for your father honey he declared I could have this indictment quashed in no time Neither Mollenhauer nor Simpson has anything against me personally I am sure They want me to get out of the streetrailway business here in Philadelphia and of course they wanted to make things look better for Stener at first but depend upon it if your father hadnt been against me they wouldnt have gone to any such length in making me the victim Your father has this fellow Shannon and these minor politicians just where he wants them too Thats where the trouble lies They have to go on
Oh I know replied Aileen Its me just me thats all If it werent for me and what he suspects hed help you in a minute Sometimes you know I think Ive been very bad for you I dont know what I ought to do If I thought it would help you any Id not see you any more for a while though I dont see what good that would do now Oh I love you love you Frank I would do anything for you I dont care what people think or say I love you
Oh you just think you do he replied jestingly Youll get over it There are others
Others echoed Aileen resentfully and contemptuously After you there arent any others I just want one man my Frank If you ever desert me Ill go to hell Youll see
Dont talk like that Aileen he replied almost irritated I dont like to hear you You wouldnt do anything of the sort I love you You know Im not going to desert you It would pay you to desert me just now
Oh how you talk she exclaimed Desert you Its likely isnt it But if ever you desert me Ill do just what I say I swear it
Dont talk like that Dont talk nonsense
I swear it I swear by my love I swear by your success—my own happiness Ill do just what I say Ill go to hell
Cowperwood got up He was a little afraid now of this deepseated passion he had aroused It was dangerous He could not tell where it would lead
It was a cheerless afternoon in November when Alderson duly informed of the presence of Aileen and Cowperwood in the South Sixth Street house by the detective on guard drove rapidly up to Butlers office and invited him to come with him Yet even now Butler could scarcely believe that he was to find his daughter there The shame of it The horror What would he say to her How reproach her What would he do to Cowperwood His large hands shook as he thought They drove rapidly to within a few doors of the place where a second detective on guard across the street approached Butler and Alderson descended from the vehicle and together they approached the door It was now almost fourthirty in the afternoon In a room within the house Cowperwood his coat and vest off was listening to Aileens account of her troubles
The room in which they were sitting at the time was typical of the rather commonplace idea of luxury which then prevailed Most of the sets of furniture put on the market for general sale by the furniture companies were when they approached in any way the correct idea of luxury imitations of one of the Louis periods The curtains were always heavy frequently brocaded and not infrequently red The carpets were richly flowered in high colors with a thick velvet nap The furniture of whatever wood it might be made was almost invariably heavy floriated and cumbersome This room contained a heavily constructed bed of walnut with washstand bureau and wardrobe to match A large square mirror in a gold frame was hung over the washstand Some poor engravings of landscapes and several nude figures were hung in gold frames on the wall The giltframed chairs were upholstered in pinkandwhiteflowered brocade with polished brass tacks The carpet was of thick Brussels pale cream and pink in hue with large blue jardinieres containing flowers woven in as ornaments The general effect was light rich and a little stuffy
You know I get desperately frightened sometimes said Aileen Father might be watching us you know Ive often wondered what Id do if he caught us I couldnt lie out of this could I
You certainly couldnt said Cowperwood who never failed to respond to the incitement of her charms She had such lovely smooth arms a full luxuriously tapering throat and neck her goldenred hair floated like an aureole about her head and her large eyes sparkled The wondrous vigor of a full womanhood was hers—errant illbalanced romantic but exquisite but you might as well not cross that bridge until you come to it he continued I myself have been thinking that we had better not go on with this for the present That letter ought to have been enough to stop us for the time
He came over to where she stood by the dressingtable adjusting her hair
Youre such a pretty minx he said He slipped his arm about her and kissed her pretty mouth Nothing sweeter than you this side of Paradise he whispered in her ear
While this was enacting Butler and the extra detective had stepped out of sight to one side of the front door of the house while Alderson taking the lead rang the bell A negro servant appeared
Is Mrs Davis in he asked genially using the name of the woman in control Id like to see her
Just come in said the maid unsuspectingly and indicated a receptionroom on the right Alderson took off his soft widebrimmed hat and entered When the maid went upstairs he immediately returned to the door and let in Butler and two detectives The four stepped into the receptionroom unseen In a few moments the madam as the current word characterized this type of woman appeared She was tall fair rugged and not at all unpleasant to look upon She had lightblue eyes and a genial smile Long contact with the police and the brutalities of sex in her early life had made her wary a little afraid of how the world would use her This particular method of making a living being illicit and she having no other practical knowledge at her command she was as anxious to get along peacefully with the police and the public generally as any struggling tradesman in any walk of life might have been She had on a loose blueflowered peignoir or dressinggown open at the front tied with blue ribbons and showing a little of her expensive underwear beneath A large opal ring graced her left middle finger and turquoises of vivid blue were pendent from her ears She wore yellow silk slippers with bronze buckles and altogether her appearance was not out of keeping with the character of the receptionroom itself which was a composite of goldflowered wallpaper blue and creamcolored Brussels carpet heavily goldframed engravings of reclining nudes and a giltframed pierglass which rose from the floor to the ceiling Needless to say Butler was shocked to the soul of him by this suggestive atmosphere which was supposed to include his daughter in its destructive reaches
Alderson motioned one of his detectives to get behind the woman—between her and the door—which he did
Sorry to trouble you Mrs Davis he said but we are looking for a couple who are in your house here Were after a runaway girl We dont want to make any disturbance—merely to get her and take her away Mrs Davis paled and opened her mouth Now dont make any noise or try to scream or well have to stop you My men are all around the house Nobody can get out Do you know anybody by the name of Cowperwood
Mrs Davis fortunately from one point of view was not of a particularly nervous nor yet contentious type She was more or less philosophic She was not in touch with the police here in Philadelphia hence subject to exposure What good would it do to cry out she thought The place was surrounded There was no one in the house at the time to save Cowperwood and Aileen She did not know Cowperwood by his name nor Aileen by hers They were a Mr and Mrs Montague to her
I dont know anybody by that name she replied nervously
Isnt there a girl here with red hair asked one of Aldersons assistants And a man with a gray suit and a lightbrown mustache They came in here half an hour ago You remember them dont you
Theres just one couple in the house but Im not sure whether theyre the ones you want Ill ask them to come down if you wish Oh I wish you wouldnt make any disturbance This is terrible
Well not make any disturbance replied Alderson if you dont Just you be quiet We merely want to see the girl and take her away Now you stay where you are What room are they in
In the second one in the rear upstairs Wont you let me go though It will be so much better Ill just tap and ask them to come out
No Well tend to that You stay where you are Youre not going to get into any trouble You just stay where you are insisted Alderson
He motioned to Butler who however now that he had embarked on his grim task was thinking that he had made a mistake What good would it do him to force his way in and make her come out unless he intended to kill Cowperwood If she were made to come down here that would be enough She would then know that he knew all He did not care to quarrel with Cowperwood in any public way he now decided He was afraid to He was afraid of himself
Let her go he said grimly doggedly referring to Mrs Davis But watch her Tell the girl to come downstairs to me
Mrs Davis realizing on the moment that this was some family tragedy and hoping in an agonized way that she could slip out of it peacefully started upstairs at once with Alderson and his assistants who were close at his heels Reaching the door of the room occupied by Cowperwood and Aileen she tapped lightly At the time Aileen and Cowperwood were sitting in a big armchair At the first knock Aileen blanched and leaped to her feet Usually not nervous today for some reason she anticipated trouble Cowperwoods eyes instantly hardened
Dont be nervous he said no doubt its only the servant Ill go
He started but Aileen interfered Wait she said Somewhat reassured she went to the closet and taking down a dressinggown slipped it on Meanwhile the tap came again Then she went to the door and opened it the least bit
Mrs Montague exclaimed Mrs Davis in an obviously nervous forced voice theres a gentleman downstairs who wishes to see you
A gentleman to see me exclaimed Aileen astonished and paling Are you sure
Yes he says he wants to see you There are several other men with him I think its some one who belongs to you maybe
Aileen realized on the instant as did Cowperwood what had in all likelihood happened Butler or Mrs Cowperwood had trailed them—in all probability her father He wondered now what he should do to protect her not himself He was in no way deeply concerned for himself even here Where any woman was concerned he was too chivalrous to permit fear It was not at all improbable that Butler might want to kill him but that did not disturb him He really did not pay any attention to that thought and he was not armed
Ill dress and go down he said when he saw Aileens pale face You stay here And dont you worry in any way for Ill get you out of this—now dont worry This is my affair I got you in it and Ill get you out of it He went for his hat and coat and added as he did so You go ahead and dress but let me go first
Aileen the moment the door closed had begun to put on her clothes swiftly and nervously Her mind was working like a rapidly moving machine She was wondering whether this really could be her father Perhaps it was not Might there be some other Mrs Montague—a real one Supposing it was her father—he had been so nice to her in not telling the family in keeping her secret thus far He loved her—she knew that It makes all the difference in the world in a childs attitude on an occasion like this whether she has been loved and petted and spoiled or the reverse Aileen had been loved and petted and spoiled She could not think of her father doing anything terrible physically to her or to any one else But it was so hard to confront him—to look into his eyes When she had attained a proper memory of him her fluttering wits told her what to do
No Frank she whispered excitedly if its father youd better let me go I know how to talk to him He wont say anything to me You stay here Im not afraid—really Im not If I want you Ill call you
He had come over and taken her pretty chin in his hands and was looking solemnly into her eyes
You mustnt be afraid he said Ill go down If its your father you can go away with him I dont think hell do anything either to you or to me If it is he write me something at the office Ill be there If I can help you in any way I will We can fix up something Theres no use trying to explain this Say nothing at all
He had on his coat and overcoat and was standing with his hat in his hand Aileen was nearly dressed struggling with the row of red currentcolored buttons which fastened her dress in the back Cowperwood helped her When she was ready—hat gloves and all—he said
Now let me go first I want to see
No please Frank she begged courageously Let me I know its father Who else could it be She wondered at the moment whether her father had brought her two brothers but would not now believe it He would not do that she knew You can come if I call She went on Nothings going to happen though I understand him He wont do anything to me If you go it will only make him angry Let me go You stand in the door here If I dont call its all right Will you
She put her two pretty hands on his shoulders and he weighed the matter very carefully Very well he said only Ill go to the foot of the stairs with you
They went to the door and he opened it Outside were Alderson with two other detectives and Mrs Davis standing perhaps five feet away
Well said Cowperwood commandingly looking at Alderson
Theres a gentleman downstairs wishes to see the lady said Alderson Its her father I think he added quietly
Cowperwood made way for Aileen who swept by furious at the presence of men and this exposure Her courage had entirely returned She was angry now to think her father would make a public spectacle of her Cowperwood started to follow
Id advise you not to go down there right away cautioned Alderson sagely Thats her father Butlers her name isnt it He dont want you so much as he wants her
Cowperwood nevertheless walked slowly toward the head of the stairs listening
What made you come here father he heard Aileen ask
Butlers reply he could not hear but he was now at ease for he knew how much Butler loved his daughter
Confronted by her father Aileen was now attempting to stare defiantly to look reproachful but Butlers deep gray eyes beneath their shaggy brows revealed such a weight of weariness and despair as even she in her anger and defiance could not openly flaunt It was all too sad
I never expected to find you in a place like this daughter he said I should have thought you would have thought better of yourself His voice choked and he stopped
I know who youre here with he continued shaking his head sadly The dog Ill get him yet Ive had men watchin you all the time Oh the shame of this day The shame of this day Youll be comin home with me now
Thats just it father began Aileen Youve had men watching me I should have thought— She stopped because he put up his hand in a strange agonized and yet dominating way
None of that none of that he said glowering under his strange sad gray brows I cant stand it Dont tempt me Were not out of this place yet Hes not Youll come home with me now
Aileen understood It was Cowperwood he was referring to That frightened her
Im ready she replied nervously
The old man led the way brokenheartedly He felt he would never live to forget the agony of this hour
Chapter XXXVII
In spite of Butlers rage and his determination to do many things to the financier if he could he was so wrought up and shocked by the attitude of Aileen that he could scarcely believe he was the same man he had been twentyfour hours before She was so nonchalant so defiant He had expected to see her wilt completely when confronted with her guilt Instead he found to his despair after they were once safely out of the house that he had aroused a fighting quality in the girl which was not incomparable to his own She had some of his own and Owens grit She sat beside him in the little runabout—not his own—in which he was driving her home her face coloring and blanching by turns as different waves of thought swept over her determined to stand her ground now that her father had so plainly trapped her to declare for Cowperwood and her love and her position in general What did she care she asked herself what her father thought now She was in this thing She loved Cowperwood she was permanently disgraced in her fathers eyes What difference could it all make now He had fallen so low in his parental feeling as to spy on her and expose her before other men—strangers detectives Cowperwood What real affection could she have for him after this He had made a mistake according to her He had done a foolish and a contemptible thing which was not warranted however bad her actions might have been What could he hope to accomplish by rushing in on her in this way and ripping the veil from her very soul before these other men—these crude detectives Oh the agony of that walk from the bedroom to the receptionroom She would never forgive her father for this—never never never He had now killed her love for him—that was what she felt It was to be a battle royal between them from now on As they rode—in complete silence for a while—her hands clasped and unclasped defiantly her nails cutting her palms and her mouth hardened
It is an open question whether raw opposition ever accomplishes anything of value in this world It seems so inherent in this mortal scheme of things that it appears to have a vast validity It is more than likely that we owe this spectacle called life to it and that this can be demonstrated scientifically but when that is said and done what is the value What is the value of the spectacle And what the value of a scene such as this enacted between Aileen and her father
The old man saw nothing for it as they rode on save a grim contest between them which could end in what What could he do with her They were riding away fresh from this awful catastrophe and she was not saying a word She had even asked him why he had come there How was he to subdue her when the very act of trapping her had failed to do so His ruse while so successful materially had failed so utterly spiritually They reached the house and Aileen got out The old man too nonplussed to wish to go further at this time drove back to his office He then went out and walked—a peculiar thing for him to do he had done nothing like that in years and years—walking to think Coming to an open Catholic church he went in and prayed for enlightenment the growing dusk of the interior the single everlasting lamp before the repository of the chalice and the high white altar set with candles soothing his troubled feelings
He came out of the church after a time and returned home Aileen did not appear at dinner and he could not eat He went into his private room and shut the door—thinking thinking thinking The dreadful spectacle of Aileen in a house of ill repute burned in his brain To think that Cowperwood should have taken her to such a place—his Aileen his and his wifes pet In spite of his prayers his uncertainty her opposition the puzzling nature of the situation she must be got out of this She must go away for a while give the man up and then the law should run its course with him In all likelihood Cowperwood would go to the penitentiary—if ever a man richly deserved to go it was he Butler would see that no stone was left unturned He would make it a personal issue if necessary All he had to do was to let it be known in judicial circles that he wanted it so He could not suborn a jury that would be criminal but he could see that the case was properly and forcefully presented and if Cowperwood were convicted Heaven help him The appeal of his financial friends would not save him The judges of the lower and superior courts knew on which side their bread was buttered They would strain a point in favor of the highest political opinion of the day and he certainly could influence that Aileen meanwhile was contemplating the peculiar nature of her situation In spite of their silence on the way home she knew that a conversation was coming with her father It had to be He would want her to go somewhere Most likely he would revive the European trip in some form—she now suspected the invitation of Mrs Mollenhauer as a trick and she had to decide whether she would go Would she leave Cowperwood just when he was about to be tried She was determined she would not She wanted to see what was going to happen to him She would leave home first—run to some relative some friend some stranger if necessary and ask to be taken in She had some money—a little Her father had always been very liberal with her She could take a few clothes and disappear They would be glad enough to send for her after she had been gone awhile Her mother would be frantic Norah and Callum and Owen would be beside themselves with wonder and worry her father—she could see him Maybe that would bring him to his senses In spite of all her emotional vagaries she was the pride and interest of this home and she knew it
It was in this direction that her mind was running when her father a few days after the dreadful exposure in the Sixth Street house sent for her to come to him in his room He had come home from his office very early in the afternoon hoping to find Aileen there in order that he might have a private interview with her and by good luck found her in She had had no desire to go out into the world these last few days—she was too expectant of trouble to come She had just written Cowperwood asking for a rendezvous out on the Wissahickon the following afternoon in spite of the detectives She must see him Her father she said had done nothing but she was sure he would attempt to do something She wanted to talk to Cowperwood about that
Ive been thinkin about ye Aileen and what ought to be done in this case began her father without preliminaries of any kind once they were in his office room in the house together Youre on the road to ruin if any one ever was I tremble when I think of your immortal soul I want to do somethin for ye my child before its too late Ive been reproachin myself for the last month and more thinkin perhaps it was somethin I had done or maybe had failed to do aither me or your mother that has brought ye to the place where ye are today Needless to say its on me conscience me child Its a heartbroken man youre lookin at this day Ill never be able to hold me head up again Oh the shame—the shame That I should have lived to see it
But father protested Aileen who was a little distraught at the thought of having to listen to a long preachment which would relate to her duty to God and the Church and her family and her mother and him She realized that all these were important in their way but Cowperwood and his point of view had given her another outlook on life They had discussed this matter of families—parents children husbands wives brothers sisters—from almost every point of view Cowperwoods laissezfaire attitude had permeated and colored her mind completely She saw things through his cold direct I satisfy myself attitude He was sorry for all the little differences of personality that sprang up between people causing quarrels bickerings oppositions and separation but they could not be helped People outgrew each other Their points of view altered at varying ratios—hence changes Morals—those who had them had them those who hadnt hadnt There was no explaining As for him he saw nothing wrong in the sex relationship Between those who were mutually compatible it was innocent and delicious Aileen in his arms unmarried but loved by him and he by her was as good and pure as any living woman—a great deal purer than most One found oneself in a given social order theory or scheme of things For purposes of social success in order not to offend to smooth ones path make things easy avoid useless criticism and the like it was necessary to create an outward seeming—ostensibly conform Beyond that it was not necessary to do anything Never fail never get caught If you did fight your way out silently and say nothing That was what he was doing in connection with his present financial troubles that was what he had been ready to do the other day when they were caught It was something of all this that was coloring Aileens mood as she listened at present
But father she protested I love Mr Cowperwood Its almost the same as if I were married to him He will marry me some day when he gets a divorce from Mrs Cowperwood You dont understand how it is Hes very fond of me and I love him He needs me
Butler looked at her with strange nonunderstanding eyes Divorce did you say he began thinking of the Catholic Church and its dogma in regard to that Hell divorce his own wife and children—and for you will he He needs you does he he added sarcastically What about his wife and children I dont suppose they need him do they What talk have ye
Aileen flung her head back defiantly Its true nevertheless she reiterated You just dont understand
Butler could scarcely believe his ears He had never heard such talk before in his life from any one It amazed and shocked him He was quite aware of all the subtleties of politics and business but these of romance were too much for him He knew nothing about them To think a daughter of his should be talking like this and she a Catholic He could not understand where she got such notions unless it was from the Machiavellian corrupting brain of Cowperwood himself
How long have ye had these notions my child he suddenly asked calmly and soberly Where did ye get them Ye certainly never heard anything like that in this house I warrant Ye talk as though ye had gone out of yer mind
Oh dont talk nonsense father flared Aileen angrily thinking how hopeless it was to talk to her father about such things anyhow Im not a child any more Im twentyfour years of age You just dont understand Mr Cowperwood doesnt like his wife Hes going to get a divorce when he can and will marry me I love him and he loves me and thats all there is to it
Is it though asked Butler grimly determined by hook or by crook to bring this girl to her senses Yell be takin no thought of his wife and children then The fact that hes goin to jail besides is nawthin to ye I suppose Yed love him just as much in convict stripes I suppose—more maybe The old man was at his best humanly speaking when he was a little sarcastic Yell have him that way likely if at all
Aileen blazed at once to a furious heat Yes I know she sneered Thats what you would like I know what youve been doing Frank does too Youre trying to railroad him to prison for something he didnt do—and all on account of me Oh I know But you wont hurt him You cant Hes bigger and finer than you think he is and you wont hurt him in the long run Hell get out again You want to punish him on my account but he doesnt care Ill marry him anyhow I love him and Ill wait for him and marry him and you can do what you please So there
Yell marry him will you asked Butler nonplussed and further astounded So yell wait for him and marry him Yell take him away from his wife and children where if he were half a man hed be stayin this minute instead of gallivantin around with you And marry him Yed disgrace your father and yer mother and yer family Yell stand here and say this to me I that have raised ye cared for ye and made somethin of ye Where would you be if it werent for me and your poor hardworkin mother schemin and plannin for you year in and year out Yere smarter than I am I suppose Ye know more about the world than I do or any one else that might want to say anythin to ye Ive raised ye to be a fine lady and this is what I get Talk about me not bein able to understand and ye lovin a convicttobe a robber an embezzler a bankrupt a lyin thavin—
Father exclaimed Aileen determinedly Ill not listen to you talking that way Hes not any of the things that you say Ill not stay here She moved toward the door but Butler jumped up now and stopped her His face for the moment was flushed and swollen with anger
But Im not through with him yet he went on ignoring her desire to leave and addressing her direct—confident now that she was as capable as another of understanding him Ill get him as sure as I have a name Theres law in this land and Ill have it on him Ill show him whether hell come sneakin into dacent homes and robbin parents of their children
He paused after a time for want of breath and Aileen stared her face tense and white Her father could be so ridiculous He was contrasted with Cowperwood and his views so oldfashioned To think he could be talking of some one coming into their home and stealing her away from him when she had been so willing to go What silliness And yet why argue What good could be accomplished arguing with him here in this way And so for the moment she said nothing more—merely looked But Butler was by no means done His mood was too stormy even though he was doing his best now to subdue himself
Its too bad daughter he resumed quietly once he was satisfied that she was going to have little if anything to say Im lettin my anger get the best of me It wasnt that I intended talkin to ye about when I ast ye to come in Its somethin else I have on me mind I was thinkin perhaps yed like to go to Europe for the time bein to study music Yere not quite yourself just at present Yere needin a rest It would be good for ye to go away for a while Ye could have a nice time over there Norah could go along with ye if you would and Sister Constantia that taught you Ye wouldnt object to havin her I suppose
At the mention of this idea of a trip of Europe again with Sister Constantia and music thrown in to give it a slightly new form Aileen bridled and yet halfsmiled to herself now It was so ridiculous—so tactless really for her father to bring up this now and especially after denouncing Cowperwood and her and threatening all the things he had Had he no diplomacy at all where she was concerned It was really too funny But she restrained herself here again because she felt as well as saw that argument of this kind was all futile now
I wish you wouldnt talk about that father she began having softened under his explanation I dont want to go to Europe now I dont want to leave Philadelphia I know you want me to go but I dont want to think of going now I cant
Butlers brow darkened again What was the use of all this opposition on her part Did she really imagine that she was going to master him—her father and in connection with such an issue as this How impossible But tempering his voice as much as possible he went on quite softly in fact But it would be so fine for ye Aileen Ye surely cant expect to stay here after— He paused for he was going to say what has happened He knew she was very sensitive on that point His own conduct in hunting her down had been such a breach of fatherly courtesy that he knew she felt resentful and in a way properly so Still what could be greater than her own crime After he concluded ye have made such a mistake ye surely wouldnt want to stay here Ye wont be wantin to keep up that—committin a mortal sin Its against the laws of God and man
He did so hope the thought of sin would come to Aileen—the enormity of her crime from a spiritual point of view—but Aileen did not see it at all
You dont understand me father she exclaimed hopelessly toward the end You cant I have one idea and you have another But I dont seem to be able to make you understand now The fact is if you want to know it I dont believe in the Catholic Church any more so there
The moment Aileen had said this she wished she had not It was a slip of the tongue Butlers face took on an inexpressibly sad despairing look
Ye dont believe in the Church he asked
No not exactly—not like you do
He shook his head
The harm that has come to yer soul he replied Its plain to me daughter that somethin terrible has happened to ye This man has ruined ye body and soul Somethin must be done I dont want to be hard on ye but ye must leave Philadelphy Ye cant stay here I cant permit ye Ye can go to Europe or ye can go to yer aunts in New Orleans but ye must go somewhere I cant have ye stayin here—its too dangerous Its sure to be comin out The papersll be havin it next Yere young yet Yer life is before you I tremble for yer soul but so long as yere young and alive ye may come to yer senses Its me duty to be hard Its my obligation to you and the Church Ye must quit this life Ye must lave this man Ye must never see him any more I cant permit ye Hes no good He has no intintion of marrying ye and it would be a crime against God and man if he did No no Never that The mans a bankrupt a scoundrel a thafe If ye had him yed soon be the unhappiest woman in the world He wouldnt be faithful to ye No he couldnt Hes not that kind He paused sick to the depths of his soul Ye must go away I say it once and for all I mane it kindly but I want it I have yer best interests at heart I love ye but ye must Im sorry to see ye go—Id rather have ye here No one will be sorrier but ye must Ye must make it all seem natcheral and ordinary to yer mother but ye must go—dye hear Ye must
He paused looking sadly but firmly at Aileen under his shaggy eyebrows She knew he meant this It was his most solemn his most religious expression But she did not answer She could not What was the use Only she was not going She knew that—and so she stood there white and tense
Now get all the clothes ye want went on Butler by no means grasping her true mood Fix yourself up in any way you plase Say where ye want to go but get ready
But I wont father finally replied Aileen equally solemnly equally determinedly I wont go I wont leave Philadelphia
Ye dont mane to say ye will deliberately disobey me when Im asking ye to do somethin thats intended for yer own good will ye daughter
Yes I will replied Aileen determinedly I wont go Im sorry but I wont
Ye really mane that do ye asked Butler sadly but grimly
Yes I do replied Aileen grimly in return
Then Ill have to see what I can do daughter replied the old man Yere still my daughter whatever ye are and Ill not see ye come to wreck and ruin for want of doin what I know to be my solemn duty Ill give ye a few more days to think this over but go ye must Theres an end of that There are laws in this land still There are things that can be done to those who wont obey the law I found ye this time—much as it hurt me to do it Ill find ye again if ye try to disobey me Ye must change yer ways I cant have ye goin on as ye are Ye understand now Its the last word Give this man up and ye can have anything ye choose Yere my girl—Ill do everything I can in this world to make ye happy Why why shouldnt I What else have I to live for but me children Its ye and the rest of them that Ive been workin and plannin for all these years Come now be a good girl Ye love your old father dont ye Why I rocked ye in my arms as a baby Aileen Ive watched over ye when ye were not bigger than what would rest in me two fists here Ive been a good father to ye—ye cant deny that Look at the other girls youve seen Have any of them had more nor what ye have had Ye wont go against me in this Im sure ye wont Ye cant Ye love me too much—surely ye do—dont ye His voice weakened His eyes almost filled
He paused and put a big brown horny hand on Aileens arm She had listened to his plea not unmoved—really more or less softened—because of the hopelessness of it She could not give up Cowperwood Her father just did not understand He did not know what love was Unquestionably he had never loved as she had
She stood quite silent while Butler appealed to her
Id like to father she said at last and softly tenderly Really I would I do love you Yes I do I want to please you but I cant in this—I cant I love Frank Cowperwood You dont understand—really you dont
At the repetition of Cowperwoods name Butlers mouth hardened He could see that she was infatuated—that his carefully calculated plea had failed So he must think of some other way
Very well then he said at last and sadly oh so sadly as Aileen turned away Have it yer own way if ye will Ye must go though willynilly It cant be any other way I wish to God it could
Aileen went out very solemn and Butler went over to his desk and sat down Such a situation he said to himself Such a complication
Chapter XXXVIII
The situation which confronted Aileen was really a trying one A girl of less innate courage and determination would have weakened and yielded For in spite of her various social connections and acquaintances the people to whom Aileen could run in an emergency of the present kind were not numerous She could scarcely think of any one who would be likely to take her in for any lengthy period without question There were a number of young women of her own age married and unmarried who were very friendly to her but there were few with whom she was really intimate The only person who stood out in her mind as having any real possibility of refuge for a period was a certain Mary Calligan better known as Mamie among her friends who had attended school with Aileen in former years and was now a teacher in one of the local schools
The Calligan family consisted of Mrs Katharine Calligan the mother a dressmaker by profession and a widow—her husband a housemover by trade having been killed by a falling wall some ten years before—and Mamie her twentythreeyearold daughter They lived in a small twostory brick house in Cherry Street near Fifteenth Mrs Calligan was not a very good dressmaker not good enough at least for the Butler family to patronize in their present exalted state Aileen went there occasionally for gingham housedresses underwear pretty dressinggowns and alterations on some of her more important clothing which was made by a very superior modiste in Chestnut Street She visited the house largely because she had gone to school with Mamie at St Agathas when the outlook of the Calligan family was much more promising Mamie was earning forty dollars a month as the teacher of a sixthgrade room in one of the nearby public schools and Mrs Calligan averaged on the whole about two dollars a day—sometimes not so much The house they occupied was their own free and clear and the furniture which it contained suggested the size of their joint income which was somewhere near eighty dollars a month
Mamie Calligan was not goodlooking not nearly as goodlooking as her mother had been before her Mrs Calligan was still plump bright and cheerful at fifty with a fund of good humor Mamie was somewhat duller mentally and emotionally She was seriousminded—made so perhaps as much by circumstances as by anything else for she was not at all vivid and had little sex magnetism Yet she was kindly honest earnest a good Catholic and possessed of that strangely excessive ingrowing virtue which shuts so many people off from the world—a sense of duty To Mamie Calligan duty a routine conformity to such theories and precepts as she had heard and worked by since her childhood was the allimportant thing her principal source of comfort and relief her props in a queer and uncertain world being her duty to her Church her duty to her school her duty to her mother her duty to her friends etc Her mother often wished for Mamies sake that she was less dutiful and more charming physically so that the men would like her
In spite of the fact that her mother was a dressmaker Mamies clothes never looked smart or attractive—she would have felt out of keeping with herself if they had Her shoes were rather large and illfitting her skirt hung in lifeless lines from her hips to her feet of good material but seemingly bad design At that time the colored jersey socalled was just coming into popular wear and being closefitting looked well on those of good form Alas for Mamie Calligan The mode of the time compelled her to wear one but she had neither the arms nor the chest development which made this garment admirable Her hat by choice was usually a pancake affair with a long single feather which somehow never seemed to be in exactly the right position either to her hair or her face At most times she looked a little weary but she was not physically weary so much as she was bored Her life held so little of real charm and Aileen Butler was unquestionably the most significant element of romance in it
Mamies mothers very pleasant social disposition the fact that they had a very cleanly if poor little home that she could entertain them by playing on their piano and that Mrs Calligan took an adoring interest in the work she did for her made up the sum and substance of the attraction of the Calligan home for Aileen She went there occasionally as a relief from other things and because Mamie Calligan had a compatible and very understanding interest in literature Curiously the books Aileen liked she liked—Jane Eyre Kenelm Chillingly Tricotrin and A Bow of Orange Ribbon Mamie occasionally recommended to Aileen some latest effusion of this character and Aileen finding her judgment good was constrained to admire her
In this crisis it was to the home of the Calligans that Aileen turned in thought If her father really was not nice to her and she had to leave home for a time she could go to the Calligans They would receive her and say nothing They were not sufficiently well known to the other members of the Butler family to have the latter suspect that she had gone there She might readily disappear into the privacy of Cherry Street and not be seen or heard of for weeks It is an interesting fact to contemplate that the Calligans like the various members of the Butler family never suspected Aileen of the least tendency toward a wayward existence Hence her flight from her own family if it ever came would be laid more to the door of a temperamental pettishness than anything else
On the other hand in so far as the Butler family as a unit was concerned it needed Aileen more than she needed it It needed the light of her countenance to keep it appropriately cheerful and if she went away there would be a distinct gulf that would not soon be overcome
Butler senior for instance had seen his little daughter grow into radiantly beautiful womanhood He had seen her go to school and convent and learn to play the piano—to him a great accomplishment Also he had seen her manner change and become very showy and her knowledge of life broaden apparently and become to him at least impressive Her smart dogmatic views about most things were to him at least well worth listening to She knew more about books and art than Owen or Callum and her sense of social manners was perfect When she came to the table—breakfast luncheon or dinner—she was to him always a charming object to see He had produced Aileen—he congratulated himself He had furnished her the money to be so fine He would continue to do so No secondrate upstart of a man should be allowed to ruin her life He proposed to take care of her always—to leave her so much money in a legally involved way that a failure of a husband could not possibly affect her Youre the charming lady this evenin Im thinkin was one of his pet remarks and also My but were that fine At table almost invariably she sat beside him and looked out for him That was what he wanted He had put her there beside him at his meals years before when she was a child
Her mother too was inordinately fond of her and Callum and Owen appropriately brotherly So Aileen had thus far at least paid back with beauty and interest quite as much as she received and all the family felt it to be so When she was away for a day or two the house seemed glum—the meals less appetizing When she returned all were happy and gay again
Aileen understood this clearly enough in a way Now when it came to thinking of leaving and shifting for herself in order to avoid a trip which she did not care to be forced into her courage was based largely on this keen sense of her own significance to the family She thought over what her father had said and decided she must act at once She dressed for the street the next morning after her father had gone and decided to step in at the Calligans about noon when Mamie would be at home for luncheon Then she would take up the matter casually If they had no objection she would go there She sometimes wondered why Cowperwood did not suggest in his great stress that they leave for some parts unknown but she also felt that he must know best what he could do His increasing troubles depressed her
Mrs Calligan was alone when she arrived and was delighted to see her After exchanging the gossip of the day and not knowing quite how to proceed in connection with the errand which had brought her she went to the piano and played a melancholy air
Sure its lovely the way you play Aileen observed Mrs Calligan who was unduly sentimental herself I love to hear you I wish youd come oftener to see us Youre so rarely here nowadays
Oh Ive been so busy Mrs Calligan replied Aileen Ive had so much to do this fall I just couldnt They wanted me to go to Europe but I didnt care to Oh dear she sighed and in her playing swept off with a movement of sad romantic significance The door opened and Mamie came in Her commonplace face brightened at the sight of Aileen
Well Aileen Butler she exclaimed Where did you come from Where have you been keeping yourself so long
Aileen rose to exchange kisses Oh Ive been very busy Mamie Ive just been telling your mother How are you anyway How are you getting along in your work
Mamie recounted at once some school difficulties which were puzzling her—the growing size of classes and the amount of work expected While Mrs Calligan was setting the table Mamie went to her room and Aileen followed her
As she stood before her mirror arranging her hair Aileen looked at her meditatively
Whats the matter with you Aileen today Mamie asked You look so— She stopped to give her a second glance
How do I look asked Aileen
Well as if you were uncertain or troubled about something I never saw you look that way before Whats the matter
Oh nothing replied Aileen I was just thinking She went to one of the windows which looked into the little yard meditating on whether she could endure living here for any length of time The house was so small the furnishings so very simple
There is something the matter with you today Aileen observed Mamie coming over to her and looking in her face Youre not like yourself at all
Ive got something on my mind replied Aileen—something thats worrying me I dont know just what to do—thats whats the matter
Well whatever can it be commented Mamie I never saw you act this way before Cant you tell me What is it
No I dont think I can—not now anyhow Aileen paused Do you suppose your mother would object she asked suddenly if I came here and stayed a little while I want to get away from home for a time for a certain reason
Why Aileen Butler how you talk exclaimed her friend Object You know shed be delighted and so would I Oh dear—can you come But what makes you want to leave home
Thats just what I cant tell you—not now anyhow Not you so much but your mother You know Im afraid of what shed think replied Aileen But you mustnt ask me yet anyhow I want to think Oh dear But I want to come if youll let me Will you speak to your mother or shall I
Why I will said Mamie struck with wonder at this remarkable development but its silly to do it I know what shell say before I tell her and so do you You can just bring your things and come Thats all Shed never say anything or ask anything either and you know that—if you didnt want her to Mamie was all agog and aglow at the idea She wanted the companionship of Aileen so much
Aileen looked at her solemnly and understood well enough why she was so enthusiastic—both she and her mother Both wanted her presence to brighten their world But neither of you must tell anybody that Im here do you hear I dont want any one to know—particularly no one of my family Ive a reason and a good one but I cant tell you what it is—not now anyhow Youll promise not to tell any one
Oh of course replied Mamie eagerly But youre not going to run away for good are you Aileen she concluded curiously and gravely
Oh I dont know I dont know what Ill do yet I only know that I want to get away for a while just now—thats all She paused while Mamie stood before her agape
Well of all things replied her friend Wonders never cease do they Aileen But it will be so lovely to have you here Mama will be so pleased Of course we wont tell anybody if you dont want us to Hardly any one ever comes here and if they do you neednt see them You could have this big room next to me Oh wouldnt that be nice Im perfectly delighted The young schoolteachers spirits rose to a decided height Come on why not tell mama right now
Aileen hesitated because even now she was not positive whether she should do this but finally they went down the stairs together Aileen lingering behind a little as they neared the bottom Mamie burst in upon her mother with Oh mama isnt it lovely Aileens coming to stay with us for a while She doesnt want any one to know and shes coming right away Mrs Calligan who was holding a sugarbowl in her hand turned to survey her with a surprised but smiling face She was immediately curious as to why Aileen should want to come—why leave home On the other hand her feeling for Aileen was so deep that she was greatly and joyously intrigued by the idea And why not Was not the celebrated Edward Butlers daughter a woman grown capable of regulating her own affairs and welcome of course as the honored member of so important a family It was very flattering to the Calligans to think that she would want to come under any circumstances
I dont see how your parents can let you go Aileen but youre certainly welcome here as long as you want to stay and thats forever if you want to And Mrs Calligan beamed on her welcomingly The idea of Aileen Butler asking to be permitted to come here And the hearty comprehending manner in which she said this and Mamies enthusiasm caused Aileen to breathe a sigh of relief The matter of the expense of her presence to the Calligans came into her mind
I want to pay you of course she said to Mrs Calligan if I come
The very idea Aileen Butler exclaimed Mamie Youll do nothing of the sort Youll come here and live with me as my guest
No I wont If I cant pay I wont come replied Aileen Youll have to let me do that She knew that the Calligans could not afford to keep her
Well well not talk about that now anyhow replied Mrs Calligan You can come when you like and stay as long as you like Reach me some clean napkins Mamie Aileen remained for luncheon and left soon afterward to keep her suggested appointment with Cowperwood feeling satisfied that her main problem had been solved Now her way was clear She could come here if she wanted to It was simply a matter of collecting a few necessary things or coming without bringing anything Perhaps Frank would have something to suggest
In the meantime Cowperwood made no effort to communicate with Aileen since the unfortunate discovery of their meeting place but had awaited a letter from her which was not long in coming And as usual it was a long optimistic affectionate and defiant screed in which she related all that had occurred to her and her present plan of leaving home This last puzzled and troubled him not a little
Aileen in the bosom of her family smart and wellcared for was one thing Aileen out in the world dependent on him was another He had never imagined that she would be compelled to leave before he was prepared to take her and if she did now it might stir up complications which would be anything but pleasant to contemplate Still he was fond of her very and would do anything to make her happy He could support her in a very respectable way even now if he did not eventually go to prison and even there he might manage to make some shift for her It would be so much better though if he could persuade her to remain at home until he knew exactly what his fate was to be He never doubted but that some day whatever happened within a reasonable length of time he would be rid of all these complications and welltodo again in which case if he could get a divorce he wanted to marry Aileen If not he would take her with him anyhow and from this point of view it might be just as well as if she broke away from her family now But from the point of view of present complications—the search Butler would make—it might be dangerous He might even publicly charge him with abduction He therefore decided to persuade Aileen to stay at home drop meetings and communications for the time being and even go abroad He would be all right until she came back and so would she—common sense ought to rule in this case
With all this in mind he set out to keep the appointment she suggested in her letter nevertheless feeling it a little dangerous to do so
Are you sure he asked after he had listened to her description of the Calligan homestead that you would like it there It sounds rather poor to me
Yes but I like them so much replied Aileen
And youre sure they wont tell on you
Oh no never never
Very well he concluded You know what youre doing I dont want to advise you against your will If I were you though Id take your fathers advice and go away for a while Hell get over this then and Ill still be here I can write you occasionally and you can write me
The moment Cowperwood said this Aileens brow clouded Her love for him was so great that there was something like a knife thrust in the merest hint at an extended separation Her Frank here and in trouble—on trial maybe and she away Never What could he mean by suggesting such a thing Could it be that he didnt care for her as much as she did for him Did he really love her she asked herself Was he going to desert her just when she was going to do the thing which would bring them nearer together Her eyes clouded for she was terribly hurt
Why how you talk she exclaimed You know I wont leave Philadelphia now You certainly dont expect me to leave you
Cowperwood saw it all very clearly He was too shrewd not to He was immensely fond of her Good heaven he thought he would not hurt her feelings for the world
Honey he said quickly when he saw her eyes you dont understand I want you to do what you want to do Youve planned this out in order to be with me so now you do it Dont think any more about me or anything Ive said I was merely thinking that it might make matters worse for both of us but I dont believe it will You think your father loves you so much that after youre gone hell change his mind Very good go But we must be very careful sweet—you and I—really we must This thing is getting serious If you should go and your father should charge me with abduction—take the public into his confidence and tell all about this it would be serious for both of us—as much for you as for me for Id be convicted sure then just on that account if nothing else And then what Youd better not try to see me often for the present—not any oftener than we can possibly help If we had used common sense and stopped when your father got that letter this wouldnt have happened But now that it has happened we must be as wise as we can dont you see So think it over and do what you think best and then write me and whatever you do will be all right with me—do you hear He drew her to him and kissed her You havent any money have you he concluded wisely
Aileen deeply moved by all he had just said was none the less convinced once she had meditated on it a moment that her course was best Her father loved her too much He would not do anything to hurt her publicly and so he would not attack Cowperwood through her openly More than likely as she now explained to Frank he would plead with her to come back And he listening was compelled to yield Why argue She would not leave him anyhow
He went down in his pocket for the first time since he had known Aileen and produced a layer of bills Heres two hundred dollars sweet he said until I see or hear from you Ill see that you have whatever you need and now dont think that I dont love you You know I do Im crazy about you
Aileen protested that she did not need so much—that she did not really need any—she had some at home but he put that aside He knew that she must have money
Dont talk honey he said I know what you need She had been so used to receiving money from her father and mother in comfortable amounts from time to time that she thought nothing of it Frank loved her so much that it made everything right between them She softened in her mood and they discussed the matter of letters reaching the conclusion that a private messenger would be safest When finally they parted Aileen from being sunk in the depths by his uncertain attitude was now once more on the heights She decided that he did love her and went away smiling She had her Frank to fall back on—she would teach her father Cowperwood shook his head following her with his eyes She represented an additional burden but give her up he certainly could not Tear the veil from this illusion of affection and make her feel so wretched when he cared for her so much No There was really nothing for him to do but what he had done After all he reflected it might not work out so badly Any detective work that Butler might choose to do would prove that she had not run to him If at any moment it became necessary to bring common sense into play to save the situation from a deadly climax he could have the Butlers secretly informed as to Aileens whereabouts That would show he had little to do with it and they could try to persuade Aileen to come home again Good might result—one could not tell He would deal with the evils as they arose He drove quickly back to his office and Aileen returned to her home determined to put her plan into action Her father had given her some little time in which to decide—possibly he would give her longer—but she would not wait Having always had her wish granted in everything she could not understand why she was not to have her way this time It was about five oclock now She would wait until all the members of the family were comfortably seated at the dinnertable which would be about seven oclock and then slip out
On arriving home however she was greeted by an unexpected reason for suspending action This was the presence of a certain Mr and Mrs Steinmetz—the former a wellknown engineer who drew the plans for many of the works which Butler undertook It was the day before Thanksgiving and they were eager to have Aileen and Norah accompany them for a fortnights stay at their new home in West Chester—a structure concerning the charm of which Aileen had heard much They were exceedingly agreeable people—comparatively young and surrounded by a coterie of interesting friends Aileen decided to delay her flight and go Her father was most cordial The presence and invitation of the Steinmetzes was as much a relief to him as it was to Aileen West Chester being forty miles from Philadelphia it was unlikely that Aileen would attempt to meet Cowperwood while there
She wrote Cowperwood of the changed condition and departed and he breathed a sigh of relief fancying at the time that this storm had permanently blown over
Chapter XXXIX
In the meanwhile the day of Cowperwoods trial was drawing near He was under the impression that an attempt was going to be made to convict him whether the facts warranted it or not He did not see any way out of his dilemma however unless it was to abandon everything and leave Philadelphia for good which was impossible The only way to guard his future and retain his financial friends was to stand trial as quickly as possible and trust them to assist him to his feet in the future in case he failed He discussed the possibilities of an unfair trial with Steger who did not seem to think that there was so much to that In the first place a jury could not easily be suborned by any one In the next place most judges were honest in spite of their political cleavage and would go no further than party bias would lead them in their rulings and opinions which was in the main not so far The particular judge who was to sit in this case one Wilbur Payderson of the Court of Quarter Sessions was a strict party nominee and as such beholden to Mollenhauer Simpson and Butler but in so far as Steger had ever heard he was an honest man
What I cant understand said Steger is why these fellows should be so anxious to punish you unless it is for the effect on the State at large The elections over I understand theres a movement on now to get Stener out in case he is convicted which he will be They have to try him He wont go up for more than a year or two or three and if he does hell be pardoned out in half the time or less It would be the same in your case if you were convicted They couldnt keep you in and let him out But it will never get that far—take my word for it Well win before a jury or well reverse the judgment of conviction before the State Supreme Court certain Those five judges up there are not going to sustain any such poppycock idea as this
Steger actually believed what he said and Cowperwood was pleased Thus far the young lawyer had done excellently well in all of his cases Still he did not like the idea of being hunted down by Butler It was a serious matter and one of which Steger was totally unaware Cowperwood could never quite forget that in listening to his lawyers optimistic assurances
The actual beginning of the trial found almost all of the inhabitants of this city of six hundred thousand keyed up None of the women of Cowperwoods family were coming into court He had insisted that there should be no family demonstration for the newspapers to comment upon His father was coming for he might be needed as a witness Aileen had written him the afternoon before saying she had returned from West Chester and wishing him luck She was so anxious to know what was to become of him that she could not stay away any longer and had returned—not to go to the courtroom for he did not want her to do that but to be as near as possible when his fate was decided adversely or otherwise She wanted to run and congratulate him if he won or to console with him if he lost She felt that her return would be likely to precipitate a collision with her father but she could not help that
The position of Mrs Cowperwood was most anomalous She had to go through the formality of seeming affectionate and tender even when she knew that Frank did not want her to be He felt instinctively now that she knew of Aileen He was merely awaiting the proper hour in which to spread the whole matter before her She put her arms around him at the door on the fateful morning in the somewhat formal manner into which they had dropped these later years and for a moment even though she was keenly aware of his difficulties she could not kiss him He did not want to kiss her but he did not show it She did kiss him though and added Oh I do hope things come out all right
You neednt worry about that I think Lillian he replied buoyantly Ill be all right
He ran down the steps and walked out on Girard Avenue to his former car line where he bearded a car He was thinking of Aileen and how keenly she was feeling for him and what a mockery his married life now was and whether he would face a sensible jury and so on and so forth If he didnt—if he didnt—this day was crucial
He stepped off the car at Third and Market and hurried to his office Steger was already there Well Harper observed Cowperwood courageously todays the day
The Court of Quarter Sessions Part I where this trial was to take place was held in famous Independence Hall at Sixth and Chestnut Streets which was at this time as it had been for all of a century before the center of local executive and judicial life It was a low twostory building of red brick with a white wooden central tower of old Dutch and English derivation compounded of the square the circle and the octagon The total structure consisted of a central portion and two Tshaped wings lying to the right and left whose small ovaltopped oldfashioned windows and doors were set with those manypaned sashes so much admired by those who love what is known as Colonial architecture Here and in an addition known as State House Row since torn down which extended from the rear of the building toward Walnut Street were located the offices of the mayor the chief of police the city treasurer the chambers of council and all the other important and executive offices of the city together with the four branches of Quarter Sessions which sat to hear the growing docket of criminal cases The mammoth city hall which was subsequently completed at Broad and Market Streets was then building
An attempt had been made to improve the reasonably large courtrooms by putting in them raised platforms of dark walnut surmounted by large dark walnut desks behind which the judges sat but the attempt was not very successful The desks juryboxes and railings generally were made too large and so the general effect was one of disproportion A creamcolored wall had been thought the appropriate thing to go with black walnut furniture but time and dust had made the combination dreary There were no pictures or ornaments of any kind save the stalky overelaborated gasbrackets which stood on his honors desk and the single swinging chandelier suspended from the center of the ceiling Fat bailiffs and court officers concerned only in holding their workless jobs did not add anything to the spirit of the scene Two of them in the particular court in which this trial was held contended hourly as to which should hand the judge a glass of water One preceded his honor like a fat stuffy dusty majordomo to and from his dressingroom His business was to call loudly when the latter entered His honor the Court hats off Everybody please rise while a second bailiff standing at the left of his honor when he was seated and between the jurybox and the witnesschair recited in an absolutely unintelligible way that beautiful and dignified statement of collective societys obligation to the constituent units which begins Hear ye hear ye hear ye and ends All those of you having just cause for complaint draw near and ye shall be heard However you would have thought it was of no import here Custom and indifference had allowed it to sink to a mumble A third bailiff guarded the door of the juryroom and in addition to these there were present a court clerk—small pale candlewaxy with colorless milkandwater eyes and thin porkfatcolored hair and beard who looked for all the world like an Americanized and decidedly decrepit Chinese mandarin—and a court stenographer
Judge Wilbur Payderson a lean herring of a man who had sat in this case originally as the examining judge when Cowperwood had been indicted by the grand jury and who had bound him over for trial at this term was a peculiarly interesting type of judge as judges go He was so meager and thinblooded that he was arresting for those qualities alone Technically he was learned in the law actually so far as life was concerned absolutely unconscious of that subtle chemistry of things that transcends all written law and makes for the spirit and beyond that the inutility of all law as all wise judges know You could have looked at his lean pedantic body his frizzled gray hair his fishy bluegray eyes without any depth of speculation in them and his nicely modeled but unimportant face and told him that he was without imagination but he would not have believed you—would have fined you for contempt of court By the careful garnering of all his little opportunities the furbishing up of every meager advantage by listening slavishly to the voice of party and following as nearly as he could the behests of intrenched property he had reached his present state It was not very far along at that His salary was only six thousand dollars a year His little fame did not extend beyond the meager realm of local lawyers and judges But the sight of his name quoted daily as being about his duties or rendering such and such a decision was a great satisfaction to him He thought it made him a significant figure in the world Behold I am not as other men he often thought and this comforted him He was very much flattered when a prominent case came to his calendar and as he sat enthroned before the various litigants and lawyers he felt as a rule very significant indeed Now and then some subtlety of life would confuse his really limited intellect but in all such cases there was the letter of the law He could hunt in the reports to find out what really thinking men had decided Besides lawyers everywhere are so subtle They put the rules of law favorable or unfavorable under the judges thumb and nose Your honor in the thirtysecond volume of the Revised Reports of Massachusetts page so and so line so and so in Arundel versus Bannerman you will find etc How often have you heard that in a court of law The reasoning that is left to do in most cases is not much And the sanctity of the law is raised like a great banner by which the pride of the incumbent is strengthened
Payderson as Steger had indicated could scarcely be pointed to as an unjust judge He was a party judge—Republican in principle or rather belief beholden to the dominant party councils for his personal continuance in office and as such willing and anxious to do whatever he considered that he reasonably could do to further the party welfare and the private interests of his masters Most people never trouble to look into the mechanics of the thing they call their conscience too closely Where they do too often they lack the skill to disentangle the tangled threads of ethics and morals Whatever the opinion of the time is whatever the weight of great interests dictates that they conscientiously believe Some one has since invented the phrase a corporationminded judge There are many such
Payderson was one He fairly revered property and power To him Butler and Mollenhauer and Simpson were great men—reasonably sure to be right always because they were so powerful This matter of Cowperwoods and Steners defalcation he had long heard of He knew by associating with one political light and another just what the situation was The party as the leaders saw it had been put in a very bad position by Cowperwoods subtlety He had led Stener astray—more than an ordinary city treasurer should have been led astray—and although Stener was primarily guilty as the original mover in the scheme Cowperwood was more so for having led him imaginatively to such disastrous lengths Besides the party needed a scapegoat—that was enough for Payderson in the first place Of course after the election had been won and it appeared that the party had not suffered so much he did not understand quite why it was that Cowperwood was still so carefully included in the Proceedings but he had faith to believe that the leaders had some just grounds for not letting him off From one source and another he learned that Butler had some private grudge against Cowperwood What it was no one seemed to know exactly The general impression was that Cowperwood had led Butler into some unwholesome financial transactions Anyhow it was generally understood that for the good of the party and in order to teach a wholesome lesson to dangerous subordinates—it had been decided to allow these several indictments to take their course Cowperwood was to be punished quite as severely as Stener for the moral effect on the community Stener was to be sentenced the maximum sentence for his crime in order that the party and the courts should appear properly righteous Beyond that he was to be left to the mercy of the governor who could ease things up for him if he chose and if the leaders wished In the silly mind of the general public the various judges of Quarter Sessions like girls incarcerated in boardingschools were supposed in their serene aloofness from life not to know what was going on in the subterranean realm of politics but they knew well enough and knowing particularly well from whence came their continued position and authority they were duly grateful
Chapter XL
When Cowperwood came into the crowded courtroom with his father and Steger quite fresh and jaunty looking the part of the shrewd financier the man of affairs every one stared It was really too much to expect most of them thought that a man like this would be convicted He was no doubt guilty but also no doubt he had ways and means of evading the law His lawyer Harper Steger looked very shrewd and canny to them It was very cold and both men wore long dark bluishgray overcoats cut in the latest mode Cowperwood was given to small boutonnieres in fair weather but today he wore none His tie however was of heavy impressive silk of lavender hue set with a large clear green emerald He wore only the thinnest of watchchains and no other ornament of any kind He always looked jaunty and yet reserved goodnatured and yet capable and selfsufficient Never had he looked more so than he did today
He at once took in the nature of the scene which had a peculiar interest for him Before him was the as yet empty judges rostrum and at its right the empty jurybox between which and to the judges left as he sat facing the audience stood the witnesschair where he must presently sit and testify Behind it already awaiting the arrival of the court stood a fat bailiff one John Sparkheaver whose business it was to present the aged greasy Bible to be touched by the witnesses in making oath and to say Step this way when the testimony was over There were other bailiffs—one at the gate giving into the railed space before the judges desk where prisoners were arraigned lawyers sat or pleaded the defendant had a chair and so on another in the aisle leading to the juryroom and still another guarding the door by which the public entered Cowperwood surveyed Stener who was one of the witnesses and who now in his helpless fright over his own fate was without malice toward any one He had really never borne any He wished if anything now that he had followed Cowperwoods advice seeing where he now was though he still had faith that Mollenhauer and the political powers represented by him would do something for him with the governor once he was sentenced He was very pale and comparatively thin Already he had lost that ruddy bulk which had been added during the days of his prosperity He wore a new gray suit and a brown tie and was cleanshaven When his eye caught Cowperwoods steady beam it faltered and drooped He rubbed his ear foolishly Cowperwood nodded
You know he said to Steger I feel sorry for George Hes such a fool Still I did all I could
Cowperwood also watched Mrs Stener out of the tail of his eye—an undersized peaked and sallow little woman whose clothes fitted her abominably It was just like Stener to marry a woman like that he thought The scrubby matches of the socially unelect or unfit always interested though they did not always amuse him Mrs Stener had no affection for Cowperwood of course looking on him as she did as the unscrupulous cause of her husbands downfall They were now quite poor again about to move from their big house into cheaper quarters and this was not pleasing for her to contemplate
Judge Payderson came in after a time accompanied by his undersized but stout court attendant who looked more like a pouterpigeon than a human being and as they came Bailiff Sparkheaver rapped on the judges desk beside which he had been slumbering and mumbled Please rise The audience arose as is the rule of all courts Judge Payderson stirred among a number of briefs that were lying on his desk and asked briskly Whats the first case Mr Protus He was speaking to his clerk
During the long and tedious arrangement of the days docket and while the various minor motions of lawyers were being considered this courtroom scene still retained interest for Cowperwood He was so eager to win so incensed at the outcome of untoward events which had brought him here He was always intensely irritated though he did not show it by the whole process of footing delays and queries and quibbles by which legally the affairs of men were too often hampered Law if you had asked him and he had accurately expressed himself was a mist formed out of the moods and the mistakes of men which befogged the sea of life and prevented plain sailing for the little commercial and social barques of men it was a miasma of misinterpretation where the ills of life festered and also a place where the accidentally wounded were ground between the upper and the nether millstones of force or chance it was a strange weird interesting and yet futile battle of wits where the ignorant and the incompetent and the shrewd and the angry and the weak were made pawns and shuttlecocks for men—lawyers who were playing upon their moods their vanities their desires and their necessities It was an unholy and unsatisfactory disrupting and delaying spectacle a painful commentary on the frailties of life and men a trick a snare a pit and gin In the hands of the strong like himself when he was at his best the law was a sword and a shield a trap to place before the feet of the unwary a pit to dig in the path of those who might pursue It was anything you might choose to make of it—a door to illegal opportunity a cloud of dust to be cast in the eyes of those who might choose and rightfully to see a veil to be dropped arbitrarily between truth and its execution justice and its judgment crime and punishment Lawyers in the main were intellectual mercenaries to be bought and sold in any cause It amused him to hear the ethical and emotional platitudes of lawyers to see how readily they would lie steal prevaricate misrepresent in almost any cause and for any purpose Great lawyers were merely great unscrupulous subtleties like himself sitting back in dark closewoven lairs like spiders and awaiting the approach of unwary human flies Life was at best a dark inhuman unkind unsympathetic struggle built of cruelties and the law and its lawyers were the most despicable representatives of the whole unsatisfactory mess Still he used law as he would use any other trap or weapon to rid him of a human ill and as for lawyers he picked them up as he would any club or knife wherewith to defend himself He had no particular respect for any of them—not even Harper Steger though he liked him They were tools to be used—knives keys clubs anything you will but nothing more When they were through they were paid and dropped—put aside and forgotten As for judges they were merely incompetent lawyers at a rule who were shelved by some fortunate turn of chance and who would not in all likelihood be as efficient as the lawyers who pleaded before them if they were put in the same position He had no respect for judges—he knew too much about them He knew how often they were sycophants political climbers political hacks tools timeservers judicial doormats lying before the financially and politically great and powerful who used them as such Judges were fools as were most other people in this dusty shifty world Pah His inscrutable eyes took them all in and gave no sign His only safety lay he thought in the magnificent subtley of his own brain and nowhere else You could not convince Cowperwood of any great or inherent virtue in this mortal scheme of things He knew too much he knew himself
When the judge finally cleared away the various minor motions pending he ordered his clerk to call the case of the City of Philadelphia versus Frank A Cowperwood which was done in a clear voice Both Dennis Shannon the new district attorney and Steger were on their feet at once Steger and Cowperwood together with Shannon and Strobik who had now come in and was standing as the representative of the State of Pennsylvania—the complainant—had seated themselves at the long table inside the railing which inclosed the space before the judges desk Steger proposed to Judge Payderson for effects sake more than anything else that this indictment be quashed but was overruled
A jury to try the case was now quickly impaneled—twelve men out of the usual list called to serve for the month—and was then ready to be challenged by the opposing counsel The business of impaneling a jury was a rather simple thing so far as this court was concerned It consisted in the mandarinlike clerk taking the names of all the jurors called to serve in this court for the month—some fifty in all—and putting them each written on a separate slip of paper in a whirling drum spinning it around a few times and then lifting out the first slip which his hand encountered thus glorifying chance and settling on who should be juror No 1 His hand reaching in twelve times drew out the names of the twelve jurymen who as their names were called were ordered to take their places in the jurybox
Cowperwood observed this proceeding with a great deal of interest What could be more important than the men who were going to try him The process was too swift for accurate judgment but he received a faint impression of middleclass men One man in particular however an old man of sixtyfive with irongray hair and beard shaggy eyebrows sallow complexion and stooped shoulders struck him as having that kindness of temperament and breadth of experience which might under certain circumstances be argumentatively swayed in his favor Another a small sharpnosed sharpchinned commercial man of some kind he immediately disliked
I hope I dont have to have that man on my jury he said to Steger quietly
You dont replied Steger Ill challenge him We have the right to fifteen peremptory challenges on a case like this and so has the prosecution
When the jurybox was finally full the two lawyers waited for the clerk to bring them the small board upon which slips of paper bearing the names of the twelve jurors were fastened in rows in order of their selection—jurors one two and three being in the first row four five and six in the second and so on It being the prerogative of the attorney for the prosecution to examine and challenge the jurors first Shannon arose and taking the board began to question them as to their trades or professions their knowledge of the case before the court and their possible prejudice for or against the prisoner
It was the business of both Steger and Shannon to find men who knew a little something of finance and could understand a peculiar situation of this kind without any of them looking at it from Stegers point of view having any prejudice against a mans trying to assist himself by reasonable means to weather a financial storm or looking at it from Shannons point of view having any sympathy with such means if they bore about them the least suspicion of chicanery jugglery or dishonest manipulation of any kind As both Shannon and Steger in due course observed for themselves in connection with this jury it was composed of that assorted social fry which the dragnets of the courts cast into the ocean of the city bring to the surface for purposes of this sort It was made up in the main of managers agents tradesmen editors engineers architects furriers grocers traveling salesmen authors and every other kind of working citizen whose experience had fitted him for service in proceedings of this character Rarely would you have found a man of great distinction but very frequently a group of men who were possessed of no small modicum of that interesting quality known as hard common sense
Throughout all this Cowperwood sat quietly examining the men A young florist with a pale face a wide speculative forehead and anemic hands struck him as being sufficiently impressionable to his personal charm to be worth while He whispered as much to Steger There was a shrewd Jew a furrier who was challenged because he had read all of the news of the panic and had lost two thousand dollars in streetrailway stocks There was a stout wholesale grocer with red cheeks blue eyes and flaxen hair who Cowperwood said he thought was stubborn He was eliminated There was a thin dapper manager of a small retail clothing store very anxious to be excused who declared falsely that he did not believe in swearing by the Bible Judge Payderson eyeing him severely let him go There were some ten more in all—men who knew of Cowperwood men who admitted they were prejudiced men who were hidebound Republicans and resentful of this crime men who knew Stener—who were pleasantly eliminated
By twelve oclock however a jury reasonably satisfactory to both sides had been chosen
Chapter XLI
At two oclock sharp Dennis Shannon as district attorney began his opening address He stated in a very simple kindly way—for he had a most engaging manner—that the indictment as here presented charged Mr Frank A Cowperwood who was sitting at the table inside the juryrail first with larceny second with embezzlement third with larceny as bailee and fourth with embezzlement of a certain sum of money—a specific sum to wit sixty thousand dollars—on a check given him drawn to his order October 9 1871 which was intended to reimburse him for a certain number of certificates of city loan which he as agent or bailee of the check was supposed to have purchased for the city sinkingfund on the order of the city treasurer under some form of agreement which had been in existence between them and which had been in force for some time—said fund being intended to take up such certificates as they might mature in the hands of holders and be presented for payment—for which purpose however the check in question had never been used
Now gentlemen said Mr Shannon very quietly before we go into this very simple question of whether Mr Cowperwood did or did not on the date in question get from the city treasurer sixty thousand dollars for which he made no honest return let me explain to you just what the people mean when they charge him first with larceny second with embezzlement third with larceny as bailee and fourth with embezzlement on a check Now as you see there are four counts here as we lawyers term them and the reason there are four counts is as follows A man may be guilty of larceny and embezzlement at the same time or of larceny or embezzlement separately and without being guilty of the other and the district attorney representing the people might be uncertain not that he was not guilty of both but that it might not be possible to present the evidence under one count so as to insure his adequate punishment for a crime which in a way involved both In such cases gentlemen it is customary to indict a man under separate counts as has been done in this case Now the four counts in this case in a way overlap and confirm each other and it will be your duty after we have explained their nature and character and presented the evidence to say whether the defendant is guilty on one count or the other or on two or three of the counts or on all four just as you see fit and proper—or to put it in a better way as the evidence warrants Larceny as you may or may not know is the act of taking away the goods or chattels of another without his knowledge or consent and embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation to ones own use of what is intrusted to ones care and management especially money Larceny as bailee on the other hand is simply a more definite form of larceny wherein one fixes the act of carrying away the goods of another without his knowledge or consent on the person to whom the goods were delivered in trust that is the agent or bailee Embezzlement on a check which constitutes the fourth charge is simply a more definite form of fixing charge number two in an exact way and signifies appropriating the money on a check given for a certain definite purpose All of these charges as you can see gentlemen are in a way synonymous They overlap and overlay each other The people through their representative the district attorney contend that Mr Cowperwood the defendant here is guilty of all four charges So now gentlemen we will proceed to the history of this crime which proves to me as an individual that this defendant has one of the most subtle and dangerous minds of the criminal financier type and we hope by witnesses to prove that to you also
Shannon because the rules of evidence and court procedure here admitted of no interruption of the prosecution in presenting a case then went on to describe from his own point of view how Cowperwood had first met Stener how he had wormed himself into his confidence how little financial knowledge Stener had and so forth coming down finally to the day the check for sixty thousand dollars was given Cowperwood how Stener as treasurer claimed that he knew nothing of its delivery which constituted the base of the charge of larceny how Cowperwood having it misappropriated the certificates supposed to have been purchased for the sinkingfund if they were purchased at all—all of which Shannon said constituted the crimes with which the defendant was charged and of which he was unquestionably guilty
We have direct and positive evidence of all that we have thus far contended gentlemen Mr Shannon concluded violently This is not a matter of hearsay or theory but of fact You will be shown by direct testimony which cannot be shaken just how it was done If after you have heard all this you still think this man is innocent—that he did not commit the crimes with which he is charged—it is your business to acquit him On the other hand if you think the witnesses whom we shall put on the stand are telling the truth then it is your business to convict him to find a verdict for the people as against the defendant I thank you for your attention
The jurors stirred comfortably and took positions of ease in which they thought they were to rest for the time but their idle comfort was of short duration for Shannon now called out the name of George W Stener who came hurrying forward very pale very flaccid very tiredlooking His eyes as he took his seat in the witnesschair laying his hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the truth roved in a restless nervous manner
His voice was a little weak as he started to give his testimony He told first how he had met Cowperwood in the early months of 1866—he could not remember the exact day it was during his first term as city treasurer—he had been elected to the office in the fall of 1864 He had been troubled about the condition of city loan which was below par and which could not be sold by the city legally at anything but par Cowperwood had been recommended to him by some one—Mr Strobik he believed though he couldnt be sure It was the custom of city treasurers to employ brokers or a broker in a crisis of this kind and he was merely following what had been the custom He went on to describe under steady promptings and questions from the incisive mind of Shannon just what the nature of this first conversation was—he remembered it fairly well how Mr Cowperwood had said he thought he could do what was wanted how he had gone away and drawn up a plan or thought one out and how he had returned and laid it before Stener Under Shannons skillful guidance Stener elucidated just what this scheme was—which wasnt exactly so flattering to the honesty of men in general as it was a testimonial to their subtlety and skill
After much discussion of Steners and Cowperwoods relations the story finally got down to the preceding October when by reason of companionship long business understanding mutually prosperous relationship etc the place bad been reached where it was explained Cowperwood was not only handling several millions of city loan annually buying and selling for the city and trading in it generally but in the bargain had secured one five hundred thousand dollars worth of city money at an exceedingly low rate of interest which was being invested for himself and Stener in profitable streetcar ventures of one kind and another Stener was not anxious to be altogether clear on this point but Shannon seeing that he was later to prosecute Stener himself for this very crime of embezzlement and that Steger would soon follow in crossexamination was not willing to let him be hazy Shannon wanted to fix Cowperwood in the minds of the jury as a clever tricky person and by degrees he certainly managed to indicate a very subtleminded man Occasionally as one sharp point after another of Cowperwoods skill was brought out and made moderately clear one juror or another turned to look at Cowperwood And he noting this and in order to impress them all as favorably as possible merely gazed Stenerward with a steady air of intelligence and comprehension
The examination now came down to the matter of the particular check for sixty thousand dollars which Albert Stires had handed Cowperwood on the afternoon—late—of October 9 1871 Shannon showed Stener the check itself Had he ever seen it Yes Where In the office of District Attorney Pettie on October 20th or thereabouts last Was that the first time he had seen it Yes Had he ever heard about it before then Yes When On October 10th last Would he kindly tell the jury in his own way just how and under what circumstances he first heard of it then Stener twisted uncomfortably in his chair It was a hard thing to do It was not a pleasant commentary on his own character and degree of moral stamina to say the least However he cleared his throat again and began a description of that small but bitter section of his lifes drama in which Cowperwood finding himself in a tight place and about to fail had come to him at his office and demanded that he loan him three hundred thousand dollars more in one lump sum
There was considerable bickering just at this point between Steger and Shannon for the former was very anxious to make it appear that Stener was lying out of the whole cloth about this Steger got in his objection at this point and created a considerable diversion from the main theme because Stener kept saying he thought or he believed
Object shouted Steger repeatedly I move that that be stricken from the record as incompetent irrelevant and immaterial The witness is not allowed to say what he thinks and the prosecution knows it very well
Your honor insisted Shannon I am doing the best I can to have the witness tell a plain straightforward story and I think that it is obvious that he is doing so
Object reiterated Steger vociferously Your honor I insist that the district attorney has no right to prejudice the minds of the jury by flattering estimates of the sincerity of the witness What he thinks of the witness and his sincerity is of no importance in this case I must ask that your honor caution him plainly in this matter
Objection sustained declared Judge Payderson the prosecution will please be more explicit and Shannon went on with his case
Steners testimony in one respect was most important for it made plain what Cowperwood did not want brought out—namely that he and Stener had had a dispute before this that Stener had distinctly told Cowperwood that he would not loan him any more money that Cowperwood had told Stener on the day before he secured this check and again on that very day that he was in a very desperate situation financially and that if he were not assisted to the extent of three hundred thousand dollars he would fail and that then both he and Stener would be ruined On the morning of this day according to Stener he had sent Cowperwood a letter ordering him to cease purchasing city loan certificates for the sinkingfund It was after their conversation on the same afternoon that Cowperwood surreptitiously secured the check for sixty thousand dollars from Albert Stires without his Steners knowledge and it was subsequent to this latter again that Stener sending Albert to demand the return of the check was refused though the next day at five oclock in the afternoon Cowperwood made an assignment And the certificates for which the check had been purloined were not in the sinkingfund as they should have been This was dark testimony for Cowperwood
If any one imagines that all this was done without many vehement objections and exceptions made and taken by Steger and subsequently when he was crossexamining Stener by Shannon he errs greatly At times the chamber was coruscating with these two gentlemens bitter wrangles and his honor was compelled to hammer his desk with his gavel and to threaten both with contempt of court in order to bring them to a sense of order Indeed while Payderson was highly incensed the jury was amused and interested
You gentlemen will have to stop this or I tell you now that you will both be heavily fined This is a court of law not a barroom Mr Steger I expect you to apologize to me and your colleague at once Mr Shannon I must ask that you use less aggressive methods Your manner is offensive to me It is not becoming to a court of law I will not caution either of you again
Both lawyers apologized as lawyers do on such occasions but it really made but little difference Their individual attitudes and moods continued about as before
What did he say to you asked Shannon of Stener after one of these troublesome interruptions on that occasion October 9th last when he came to you and demanded the loan of an additional three hundred thousand dollars Give his words as near as you can remember—exactly if possible
Object interposed Steger vigorously His exact words are not recorded anywhere except in Mr Steners memory and his memory of them cannot be admitted in this case The witness has testified to the general facts
Judge Payderson smiled grimly Objection overruled he returned
Exception shouted Steger
He said as near as I can remember replied Stener drumming on the arms of the witnesschair in a nervous way that if I didnt give him three hundred thousand dollars he was going to fail and I would be poor and go to the penitentiary
Object shouted Stager leaping to his feet Your honor I object to the whole manner in which this examination is being conducted by the prosecution The evidence which the district attorney is here trying to extract from the uncertain memory of the witness is in defiance of all law and precedent and has no definite bearing on the facts of the case and could not disprove or substantiate whether Mr Cowperwood thought or did not think that he was going to fail Mr Stener might give one version of this conversation or any conversation that took place at this time and Mr Cowperwood another As a matter of fact their versions are different I see no point in Mr Shannons line of inquiry unless it is to prejudice the jurys minds towards accepting certain allegations which the prosecution is pleased to make and which it cannot possibly substantiate I think you ought to caution the witness to testify only in regard to things that he recalls exactly not to what he thinks he remembers and for my part I think that all that has been testified to in the last five minutes might be well stricken out
Objection overruled replied Judge Payderson rather indifferently and Steger who had been talking merely to overcome the weight of Steners testimony in the minds of the jury sat down
Shannon once more approached Stener
Now as near as you can remember Mr Stener I wish you would tell the jury what else it was that Mr Cowperwood said on that occasion He certainly didnt stop with the remark that you would be ruined and go to the penitentiary Wasnt there other language that was employed on that occasion
He said as far as I can remember replied Stener that there were a lot of political schemers who were trying to frighten me that if I didnt give him three hundred thousand dollars we would both be ruined and that I might as well be tried for stealing a sheep as a lamb
Ha yelled Shannon He said that did he
Yes sir he did said Stener
How did he say it exactly What were his exact words Shannon demanded emphatically pointing a forceful forefinger at Stener in order to key him up to a clear memory of what had transpired
Well as near as I can remember he said just that replied Stener vaguely You might as well be tried for stealing a sheep as a lamb
Exactly exclaimed Shannon whirling around past the jury to look at Cowperwood I thought so
Pure pyrotechnics your honor said Steger rising to his feet on the instant All intended to prejudice the minds of the jury Acting I wish you would caution the counsel for the prosecution to confine himself to the evidence in hand and not act for the benefit of his case
The spectators smiled and Judge Payderson noting it frowned severely Do you make that as an objection Mr Steger he asked
I certainly do your honor insisted Steger resourcefully
Objection overruled Neither counsel for the prosecution nor for the defense is limited to a peculiar routine of expression
Steger himself was ready to smile but he did not dare to
Cowperwood fearing the force of such testimony and regretting it still looked at Stener pityingly The feebleness of the man the weakness of the man the pass to which his cowardice had brought them both
When Shannon was through bringing out this unsatisfactory data Steger took Stener in hand but he could not make as much out of him as he hoped In so far as this particular situation was concerned Stener was telling the exact truth and it is hard to weaken the effect of the exact truth by any subtlety of interpretation though it can sometimes be done With painstaking care Steger went over all the ground of Steners long relationship with Cowperwood and tried to make it appear that Cowperwood was invariably the disinterested agent—not the ringleader in a subtle really criminal adventure It was hard to do but he made a fine impression Still the jury listened with skeptical minds It might not be fair to punish Cowperwood for seizing with avidity upon a splendid chance to get rich quick they thought but it certainly was not worth while to throw a veil of innocence over such palpable human cupidity Finally both lawyers were through with Stener for the time being anyhow and then Albert Stires was called to the stand
He was the same thin pleasant alert rather agreeable soul that he had been in the heyday of his clerkly prosperity—a little paler now but not otherwise changed His small property had been saved for him by Cowperwood who had advised Steger to inform the Municipal Reform Association that Stires bondsmen were attempting to sequestrate it for their own benefit when actually it should go to the city if there were any real claim against him—which there was not That watchful organization had issued one of its numerous reports covering this point and Albert had had the pleasure of seeing Strobik and the others withdraw in haste Naturally he was grateful to Cowperwood even though once he had been compelled to cry in vain in his presence He was anxious now to do anything he could to help the banker but his naturally truthful disposition prevented him from telling anything except the plain facts which were partly beneficial and partly not
Stires testified that he recalled Cowperwoods saying that he had purchased the certificates that he was entitled to the money that Stener was unduly frightened and that no harm would come to him Albert He identified certain memoranda in the city treasurers books which were produced as being accurate and others in Cowperwoods books which were also produced as being corroborative His testimony as to Steners astonishment on discovering that his chief clerk had given Cowperwood a check was against the latter but Cowperwood hoped to overcome the effect of this by his own testimony later
Up to now both Steger and Cowperwood felt that they were doing fairly well and that they need not be surprised if they won their case
Chapter XLII
The trial moved on One witness for the prosecution after another followed until the State had built up an arraignment that satisfied Shannon that he had established Cowperwoods guilt whereupon he announced that he rested Steger at once arose and began a long argument for the dismissal of the case on the ground that there was no evidence to show this that and the other but Judge Payderson would have none of it He knew how important the matter was in the local political world
I dont think you had better go into all that now Mr Steger he said wearily after allowing him to proceed a reasonable distance I am familiar with the custom of the city and the indictment as here made does not concern the custom of the city Your argument is with the jury not with me I couldnt enter into that now You may renew your motion at the close of the defendants case Motion denied
DistrictAttorney Shannon who had been listening attentively sat down Steger seeing there was no chance to soften the judges mind by any subtlety of argument returned to Cowperwood who smiled at the result
Well just have to take our chances with the jury he announced
I was sure of it replied Cowperwood
Steger then approached the jury and having outlined the case briefly from his angle of observation continued by telling them what he was sure the evidence would show from his point of view
As a matter of fact gentlemen there is no essential difference in the evidence which the prosecution can present and that which we the defense can present We are not going to dispute that Mr Cowperwood received a check from Mr Stener for sixty thousand dollars or that he failed to put the certificate of city loan which that sum of money represented and to which he was entitled in payment as agent in the sinkingfund as the prosecution now claims he should have done but we are going to claim and prove also beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that he had a right as the agent of the city doing business with the city through its treasury department for four years to withhold under an agreement which he had with the city treasurer all payments of money and all deposits of certificates in the sinkingfund until the first day of each succeeding month—the first month following any given transaction As a matter of fact we can and will bring many traders and bankers who have had dealings with the city treasury in the past in just this way to prove this The prosecution is going to ask you to believe that Mr Cowperwood knew at the time he received this check that he was going to fail that he did not buy the certificates as he claimed with the view of placing them in the sinkingfund and that knowing he was going to fail and that he could not subsequently deposit them he deliberately went to Mr Albert Stires Mr Steners secretary told him that he had purchased such certificates and on the strength of a falsehood implied if not actually spoken secured the check and walked away
Now gentlemen I am not going to enter into a longwinded discussion of these points at this time since the testimony is going to show very rapidly what the facts are We have a number of witnesses here and we are all anxious to have them heard What I am going to ask you to remember is that there is not one scintilla of testimony outside of that which may possibly be given by Mr George W Stener which will show either that Mr Cowperwood knew at the time he called on the city treasurer that he was going to fail or that he had not purchased the certificates in question or that he had not the right to withhold them from the sinkingfund as long as he pleased up to the first of the month the time he invariably struck a balance with the city Mr Stener the excity treasurer may possibly testify one way Mr Cowperwood on his own behalf will testify another It will then be for you gentlemen to decide between them to decide which one you prefer to believe—Mr George W Stener the excity treasurer the former commercial associate of Mr Cowperwood who after years and years of profit solely because of conditions of financial stress fire and panic preferred to turn on his onetime associate from whose labors he had reaped so much profit or Mr Frank A Cowperwood the wellknown banker and financier who did his best to weather the storm alone who fulfilled to the letter every agreement he ever had with the city who has even until this hour been busy trying to remedy the unfair financial difficulties forced upon him by fire and panic and who only yesterday made an offer to the city that if he were allowed to continue in uninterrupted control of his affairs he would gladly repay as quickly as possible every dollar of his indebtedness which is really not all his including the five hundred thousand dollars under discussion between him and Mr Stener and the city and so prove by his works not talk that there was no basis for this unfair suspicion of his motives As you perhaps surmise the city has not chosen to accept his offer and I shall try and tell you why later gentlemen For the present we will proceed with the testimony and for the defense all I ask is that you give very close attention to all that is testified to here today Listen very carefully to Mr W C Davison when he is put on the stand Listen equally carefully to Mr Cowperwood when we call him to testify Follow the other testimony closely and then you will be able to judge for yourselves See if you can distinguish a just motive for this prosecution I cant I am very much obliged to you for listening to me gentlemen so attentively
He then put on Arthur Rivers who had acted for Cowperwood on change as special agent during the panic to testify to the large quantities of city loan he had purchased to stay the market and then after him Cowperwoods brothers Edward and Joseph who testified to instructions received from Rivers as to buying and selling city loan on that occasion—principally buying
The next witness was President W C Davison of the Girard National Bank He was a large man physically not so round of body as full and broad His shoulders and chest were ample He had a big blond head with an ample breadth of forehead which was high and sanelooking He had a thick squat nose which however was forceful and thin firm even lips There was the faintest touch of cynical humor in his hard blue eyes at times but mostly he was friendly alert placidlooking without seeming in the least sentimental or even kindly His business as one could see plainly was to insist on hard financial facts and one could see also how he would naturally be drawn to Frank Algernon Cowperwood without being mentally dominated or upset by him As he took the chair very quietly and yet one might say significantly it was obvious that he felt that this sort of legalfinancial palaver was above the average man and beneath the dignity of a true financier—in other words a bother The drowsy Sparkheaver holding up a Bible beside him for him to swear by might as well have been a block of wood His oath was a personal matter with him It was good business to tell the truth at times His testimony was very direct and very simple
He had known Mr Frank Algernon Cowperwood for nearly ten years He had done business with or through him nearly all of that time He knew nothing of his personal relations with Mr Stener and did not know Mr Stener personally As for the particular check of sixty thousand dollars—yes he had seen it before It had come into the bank on October 10th along with other collateral to offset an overdraft on the part of Cowperwood Co It was placed to the credit of Cowperwood Co on the books of the bank and the bank secured the cash through the clearinghouse No money was drawn out of the bank by Cowperwood Co after that to create an overdraft The banks account with Cowperwood was squared
Nevertheless Mr Cowperwood might have drawn heavily and nothing would have been thought of it Mr Davison did not know that Mr Cowperwood was going to fail—did not suppose that he could so quickly He had frequently overdrawn his account with the bank as a matter of fact it was the regular course of his business to overdraw it It kept his assets actively in use which was the height of good business His overdrafts were protected by collateral however and it was his custom to send bundles of collateral or checks or both which were variously distributed to keep things straight Mr Cowperwoods account was the largest and most active in the bank Mr Davison kindly volunteered When Mr Cowperwood had failed there had been over ninety thousand dollars worth of certificates of city loan in the banks possession which Mr Cowperwood had sent there as collateral Shannon on crossexamination tried to find out for the sake of the effect on the jury whether Mr Davison was not for some ulterior motive especially favorable to Cowperwood It was not possible for him to do that Steger followed and did his best to render the favorable points made by Mr Davison in Cowperwoods behalf perfectly clear to the jury by having him repeat them Shannon objected of course but it was of no use Steger managed to make his point
He now decided to have Cowperwood take the stand and at the mention of his name in this connection the whole courtroom bristled
Cowperwood came forward briskly and quickly He was so calm so jaunty so defiant of life and yet so courteous to it These lawyers this jury this strawandwater judge these machinations of fate did not basically disturb or humble or weaken him He saw through the mental equipment of the jury at once He wanted to assist his counsel in disturbing and confusing Shannon but his reason told him that only an indestructible fabric of fact or seeming would do it He believed in the financial rightness of the thing he had done He was entitled to do it Life was war—particularly financial life and strategy was its keynote its duty its necessity Why should he bother about petty picayune minds which could not understand this He went over his history for Steger and the jury and put the sanest most comfortable light on it that he could He had not gone to Mr Stener in the first place he said—he had been called He had not urged Mr Stener to anything He had merely shown him and his friends financial possibilities which they were only too eager to seize upon And they had seized upon them It was not possible for Shannon to discover at this period how subtly he had organized his streetcar companies so that he could have shaken out Stener and his friends without their being able to voice a single protest so he talked of these things as opportunities which he had made for Stener and others Shannon was not a financier neither was Steger They had to believe in a way though they doubted it partly—particularly Shannon He was not responsible for the custom prevailing in the office of the city treasurer he said He was a banker and broker
The jury looked at him and believed all except this matter of the sixtythousanddollar check When it came to that he explained it all plausibly enough When he had gone to see Stener those several last days he had not fancied that he was really going to fail He had asked Stener for some money it is true—not so very much all things considered—one hundred and fifty thousand dollars but as Stener should have testified he Cowperwood was not disturbed in his manner Stener had merely been one resource of his He was satisfied at that time that he had many others He had not used the forceful language or made the urgent appeal which Stener said he had although he had pointed out to Stener that it was a mistake to become panicstricken also to withhold further credit It was true that Stener was his easiest his quickest resource but not his only one He thought as a matter of fact that his credit would be greatly extended by his principal money friends if necessary and that he would have ample time to patch up his affairs and keep things going until the storm should blow over He had told Stener of his extended purchase of city loan to stay the market on the first day of the panic and of the fact that sixty thousand dollars was due him Stener had made no objection It was just possible that he was too mentally disturbed at the time to pay close attention After that to his Cowperwoods surprise unexpected pressure on great financial houses from unexpected directions had caused them to be not willingly but unfortunately severe with him This pressure coming collectively the next day had compelled him to close his doors though he had not really expected to up to the last moment His call for the sixtythousanddollar check at the time had been purely fortuitous He needed the money of course but it was due him and his clerks were all very busy He merely asked for and took it personally to save time Stener knew if it had been refused him he would have brought suit The matter of depositing city loan certificates in the sinkingfund when purchased for the city was something to which he never gave any personal attention whatsoever His bookkeeper Mr Stapley attended to all that He did not know as a matter of fact that they had not been deposited This was a barefaced lie He did know As for the check being turned over to the Girard National Bank that was fortuitous It might just as well have been turned over to some other bank if the conditions had been different
Thus on and on he went answering all of Stegers and Shannons searching questions with the most engaging frankness and you could have sworn from the solemnity with which he took it all—the serious business attention—that he was the soul of socalled commercial honor And to say truly he did believe in the justice as well as the necessity and the importance of all that he had done and now described He wanted the jury to see it as he saw it—put itself in his place and sympathize with him
He was through finally and the effect on the jury of his testimony and his personality was peculiar Philip Moultrie juror No 1 decided that Cowperwood was lying He could not see how it was possible that he could not know the day before that he was going to fail He must have known he thought Anyhow the whole series of transactions between him and Stener seemed deserving of some punishment and all during this testimony he was thinking how when he got in the juryroom he would vote guilty He even thought of some of the arguments he would use to convince the others that Cowperwood was guilty Juror No 2 on the contrary Simon Glassberg a clothier thought he understood how it all came about and decided to vote for acquittal He did not think Cowperwood was innocent but he did not think he deserved to be punished Juror No 3 Fletcher Norton an architect thought Cowperwood was guilty but at the same time that he was too talented to be sent to prison Juror No 4 Charles Hillegan an Irishman a contractor and a somewhat religiousminded person thought Cowperwood was guilty and ought to be punished Juror No 5 Philip Lukash a coal merchant thought he was guilty Juror No 6 Benjamin Fraser a mining expert thought he was probably guilty but he could not be sure Uncertain what he would do juror No 7 J J Bridges a broker in Third Street small practical narrow thought Cowperwood was shrewd and guilty and deserved to be punished He would vote for his punishment Juror No 8 Guy E Tripp general manager of a small steamboat company was uncertain Juror No 9 Joseph Tisdale a retired glue manufacturer thought Cowperwood was probably guilty as charged but to Tisdale it was no crime Cowperwood was entitled to do as he had done under the circumstances Tisdale would vote for his acquittal Juror No 10 Richard Marsh a young florist was for Cowperwood in a sentimental way He had as a matter of fact no real convictions Juror No 11 Richard Webber a grocer small financially but heavy physically was for Cowperwoods conviction He thought him guilty Juror No 12 Washington B Thomas a wholesale flour merchant thought Cowperwood was guilty but believed in a recommendation to mercy after pronouncing him so Men ought to be reformed was his slogan
So they stood and so Cowperwood left them wondering whether any of his testimony had had a favorable effect
Chapter XLIII
Since it is the privilege of the lawyer for the defense to address the jury first Steger bowed politely to his colleague and came forward Putting his hands on the jurybox rail he began in a very quiet modest but impressive way
Gentlemen of the jury my client Mr Frank Algernon Cowperwood a wellknown banker and financier of this city doing business in Third Street is charged by the State of Pennsylvania represented by the district attorney of this district with fraudulently transferring from the treasury of the city of Philadelphia to his own purse the sum of sixty thousand dollars in the form of a check made out to his order dated October 9 1871 and by him received from one Albert Stires the private secretary and head bookkeeper of the treasurer of this city at the time in question Now gentlemen what are the facts in this connection You have heard the various witnesses and know the general outlines of the story Take the testimony of George W Stener to begin with He tells you that sometime back in the year 1866 he was greatly in need of some one some banker or broker who would tell him how to bring city loan which was selling very low at the time to par—who would not only tell him this but proceed to demonstrate that his knowledge was accurate by doing it Mr Stener was an inexperienced man at the time in the matter of finance Mr Cowperwood was an active young man with an enviable record as a broker and a trader on change He proceeded to demonstrate to Mr Stener not only in theory but in fact how this thing of bringing city loan to par could be done He made an arrangement at that time with Mr Stener the details of which you have heard from Mr Stener himself the result of which was that a large amount of city loan was turned over to Mr Cowperwood by Mr Stener for sale and by adroit manipulation—methods of buying and selling which need not be gone into here but which are perfectly sane and legitimate in the world in which Mr Cowperwood operated did bring that loan to par and kept it there year after year as you have all heard here testified to
Now what is the bone of contention here gentlemen the significant fact which brings Mr Stener into this court at this time charging his oldtime agent and broker with larceny and embezzlement and alleging that he has transferred to his own use without a shadow of return sixty thousand dollars of the money which belongs to the city treasury What is it Is it that Mr Cowperwood secretly with great stealth as it were at some time or other unknown to Mr Stener or to his assistants entered the office of the treasurer and forcibly and with criminal intent carried away sixty thousand dollars worth of the citys money Not at all The charge is as you have heard the district attorney explain that Mr Cowperwood came in broad daylight at between four and five oclock of the afternoon preceeding the day of his assignment was closeted with Mr Stener for a half or threequarters of an hour came out explained to Mr Albert Stires that he had recently bought sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan for the city sinkingfund for which he had not been paid asked that the amount be credited on the citys books to him and that he be given a check which was his due and walked out Anything very remarkable about that gentlemen Anything very strange Has it been testified here today that Mr Cowperwood was not the agent of the city for the transaction of just such business as he said on that occasion that he had transacted Did any one say here on the witnessstand that he had not bought city loan as he said he had
Why is it then that Mr Stener charges Mr Cowperwood with larcenously securing and feloniously disposing of a check for sixty thousand dollars for certificates which he had a right to buy and which it has not been contested here that he did buy The reason lies just here—listen—just here At the time my client asked for the check and took it away with him and deposited it in his own bank to his own account he failed so the prosecution insists to put the sixty thousand dollars worth of certificates for which he had received the check in the sinkingfund and having failed to do that and being compelled by the pressure of financial events the same day to suspend payment generally he thereby according to the prosecution and the anxious leaders of the Republican party in the city became an embezzler a thief a this or that—anything you please so long as you find a substitute for George W Stener and the indifferent leaders of the Republican party in the eyes of the people
And here Mr Steger proceeded boldly and defiantly to outline the entire political situation as it had manifested itself in connection with the Chicago fire the subsequent panic and its political consequences and to picture Cowperwood as the unjustly maligned agent who before the fire was valuable and honorable enough to suit any of the political leaders of Philadelphia but afterward and when political defeat threatened was picked upon as the most available scapegoat anywhere within reach
And it took him a half hour to do that And afterward but only after he had pointed to Stener as the true henchman and stalking horse who had in turn been used by political forces above him to accomplish certain financial results which they were not willing to have ascribed to themselves he continued with
But now in the light of all this only see how ridiculous all this is How silly Frank A Cowperwood had always been the agent of the city in these matters for years and years He worked under certain rules which he and Mr Stener had agreed upon in the first place and which obviously came from others who were above Mr Stener since they were holdover customs and rules from administrations which had been long before Mr Stener ever appeared on the scene as city treasurer One of them was that he could carry all transactions over until the first of the month following before he struck a balance That is he need not pay any money over for anything to the city treasurer need not send him any checks or deposit any money or certificates in the sinkingfund until the first of the month because—now listen to this carefully gentlemen it is important—because his transactions in connection with city loan and everything else that he dealt in for the city treasurer were so numerous so swift so uncalculated beforehand that he had to have a loose easy system of this kind in order to do his work properly—to do business at all Otherwise he could not very well have worked to the best advantage for Mr Stener or for any one else It would have meant too much bookkeeping for him—too much for the city treasurer Mr Stener has testified to that in the early part of his story Albert Stires has indicated that that was his understanding of it Well then what Why just this Would any jury suppose would any sane business man believe that if such were the case Mr Cowperwood would be running personally with all these items of deposit to the different banks or the sinkingfund or the city treasurers office or would be saying to his head bookkeeper Here Stapley here is a check for sixty thousand dollars See that the certificates of loan which this represents are put in the sinkingfund today And why not What a ridiculous supposition any other supposition is As a matter of course and as had always been the case Mr Cowperwood had a system When the time came this check and these certificates would be automatically taken care of He handed his bookkeeper the check and forgot all about it Would you imagine a banker with a vast business of this kind doing anything else
Mr Steger paused for breath and inquiry and then having satisfied himself that his point had been sufficiently made he continued
Of course the answer is that he knew he was going to fail Well Mr Cowperwoods reply is that he didnt know anything of the sort He has personally testified here that it was only at the last moment before it actually happened that he either thought or knew of such an occurrence Why then this alleged refusal to let him have the check to which he was legally entitled I think I know I think I can give a reason if you will hear me out
Steger shifted his position and came at the jury from another intellectual angle
It was simply because Mr George W Stener at that time owing to a recent notable fire and a panic imagined for some reason—perhaps because Mr Cowperwood cautioned him not to become frightened over local developments generally—that Mr Cowperwood was going to close his doors and having considerable money on deposit with him at a low rate of interest Mr Stener decided that Mr Cowperwood must not have any more money—not even the money that was actually due him for services rendered and that had nothing whatsoever to do with the money loaned him by Mr Stener at two and onehalf per cent Now isnt that a ridiculous situation But it was because Mr George W Stener was filled with his own fears based on a fire and a panic which had absolutely nothing to do with Mr Cowperwoods solvency in the beginning that he decided not to let Frank A Cowperwood have the money that was actually due him because he Stener was criminally using the citys money to further his own private interests through Mr Cowperwood as a broker and in danger of being exposed and possibly punished Now where I ask you does the good sense of that decision come in Is it apparent to you gentlemen Was Mr Cowperwood still an agent for the city at the time he bought the loan certificates as here testified He certainly was If so was he entitled to that money Who is going to stand up here and deny it Where is the question then as to his right or his honesty in this matter How does it come in here at all I can tell you It sprang solely from one source and from nowhere else and that is the desire of the politicians of this city to find a scapegoat for the Republican party
Now you may think I am going rather far afield for an explanation of this very peculiar decision to prosecute Mr Cowperwood an agent of the city for demanding and receiving what actually belonged to him But Im not Consider the position of the Republican party at that time Consider the fact that an exposure of the truth in regard to the details of a large defalcation in the city treasury would have a very unsatisfactory effect on the election about to be held The Republican party had a new city treasurer to elect a new district attorney It had been in the habit of allowing its city treasurers the privilege of investing the funds in their possession at a low rate of interest for the benefit of themselves and their friends Their salaries were small They had to have some way of eking out a reasonable existence Was Mr George Stener responsible for this custom of loaning out the city money Not at all Was Mr Cowperwood Not at all The custom had been in vogue long before either Mr Cowperwood or Mr Stener came on the scene Why then this great hue and cry about it now The entire uproar sprang solely from the fear of Mr Stener at this juncture the fear of the politicians at this juncture of public exposure No city treasurer had ever been exposed before It was a new thing to face exposure to face the risk of having the publics attention called to a rather nefarious practice of which Mr Stener was taking advantage that was all A great fire and a panic were endangering the security and wellbeing of many a financial organization in the city—Mr Cowperwoods among others It meant many possible failures and many possible failures meant one possible failure If Frank A Cowperwood failed he would fail owing the city of Philadelphia five hundred thousand dollars borrowed from the city treasurer at the very low rate of interest of two and onehalf per cent Anything very detrimental to Mr Cowperwood in that Had he gone to the city treasurer and asked to be loaned money at two and onehalf per cent If he had was there anything criminal in it from a business point of view Isnt a man entitled to borrow money from any source he can at the lowest possible rate of interest Did Mr Stener have to loan it to Mr Cowperwood if he did not want to As a matter of fact didnt he testify here today that he personally had sent for Mr Cowperwood in the first place Why then in Heavens name this excited charge of larceny larceny as bailee embezzlement embezzlement on a check etc etc
Once more gentlemen listen Ill tell you why The men who stood behind Stener and whose bidding he was doing wanted to make a political scapegoat of some one—of Frank Algernon Cowperwood if they couldnt get any one else Thats why No other reason under Gods blue sky not one Why if Mr Cowperwood needed more money just at that time to tide him over it would have been good policy for them to have given it to him and hushed this matter up It would have been illegal—though not any more illegal than anything else that has ever been done in this connection—but it would have been safer Fear gentlemen fear lack of courage inability to meet a great crisis when a great crisis appears was all that really prevented them from doing this They were afraid to place confidence in a man who had never heretofore betrayed their trust and from whose loyalty and great financial ability they and the city had been reaping large profits The reigning city treasurer of the time didnt have the courage to go on in the face of fire and panic and the rumors of possible failure and stick by his illegal guns and so he decided to draw in his horns as testified here today—to ask Mr Cowperwood to return all or at least a big part of the five hundred thousand dollars he had loaned him and which Cowperwood had been actually using for his Steners benefit and to refuse him in addition the money that was actually due him for an authorized purchase of city loan Was Cowperwood guilty as an agent in any of these transactions Not in the least Was there any suit pending to make him return the five hundred thousand dollars of city money involved in his present failure Not at all It was simply a case of wild silly panic on the part of George W Stener and a strong desire on the part of the Republican party leaders once they discovered what the situation was to find some one outside of Stener the party treasurer upon whom they could blame the shortage in the treasury You heard what Mr Cowperwood testified to here in this case today—that he went to Mr Stener to forfend against any possible action of this kind in the first place And it was because of this very warning that Mr Stener became wildly excited lost his head and wanted Mr Cowperwood to return him all his money all the five hundred thousand dollars he had loaned him at two and onehalf per cent Isnt that silly financial business at the best Wasnt that a fine time to try to call a perfectly legal loan
But now to return to this particular check of sixty thousand dollars When Mr Cowperwood called that last afternoon before he failed Mr Stener testified that he told him that he couldnt have any more money that it was impossible and that then Mr Cowperwood went out into his general office and without his knowledge or consent persuaded his chief clerk and secretary Mr Albert Stires to give him a check for sixty thousand dollars to which he was not entitled and on which he Stener would have stopped payment if he had known
What nonsense Why didnt he know The books were there open to him Mr Stires told him the first thing the next morning Mr Cowperwood thought nothing of it for he was entitled to it and could collect it in any court of law having jurisdiction in such cases failure or no failure It is silly for Mr Stener to say he would have stopped payment Such a claim was probably an afterthought of the next morning after he had talked with his friends the politicians and was all a part a trick a trap to provide the Republican party with a scapegoat at this time Nothing more and nothing less and you may be sure no one knew it better than the people who were most anxious to see Mr Cowperwood convicted
Steger paused and looked significantly at Shannon
Gentlemen of the jury he finally concluded quietly and earnestly you are going to find when you think it over in the juryroom this evening that this charge of larceny and larceny as bailee and embezzlement of a check for sixty thousand dollars which are contained in this indictment and which represent nothing more than the eager effort of the district attorney to word this one act in such a way that it will look like a crime represents nothing more than the excited imagination of a lot of political refugees who are anxious to protect their own skirts at the expense of Mr Cowperwood and who care for nothing—honor fair play or anything else so long as they are let off scotfree They dont want the Republicans of Pennsylvania to think too ill of the Republican party management and control in this city They want to protect George W Stener as much as possible and to make a political scapegoat of my client It cant be done and it wont be done As honorable intelligent men you wont permit it to be done And I think with that thought I can safely leave you
Steger suddenly turned from the jurybox and walked to his seat beside Cowperwood while Shannon arose calm forceful vigorous much younger
As between man and man Shannon was not particularly opposed to the case Steger had made out for Cowperwood nor was he opposed to Cowperwoods having made money as he did As a matter of fact Shannon actually thought that if he had been in Cowperwoods position he would have done exactly the same thing However he was the newly elected district attorney He had a record to make and besides the political powers who were above him were satisfied that Cowperwood ought to be convicted for the looks of the thing Therefore he laid his hands firmly on the rail at first looked the jurors steadily in the eyes for a time and having framed a few thoughts in his mind began
Now gentlemen of the jury it seems to me that if we all pay strict attention to what has transpired here today we will have no difficulty in reaching a conclusion and it will be a very satisfactory one if we all try to interpret the facts correctly This defendant Mr Cowperwood comes into this court today charged as I have stated to you before with larceny with larceny as bailee with embezzlement and with embezzlement of a specific check—namely one dated October 9 1871 drawn to the order of Frank A Cowperwood Company for the sum of sixty thousand dollars by the secretary of the city treasurer for the city treasurer and by him signed as he had a perfect right to sign it and delivered to the said Frank A Cowperwood who claims that he was not only properly solvent at the time but had previously purchased certificates of city loan to the value of sixty thousand dollars and had at that time or would shortly thereafter as was his custom deposit them to the credit of the city in the city sinkingfund and thus close what would ordinarily be an ordinary transaction—namely that of Frank A Cowperwood Company as bankers and brokers for the city buying city loan for the city depositing it in the sinkingfund and being promptly and properly reimbursed Now gentlemen what are the actual facts in this case Was the said Frank A Cowperwood Company—there is no company as you well know as you have heard testified here today only Frank A Cowperwood—was the said Frank A Cowperwood a fit person to receive the check at this time in the manner he received it—that is was he authorized agent of the city at the time or was he not Was he solvent Did he actually himself think he was going to fail and was this sixtythousanddollar check a last thin straw which he was grabbing at to save his financial life regardless of what it involved legally morally or otherwise or had he actually purchased certificates of city loan to the amount he said he had in the way he said he had at the time he said he had and was he merely collecting his honest due Did he intend to deposit these certificates of loans in the city sinkingfund as he said he would—as it was understood naturally and normally that he would—or did he not Were his relations with the city treasurer as broker and agent the same as they had always been on the day that he secured this particular check for sixty thousand dollars or were they not Had they been terminated by a conversation fifteen minutes before or two days before or two weeks before—it makes no difference when so long as they had been properly terminated—or had they not A business man has a right to abrogate an agreement at any time where there is no specific form of contract and no fixed period of operation entered into—as you all must know You must not forget that in considering the evidence in this case Did George W Stener knowing or suspecting that Frank A Cowperwood was in a tight place financially unable to fulfill any longer properly and honestly the duties supposedly devolving on him by this agreement terminate it then and there on October 9 1871 before this check for sixty thousand dollars was given or did he not Did Mr Frank A Cowperwood then and there knowing that he was no longer an agent of the city treasurer and the city and knowing also that he was insolvent having as Mr Stener contends admitted to him that he was so and having no intention of placing the certificates which he subsequently declared he had purchased in the sinkingfund go out into Mr Steners general office meet his secretary tell him he had purchased sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan ask for the check get it put it in his pocket walk off and never make any return of any kind in any manner shape or form to the city and then subsequently twentyfour hours later fail owing this and five hundred thousand dollars more to the city treasury or did he not What are the facts in this case What have the witnesses testified to What has George W Stener testified to Albert Stires President Davison Mr Cowperwood himself What are the interesting subtle facts in this case anyhow Gentlemen you have a very curious problem to decide
He paused and gazed at the jury adjusting his sleeves as he did so and looking as though he knew for certain that he was on the trail of a slippery elusive criminal who was in a fair way to foist himself upon an honorable and decent community and an honorable and innocent jury as an honest man
Then he continued
Now gentlemen what are the facts You can see for yourselves exactly how this whole situation has come about You are sensible men I dont need to tell you Here are two men one elected treasurer of the city of Philadelphia sworn to guard the interests of the city and to manipulate its finances to the best advantage and the other called in at a time of uncertain financial cogitation to assist in unraveling a possibly difficult financial problem and then you have a case of a quiet private financial understanding being reached and of subsequent illegal dealings in which one man who is shrewder wiser more versed in the subtle ways of Third Street leads the other along over seemingly charming paths of fortunate investment into an accidental but none the less criminal mire of failure and exposure and public calumny and what not And then they get to the place where the more vulnerable individual of the two—the man in the most dangerous position the city treasurer of Philadelphia no less—can no longer reasonably or let us say courageously follow the other fellow and then you have such a spectacle as was described here this afternoon in the witnesschair by Mr Stener—that is you have a vicious greedy unmerciful financial wolf standing over a cowering unsophisticated commercial lamb and saying to him his white shiny teeth glittering all the while If you dont advance me the money I ask for—the three hundred thousand dollars I now demand—you will be a convict your children will be thrown in the street you and your wife and your family will be in poverty again and there will be no one to turn a hand for you That is what Mr Stener says Mr Cowperwood said to him I for my part havent a doubt in the world that he did Mr Steger in his very guarded references to his client describes him as a nice kind gentlemanly agent a broker merely on whom was practically forced the use of five hundred thousand dollars at two and a half per cent when money was bringing from ten to fifteen per cent in Third Street on call loans and even more But I for one dont choose to believe it The thing that strikes me as strange in all of this is that if he was so nice and kind and gentle and remote—a mere hired and therefore subservient agent—how is it that he could have gone to Mr Steners office two or three days before the matter of this sixtythousanddollar check came up and say to him as Mr Stener testifies under oath that he did say to him If you dont give me three hundred thousand dollars worth more of the citys money at once today I will fail and you will be a convict You will go to the penitentiary Thats what he said to him I will fail and you will be a convict They cant touch me but they will arrest you I am an agent merely Does that sound like a nice mild innocent wellmannered agent a hired broker or doesnt it sound like a hard defiant contemptuous master—a man in control and ready to rule and win by fair means or foul
Gentlemen I hold no brief for George W Stener In my judgment he is as guilty as his smug copartner in crime—if not more so—this oily financier who came smiling and in sheeps clothing pointing out subtle ways by which the citys money could be made profitable for both but when I hear Mr Cowperwood described as I have just heard him described as a nice mild innocent agent my gorge rises Why gentlemen if you want to get a right point of view on this whole proposition you will have to go back about ten or twelve years and see Mr George W Stener as he was then a rather povertystricken beginner in politics and before this very subtle and capable broker and agent came along and pointed out ways and means by which the citys money could be made profitable George W Stener wasnt very much of a personage then and neither was Frank A Cowperwood when he found Stener newly elected to the office of city treasurer Cant you see him arriving at that time nice and fresh and young and well dressed as shrewd as a fox and saying Come to me Let me handle city loan Loan me the citys money at two per cent or less Cant you hear him suggesting this Cant you see him
George W Stener was a poor man comparatively a very poor man when he first became city treasurer All he had was a small realestate and insurance business which brought him in say twentyfive hundred dollars a year He had a wife and four children to support and he had never had the slightest taste of what for him might be called luxury or comfort Then comes Mr Cowperwood—at his request to be sure but on an errand which held no theory of evil gains in Mr Steners mind at the time—and proposes his grand scheme of manipulating all the city loan to their mutual advantage Do you yourselves think gentlemen from what you have seen of George W Stener here on the witnessstand that it was he who proposed this plan of illgotten wealth to that gentleman over there
He pointed to Cowperwood
Does he look to you like a man who would be able to tell that gentleman anything about finance or this wonderful manipulation that followed I ask you does he look clever enough to suggest all the subtleties by which these two subsequently made so much money Why the statement of this man Cowperwood made to his creditors at the time of his failure here a few weeks ago showed that he considered himself to be worth over one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and he is only a little over thirtyfour years old today How much was he worth at the time he first entered business relations with the excity treasurer Have you any idea I can tell I had the matter looked up almost a month ago on my accession to office Just a little over two hundred thousand dollars gentlemen—just a little over two hundred thousand dollars Here is an abstract from the files of Dun Company for that year Now you can see how rapidly our Caesar has grown in wealth since then You can see how profitable these few short years have been to him Was George W Stener worth any such sum up to the time he was removed from his office and indicted for embezzlement Was he I have here a schedule of his liabilities and assets made out at the time You can see it for yourselves gentlemen Just two hundred and twenty thousand dollars measured the sum of all his property three weeks ago and it is an accurate estimate as I have reason to know Why was it do you suppose that Mr Cowperwood grew so fast in wealth and Mr Stener so slowly They were partners in crime Mr Stener was loaning Mr Cowperwood vast sums of the citys money at two per cent when callrates for money in Third Street were sometimes as high as sixteen and seventeen per cent Dont you suppose that Mr Cowperwood sitting there knew how to use this very cheaply comeby money to the very best advantage Does he look to you as though he didnt You have seen him on the witnessstand You have heard him testify Very suave very straightforwardseeming very innocent doing everything as a favor to Mr Stener and his friends of course and yet making a million in a little over six years and allowing Mr Stener to make one hundred and sixty thousand dollars or less for Mr Stener had some little money at the time this partnership was entered into—a few thousand dollars
Shannon now came to the vital transaction of October 9th when Cowperwood called on Stener and secured the check for sixty thousand dollars from Albert Stires His scorn for this as he appeared to think subtle and criminal transaction was unbounded It was plain larceny stealing and Cowperwood knew it when he asked Stires for the check
Think of it Shannon exclaimed turning and looking squarely at Cowperwood who faced him quite calmly undisturbed and unashamed Think of it Think of the colossal nerve of the man—the Machiavellian subtlety of his brain He knew he was going to fail He knew after two days of financial work—after two days of struggle to offset the providential disaster which upset his nefarious schemes—that he had exhausted every possible resource save one the city treasury and that unless he could compel aid there he was going to fail He already owed the city treasury five hundred thousand dollars He had already used the city treasurer as a catspaw so much had involved him so deeply that the latter because of the staggering size of the debt was becoming frightened Did that deter Mr Cowperwood Not at all
He shook his finger ominously in Cowperwoods face and the latter turned irritably away He is showing off for the benefit of his future he whispered to Steger I wish you could tell the jury that
I wish I could replied Steger smiling scornfully but my hour is over
Why continued Mr Shannon turning once more to the jury think of the colossal wolfish nerve that would permit a man to say to Albert Stires that he had just purchased sixty thousand dollars worth additional of city loan and that he would then and there take the check for it Had he actually purchased this city loan as he said he had Who can tell Could any human being wind through all the mazes of the complicated bookkeeping system which he ran and actually tell The best answer to that is that if he did purchase the certificates he intended that it should make no difference to the city for he made no effort to put the certificates in the sinkingfund where they belonged His counsel says and he says that he didnt have to until the first of the month although the law says that he must do it at once and he knew well enough that legally he was bound to do it His counsel says and he says that he didnt know he was going to fail Hence there was no need of worrying about it I wonder if any of you gentlemen really believed that Had he ever asked for a check like that so quick before in his life In all the history of these nefarious transactions was there another incident like that You know there wasnt He had never before on any occasion asked personally for a check for anything in this office and yet on this occasion he did it Why Why should he ask for it this time A few hours more according to his own statement wouldnt have made any difference one way or the other would it He could have sent a boy for it as usual That was the way it had always been done before Why anything different now Ill tell you why Shannon suddenly shouted varying his voice tremendously Ill tell you why He knew that he was a ruined man He knew that his last semilegitimate avenue of escape—the favor of George W Stener—had been closed to him He knew that honestly by open agreement he could not extract another single dollar from the treasury of the city of Philadelphia He knew that if he left the office without this check and sent a boy for it the aroused city treasurer would have time to inform his clerks and that then no further money could be obtained Thats why Thats why gentlemen if you really want to know
Now gentlemen of the jury I am about done with my arraignment of this fine honorable virtuous citizen whom the counsel for the defense Mr Steger tells you you cannot possibly convict without doing a great injustice All I have to say is that you look to me like sane intelligent men—just the sort of men that I meet everywhere in the ordinary walks of life doing an honorable American business in an honorable American way Now gentlemen of the jury he was very softspoken now all I have to say is that if after all you have heard and seen here today you still think that Mr Frank A Cowperwood is an honest honorable man—that he didnt steal willfully and knowingly sixty thousand dollars from the Philadelphia city treasury that he had actually bought the certificates he said he had and had intended to put them in the sinkingfund as he said he did then dont you dare to do anything except turn him loose and that speedily so that he can go on back today into Third Street and start to straighten out his muchentangled financial affairs It is the only thing for honest conscientious men to do—to turn him instantly loose into the heart of this community so that some of the rank injustice that my opponent Mr Steger alleges has been done him will be a little made up to him You owe him if that is the way you feel a prompt acknowledgment of his innocence Dont worry about George W Stener His guilt is established by his own confession He admits he is guilty He will be sentenced without trial later on But this man—he says he is an honest honorable man He says he didnt think he was going to fail He says he used all that threatening compelling terrifying language not because he was in danger of failing but because he didnt want the bother of looking further for aid What do you think Do you really think that he had purchased sixty thousand dollars more of certificates for the sinkingfund and that he was entitled to the money If so why didnt he put them in the sinkingfund Theyre not there now and the sixty thousand dollars is gone Who got it The Girard National Bank where he was overdrawn to the extent of one hundred thousand dollars Did it get it and forty thousand dollars more in other checks and certificates Certainly Why Do you suppose the Girard National Bank might be in any way grateful for this last little favor before he closed his doors Do you think that President Davison whom you saw here testifying so kindly in this case feels at all friendly and that that may possibly—I dont say that it does—explain his very kindly interpretation of Mr Cowperwoods condition It might be You can think as well along that line as I can Anyhow gentlemen President Davison says Mr Cowperwood is an honorable honest man and so does his counsel Mr Steger You have heard the testimony Now you think it over If you want to turn him loose—turn him loose He waved his hand wearily Youre the judges I wouldnt but then I am merely a hardworking lawyer—one person one opinion You may think differently—thats your business He waved his hand suggestively almost contemptuously However Im through and I thank you for your courtesy Gentlemen the decision rests with you
He turned away grandly and the jury stirred—so did the idle spectators in the court Judge Payderson sighed a sigh of relief It was now quite dark and the flaring gas forms in the court were all brightly lighted Outside one could see that it was snowing The judge stirred among his papers wearily and turning to the jurors solemnly began his customary explanation of the law after which they filed out to the juryroom
Cowperwood turned to his father who now came over across the fastemptying court and said
Well well know now in a little while
Yes replied Cowperwood Sr a little wearily I hope it comes out right I saw Butler back there a little while ago
Did you queried Cowperwood to whom this had a peculiar interest
Yes replied his father Hes just gone
So Cowperwood thought Butler was curious enough as to his fate to want to come here and watch him tried Shannon was his tool Judge Payderson was his emissary in a way He Cowperwood might defeat him in the matter of his daughter but it was not so easy to defeat him here unless the jury should happen to take a sympathetic attitude They might convict him and then Butlers Judge Payderson would have the privilege of sentencing him—giving him the maximum sentence That would not be so nice—five years He cooled a little as he thought of it but there was no use worrying about what had not yet happened Steger came forward and told him that his bail was now ended—had been the moment the jury left the room—and that he was at this moment actually in the care of the sheriff of whom he knew—Sheriff Adlai Jaspers Unless he were acquitted by the jury Steger added he would have to remain in the sheriffs care until an application for a certificate of reasonable doubt could be made and acted upon
It would take all of five days Frank Steger said but Jaspers isnt a bad sort Hed be reasonable Of course if were lucky you wont have to visit him You will have to go with this bailiff now though Then if things come out right well go home Say Id like to win this case he said Id like to give them the laugh and see you do it I consider youve been pretty badly treated and I think I made that perfectly clear I can reverse this verdict on a dozen grounds if they happen to decide against you
He and Cowperwood and the latters father now stalked off with the sheriffs subordinate—a small man by the name of Eddie Zanders who had approached to take charge They entered a small room called the pen at the back of the court where all those on trial whose liberty had been forfeited by the jurys leaving the room had to wait pending its return It was a dreary highceiled foursquare place with a window looking out into Chestnut Street and a second door leading off into somewhere—one had no idea where It was dingy with a worn wooden floor some heavy plain wooden benches lining the four sides no pictures or ornaments of any kind A single twoarm gaspipe descended from the center of the ceiling It was permeated by a peculiarly stale and pungent odor obviously redolent of all the flotsam and jetsam of life—criminal and innocent—that had stood or sat in here from time to time waiting patiently to learn what a deliberating fate held in store
Cowperwood was of course disgusted but he was too selfreliant and capable to show it All his life he had been immaculate almost fastidious in his care of himself Here he was coming perforce in contact with a form of life which jarred upon him greatly Steger who was beside him made some comforting explanatory apologetic remarks
Not as nice as it might be he said but you wont mind waiting a little while The jury wont be long I fancy
That may not help me he replied walking to the window Afterward he added What must be must be
His father winced Suppose Frank was on the verge of a long prison term which meant an atmosphere like this Heavens For a moment he trembled then for the first time in years he made a silent prayer
Chapter XLIV
Meanwhile the great argument had been begun in the juryroom and all the points that had been meditatively speculated upon in the jurybox were now being openly discussed
It is amazingly interesting to see how a jury will waver and speculate in a case like this—how curious and uncertain is the process by which it makes up its socalled mind Socalled truth is a nebulous thing at best facts are capable of such curious inversion and interpretation honest and otherwise The jury had a strongly complicated problem before it and it went over it and over it
Juries reach not so much definite conclusions as verdicts in a curious fashion and for curious reasons Very often a jury will have concluded little so far as its individual members are concerned and yet it will have reached a verdict The matter of time as all lawyers know plays a part in this Juries speaking of the members collectively and frequently individually object to the amount of time it takes to decide a case They do not enjoy sitting and deliberating over a problem unless it is tremendously fascinating The ramifications or the mystery of a syllogism can become a weariness and a bore The juryroom itself may and frequently does become a dull agony
On the other hand no jury contemplates a disagreement with any degree of satisfaction There is something so inherently constructive in the human mind that to leave a problem unsolved is plain misery It haunts the average individual like any other important task left unfinished Men in a juryroom like those scientifically demonstrated atoms of a crystal which scientists and philosophers love to speculate upon like finally to arrange themselves into an orderly and artistic whole to present a compact intellectual front to be whatever they have set out to be properly and rightly—a compact sensible jury One sees this same instinct magnificently displayed in every other phase of nature—in the drifting of seawood to the Sargasso Sea in the geometric interrelation of airbubbles on the surface of still water in the marvelous unreasoned architecture of so many insects and atomic forms which make up the substance and the texture of this world It would seem as though the physical substance of life—this apparition of form which the eye detects and calls real were shot through with some vast subtlety that loves order that is order The atoms of our socalled being in spite of our socalled reason—the dreams of a mood—know where to go and what to do They represent an order a wisdom a willing that is not of us They build orderly in spite of us So the subconscious spirit of a jury At the same time one does not forget the strange hypnotic effect of one personality on another the varying effects of varying types on each other until a solution—to use the word in its purely chemical sense—is reached In a juryroom the thought or determination of one or two or three men if it be definite enough is likely to pervade the whole room and conquer the reason or the opposition of the majority One man standing out for the definite thought that is in him is apt to become either the triumphant leader of a pliant mass or the brutally battered target of a flaming concentrated intellectual fire Men despise dull opposition that is without reason In a juryroom of all places a man is expected to give a reason for the faith that is in him—if one is demanded It will not do to say I cannot agree Jurors have been known to fight Bitter antagonisms lasting for years have been generated in these close quarters Recalcitrant jurors have been hounded commercially in their local spheres for their unreasoned oppositions or conclusions
After reaching the conclusion that Cowperwood unquestionably deserved some punishment there was wrangling as to whether the verdict should be guilty on all four counts as charged in the indictment Since they did not understand how to differentiate between the various charges very well they decided it should be on all four and a recommendation to mercy added Afterward this last was eliminated however either he was guilty or he was not The judge could see as well as they could all the extenuating circumstances—perhaps better Why tie his hands As a rule no attention was paid to such recommendations anyhow and it only made the jury look wabbly
So finally at ten minutes after twelve that night they were ready to return a verdict and Judge Payderson who because of his interest in the case and the fact that he lived not so far away had decided to wait up this long was recalled Steger and Cowperwood were sent for The courtroom was fully lighted The bailiff the clerk and the stenographer were there The jury filed in and Cowperwood with Steger at his right took his position at the gate which gave into the railed space where prisoners always stand to hear the verdict and listen to any commentary of the judge He was accompanied by his father who was very nervous
For the first time in his life he felt as though he were walking in his sleep Was this the real Frank Cowperwood of two months before—so wealthy so progressive so sure Was this only December 5th or 6th now it was after midnight Why was it the jury had deliberated so long What did it mean Here they were now standing and gazing solemnly before them and here now was Judge Payderson mounting the steps of his rostrum his frizzled hair standing out in a strange attractive way his familiar bailiff rapping for order He did not look at Cowperwood—it would not be courteous—but at the jury who gazed at him in return At the words of the clerk Gentlemen of the jury have you agreed upon a verdict the foreman spoke up We have
Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty
We find the defendant guilty as charged in the indictment
How had they come to do this Because he had taken a check for sixty thousand dollars which did not belong to him But in reality it did Good Lord what was sixty thousand dollars in the sum total of all the money that had passed back and forth between him and George W Stener Nothing nothing A mere bagatelle in its way and yet here it had risen up this miserable insignificant check and become a mountain of opposition a stone wall a prisonwall barring his further progress It was astonishing He looked around him at the courtroom How large and bare and cold it was Still he was Frank A Cowperwood Why should he let such queer thoughts disturb him His fight for freedom and privilege and restitution was not over yet Good heavens It had only begun In five days he would be out again on bail Steger would take an appeal He would be out and he would have two long months in which to make an additional fight He was not down yet He would win his liberty This jury was all wrong A higher court would say so It would reverse their verdict and he knew it He turned to Steger where the latter was having the clerk poll the jury in the hope that some one juror had been overpersuaded made to vote against his will
Is that your verdict he heard the clerk ask of Philip Moultrie juror No 1
It is replied that worthy solemnly
Is that your verdict The clerk was pointing to Simon Glassberg
Yes sir
Is that your verdict He pointed to Fletcher Norton
Yes
So it went through the whole jury All the men answered firmly and clearly though Steger thought it might barely be possible that one would have changed his mind The judge thanked them and told them that in view of their long services this night they were dismissed for the term The only thing remaining to be done now was for Steger to persuade Judge Payderson to grant a stay of sentence pending the hearing of a motion by the State Supreme Court for a new trial
The Judge looked at Cowperwood very curiously as Steger made this request in proper form and owing to the importance of the case and the feeling he had that the Supreme Court might very readily grant a certificate of reasonable doubt in this case he agreed There was nothing left therefore but for Cowperwood to return at this late hour with the deputy sheriff to the county jail where he must now remain for five days at least—possibly longer
The jail in question which was known locally as Moyamensing Prison was located at Tenth and Reed Streets and from an architectural and artistic point of view was not actually displeasing to the eye It consisted of a central portion—prison residence for the sheriff or what you will—three stories high with a battlemented cornice and a round battlemented tower about onethird as high as the central portion itself and two wings each two stories high with battlemented turrets at either end giving it a highly castellated and consequently from the American point of view a very prisonlike appearance The facade of the prison which was not more than thirtyfive feet high for the central portion nor more than twentyfive feet for the wings was set back at least a hundred feet from the street and was continued at either end from the wings to the end of the street block by a stone wall all of twenty feet high The structure was not severely prisonlike for the central portion was pierced by rather large unbarred apertures hung on the two upper stories with curtains and giving the whole front a rather pleasant and residential air The wing to the right as one stood looking in from the street was the section known as the county jail proper and was devoted to the care of prisoners serving shortterm sentences on some judicial order The wing to the left was devoted exclusively to the care and control of untried prisoners The whole building was built of a smooth lightcolored stone which on a snowy night like this with the few lamps that were used in it glowing feebly in the dark presented an eery fantastic almost supernatural appearance
It was a rough and blowy night when Cowperwood started for this institution under duress The wind was driving the snow before it in curious interesting whirls Eddie Zanders the sheriffs deputy on guard at the court of Quarter Sessions accompanied him and his father and Steger Zanders was a little man dark with a short stubby mustache and a shrewd though not highly intelligent eye He was anxious first to uphold his dignity as a deputy sheriff which was a very important position in his estimation and next to turn an honest penny if he could He knew little save the details of his small world which consisted of accompanying prisoners to and from the courts and the jails and seeing that they did not get away He was not unfriendly to a particular type of prisoner—the welltodo or moderately prosperous—for he had long since learned that it paid to be so Tonight he offered a few sociable suggestions—viz that it was rather rough that the jail was not so far but that they could walk and that Sheriff Jaspers would in all likelihood be around or could be aroused Cowperwood scarcely heard He was thinking of his mother and his wife and of Aileen
When the jail was reached he was led to the central portion as it was here that the sheriff Adlai Jaspers had his private office Jaspers had recently been elected to office and was inclined to conform to all outward appearances in so far as the proper conduct of his office was concerned without in reality inwardly conforming Thus it was generally known among the politicians that one way he had of fattening his rather lean salary was to rent private rooms and grant special privileges to prisoners who had the money to pay for the same Other sheriffs had done it before him In fact when Jaspers was inducted into office several prisoners were already enjoying these privileges and it was not a part of his scheme of things to disturb them The rooms that he let to the right parties as he invariably put it were in the central portion of the jail where were his own private living quarters They were unbarred and not at all celllike There was no particular danger of escape for a guard stood always at his private door instructed to keep an eye on the general movements of all the inmates A prisoner so accommodated was in many respects quite a free person His meals were served to him in his room if he wished He could read or play cards or receive guests and if he had any favorite musical instrument that was not denied him There was just one rule that had to be complied with If he were a public character and any newspaper men called he had to be brought downstairs into the private interviewing room in order that they might not know that he was not confined in a cell like any other prisoner
Nearly all of these facts had been brought to Cowperwoods attention beforehand by Steger but for all that when he crossed the threshold of the jail a peculiar sensation of strangeness and defeat came over him He and his party were conducted to a little office to the left of the entrance where were only a desk and a chair dimly lighted by a lowburning gasjet Sheriff Jaspers rotund and ruddy met them greeting them in quite a friendly way Zanders was dismissed and went briskly about his affairs
A bad night isnt it observed Jaspers turning up the gas and preparing to go through the routine of registering his prisoner Steger came over and held a short private conversation with him in his corner over his desk which resulted presently in the sheriffs face lighting up
Oh certainly certainly Thats all right Mr Steger to be sure Why certainly
Cowperwood eyeing the fat sheriff from his position understood what it was all about He had regained completely his critical attitude his cool intellectual poise So this was the jail and this was the fat mediocrity of a sheriff who was to take care of him Very good He would make the best of it He wondered whether he was to be searched—prisoners usually were—but he soon discovered that he was not to be
Thats all right Mr Cowperwood said Jaspers getting up I guess I can make you comfortable after a fashion Were not running a hotel here as you know—he chuckled to himself—but I guess I can make you comfortable John he called to a sleepy factotum who appeared from another room rubbing his eyes is the key to Number Six down here
Yes sir
Let me have it
John disappeared and returned while Steger explained to Cowperwood that anything he wanted in the way of clothing etc could be brought in Steger himself would stop round next morning and confer with him as would any of the members of Cowperwoods family whom he wished to see Cowperwood immediately explained to his father his desire for as little of this as possible Joseph or Edward might come in the morning and bring a grip full of underwear etc but as for the others let them wait until he got out or had to remain permanently He did think of writing Aileen cautioning her to do nothing but the sheriff now beckoned and he quietly followed Accompanied by his father and Steger he ascended to his new room
It was a simple whitewalled chamber fifteen by twenty feet in size rather highceiled supplied with a highbacked yellow wooden bed a yellow bureau a small imitationcherry table three very ordinary caneseated chairs with carved hickoryrod backs cherrystained also and a washstand of yellowstained wood to match the bed containing a washbasin a pitcher a soapdish uncovered and a small cheap pinkflowered tooth and shaving brush mug which did not match the other ware and which probably cost ten cents The value of this room to Sheriff Jaspers was what he could get for it in cases like this—twentyfive to thirtyfive dollars a week Cowperwood would pay thirtyfive
Cowperwood walked briskly to the window which gave out on the lawn in front now embedded in snow and said he thought this was all right Both his father and Steger were willing and anxious to confer with him for hours if he wished but there was nothing to say He did not wish to talk
Let Ed bring in some fresh linen in the morning and a couple of suits of clothes and I will be all right George can get my things together He was referring to a family servant who acted as valet and in other capacities Tell Lillian not to worry Im all right Id rather she would not come here so long as Im going to be out in five days If Im not it will be time enough then Kiss the kids for me And he smiled goodnaturedly
After his unfulfilled predictions in regard to the result of this preliminary trial Steger was almost afraid to suggest confidently what the State Supreme Court would or would not do but he had to say something
I dont think you need worry about what the outcome of my appeal will be Frank Ill get a certificate of reasonable doubt and thats as good as a stay of two months perhaps longer I dont suppose the bail will be more than thirty thousand dollars at the outside Youll be out again in five or six days whatever happens
Cowperwood said that he hoped so and suggested that they drop matters for the night After a few fruitless parleys his father and Steger finally said good night leaving him to his own private reflections He was tired however and throwing off his clothes tucked himself in his mediocre bed and was soon fast asleep
Chapter XLV
Say what one will about prison life in general modify it ever so much by special chambers obsequious turnkeys a general tendency to make one as comfortable as possible a jail is a jail and there is no getting away from that Cowperwood in a room which was not in any way inferior to that of the ordinary boardinghouse was nevertheless conscious of the character of that section of this real prison which was not yet his portion He knew that there were cells there probably greasy and smelly and vermininfested and that they were enclosed by heavy iron bars which would have as readily clanked on him as on those who were now therein incarcerated if he had not had the price to pay for something better So much for the alleged equality of man he thought which gave to one man even within the grim confines of the machinery of justice such personal liberty as he himself was now enjoying and to another because he chanced to lack wit or presence or friends or wealth denied the more comfortable things which money would buy
The morning after the trial on waking he stirred curiously and then it suddenly came to him that he was no longer in the free and comfortable atmosphere of his own bedroom but in a jailcell or rather its very comfortable substitute a sheriffs rented bedroom He got up and looked out the window The ground outside and Passayunk Avenue were white with snow Some wagons were silently lumbering by A few Philadelphians were visible here and there going to and fro on morning errands He began to think at once what he must do how he must act to carry on his business to rehabilitate himself and as he did so he dressed and pulled the bellcord which had been indicated to him and which would bring him an attendant who would build him a fire and later bring him something to eat A shabby prison attendant in a blue uniform conscious of Cowperwoods superiority because of the room he occupied laid wood and coal in the grate and started a fire and later brought him his breakfast which was anything but prison fare though poor enough at that
After that he was compelled to wait in patience several hours in spite of the sheriffs assumption of solicitous interest before his brother Edward was admitted with his clothes An attendant for a consideration brought him the morning papers and these except for the financial news he read indifferently Late in the afternoon Steger arrived saying he had been busy having certain proceedings postponed but that he had arranged with the sheriff for Cowperwood to be permitted to see such of those as had important business with him
By this time Cowperwood had written Aileen under no circumstances to try to see him as he would be out by the tenth and that either that day or shortly after they would meet As he knew she wanted greatly to see him but he had reason to believe she was under surveillance by detectives employed by her father This was not true but it was preying on her fancy and combined with some derogatory remarks dropped by Owen and Callum at the dinner table recently had proved almost too much for her fiery disposition But because of Cowperwoods letter reaching her at the Calligans she made no move until she read on the morning of the tenth that Cowperwoods plea for a certificate of reasonable doubt had been granted and that he would once more for the time being at least be a free man This gave her courage to do what she had long wanted to do and that was to teach her father that she could get along without him and that he could not make her do anything she did not want to do She still had the two hundred dollars Cowperwood had given her and some additional cash of her own—perhaps three hundred and fifty dollars in all This she thought would be sufficient to see her to the end of her adventure or at least until she could make some other arrangement for her personal wellbeing From what she knew of the feeling of her family for her she felt that the agony would all be on their side not hers Perhaps when her father saw how determined she was he would decide to let her alone and make peace with her She was determined to try it anyhow and immediately sent word to Cowperwood that she was going to the Calligans and would welcome him to freedom
In a way Cowperwood was rather gratified by Aileens message for he felt that his present plight bitter as it was was largely due to Butlers opposition and he felt no compunction in striking him through his daughter His former feeling as to the wisdom of not enraging Butler had proved rather futile he thought and since the old man could not be placated it might be just as well to have Aileen demonstrate to him that she was not without resources of her own and could live without him She might force him to change his attitude toward her and possibly even to modify some of his political machinations against him Cowperwood Any port in a storm—and besides he had now really nothing to lose and instinct told him that her move was likely to prove more favorable than otherwise—so he did nothing to prevent it
She took her jewels some underwear a couple of dresses which she thought would be serviceable and a few other things and packed them in the most capacious portmanteau she had Shoes and stockings came into consideration and despite her efforts she found that she could not get in all that she wished Her nicest hat which she was determined to take had to be carried outside She made a separate bundle of it which was not pleasant to contemplate Still she decided to take it She rummaged in a little drawer where she kept her money and jewels and found the three hundred and fifty dollars and put it in her purse It wasnt much as Aileen could herself see but Cowperwood would help her If he did not arrange to take care of her and her father would not relent she would have to get something to do Little she knew of the steely face the world presents to those who have not been practically trained and are not economically efficient She did not understand the bitter reaches of life at all She waited humming for effect until she heard her father go downstairs to dinner on this tenth day of December then leaned over the upper balustrade to make sure that Owen Callum Norah and her mother were at the table and that Katy the housemaid was not anywhere in sight Then she slipped into her fathers den and taking a note from inside her dress laid it on his desk and went out It was addressed to Father and read
Dear Father—I just cannot do what you want me to I have
made up my mind that I love Mr Cowperwood too much so I am
going away Dont look for me with him You wont find me
where you think I am not going to him I will not be
there I am going to try to get along by myself for a
while until he wants me and can marry me Im terribly
sorry but I just cant do what you want I cant ever
forgive you for the way you acted to me Tell mama and Norah
and the boys goodby for me
Aileen
To insure its discovery she picked up Butlers heavyrimmed spectacles which he employed always when reading and laid them on it For a moment she felt very strange somewhat like a thief—a new sensation for her She even felt a momentary sense of ingratitude coupled with pain Perhaps she was doing wrong Her father had been very good to her Her mother would feel so very bad Norah would be sorry and Callum and Owen Still they did not understand her any more She was resentful of her fathers attitude He might have seen what the point was but no he was too old too hidebound in religion and conventional ideas—he never would He might never let her come back Very well she would get along somehow She would show him She might get a place as a schoolteacher and live with the Calligans a long while if necessary or teach music
She stole downstairs and out into the vestibule opening the outer door and looking out into the street The lamps were already flaring in the dark and a cool wind was blowing Her portmanteau was heavy but she was quite strong She walked briskly to the corner which was some fifty feet away and turned south walking rather nervously and irritably for this was a new experience for her and it all seemed so undignified so unlike anything she was accustomed to doing She put her bag down on a street corner finally to rest A boy whistling in the distance attracted her attention and as he drew near she called to him Boy Oh boy
He came over looking at her curiously
Do you want to earn some money
Yes maam he replied politely adjusting a frowsy cap over one ear
Carry this bag for me said Aileen and he picked it up and marched off
In due time she arrived at the Calligans and amid much excitement was installed in the bosom of her new home She took her situation with much nonchalance once she was properly placed distributing her toilet articles and those of personal wear with quiet care The fact that she was no longer to have the services of Kathleen the maid who had served her and her mother and Norah jointly was odd though not trying She scarcely felt that she had parted from these luxuries permanently and so made herself comfortable
Mamie Calligan and her mother were adoring slaveys so she was not entirely out of the atmosphere which she craved and to which she was accustomed
Chapter XLVI
Meanwhile in the Butler home the family was assembling for dinner Mrs Butler was sitting in rotund complacency at the foot of the table her gray hair combed straight back from her round shiny forehead She had on a darkgray silk dress trimmed with grayandwhite striped ribbon It suited her florid temperament admirably Aileen had dictated her mothers choice and had seen that it had been properly made Norah was refreshingly youthful in a palegreen dress with redvelvet cuffs and collar She looked young slender gay Her eyes complexion and hair were fresh and healthy She was trifling with a string of coral beads which her mother had just given her
Oh look Callum she said to her brother opposite her who was drumming idly on the table with his knife and fork Arent they lovely Mama gave them to me
Mama does more for you than I would You know what youd get from me dont you
What
He looked at her teasingly For answer Norah made a face at him Just then Owen came in and took his place at the table Mrs Butler saw Norahs grimace
Well thatll win no love from your brother ye can depend on that she commented
Lord what a day observed Owen wearily unfolding his napkin Ive had my fill of work for once
Whats the trouble queried his mother feelingly
No real trouble mother he replied Just everything—ducks and drakes thats all
Well ye must ate a good hearty meal now and thatll refresh ye observed his mother genially and feelingly Thompson—she was referring to the family grocer—brought us the last of his beans You must have some of those
Sure beansll fix it whatever it is Owen joked Callum Mothers got the answer
Theyre fine Id have ye know replied Mrs Butler quite unconscious of the joke
No doubt of it mother replied Callum Real brainfood Lets feed some to Norah
Youd better eat some yourself smarty My but youre gay I suppose youre going out to see somebody Thats why
Right you are Norah Smart girl you Five or six Ten to fifteen minutes each Id call on you if you were nicer
You would if you got the chance mocked Norah Id have you know I wouldnt let you Id feel very bad if I couldnt get somebody better than you
As good as you mean corrected Callum
Children children interpolated Mrs Butler calmly looking about for old John the servant Youll be losin your tempers in a minute Hush now Here comes your father Wheres Aileen
Butler walked heavily in and took his seat
John the servant appeared bearing a platter of beans among other things and Mrs Butler asked him to send some one to call Aileen
Its gettin colder Im thinkin said Butler by way of conversation and eyeing Aileens empty chair She would come soon now—his heavy problem He had been very tactful these last two months—avoiding any reference to Cowperwood in so far as he could help in her presence
Its colder remarked Owen much colder Well soon see real winter now
Old John began to offer the various dishes in order but when all had been served Aileen had not yet come
See where Aileen is John observed Mrs Butler interestedly The meal will be gettin cold
Old John returned with the news that Aileen was not in her room
Sure she must be somewhere commented Mrs Butler only slightly perplexed Shell be comin though never mind if she wants to She knows its mealtime
The conversation drifted from a new waterworks that was being planned to the new city hall then nearing completion Cowperwoods financial and social troubles and the state of the stock market generally a new goldmine in Arizona the departure of Mrs Mollenhauer the following Tuesday for Europe with appropriate comments by Norah and Callum and a Christmas ball that was going to be given for charity
Aileenll be wantin to go to that commented Mrs Butler
Im going you bet put in Norah
Whos going to take you asked Callum
Thats my affair mister she replied smartly
The meal was over and Mrs Butler strolled up to Aileens room to see why she had not come down to dinner Butler entered his den wishing so much that he could take his wife into his confidence concerning all that was worrying him On his desk as he sat down and turned up the light he saw the note He recognized Aileens handwriting at once What could she mean by writing him A sense of the untoward came to him and he tore it open slowly and putting on his glasses contemplated it solemnly
So Aileen was gone The old man stared at each word as if it had been written in fire She said she had not gone with Cowperwood It was possible just the same that he had run away from Philadelphia and taken her with him This was the last straw This ended it Aileen lured away from home—to where—to what Butler could scarcely believe though that Cowperwood had tempted her to do this He had too much at stake it would involve his own and Butlers families The papers would be certain to get it quickly He got up crumpling the paper in his hand and turned about at a noise His wife was coming in He pulled himself together and shoved the letter in his pocket
Aileens not in her room she said curiously She didnt say anything to you about going out did she
No he replied truthfully wondering how soon he should have to tell his wife
Thats odd observed Mrs Butler doubtfully She must have gone out after somethin Its a wonder she wouldnt tell somebody
Butler gave no sign He dared not Shell be back he said more in order to gain time than anything else He was sorry to have to pretend Mrs Butler went out and he closed the door Then he took out the letter and read it again The girl was crazy She was doing an absolutely wild inhuman senseless thing Where could she go except to Cowperwood She was on the verge of a public scandal and this would produce it There was just one thing to do as far as he could see Cowperwood if he were still in Philadelphia would know He would go to him—threaten cajole actually destroy him if necessary Aileen must come back She need not go to Europe perhaps but she must come back and behave herself at least until Cowperwood could legitimately marry her That was all he could expect now She would have to wait and some day perhaps he could bring himself to accept her wretched proposition Horrible thought It would kill her mother disgrace her sister He got up took down his hat put on his overcoat and started out
Arriving at the Cowperwood home he was shown into the receptionroom Cowperwood at the time was in his den looking over some private papers When the name of Butler was announced he immediately went downstairs It was characteristic of the man that the announcement of Butlers presence created no stir in him whatsoever So Butler had come That meant of course that Aileen had gone Now for a battle not of words but of weights of personalities He felt himself to be intellectually socially and in every other way the more powerful man of the two That spiritual content of him which we call life hardened to the texture of steel He recalled that although he had told his wife and his father that the politicians of whom Butler was one were trying to make a scapegoat of him Butler nevertheless was not considered to be wholly alienated as a friend and civility must prevail He would like very much to placate him if he could to talk out the hard facts of life in a quiet and friendly way But this matter of Aileen had to be adjusted now once and for all And with that thought in his mind he walked quickly into Butlers presence
The old man when he learned that Cowperwood was in and would see him determined to make his contact with the financier as short and effective as possible He moved the least bit when he heard Cowperwoods step as light and springy as ever
Good evening Mr Butler said Cowperwood cheerfully when he saw him extending his hand What can I do for you
Ye can take that away from in front of me for one thing said Butler grimly referring to his hand I have no need of it Its my daughter Ive come to talk to ye about and I want plain answers Where is she
You mean Aileen said Cowperwood looking at him with steady curious unrevealing eyes and merely interpolating this to obtain a moment for reflection What can I tell you about her
Ye can tell me where she is that I know And ye can make her come back to her home where she belongs It was bad fortune that ever brought ye across my doorstep but Ill not bandy words with ye here Yell tell me where my daughter is and yell leave her alone from now or Ill— The old mans fists closed like a vise and his chest heaved with suppressed rage Yell not be drivin me too far man if yere wise he added after a time recovering his equanimity in part I want no truck with ye I want my daughter
Listen Mr Butler said Cowperwood quite calmly relishing the situation for the sheer sense of superiority it gave him I want to be perfectly frank with you if you will let me I may know where your daughter is and I may not I may wish to tell you and I may not She may not wish me to But unless you wish to talk with me in a civil way there is no need of our going on any further You are privileged to do what you like Wont you come upstairs to my room We can talk more comfortably there
Butler looked at his former protege in utter astonishment He had never before in all his experience come up against a more ruthless type—suave bland forceful unterrified This man had certainly come to him as a sheep and had turned out to be a ravening wolf His incarceration had not put him in the least awe
Ill not come up to your room Butler said and yell not get out of Philadelphy with her if thats what yere plannin I can see to that Ye think ye have the upper hand of me I see and yere anxious to make something of it Well yere not It wasnt enough that ye come to me as a beggar cravin the help of me and that I took ye in and helped ye all I could—ye had to steal my daughter from me in the bargain If it wasnt for the girls mother and her sister and her brothers—dacenter men than ever yell know how to be—Id brain ye where ye stand Takin a young innocent girl and makin an evil woman out of her and ye a married man Its a Gods blessin for ye that its me and not one of me sons thats here talkin to ye or ye wouldnt be alive to say what yed do
The old man was grim but impotent in his rage
Im sorry Mr Butler replied Cowperwood quietly Im willing to explain but you wont let me Im not planning to run away with your daughter nor to leave Philadelphia You ought to know me well enough to know that Im not contemplating anything of that kind my interests are too large You and I are practical men We ought to be able to talk this matter over together and reach an understanding I thought once of coming to you and explaining this but I was quite sure you wouldnt listen to me Now that you are here I would like to talk to you If you will come up to my room I will be glad to—otherwise not Wont you come up
Butler saw that Cowperwood had the advantage He might as well go up Otherwise it was plain he would get no information
Very well he said
Cowperwood led the way quite amicably and having entered his private office closed the door behind him
We ought to be able to talk this matter over and reach an understanding he said again when they were in the room and he had closed the door I am not as bad as you think though I know I appear very bad Butler stared at him in contempt I love your daughter and she loves me I know you are asking yourself how I can do this while I am still married but I assure you I can and that I do I am not happily married I had expected if this panic hadnt come along to arrange with my wife for a divorce and marry Aileen My intentions are perfectly good The situation which you can complain of of course is the one you encountered a few weeks ago It was indiscreet but it was entirely human Your daughter does not complain—she understands At the mention of his daughter in this connection Butler flushed with rage and shame but he controlled himself
And ye think because she doesnt complain that its all right do ye he asked sarcastically
From my point of view yes from yours no You have one view of life Mr Butler and I have another
Yere right there put in Butler for once anyhow
That doesnt prove that either of us is right or wrong In my judgment the present end justifies the means The end I have in view is to marry Aileen If I can possibly pull myself out of this financial scrape that I am in I will do so Of course I would like to have your consent for that—so would Aileen but if we cant we cant Cowperwood was thinking that while this might not have a very soothing effect on the old contractors point of view nevertheless it must make some appeal to his sense of the possible or necessary Aileens present situation was quite unsatisfactory without marriage in view And even if he Cowperwood was a convicted embezzler in the eyes of the public that did not make him so He might get free and restore himself—would certainly—and Aileen ought to be glad to marry him if she could under the circumstances He did not quite grasp the depth of Butlers religious and moral prejudices Lately he went on you have been doing all you can as I understand it to pull me down on account of Aileen I suppose but that is simply delaying what I want to do
Yed like me to help ye do that I suppose suggested Butler with infinite disgust and patience
I want to marry Aileen Cowperwood repeated for emphasis sake She wants to marry me Under the circumstances however you may feel you can have no real objection to my doing that I am sure yet you go on fighting me—making it hard for me to do what you really know ought to be done
Yere a scoundrel said Butler seeing through his motives quite clearly Yere a sharper to my way of thinkin and its no child of mine I want connected with ye Im not sayin seein that things are as they are that if ye were a free man it wouldnt be better that she should marry ye Its the one dacent thing ye could do—if ye would which I doubt But thats nayther here nor there now What can ye want with her hid away somewhere Ye cant marry her Ye cant get a divorce Yeve got your hands full fightin your lawsuits and kapin yourself out of jail Shell only be an added expense to ye and yell be wantin all the money ye have for other things Im thinkin Why should ye want to be takin her away from a dacent home and makin something out of her that yed be ashamed to marry if you could The laist ye could do if ye were any kind of a man at all and had any of that thing that yere plased to call love would be to lave her at home and keep her as respectable as possible Mind ye Im not thinkin she isnt ten thousand times too good for ye whatever yeve made of her But if ye had any sinse of dacency left ye wouldnt let her shame her family and break her old mothers heart and that for no purpose except to make her worse than she is already What good can ye get out of it now What good can ye expect to come of it Be hivins if ye had any sinse at all I should think ye could see that for yerself Yere only addin to your troubles not takin away from them—and shell not thank ye for that later on
He stopped rather astonished that he should have been drawn into an argument His contempt for this man was so great that he could scarcely look at him but his duty and his need was to get Aileen back Cowperwood looked at him as one who gives serious attention to another He seemed to be thinking deeply over what Butler had said
To tell you the truth Mr Butler he said I did not want Aileen to leave your home at all and she will tell you so if you ever talk to her about it I did my best to persuade her not to and when she insisted on going the only thing I could do was to be sure she would be comfortable wherever she went She was greatly outraged to think you should have put detectives on her trail That and the fact that you wanted to send her away somewhere against her will was the principal reasons for her leaving I assure you I did not want her to go I think you forget sometimes Mr Butler that Aileen is a grown woman and that she has a will of her own You think I control her to her great disadvantage As a matter of fact I am very much in love with her and have been for three or four years and if you know anything about love you know that it doesnt always mean control Im not doing Aileen any injustice when I say that she has had as much influence on me as I have had on her I love her and thats the cause of all the trouble You come and insist that I shall return your daughter to you As a matter of fact I dont know whether I can or not I dont know that she would go if I wanted her to She might turn on me and say that I didnt care for her any more That is not true and I would not want her to feel that way She is greatly hurt as I told you by what you did to her and the fact that you want her to leave Philadelphia You can do as much to remedy that as I can I could tell you where she is but I do not know that I want to Certainly not until I know what your attitude toward her and this whole proposition is to be
He paused and looked calmly at the old contractor who eyed him grimly in return
What proposition are ye talkin about asked Butler interested by the peculiar developments of this argument In spite of himself he was getting a slightly different angle on the whole situation The scene was shifting to a certain extent Cowperwood appeared to be reasonably sincere in the matter His promises might all be wrong but perhaps he did love Aileen and it was possible that he did intend to get a divorce from his wife some time and marry her Divorce as Butler knew was against the rules of the Catholic Church which he so much revered The laws of God and any sense of decency commanded that Cowperwood should not desert his wife and children and take up with another woman—not even Aileen in order to save her It was a criminal thing to plan sociologically speaking and showed what a villain Cowperwood inherently was but nevertheless Cowperwood was not a Catholic his views of life were not the same as his own Butlers and besides and worst of all no doubt due in part to Aileens own temperament he had compromised her situation very materially She might not easily be restored to a sense of of the normal and decent and so the matter was worth taking into thought Butler knew that ultimately he could not countenance any such thing—certainly not and keep his faith with the Church—but he was human enough none the less to consider it Besides he wanted Aileen to come back and Aileen from now on he knew would have some say as to what her future should be
Well its simple enough replied Cowperwood I should like to have you withdraw your opposition to Aileens remaining in Philadelphia for one thing and for another I should like you to stop your attacks on me Cowperwood smiled in an ingratiating way He hoped really to placate Butler in part by his generous attitude throughout this procedure I cant make you do that of course unless you want to I merely bring it up Mr Butler because I am sure that if it hadnt been for Aileen you would not have taken the course you have taken toward me I understood you received an anonymous letter and that afternoon you called your loan with me Since then I have heard from one source and another that you were strongly against me and I merely wish to say that I wish you wouldnt be I am not guilty of embezzling any sixty thousand dollars and you know it My intentions were of the best I did not think I was going to fail at the time I used those certificates and if it hadnt been for several other loans that were called I would have gone on to the end of the month and put them back in time as I always had I have always valued your friendship very highly and I am very sorry to lose it Now I have said all I am going to say
Butler looked at Cowperwood with shrewd calculating eyes The man had some merit but much unconscionable evil in him Butler knew very well how he had taken the check and a good many other things in connection with it The manner in which he had played his cards tonight was on a par with the way he had run to him on the night of the fire He was just shrewd and calculating and heartless
Ill make ye no promise he said Tell me where my daughter is and Ill think the matter over Ye have no claim on me now and I owe ye no good turn But Ill think it over anyhow
Thats quite all right replied Cowperwood Thats all I can expect But what about Aileen Do you expect her to leave Philadelphia
Not if she settles down and behaves herself but there must be an end of this between you and her Shes disgracin her family and ruinin her soul in the bargain And thats what you are doin with yours Itll be time enough to talk about anything else when youre a free man More than that Ill not promise
Cowperwood satisfied that this move on Aileens part had done her a real service if it had not aided him especially was convinced that it would be a good move for her to return to her home at once He could not tell how his appeal to the State Supreme Court would eventuate His motion for a new trial which was now to be made under the privilege of the certificate of reasonable doubt might not be granted in which case he would have to serve a term in the penitentiary If he were compelled to go to the penitentiary she would be safer—better off in the bosom of her family His own hands were going to be exceedingly full for the next two months until he knew how his appeal was coming out And after that—well after that he would fight on whatever happened
During all the time that Cowperwood had been arguing his case in this fashion he had been thinking how he could adjust this compromise so as to retain the affection of Aileen and not offend her sensibilities by urging her to return He knew that she would not agree to give up seeing him and he was not willing that she should Unless he had a good and sufficient reason he would be playing a wretched part by telling Butler where she was He did not intend to do so until he saw exactly how to do it—the way that would make it most acceptable to Aileen He knew that she would not long be happy where she was Her flight was due in part to Butlers intense opposition to himself and in part to his determination to make her leave Philadelphia and behave but this last was now in part obviated Butler in spite of his words was no longer a stern Nemesis He was a melting man—very anxious to find his daughter very willing to forgive her He was whipped literally beaten at his own game and Cowperwood could see it in the old mans eyes If he himself could talk to Aileen personally and explain just how things were he felt sure he could make her see that it would be to their mutual advantage for the present at least to have the matter amicably settled The thing to do was to make Butler wait somewhere—here possibly—while he went and talked to her When she learned how things were she would probably acquiesce
The best thing that I can do under the circumstances he said after a time would be to see Aileen in two or three days and ask her what she wishes to do I can explain the matter to her and if she wants to go back she can I will promise to tell her anything that you say
Two or three days exclaimed Butler irritably Two or three fiddlesticks She must come home tonight Her mother doesnt know shes left the place yet Tonight is the time Ill go and fetch her meself tonight
No that wont do said Cowperwood I shall have to go myself If you wish to wait here I will see what can be done and let you know
Very well grunted Butler who was now walking up and down with his hands behind his back But for Heavens sake be quick about it Theres no time to lose He was thinking of Mrs Butler Cowperwood called the servant ordered his runabout and told George to see that his private office was not disturbed Then as Butler strolled to and fro in this to him objectionable room Cowperwood drove rapidly away
Chapter XLVII
Although it was nearly eleven oclock when he arrived at the Calligans Aileen was not yet in bed In her bedroom upstairs she was confiding to Mamie and Mrs Calligan some of her social experiences when the bell rang and Mrs Calligan went down and opened the door to Cowperwood
Miss Butler is here I believe he said Will you tell her that there is some one here from her father Although Aileen had instructed that her presence here was not to be divulged even to the members of her family the force of Cowperwoods presence and the mention of Butlers name cost Mrs Calligan her presence of mind Wait a moment she said Ill see
She stepped back and Cowperwood promptly stepped in taking off his hat with the air of one who was satisfied that Aileen was there Say to her that I only want to speak to her for a few moments he called as Mrs Calligan went upstairs raising his voice in the hope that Aileen might hear She did and came down promptly She was very much astonished to think that he should come so soon and fancied in her vanity that there must be great excitement in her home She would have greatly grieved if there had not been
The Calligans would have been pleased to hear but Cowperwood was cautious As she came down the stairs he put his finger to his lips in sign for silence and said This is Miss Butler I believe
Yes replied Aileen with a secret smile Her one desire was to kiss him Whats the trouble darling she asked softly
Youll have to go back dear Im afraid whispered Cowperwood Youll have everything in a turmoil if you dont Your mother doesnt know yet it seems and your father is over at my place now waiting for you It may be a good deal of help to me if you do Let me tell you— He went off into a complete description of his conversation with Butler and his own views in the matter Aileens expression changed from time to time as the various phases of the matter were put before her but persuaded by the clearness with which he put the matter and by his assurance that they could continue their relations as before uninterrupted once this was settled she decided to return In a way her fathers surrender was a great triumph She made her farewells to the Calligans saying with a smile that they could not do without her at home and that she would send for her belongings later and returned with Cowperwood to his own door There he asked her to wait in the runabout while he sent her father down
Well said Butler turning on him when he opened the door and not seeing Aileen
Youll find her outside in my runabout observed Cowperwood You may use that if you choose I will send my man for it
No thank you well walk said Butler
Cowperwood called his servant to take charge of the vehicle and Butler stalked solemnly out
He had to admit to himself that the influence of Cowperwood over his daughter was deadly and probably permanent The best he could do would be to keep her within the precincts of the home where she might still possibly be brought to her senses He held a very guarded conversation with her on his way home for fear that she would take additional offense Argument was out of the question
Ye might have talked with me once more Aileen he said before ye left Yer mother would be in a terrible state if she knew ye were gone She doesnt know yet Yell have to say ye stayed somewhere to dinner
I was at the Calligans replied Aileen Thats easy enough Mama wont think anything about it
Its a sore heart I have Aileen I hope yell think over your ways and do better Ill not say anythin more now
Aileen returned to her room decidedly triumphant in her mood for the moment and things went on apparently in the Butler household as before But those who imagine that this defeat permanently altered the attitude of Butler toward Cowperwood are mistaken
In the meanwhile between the day of his temporary release and the hearing of his appeal which was two months off Cowperwood was going on doing his best to repair his shattered forces He took up his work where he left off but the possibility of reorganizing his business was distinctly modified since his conviction Because of his action in trying to protect his largest creditors at the time of his failure he fancied that once he was free again if ever he got free his credit other things being equal would be good with those who could help him most—say Cooke Co Clark Co Drexel Co and the Girard National Bank—providing his personal reputation had not been too badly injured by his sentence Fortunately for his own hopefulness of mind he failed fully to realize what a depressing effect a legal decision of this character sound or otherwise had on the minds of even his most enthusiastic supporters
His best friends in the financial world were by now convinced that his was a sinking ship A student of finance once observed that nothing is so sensitive as money and the financial mind partakes largely of the quality of the thing in which it deals There was no use trying to do much for a man who might be going to prison for a term of years Something might be done for him possibly in connection with the governor providing he lost his case before the Supreme Court and was actually sentenced to prison but that was two months off or more and they could not tell what the outcome of that would be So Cowperwoods repeated appeals for assistance extension of credit or the acceptance of some plan he had for his general rehabilitation were met with the kindly evasions of those who were doubtful They would think it over They would see about it Certain things were standing in the way And so on and so forth through all the endless excuses of those who do not care to act In these days he went about the money world in his customary jaunty way greeting all those whom he had known there many years and pretending when asked to be very hopeful to be doing very well but they did not believe him and he really did not care whether they did or not His business was to persuade or overpersuade any one who could really be of assistance to him and at this task he worked untiringly ignoring all others
Why hello Frank his friends would call on seeing him How are you getting on
Fine Fine he would reply cheerfully Never better and he would explain in a general way how his affairs were being handled He conveyed much of his own optimism to all those who knew him and were interested in his welfare but of course there were many who were not
In these days also he and Steger were constantly to be met with in courts of law for he was constantly being reexamined in some petition in bankruptcy They were heartbreaking days but he did not flinch He wanted to stay in Philadelphia and fight the thing to a finish—putting himself where he had been before the fire rehabilitating himself in the eyes of the public He felt that he could do it too if he were not actually sent to prison for a long term and even then so naturally optimistic was his mood when he got out again But in so far as Philadelphia was concerned distinctly he was dreaming vain dreams
One of the things militating against him was the continued opposition of Butler and the politicians Somehow—no one could have said exactly why—the general political feeling was that the financier and the former city treasurer would lose their appeals and eventually be sentenced together Stener in spite of his original intention to plead guilty and take his punishment without comment had been persuaded by some of his political friends that it would be better for his futures sake to plead not guilty and claim that his offense had been due to custom rather than to admit his guilt outright and so seem not to have had any justification whatsoever This he did but he was convicted nevertheless For the sake of appearances a trumpedup appeal was made which was now before the State Supreme Court
Then too due to one whisper and another and these originating with the girl who had written Butler and Cowperwoods wife there was at this time a growing volume of gossip relating to the alleged relations of Cowperwood with Butlers daughter Aileen There had been a house in Tenth Street It had been maintained by Cowperwood for her No wonder Butler was so vindictive This indeed explained much And even in the practical financial world criticism was now rather against Cowperwood than his enemies For was it not a fact that at the inception of his career he had been befriended by Butler And what a way to reward that friendship His oldest and firmest admirers wagged their heads For they sensed clearly that this was another illustration of that innate I satisfy myself attitude which so regulated Cowperwoods conduct He was a strong man surely—and a brilliant one Never had Third Street seen a more pyrotechnic and yet fascinating and financially aggressive and at the same time conservative person Yet might one not fairly tempt Nemesis by a too great daring and egotism Like Death it loves a shining mark He should not perhaps have seduced Butlers daughter unquestionably he should not have so boldly taken that check especially after his quarrel and break with Stener He was a little too aggressive Was it not questionable whether—with such a record—he could be restored to his former place here The bankers and business men who were closest to him were decidedly dubious
But in so far as Cowperwood and his own attitude toward life was concerned at this time—the feeling he had—to satisfy myself—when combined with his love of beauty and love and women still made him ruthless and thoughtless Even now the beauty and delight of a girl like Aileen Butler were far more important to him than the goodwill of fifty million people if he could evade the necessity of having their goodwill Previous to the Chicago fire and the panic his star had been so rapidly ascending that in the helterskelter of great and favorable events he had scarcely taken thought of the social significance of the thing he was doing Youth and the joy of life were in his blood He felt so young so vigorous so like new grass looks and feels The freshness of spring evenings was in him and he did not care After the crash when one might have imagined he would have seen the wisdom of relinquishing Aileen for the time being anyhow he did not care to She represented the best of the wonderful days that had gone before She was a link between him and the past and a stilltobe triumphant future
His worst anxiety was that if he were sent to the penitentiary or adjudged a bankrupt or both he would probably lose the privilege of a seat on change and that would close to him the most distinguished avenue of his prosperity here in Philadelphia for some time if not forever At present because of his complications his seat had been attached as an asset and he could not act Edward and Joseph almost the only employees he could afford were still acting for him in a small way but the other members on change naturally suspected his brothers as his agents and any talk that they might raise of going into business for themselves merely indicated to other brokers and bankers that Cowperwood was contemplating some concealed move which would not necessarily be advantageous to his creditors and against the law anyhow Yet he must remain on change whatever happened potentially if not actively and so in his quick mental searchings he hit upon the idea that in order to forfend against the event of his being put into prison or thrown into bankruptcy or both he ought to form a subsidiary silent partnership with some man who was or would be well liked on change and whom he could use as a catspaw and a dummy
Finally he hit upon a man who he thought would do He did not amount to much—had a small business but he was honest and he liked Cowperwood His name was Wingate—Stephen Wingate—and he was eking out a not too robust existence in South Third Street as a broker He was fortyfive years of age of medium height fairly thickset not at all unprepossessing and rather intelligent and active but not too forceful and pushing in spirit He really needed a man like Cowperwood to make him into something if ever he was to be made He had a seat on change and was well thought of respected but not so very prosperous In times past he had asked small favors of Cowperwood—the use of small loans at a moderate rate of interest tips and so forth and Cowperwood because he liked him and felt a little sorry for him had granted them Now Wingate was slowly drifting down toward a none too successful old age and was as tractable as such a man would naturally be No one for the time being would suspect him of being a hireling of Cowperwoods and the latter could depend on him to execute his orders to the letter He sent for him and had a long conversation with him He told him just what the situation was what he thought he could do for him as a partner how much of his business he would want for himself and so on and found him agreeable
Ill be glad to do anything you say Mr Cowperwood he assured the latter I know whatever happens that youll protect me and theres nobody in the world I would rather work with or have greater respect for This storm will all blow over and youll be all right We can try it anyhow If it dont work out you can see what you want to do about it later
And so this relationship was tentatively entered into and Cowperwood began to act in a small way through Wingate
Chapter XLVIII
By the time the State Supreme Court came to pass upon Cowperwoods plea for a reversal of the lower court and the granting of a new trial the rumor of his connection with Aileen had spread far and wide As has been seen it had done and was still doing him much damage It confirmed the impression which the politicians had originally tried to create that Cowperwood was the true criminal and Stener the victim His semilegitimate financial subtlety backed indeed by his financial genius but certainly on this account not worse than that being practiced in peace and quiet and with much applause in many other quarters—was now seen to be Machiavellian trickery of the most dangerous type He had a wife and two children and without knowing what his real thoughts had been the fruitfully imaginative public jumped to the conclusion that he had been on the verge of deserting them divorcing Lillian and marrying Aileen This was criminal enough in itself from the conservative point of view but when taken in connection with his financial record his trial conviction and general bankruptcy situation the public was inclined to believe that he was all the politicians said he was He ought to be convicted The Supreme Court ought not to grant his prayer for a new trial It is thus that our inmost thoughts and intentions burst at times via no known material agency into public thoughts People know when they cannot apparently possibly know why they know There is such a thing as thoughttransference and transcendentalism of ideas
It reached for one thing the ears of the five judges of the State Supreme Court and of the Governor of the State
During the four weeks Cowperwood had been free on a certificate of reasonable doubt both Harper Steger and Dennis Shannon appeared before the judges of the State Supreme Court and argued pro and con as to the reasonableness of granting a new trial Through his lawyer Cowperwood made a learned appeal to the Supreme Court judges showing how he had been unfairly indicted in the first place how there was no real substantial evidence on which to base a charge of larceny or anything else It took Steger two hours and ten minutes to make his argument and DistrictAttorney Shannon longer to make his reply during which the five judges on the bench men of considerable legal experience but no great financial understanding listened with rapt attention Three of them Judges Smithson Rainey and Beckwith men most amenable to the political feeling of the time and the wishes of the bosses were little interested in this story of Cowperwoods transaction particularly since his relations with Butlers daughter and Butlers consequent opposition to him had come to them They fancied that in a way they were considering the whole matter fairly and impartially but the manner in which Cowperwood had treated Butler was never out of their minds Two of them Judges Marvin and Rafalsky who were men of larger sympathies and understanding but of no greater political freedom did feel that Cowperwood had been badly used thus far but they did not see what they could do about it He had put himself in a most unsatisfactory position politically and socially They understood and took into consideration his great financial and social losses which Steger described accurately and one of them Judge Rafalsky because of a similar event in his own life in so far as a girl was concerned was inclined to argue strongly against the conviction of Cowperwood but owing to his political connections and obligations he realized that it would not be wise politically to stand out against what was wanted Still when he and Marvin learned that Judges Smithson Rainey and Beckwith were inclined to convict Cowperwood without much argument they decided to hand down a dissenting opinion The point involved was a very knotty one Cowperwood might carry it to the Supreme Court of the United States on some fundamental principle of liberty of action Anyhow other judges in other courts in Pennsylvania and elsewhere would be inclined to examine the decision in this case it was so important The minority decided that it would not do them any harm to hand down a dissenting opinion The politicians would not mind as long as Cowperwood was convicted—would like it better in fact It looked fairer Besides Marvin and Rafalsky did not care to be included if they could help it with Smithson Rainey and Beckwith in a sweeping condemnation of Cowperwood So all five judges fancied they were considering the whole matter rather fairly and impartially as men will under such circumstances Smithson speaking for himself and Judges Rainey and Beckwith on the eleventh of February 1872 said
The defendant Frank A Cowperwood asks that the finding of the jury in the lower court the State of Pennsylvania vs Frank A Cowperwood be reversed and a new trial granted This court cannot see that any substantial injustice has been done the defendant Here followed a rather lengthy resume of the history of the case in which it was pointed out that the custom and precedent of the treasurers office to say nothing of Cowperwoods easy method of doing business with the city treasury could have nothing to do with his responsibility for failure to observe both the spirit and the letter of the law The obtaining of goods under color of legal process went on Judge Smithson speaking for the majority may amount to larceny In the present case it was the province of the jury to ascertain the felonious intent They have settled that against the defendant as a question of fact and the court cannot say that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict For what purpose did the defendant get the check He was upon the eve of failure He had already hypothecated for his own debts the loan of the city placed in his hands for sale—he had unlawfully obtained five hundred thousand dollars in cash as loans and it is reasonable to suppose that he could obtain nothing more from the city treasury by any ordinary means Then it is that he goes there and by means of a falsehood implied if not actual obtains sixty thousand dollars more The jury has found the intent with which this was done
It was in these words that Cowperwoods appeal for a new trial was denied by the majority
For himself and Judge Rafalsky Judge Marvin dissenting wrote
It is plain from the evidence in the case that Mr Cowperwood did not receive the check without authority as agent to do so and it has not been clearly demonstrated that within his capacity as agent he did not perform or intend to perform the full measure of the obligation which the receipt of this check implied It was shown in the trial that as a matter of policy it was understood that purchases for the sinkingfund should not be known or understood in the market or by the public in that light and that Mr Cowperwood as agent was to have an absolutely free hand in the disposal of his assets and liabilities so long as the ultimate result was satisfactory There was no particular time when the loan was to be bought nor was there any particular amount mentioned at any time to be purchased Unless the defendant intended at the time he received the check fraudulently to appropriate it he could not be convicted even on the first count The verdict of the jury does not establish this fact the evidence does not show conclusively that it could be established and the same jury upon three other counts found the defendant guilty without the semblance of shadow of evidence How can we say that their conclusions upon the first count are unerring when they so palpably erred on the other counts It is the opinion of the minority that the verdict of the jury in charging larceny on the first count is not valid and that that verdict should be set aside and a new trial granted
Judge Rafalsky a meditative and yet practical man of Jewish extraction but peculiarly American appearance felt called upon to write a third opinion which should especially reflect his own cogitation and be a criticism on the majority as well as a slight variation from and addition to the points on which he agreed with Judge Marvin It was a knotty question this of Cowperwoods guilt and aside from the political necessity of convicting him nowhere was it more clearly shown than in these varying opinions of the superior court Judge Rafalsky held for instance that if a crime had been committed at all it was not that known as larceny and he went on to add
It is impossible from the evidence to come to the conclusion either that Cowperwood did not intend shortly to deliver the loan or that Albert Stires the chief clerk or the city treasurer did not intend to part not only with the possession but also and absolutely with the property in the check and the money represented by it It was testified by Mr Stires that Mr Cowperwood said he had bought certificates of city loan to this amount and it has not been clearly demonstrated that he had not His nonplacement of the same in the sinkingfund must in all fairness the letter of the law to the contrary notwithstanding be looked upon and judged in the light of custom Was it his custom so to do In my judgment the doctrine now announced by the majority of the court extends the crime of constructive larceny to such limits that any business man who engages in extensive and perfectly legitimate stock transactions may before he knows it by a sudden panic in the market or a fire as in this instance become a felon When a principle is asserted which establishes such a precedent and may lead to such results it is to say the least startling
While he was notably comforted by the dissenting opinions of the judges in minority and while he had been schooling himself to expect the worst in this connection and had been arranging his affairs as well as he could in anticipation of it Cowperwood was still bitterly disappointed It would be untrue to say that strong and selfreliant as he normally was he did not suffer He was not without sensibilities of the highest order only they were governed and controlled in him by that cold iron thing his reason which never forsook him There was no further appeal possible save to the United States Supreme Court as Steger pointed out and there only on the constitutionality of some phase of the decision and his rights as a citizen of which the Supreme Court of the United States must take cognizance This was a tedious and expensive thing to do It was not exactly obvious at the moment on what point he could make an appeal It would involve a long delay—perhaps a year and a half perhaps longer at the end of which period he might have to serve his prison term anyhow and pending which he would certainly have to undergo incarceration for a time
Cowperwood mused speculatively for a few moments after hearing Stegers presentation of the case Then he said Well it looks as if I have to go to jail or leave the country and Ive decided on jail I can fight this out right here in Philadelphia in the long run and win I can get that decision reversed in the Supreme Court or I can get the Governor to pardon me after a time I think Im not going to run away and everybody knows Im not These people who think they have me down havent got one corner of me whipped Ill get out of this thing after a while and when I do Ill show some of these petty little politicians what it means to put up a real fight Theyll never get a damned dollar out of me now—not a dollar I did intend to pay that five hundred thousand dollars some time if they had let me go Now they can whistle
He set his teeth and his gray eyes fairly snapped their determination
Well Ive done all I can Frank pleaded Steger sympathetically Youll do me the justice to say that I put up the best fight I knew how I may not know how—youll have to answer for that—but within my limits Ive done the best I can I can do a few things more to carry this thing on if you want me to but Im going to leave it to you now Whatever you say goes
Dont talk nonsense at this stage Harper replied Cowperwood almost testily I know whether Im satisfied or not and Id soon tell you if I wasnt I think you might as well go on and see if you can find some definite grounds for carrying it to the Supreme Court but meanwhile Ill begin my sentence I suppose Payderson will be naming a day to have me brought before him now shortly
It depends on how youd like to have it Frank I could get a stay of sentence for a week maybe or ten days if it will do you any good Shannon wont make any objection to that Im sure Theres only one hitch Jaspers will be around here tomorrow looking for you Its his duty to take you into custody again once hes notified that your appeal has been denied Hell be wanting to lock you up unless you pay him but we can fix that If you do want to wait and want any time off I suppose hell arrange to let you out with a deputy but Im afraid youll have to stay there nights Theyre pretty strict about that since that Albertson case of a few years ago
Steger referred to the case of a noted bank cashier who being let out of the county jail at night in the alleged custody of a deputy was permitted to escape There had been emphatic and severe condemnation of the sheriffs office at the time and since then repute or no repute money or no money convicted criminals were supposed to stay in the county jail at night at least
Cowperwood meditated this calmly looking out of the lawyers window into Second Street He did not much fear anything that might happen to him in Jasperss charge since his first taste of that gentlemans hospitality although he did object to spending nights in the county jail when his general term of imprisonment was being reduced no whit thereby All that he could do now in connection with his affairs unless he could have months of freedom could be as well adjusted from a prison cell as from his Third Street office—not quite but nearly so Anyhow why parley He was facing a prison term and he might as well accept it without further ado He might take a day or two finally to look after his affairs but beyond that why bother
When in the ordinary course of events if you did nothing at all would I come up for sentence
Oh Friday or Monday I fancy replied Steger I dont know what move Shannon is planning to make in this matter I thought Id walk around and see him in a little while
I think youd better do that replied Cowperwood Friday or Monday will suit me either way Im really not particular Better make it Monday if you can You dont suppose there is any way you can induce Jaspers to keep his hands off until then He knows Im perfectly responsible
I dont know Frank Im sure Ill see Ill go around and talk to him tonight Perhaps a hundred dollars will make him relax the rigor of his rules that much
Cowperwood smiled grimly
I fancy a hundred dollars would make Jaspers relax a whole lot of rules he replied and he got up to go
Steger arose also Ill see both these people and then Ill call around at your house Youll be in will you after dinner
Yes
They slipped on their overcoats and went out into the cold February day Cowperwood back to his Third Street office Steger to see Shannon and Jaspers
Chapter XLIX
The business of arranging Cowperwoods sentence for Monday was soon disposed of through Shannon who had no personal objection to any reasonable delay
Steger next visited the county jail close on to five oclock when it was already dark Sheriff Jaspers came lolling out from his private library where he had been engaged upon the work of cleaning his pipe
How are you Mr Steger he observed smiling blandly How are you Glad to see you Wont you sit down I suppose youre round here again on that Cowperwood matter I just received word from the district attorney that he had lost his case
Thats it Sheriff replied Steger ingratiatingly He asked me to step around and see what you wanted him to do in the matter Judge Payderson has just fixed the sentence time for Monday morning at ten oclock I dont suppose youll be much put out if he doesnt show up here before Monday at eight oclock will you or Sunday night anyhow Hes perfectly reliable as you know Steger was sounding Jaspers out politely trying to make the time of Cowperwoods arrival a trivial matter in order to avoid paying the hundred dollars if possible But Jaspers was not to be so easily disposed of His fat face lengthened considerably How could Steger ask him such a favor and not even suggest the slightest form of remuneration
Its agin the law Mr Steger as you know he began cautiously and complainingly Id like to accommodate him everything else being equal but since that Albertson case three years ago weve had to run this office much more careful and—
Oh I know Sheriff interrupted Steger blandly but this isnt an ordinary case in any way as you can see for yourself Mr Cowperwood is a very important man and he has a great many things to attend to Now if it were only a mere matter of seventyfive or a hundred dollars to satisfy some court clerk with or to pay a fine it would be easy enough but— He paused and looked wisely away and Mr Jasperss face began to relax at once The law against which it was ordinarily so hard to offend was not now so important Steger saw that it was needless to introduce any additional arguments
Its a very ticklish business this Mr Steger put in the sheriff yieldingly and yet with a slight whimper in his voice If anything were to happen it would cost me my place all right I dont like to do it under any circumstances and I wouldnt only I happen to know both Mr Cowperwood and Mr Stener and I like em both I don think they got their rights in this matter either I dont mind making an exception in this case if Mr Cowperwood dont go about too publicly I wouldnt want any of the men in the district attorneys office to know this I dont suppose hell mind if I keep a deputy somewhere near all the time for looks sake I have to you know really under the law He wont bother him any Just keep on guard like Jaspers looked at Mr Steger very flatly and wisely—almost placatingly under the circumstances—and Steger nodded
Quite right Sheriff quite right Youre quite right and he drew out his purse while the sheriff led the way very cautiously back into his library
Id like to show you the line of lawbooks Im fixing up for myself in here Mr Steger he observed genially but meanwhile closing his fingers gently on the small roll of tendollar bills Steger was handing him We have occasional use for books of that kind here as you see I thought it a good sort of thing to have them around He waved one arm comprehensively at the line of State reports revised statutes prison regulations etc the while he put the money in his pocket and Steger pretended to look
A good idea I think Sheriff Very good indeed So you think if Mr Cowperwood gets around here very early Monday morning say eight or eightthirty that it will be all right
I think so replied the sheriff curiously nervous but agreeable anxious to please I dont think that anything will come up that will make me want him earlier If it does Ill let you know and you can produce him I dont think so though Mr Steger I think everything will be all right They were once more in the main hall now Glad to have seen you again Mr Steger—very glad he added Call again some day
Waving the sheriff a pleasant farewell he hurried on his way to Cowperwoods house
You would not have thought seeing Cowperwood mount the front steps of his handsome residence in his neat gray suit and wellcut overcoat on his return from his office that evening that he was thinking that this might be his last night here His air and walk indicated no weakening of spirit He entered the hall where an early lamp was aglow and encountered Wash Sims an old negro factotum who was just coming up from the basement carrying a bucket of coal for one of the fireplaces
Mahty cold out dis evenin Mistah Coppahwood said Wash to whom anything less than sixty degrees was very cold His one regret was that Philadelphia was not located in North Carolina from whence he came
Tis sharp Wash replied Cowperwood absentmindedly He was thinking for the moment of the house and how it had looked as he came toward it west along Girard Avenue—what the neighbors were thinking of him too observing him from time to time out of their windows It was clear and cold The lamps in the receptionhall and sittingroom had been lit for he had permitted no air of funereal gloom to settle down over this place since his troubles had begun In the far west of the street a last tingling gleam of lavender and violet was showing over the cold white snow of the roadway The house of graygreen stone with its lighted windows and creamcolored lace curtains had looked especially attractive He had thought for the moment of the pride he had taken in putting all this here decorating and ornamenting it and whether ever he could secure it for himself again Where is your mistress he added to Wash when he bethought himself
In the sittingroom Mr Coppahwood ah think
Cowperwood ascended the stairs thinking curiously that Wash would soon be out of a job now unless Mrs Cowperwood out of all the wreck of other things chose to retain him which was not likely He entered the sittingroom and there sat his wife by the oblong centertable sewing a hook and eye on one of Lillian seconds petticoats She looked up at his step with the peculiarly uncertain smile she used these days—indication of her pain fear suspicion—and inquired Well what is new with you Frank Her smile was something like a hat or belt or ornament which one puts on or off at will
Nothing in particular he replied in his offhand way except that I understand I have lost that appeal of mine Steger is coming here in a little while to let me know I had a note from him and I fancy its about that
He did not care to say squarely that he had lost He knew that she was sufficiently distressed as it was and he did not care to be too abrupt just now
You dont say replied Lillian with surprise and fright in her voice and getting up
She had been so used to a world where prisons were scarcely thought of where things went on smoothly from day to day without any noticeable intrusion of such distressing things as courts jails and the like that these last few months had driven her nearly mad Cowperwood had so definitely insisted on her keeping in the background—he had told her so very little that she was all at sea anyhow in regard to the whole procedure Nearly all that she had had in the way of intelligence had been from his father and mother and Anna and from a close and almost secret scrutiny of the newspapers
At the time he had gone to the county jail she did not even know anything about it until his father had come back from the courtroom and the jail and had broken the news to her It had been a terrific blow to her Now to have this thing suddenly broken to her in this offhand way even though she had been expecting and dreading it hourly was too much
She was still a decidedly charminglooking woman as she stood holding her daughters garment in her hand even if she was forty years old to Cowperwoods thirtyfive She was robed in one of the creations of their late prosperity a creamcolored gown of rich silk with dark brown trimmings—a fetching combination for her Her eyes were a little hollow and reddish about the rims but otherwise she showed no sign of her keen mental distress There was considerable evidence of the former tranquil sweetness that had so fascinated him ten years before
Isnt that terrible she said weakly her hands trembling in a nervous way Isnt it dreadful Isnt there anything more you can do truly You wont really have to go to prison will you He objected to her distress and her nervous fears He preferred a stronger more selfreliant type of woman but still she was his wife and in his day he had loved her much
It looks that way Lillian he said with the first note of real sympathy he had used in a long while for he felt sorry for her now At the same time he was afraid to go any further along that line for fear it might give her a false sense as to his present attitude toward her which was one essentially of indifference But she was not so dull but what she could see that the consideration in his voice had been brought about by his defeat which meant hers also She choked a little—and even so was touched The bare suggestion of sympathy brought back the old days so definitely gone forever If only they could be brought back
I dont want you to feel distressed about me though he went on before she could say anything to him Im not through with my fighting Ill get out of this I have to go to prison it seems in order to get things straightened out properly What I would like you to do is to keep up a cheerful appearance in front of the rest of the family—father and mother particularly They need to be cheered up He thought once of taking her hand then decided not She noted mentally his hesitation the great difference between his attitude now and that of ten or twelve years before It did not hurt her now as much as she once would have thought She looked at him scarcely knowing what to say There was really not so much to say
Will you have to go soon if you do have to go she ventured wearily
I cant tell yet Possibly tonight Possibly Friday Possibly not until Monday Im waiting to hear from Steger I expect him here any minute
To prison To prison Her Frank Cowperwood her husband—the substance of their home here—and all their soul destruction going to prison And even now she scarcely grasped why She stood there wondering what she could do
Is there anything I can get for you she asked starting forward as if out of a dream Do you want me to do anything Dont you think perhaps you had better leave Philadelphia Frank You neednt go to prison unless you want to
She was a little beside herself for the first time in her life shocked out of a deadly calm
He paused and looked at her for a moment in his direct examining way his hard commercial business judgment restored on the instant
That would be a confession of guilt Lillian and Im not guilty he replied almost coldly I havent done anything that warrants my running away or going to prison either Im merely going there to save time at present I cant be litigating this thing forever Ill get out—be pardoned out or sued out in a reasonable length of time Just now its better to go I think I wouldnt think of running away from Philadelphia Two of five judges found for me in the decision Thats pretty fair evidence that the State has no case against me
His wife saw she had made a mistake It clarified her judgment on the instant I didnt mean in that way Frank she replied apologetically You know I didnt Of course I know youre not guilty Why should I think you were of all people
She paused expecting some retort some further argument—a kind word maybe A trace of the older baffling love but he had quietly turned to his desk and was thinking of other things
At this point the anomaly of her own state came over her again It was all so sad and so hopeless And what was she to do in the future And what was he likely to do She paused half trembling and yet decided because of her peculiarly nonresisting nature—why trespass on his time Why bother No good would really come of it He really did not care for her any more—that was it Nothing could make him nothing could bring them together again not even this tragedy He was interested in another woman—Aileen—and so her foolish thoughts and explanations her fear sorrow distress were not important to him He could take her agonized wish for his freedom as a comment on his probable guilt a doubt of his innocence a criticism of him She turned away for a minute and he started to leave the room
Ill be back again in a few moments he volunteered Are the children here
Yes theyre up in the playroom she answered sadly utterly nonplussed and distraught
Oh Frank she had it on her lips to cry but before she could utter it he had bustled down the steps and was gone She turned back to the table her left hand to her mouth her eyes in a queer hazy melancholy mist Could it be she thought that life could really come to this—that love could so utterly so thoroughly die Ten years before—but oh why go back to that Obviously it could and thoughts concerning that would not help now Twice now in her life her affairs had seemed to go to pieces—once when her first husband had died and now when her second had failed her had fallen in love with another and was going to be sent off to prison What was it about her that caused such things Was there anything wrong with her What was she going to do Where go She had no idea of course for how long a term of years he would be sent away It might be one year or it might be five years as the papers had said Good heavens The children could almost come to forget him in five years She put her other hand to her mouth also and then to her forehead where there was a dull ache She tried to think further than this but somehow just now there was no further thought Suddenly quite outside of her own volition with no thought that she was going to do such a thing her bosom began to heave her throat contracted in four or five short sharp aching spasms her eyes burned and she shook in a vigorous anguished desperate almost one might have said dryeyed cry so hot and few were the tears She could not stop for the moment just stood there and shook and then after a while a dull ache succeeded and she was quite as she had been before
Why cry she suddenly asked herself fiercely—for her Why break down in this stormy useless way Would it help
But in spite of her speculative philosophic observations to herself she still felt the echo the distant rumble as it were of the storm in her own soul Why cry Why not cry She might have said—but wouldnt and in spite of herself and all her logic she knew that this tempest which had so recently raged over her was now merely circling around her souls horizon and would return to break again
Chapter L
The arrival of Steger with the information that no move of any kind would be made by the sheriff until Monday morning when Cowperwood could present himself eased matters This gave him time to think—to adjust home details at his leisure He broke the news to his father and mother in a consoling way and talked with his brothers and father about getting matters immediately adjusted in connection with the smaller houses to which they were now shortly to be compelled to move There was much conferring among the different members of this collapsing organization in regard to the minor details and what with his conferences with Steger his seeing personally Davison Leigh Avery Stone of Jay Cooke Co George Waterman his oldtime employer Henry was dead exState Treasurer Van Nostrand who had gone out with the last State administration and others he was very busy Now that he was really going into prison he wanted his financial friends to get together and see if they could get him out by appealing to the Governor The division of opinion among the judges of the State Supreme Court was his excuse and strong point He wanted Steger to follow this up and he spared no pains in trying to see all and sundry who might be of use to him—Edward Tighe of Tighe Co who was still in business in Third Street Newton Targool Arthur Rivers Joseph Zimmerman the drygoods prince now a millionaire Judge Kitchen Terrence Relihan the former representative of the money element at Harrisburg and many others
Cowperwood wanted Relihan to approach the newspapers and see if he could not readjust their attitude so as to work to get him out and he wanted Walter Leigh to head the movement of getting up a signed petition which should contain all the important names of moneyed people and others asking the Governor to release him Leigh agreed to this heartily as did Relihan and many others
And afterwards there was really nothing else to do unless it was to see Aileen once more and this in the midst of his other complications and obligations seemed all but impossible at times—and yet he did achieve that too—so eager was he to be soothed and comforted by the ignorant and yet all embracing volume of her love Her eyes these days The eager burning quest of him and his happiness that blazed in them To think that he should be tortured so—her Frank Oh she knew—whatever he said and however bravely and jauntily he talked To think that her love for him should have been the principal cause of his being sent to jail as she now believed And the cruelty of her father And the smallness of his enemies—that fool Stener for instance whose pictures she had seen in the papers Actually whenever in the presence of her Frank she fairly seethed in a chemic agony for him—her strong handsome lover—the strongest bravest wisest kindest handsomest man in the world Oh didnt she know And Cowperwood looking in her eyes and realizing this reasonless if so comforting fever for him smiled and was touched Such love That of a dog for a master that of a mother for a child And how had he come to evoke it He could not say but it was beautiful
And so now in these last trying hours he wished to see her much—and did—meeting her at least four times in the month in which he had been free between his conviction and the final dismissal of his appeal He had one last opportunity of seeing her—and she him—just before his entrance into prison this last time—on the Saturday before the Monday of his sentence He had not come in contact with her since the decision of the Supreme Court had been rendered but he had had a letter from her sent to a private mailbox and had made an appointment for Saturday at a small hotel in Camden which being across the river was safer in his judgment than anything in Philadelphia He was a little uncertain as to how she would take the possibility of not seeing him soon again after Monday and how she would act generally once he was where she could not confer with him as often as she chose And in consequence he was anxious to talk to her But on this occasion as he anticipated and even feared so sorry for her was he she was not less emphatic in her protestations than she had ever been in fact much more so When she saw him approaching in the distance she went forward to meet him in that direct forceful way which only she could attempt with him a sort of mannish impetuosity which he both enjoyed and admired and slipping her arms around his neck said Honey you neednt tell me I saw it in the papers the other morning Dont you mind honey I love you Ill wait for you Ill be with you yet if it takes a dozen years of waiting It doesnt make any difference to me if it takes a hundred only Im so sorry for you sweetheart Ill be with you every day through this darling loving you with all my might
She caressed him while he looked at her in that quiet way which betokened at once his selfpoise and yet his interest and satisfaction in her He couldnt help loving Aileen he thought who could She was so passionate vibrant desireful He couldnt help admiring her tremendously now more than ever because literally in spite of all his intellectual strength he really could not rule her She went at him even when he stood off in a calm critical way as if he were her special property her toy She would talk to him always and particularly when she was excited as if he were just a baby her pet and sometimes he felt as though she would really overcome him mentally make him subservient to her she was so individual so sure of her importance as a woman
Now on this occasion she went babbling on as if he were brokenhearted in need of her greatest care and tenderness although he really wasnt at all and for the moment she actually made him feel as though he was
It isnt as bad as that Aileen he ventured to say eventually and with a softness and tenderness almost unusual for him even where she was concerned but she went on forcefully paying no heed to him
Oh yes it is too honey I know Oh my poor Frank But Ill see you I know how to manage whatever happens How often do they let visitors come out to see the prisoners there
Only once in three months pet so they say but I think we can fix that after I get there only do you think you had better try to come right away Aileen You know what the feeling now is Hadnt you better wait a while Arent you in danger of stirring up your father He might cause a lot of trouble out there if he were so minded
Only once in three months she exclaimed with rising emphasis as he began this explanation Oh Frank no Surely not Once in three months Oh I cant stand that I wont Ill go and see the warden myself Hell let me see you Im sure he will if I talk to him
She fairly gasped in her excitement not willing to pause in her tirade but Cowperwood interposed with her Youre not thinking what youre saying Aileen Youre not thinking Remember your father Remember your family Your father may know the warden out there You dont want it to get all over town that youre running out there to see me do you Your father might cause you trouble Besides you dont know the small party politicians as I do They gossip like a lot of old women Youll have to be very careful what you do and how you do it I dont want to lose you I want to see you But youll have to mind what youre doing Dont try to see me at once I want you to but I want to find out how the land lies and I want you to find out too You wont lose me Ill be there well enough
He paused as he thought of the long tier of iron cells which must be there one of which would be his—for how long—and of Aileen seeing him through the door of it or in it At the same time he was thinking in spite of all his other calculations how charming she was looking today How young she kept and how forceful While he was nearing his full maturity she was a comparatively young girl and as beautiful as ever She was wearing a blackandwhitestriped silk in the curious bustle style of the times and a set of sealskin furs including a little sealskin cap set jauntily on top her redgold hair
I know I know replied Aileen firmly But think of three months Honey I cant I wont Its nonsense Three months I know that my father wouldnt have to wait any three months if he wanted to see anybody out there nor anybody else that he wanted to ask favors for And I wont either Ill find some way
Cowperwood had to smile You could not defeat Aileen so easily
But youre not your father honey and you dont want him to know
I know I dont but they dont need to know who I am I can go heavily veiled I dont think that the warden knows my father He may Anyhow he doesnt know me and he wouldnt tell on me if he did if I talked to him
Her confidence in her charms her personality her earthly privileges was quite anarchistic Cowperwood shook his head
Honey youre about the best and the worst there is when it comes to a woman he observed affectionately pulling her head down to kiss her but youll have to listen to me just the same I have a lawyer Steger—you know him Hes going to take up this matter with the warden out there—is doing it today He may be able to fix things and he may not Ill know tomorrow or Sunday and Ill write you But dont go and do anything rash until you hear Im sure I can cut that visiting limit in half and perhaps down to once a month or once in two weeks even They only allow me to write one letter in three months—Aileen exploded again—and Im sure I can have that made different—some but dont write me until you hear or at least dont sign any name or put any address in They open all mail and read it If you see me or write me youll have to be cautious and youre not the most cautious person in the world Now be good will you
They talked much more—of his family his court appearance Monday whether he would get out soon to attend any of the suits still pending or be pardoned Aileen still believed in his future She had read the opinions of the dissenting judges in his favor and that of the three agreed judges against him She was sure his day was not over in Philadelphia and that he would some time reestablish himself and then take her with him somewhere else She was sorry for Mrs Cowperwood but she was convinced that she was not suited to him—that Frank needed some one more like herself some one with youth and beauty and force—her no less She clung to him now in ecstatic embraces until it was time to go So far as a plan of procedure could have been adjusted in a situation so incapable of accurate adjustment it had been done She was desperately downcast at the last moment as was he over their parting but she pulled herself together with her usual force and faced the dark future with a steady eye
Chapter LI
Monday came and with it his final departure All that could be done had been done Cowperwood said his farewells to his mother and father his brothers and sister He had a rather distant but sensible and matteroffact talk with his wife He made no special point of saying goodby to his son or his daughter when he came in on Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday evenings after he had learned that he was to depart Monday it was with the thought of talking to them a little in an especially affectionate way He realized that his general moral or unmoral attitude was perhaps working them a temporary injustice Still he was not sure Most people did fairly well with their lives whether coddled or deprived of opportunity These children would probably do as well as most children whatever happened—and then anyhow he had no intention of forsaking them financially if he could help it He did not want to separate his wife from her children nor them from her She should keep them He wanted them to be comfortable with her He would like to see them wherever they were with her occasionally Only he wanted his own personal freedom in so far as she and they were concerned to go off and set up a new world and a new home with Aileen So now on these last days and particularly this last Sunday night he was rather noticeably considerate of his boy and girl without being too openly indicative of his approaching separation from them
Frank he said to his notably lackadaisical son on this occasion arent you going to straighten up and be a big strong healthy fellow You dont play enough You ought to get in with a gang of boys and be a leader Why dont you fit yourself up a gymnasium somewhere and see how strong you can get
They were in the senior Cowperwoods sittingroom where they had all rather consciously gathered on this occasion
Lillian second who was on the other side of the big library table from her father paused to survey him and her brother with interest Both had been carefully guarded against any real knowledge of their fathers affairs or his present predicament He was going away on a journey for about a month or so they understood Lillian was reading in a Chatterbox book which had been given her the previous Christmas
He wont do anything she volunteered looking up from her reading in a peculiarly critical way for her Why he wont ever run races with me when I want him to
Aw who wants to run races with you anyhow returned Frank junior sourly You couldnt run if I did want to run with you
Couldnt I she replied I could beat you all right
Lillian pleaded her mother with a warning sound in her voice
Cowperwood smiled and laid his hand affectionately on his sons head Youll be all right Frank he volunteered pinching his ear lightly Dont worry—just make an effort
The boy did not respond as warmly as he hoped Later in the evening Mrs Cowperwood noticed that her husband squeezed his daughters slim little waist and pulled her curly hair gently For the moment she was jealous of her daughter
Going to be the best kind of a girl while Im away he said to her privately
Yes papa she replied brightly
Thats right he returned and leaned over and kissed her mouth tenderly Button Eyes he said
Mrs Cowperwood sighed after he had gone Everything for the children nothing for me she thought though the children had not got so vastly much either in the past
Cowperwoods attitude toward his mother in this final hour was about as tender and sympathetic as any he could maintain in this world He understood quite clearly the ramifications of her interests and how she was suffering for him and all the others concerned He had not forgotten her sympathetic care of him in his youth and if he could have done anything to have spared her this unhappy breakdown of her fortunes in her old age he would have done so There was no use crying over spilled milk It was impossible at times for him not to feel intensely in moments of success or failure but the proper thing to do was to bear up not to show it to talk little and go your way with an air not so much of resignation as of selfsufficiency to whatever was awaiting you That was his attitude on this morning and that was what he expected from those around him—almost compelled in fact by his own attitude
Well mother he said genially at the last moment—he would not let her nor his wife nor his sister come to court maintaining that it would make not the least difference to him and would only harrow their own feelings uselessly—Im going now Dont worry Keep up your spirits
He slipped his arm around his mothers waist and she gave him a long unrestrained despairing embrace and kiss
Go on Frank she said choking when she let him go God bless you Ill pray for you He paid no further attention to her He didnt dare
Goodby Lillian he said to his wife pleasantly kindly Ill be back in a few days I think Ill be coming out to attend some of these court proceedings
To his sister he said Goodby Anna Dont let the others get too downhearted
Ill see you three afterward he said to his father and brothers and so dressed in the very best fashion of the time he hurried down into the receptionhall where Steger was waiting and was off His family hearing the door close on him suffered a poignant sense of desolation They stood there for a moment his mother crying his father looking as though he had lost his last friend but making a great effort to seem selfcontained and equal to his troubles Anna telling Lillian not to mind and the latter staring dumbly into the future not knowing what to think Surely a brilliant sun had set on their local scene and in a very pathetic way
Chapter LII
When Cowperwood reached the jail Jaspers was there glad to see him but principally relieved to feel that nothing had happened to mar his own reputation as a sheriff Because of the urgency of court matters generally it was decided to depart for the courtroom at nine oclock Eddie Zanders was once more delegated to see that Cowperwood was brought safely before Judge Payderson and afterward taken to the penitentiary All of the papers in the case were put in his care to be delivered to the warden
I suppose you know confided Sheriff Jaspers to Steger that Stener is here He aint got no money now but I gave him a private room just the same I didnt want to put a man like him in no cell Sheriff Jaspers sympathized with Stener
Thats right Im glad to hear that replied Steger smiling to himself
I didnt suppose from what Ive heard that Mr Cowperwood would want to meet Stener here so Ive kept em apart George just left a minute ago with another deputy
Thats good Thats the way it ought to be replied Steger He was glad for Cowperwoods sake that the sheriff had so much tact Evidently George and the sheriff were getting along in a very friendly way for all the formers bitter troubles and lack of means
The Cowperwood party walked the distance not being great and as they did so they talked of rather simple things to avoid the more serious
Things arent going to be so bad Edward said to his father Steger says the Governor is sure to pardon Stener in a year or less and if he does hes bound to let Frank out too
Cowperwood the elder had heard this over and over but he was never tired of hearing it It was like some simple croon with which babies are hushed to sleep The snow on the ground which was enduring remarkably well for this time of year the fineness of the day which had started out to be clear and bright the hope that the courtroom might not be full all held the attention of the father and his two sons Cowperwood senior even commented on some sparrows fighting over a piece of bread marveling how well they did in winter solely to ease his mind Cowperwood walking on ahead with Steger and Zanders talked of approaching court proceedings in connection with his business and what ought to be done
When they reached the court the same little pen in which Cowperwood had awaited the verdict of his jury several months before was waiting to receive him
Cowperwood senior and his other sons sought places in the courtroom proper Eddie Zanders remained with his charge Stener and a deputy by the name of Wilkerson were in the room but he and Cowperwood pretended now not to see each other Frank had no objection to talking to his former associate but he could see that Stener was diffident and ashamed So he let the situation pass without look or word of any kind After some threequarters of an hour of dreary waiting the door leading into the courtroom proper opened and a bailiff stepped in
All prisoners up for sentence he called
There were six all told including Cowperwood and Stener Two of them were confederate housebreakers who had been caught redhanded at their midnight task
Another prisoner was no more and no less than a plain horsethief a young man of twentysix who had been convicted by a jury of stealing a grocers horse and selling it The last man was a negro a tall shambling illiterate nebulousminded black who had walked off with an apparently discarded section of lead pipe which he had found in a lumberyard His idea was to sell or trade it for a drink He really did not belong in this court at all but having been caught by an undersized American watchman charged with the care of the property and having at first refused to plead guilty not quite understanding what was to be done with him he had been perforce bound over to this court for trial Afterward he had changed his mind and admitted his guilt so he now had to come before Judge Payderson for sentence or dismissal The lower court before which he had originally been brought had lost jurisdiction by binding him over to to higher court for trial Eddie Zanders in his selfappointed position as guide and mentor to Cowperwood had confided nearly all of this data to him as he stood waiting
The courtroom was crowded It was very humiliating to Cowperwood to have to file in this way along the side aisle with these others followed by Stener well dressed but sickly looking and disconsolate
The negro Charles Ackerman was the first on the list
How is it this man comes before me asked Payderson peevishly when he noted the value of the property Ackerman was supposed to have stolen
Your honor the assistant district attorney explained promptly this man was before a lower court and refused because he was drunk or something to plead guilty The lower court because the complainant would not forego the charge was compelled to bind him over to this court for trial Since then he has changed his mind and has admitted his guilt to the district attorney He would not be brought before you except we have no alternative He has to be brought here now in order to clear the calendar
Judge Payderson stared quizzically at the negro who obviously not very much disturbed by this examination was leaning comfortably on the gate or bar before which the average criminal stood erect and terrified He had been before policecourt magistrates before on one charge and another—drunkenness disorderly conduct and the like—but his whole attitude was one of shambling lackadaisical amusing innocence
Well Ackerman inquired his honor severely did you or did you not steal this piece of lead pipe as charged here—four dollars and eighty cents worth
Yassah I did he began I tell you how it was jedge I was acomin along past dat lumberyard one Saturday afternoon and I hadnt been wuckin an I saw dat piece o pipe thoo de fence lyin inside and I jes reached thoo with a piece o boad I found dey and pulled it over to me an tuck it An aftahwahd dis Mistah Watchman man—he waved his hand oratorically toward the witnesschair where in case the judge might wish to ask him some questions the complainant had taken his stand—come around tuh where I live an accused me of done takin it
But you did take it didnt you
Yassah I done tuck it
What did you do with it
I traded it foh twentyfive cents
You mean you sold it corrected his honor
Yassah I done sold it
Well dont you know its wrong to do anything like that Didnt you know when you reached through that fence and pulled that pipe over to you that you were stealing Didnt you
Yassah I knowed it was wrong replied Ackerman sheepishly I didn think twuz stealin like zackly but I done knowed it was wrong I done knowed I oughtn take it I guess
Of course you did Of course you did Thats just it You knew you were stealing and still you took it Has the man to whom this negro sold the lead pipe been apprehended yet the judge inquired sharply of the district attorney He should be for hes more guilty than this negro a receiver of stolen goods
Yes sir replied the assistant His case is before Judge Yawger
Quite right It should be replied Payderson severely This matter of receiving stolen property is one of the worst offenses in my judgment
He then turned his attention to Ackerman again Now look here Ackerman he exclaimed irritated at having to bother with such a pretty case I want to say something to you and I want you to pay strict attention to me Straighten up there Dont lean on that gate You are in the presence of the law now Ackerman had sprawled himself comfortably down on his elbows as he would have if he had been leaning over a backfence gate talking to some one but he immediately drew himself straight still grinning foolishly and apologetically when he heard this You are not so dull but that you can understand what I am going to say to you The offense you have committed—stealing a piece of lead pipe—is a crime Do you hear me A criminal offense—one that I could punish you very severely for I could send you to the penitentiary for one year if I chose—the law says I may—one year at hard labor for stealing a piece of lead pipe Now if you have any sense you will pay strict attention to what I am going to tell you I am not going to send you to the penitentiary right now Im going to wait a little while I am going to sentence you to one year in the penitentiary—one year Do you understand Ackerman blanched a little and licked his lips nervously And then I am going to suspend that sentence—hold it over your head so that if you are ever caught taking anything else you will be punished for this offense and the next one also at one and the same time Do you understand that Do you know what I mean Tell me Do you
Yessah I does sir replied the negro Youse gwine to let me go now—thas it
The audience grinned and his honor made a wry face to prevent his own grim grin
Im going to let you go only so long as you dont steal anything else he thundered The moment you steal anything else back you come to this court and then you go to the penitentiary for a year and whatever more time you deserve Do you understand that Now I want you to walk straight out of this court and behave yourself Dont ever steal anything Get something to do Dont steal do you hear Dont touch anything that doesnt belong to you Dont come back here If you do Ill send you to the penitentiary sure
Yassah No sah I wont replied Ackerman nervously I wont take nothin more that dont belong tuh me
He shuffled away after a moment urged along by the guiding hand of a bailiff and was put safely outside the court amid a mixture of smiles and laughter over his simplicity and Paydersons undue severity of manner But the next case was called and soon engrossed the interest of the audience
It was that of the two housebreakers whom Cowperwood had been and was still studying with much curiosity In all his life before he had never witnessed a sentencing scene of any kind He had never been in police or criminal courts of any kind—rarely in any of the civil ones He was glad to see the negro go and gave Payderson credit for having some sense and sympathy—more than he had expected
He wondered now whether by any chance Aileen was here He had objected to her coming but she might have done so She was as a matter of fact in the extreme rear pocketed in a crowd near the door heavily veiled but present She had not been able to resist the desire to know quickly and surely her beloveds fate—to be near him in his hour of real suffering as she thought She was greatly angered at seeing him brought in with a line of ordinary criminals and made to wait in this to her shameful public manner but she could not help admiring all the more the dignity and superiority of his presence even here He was not even pale as she saw just the same firm calm soul she had always known him to be If he could only see her now if he would only look so she could lift her veil and smile He didnt though he wouldnt He didnt want to see her here But she would tell him all about it when she saw him again just the same
The two burglars were quickly disposed of by the judge with a sentence of one year each and they were led away uncertain and apparently not knowing what to think of their crime or their future
When it came to Cowperwoods turn to be called his honor himself stiffened and straightened up for this was a different type of man and could not be handled in the usual manner He knew exactly what he was going to say When one of Mollenhauers agents a close friend of Butlers had suggested that five years for both Cowperwood and Stener would be about right he knew exactly what to do Frank Algernon Cowperwood called the clerk
Cowperwood stepped briskly forward sorry for himself ashamed of his position in a way but showing it neither in look nor manner Payderson eyed him as he had the others
Name asked the bailiff for the benefit of the court stenographer
Frank Algernon Cowperwood
Residence
1937 Girard Avenue
Occupation
Banker and broker
Steger stood close beside him very dignified very forceful ready to make a final statement for the benefit of the court and the public when the time should come Aileen from her position in the crowd near the door was for the first time in her life biting her fingers nervously and there were great beads of perspiration on her brow Cowperwoods father was tense with excitement and his two brothers looked quickly away doing their best to hide their fear and sorrow
Ever convicted before
Never replied Steger for Cowperwood quietly
Frank Algernon Cowperwood called the clerk in his nasal singsong way coming forward have you anything to say why judgment should not now be pronounced upon you If so speak
Cowperwood started to say no but Steger put up his hand
If the court pleases my client Mr Cowperwood the prisoner at the bar is neither guilty in his own estimation nor in that of twofifths of the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court—the court of last resort in this State he exclaimed loudly and clearly so that all might hear
One of the interested listeners and spectators at this point was Edward Malia Butler who had just stepped in from another courtroom where he had been talking to a judge An obsequious court attendant had warned him that Cowperwood was about to be sentenced He had really come here this morning in order not to miss this sentence but he cloaked his motive under the guise of another errand He did not know that Aileen was there nor did he see her
As he himself testified at the time of his trial went on Steger and as the evidence clearly showed he was never more than an agent for the gentleman whose offense was subsequently adjudicated by this court and as an agent he still maintains and twofifths of the State Supreme Court agree with him that he was strictly within his rights and privileges in not having deposited the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan certificates at the time and in the manner which the people acting through the district attorney complained that he should have My client is a man of rare financial ability By the various letters which have been submitted to your honor in his behalf you will see that he commands the respect and the sympathy of a large majority of the most forceful and eminent men in his particular world He is a man of distinguished social standing and of notable achievements Only the most unheralded and the unkindest thrust of fortune has brought him here before you today—a fire and its consequent panic which involved a financial property of the most thorough and stable character In spite of the verdict of the jury and the decision of threefifths of the State Supreme Court I maintain that my client is not an embezzler that he has not committed larceny that he should never have been convicted and that he should not now be punished for something of which he is not guilty
I trust that your honor will not misunderstand me or my motives when I point out in this situation that what I have said is true I do not wish to cast any reflection on the integrity of the court nor of any court nor of any of the processes of law But I do condemn and deplore the untoward chain of events which has built up a seeming situation not easily understood by the lay mind and which has brought my distinguished client within the purview of the law I think it is but fair that this should be finally and publicly stated here and now I ask that your honor be lenient and that if you cannot conscientiously dismiss this charge you will at least see that the facts as I have indicated them are given due weight in the measure of the punishment inflicted
Steger stepped back and Judge Payderson nodded as much as to say he had heard all the distinguished lawyer had to say and would give it such consideration as it deserved—no more Then he turned to Cowperwood and summoning all his judicial dignity to his aid he began
Frank Algernon Cowperwood you have been convicted by a jury of your own selection of the offense of larceny The motion for a new trial made in your behalf by your learned counsel has been carefully considered and overruled the majority of the court being entirely satisfied with the propriety of the conviction both upon the law and the evidence Your offense was one of more than usual gravity the more so that the large amount of money which you obtained belonged to the city And it was aggravated by the fact that you had in addition thereto unlawfully used and converted to your own use several hundred thousand dollars of the loan and money of the city For such an offense the maximum punishment affixed by the law is singularly merciful Nevertheless the facts in connection with your hitherto distinguished position the circumstances under which your failure was brought about and the appeals of your numerous friends and financial associates will be given due consideration by this court It is not unmindful of any important fact in your career Payderson paused as if in doubt though he knew very well how he was about to proceed He knew what his superiors expected of him
If your case points no other moral he went on after a moment toying with the briefs it will at least teach the lesson much needed at the present time that the treasury of the city is not to be invaded and plundered with impunity under the thin disguise of a business transaction and that there is still a power in the law to vindicate itself and to protect the public
The sentence of the court he added solemnly the while Cowperwood gazed unmoved is therefore that you pay a fine of five thousand dollars to the commonwealth for the use of the county that you pay the costs of prosecution and that you undergo imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District by separate or solitary confinement at labor for a period of four years and three months and that you stand committed until this sentence is complied with
Cowperwoods father on hearing this bowed his head to hide his tears Aileen bit her lower lip and clenched her hands to keep down her rage and disappointment and tears Four years and three months That would make a terrible gap in his life and hers Still she could wait It was better than eight or ten years as she had feared it might be Perhaps now once this was really over and he was in prison the Governor would pardon him
The judge now moved to pick up the papers in connection with Steners case satisfied that he had given the financiers no chance to say he had not given due heed to their plea in Cowperwoods behalf and yet certain that the politicians would be pleased that he had so nearly given Cowperwood the maximum while appearing to have heeded the pleas for mercy Cowperwood saw through the trick at once but it did not disturb him It struck him as rather weak and contemptible A bailiff came forward and started to hurry him away
Allow the prisoner to remain for a moment called the judge
The name of George W Stener had been called by the clerk and Cowperwood did not quite understand why he was being detained but he soon learned It was that he might hear the opinion of the court in connection with his copartner in crime The latters record was taken Roger OMara the Irish political lawyer who had been his counsel all through his troubles stood near him but had nothing to say beyond asking the judge to consider Steners previously honorable career
George W Stener said his honor while the audience including Cowperwood listened attentively The motion for a new trial as well as an arrest of judgment in your case having been overruled it remains for the court to impose such sentence as the nature of your offense requires I do not desire to add to the pain of your position by any extended remarks of my own but I cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my emphatic condemnation of your offense The misapplication of public money has become the great crime of the age If not promptly and firmly checked it will ultimately destroy our institutions When a republic becomes honeycombed with corruption its vitality is gone It must crumble upon the first pressure
In my opinion the public is much to blame for your offense and others of a similar character Heretofore official fraud has been regarded with too much indifference What we need is a higher and purer political morality—a state of public opinion which would make the improper use of public money a thing to be execrated It was the lack of this which made your offense possible Beyond that I see nothing of extenuation in your case Judge Payderson paused for emphasis He was coming to his finest flight and he wanted it to sink in
The people had confided to you the care of their money he went on solemnly It was a high a sacred trust You should have guarded the door of the treasury even as the cherubim protected the Garden of Eden and should have turned the flaming sword of impeccable honesty against every one who approached it improperly Your position as the representative of a great community warranted that
In view of all the facts in your case the court can do no less than impose a major penalty The seventyfourth section of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that no convict shall be sentenced by the court of this commonwealth to either of the penitentiaries thereof for any term which shall expire between the fifteenth of November and the fifteenth day of February of any year and this provision requires me to abate three months from the maximum of time which I would affix in your case—namely five years The sentence of the court is therefore that you pay a fine of five thousand dollars to the commonwealth for the use of the county—Payderson knew well enough that Stener could never pay that sum—and that you undergo imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District by separate and solitary confinement at labor for the period of four years and nine months and that you stand committed until this sentence is complied with He laid down the briefs and rubbed his chin reflectively while both Cowperwood and Stener were hurried out Butler was the first to leave after the sentence—quite satisfied Seeing that all was over so far as she was concerned Aileen stole quickly out and after her in a few moments Cowperwoods father and brothers They were to await him outside and go with him to the penitentiary The remaining members of the family were at home eagerly awaiting intelligence of the mornings work and Joseph Cowperwood was at once despatched to tell them
The day had now become cloudy lowery and it looked as if there might be snow Eddie Zanders who had been given all the papers in the case, announced that there was no need to return to the county jail In consequence the five of them—Zanders Steger Cowperwood his father and Edward—got into a streetcar which ran to within a few blocks of the prison Within half an hour they were at the gates of the Eastern Penitentiary
Chapter LIII
The Eastern District Penitentiary of Pennsylvania standing at Fairmount Avenue and Twentyfirst Street in Philadelphia where Cowperwood was now to serve his sentence of four years and three months was a large graystone structure solemn and momentous in its mien not at all unlike the palace of Sforzas at Milan although not so distinguished It stretched its gray length for several blocks along four different streets and looked as lonely and forbidding as a prison should The wall which inclosed its great area extending over ten acres and gave it so much of its solemn dignity was thirtyfive feet high and some seven feet thick The prison proper which was not visible from the outside consisted of seven arms or corridors ranged octopuslike around a central room or court and occupying in their sprawling length about twothirds of the yard inclosed within the walls so that there was but little space for the charm of lawn or sward The corridors fortytwo feet wide from outer wall to outer wall were one hundred and eighty feet in length and in four instances two stories high and extended in their long reach in every direction There were no windows in the corridors only narrow slits of skylights three and onehalf feet long by perhaps eight inches wide let in the roof and the groundfloor cells were accompanied in some instances by a small yard ten by sixteen—the same size as the cells proper—which was surrounded by a high brick wall in every instance The cells and floors and roofs were made of stone and the corridors which were only ten feet wide between the cells and in the case of the singlestory portion only fifteen feet high were paved with stone If you stood in the central room or rotunda and looked down the long stretches which departed from you in every direction you had a sense of narrowness and confinement not compatible with their length The iron doors with their outer accompaniment of solid wooden ones the latter used at times to shut the prisoner from all sight and sound were grim and unpleasing to behold The halls were light enough being whitewashed frequently and set with the narrow skylights which were closed with frosted glass in winter but they were as are all such matteroffact arrangements for incarceration bare—wearisome to look upon Life enough there was in all conscience seeing that there were four hundred prisoners here at that time and that nearly every cell was occupied but it was a life of which no one individual was essentially aware as a spectacle He was of it but he was not Some of the prisoners after long service were used as trusties or runners as they were locally called but not many There was a bakery a machineshop a carpentershop a storeroom a flourmill and a series of gardens or truck patches but the manipulation of these did not require the services of a large number
The prison proper dated from 1822 and it had grown wing by wing until its present considerable size had been reached Its population consisted of individuals of all degrees of intelligence and crime from murderers to minor practitioners of larceny It had what was known as the Pennsylvania System of regulation for its inmates which was nothing more nor less than solitary confinement for all concerned—a life of absolute silence and separate labor in separate cells
Barring his comparatively recent experience in the county jail which after all was far from typical Cowperwood had never been in a prison in his life Once when a boy in one of his perambulations through several of the surrounding towns he had passed a village lockup as the town prisons were then called—a small square gray building with long ironbarred windows and he had seen at one of these rather depressing apertures on the second floor a none too prepossessing drunkard or town neerdowell who looked down on him with bleary eyes unkempt hair and a sodden waxy pallid face and called—for it was summer and the jail window was open
Hey sonny get me a plug of tobacco will you
Cowperwood who had looked up shocked and disturbed by the mans disheveled appearance had called back quite without stopping to think
Naw I cant
Look out you dont get locked up yourself sometime you little runt the man had replied savagely only half recovered from his debauch of the day before
He had not thought of this particular scene in years but now suddenly it came back to him Here he was on his way to be locked up in this dull somber prison and it was snowing and he was being cut out of human affairs as much as it was possible for him to be cut out
No friends were permitted to accompany him beyond the outer gate—not even Steger for the time being though he might visit him later in the day This was an inviolable rule Zanders being known to the gatekeeper and bearing his commitment paper was admitted at once The others turned solemnly away They bade a gloomy if affectionate farewell to Cowperwood who on his part attempted to give it all an air of inconsequence—as in part and even here it had for him
Well goodby for the present he said shaking hands Ill be all right and Ill get out soon Wait and see Tell Lillian not to worry
He stepped inside and the gate clanked solemnly behind him Zanders led the way through a dark somber hall wide and highceiled to a farther gate where a second gateman trifling with a large key unlocked a barred door at his bidding Once inside the prison yard Zanders turned to the left into a small office presenting his prisoner before a small chesthigh desk where stood a prison officer in uniform of blue The latter the receiving overseer of the prison—a thin practical executivelooking person with narrow gray eyes and light hair took the paper which the sheriffs deputy handed him and read it This was his authority for receiving Cowperwood In his turn he handed Zanders a slip showing that he had so received the prisoner and then Zanders left receiving gratefully the tip which Cowperwood pressed in his hand
Well goodby Mr Cowperwood he said with a peculiar twist of his detectivelike head Im sorry I hope you wont find it so bad here
He wanted to impress the receiving overseer with his familiarity with this distinguished prisoner and Cowperwood true to his policy of makebelieve shook hands with him cordially
Im much obliged to you for your courtesy Mr Zanders he said then turned to his new master with the air of a man who is determined to make a good impression He was now in the hands of petty officials he knew who could modify or increase his comfort at will He wanted to impress this man with his utter willingness to comply and obey—his sense of respect for his authority—without in any way demeaning himself He was depressed but efficient even here in the clutch of that eventual machine of the law the State penitentiary which he had been struggling so hard to evade
The receiving overseer Roger Kendall though thin and clerical was a rather capable man as prison officials go—shrewd not particularly well educated not overintelligent naturally not overindustrious but sufficiently energetic to hold his position He knew something about convicts—considerable—for he had been dealing with them for nearly twentysix years His attitude toward them was cold cynical critical
He did not permit any of them to come into personal contact with him but he saw to it that underlings in his presence carried out the requirements of the law
When Cowperwood entered dressed in his very good clothing—a dark grayblue twill suit of pure wool a light wellmade gray overcoat a black derby hat of the latest shape his shoes new and of good leather his tie of the best silk heavy and conservatively colored his hair and mustache showing the attention of an intelligent barber and his hands well manicured—the receiving overseer saw at once that he was in the presence of some one of superior intelligence and force such a man as the fortune of his trade rarely brought into his net
Cowperwood stood in the middle of the room without apparently looking at any one or anything though he saw all Convict number 3633 Kendall called to a clerk handing him at the same time a yellow slip of paper on which was written Cowperwoods full name and his record number counting from the beginning of the penitentiary itself
The underling a convict took it and entered it in a book reserving the slip at the same time for the penitentiary runner or trusty who would eventually take Cowperwood to the manners gallery
You will have to take off your clothes and take a bath said Kendall to Cowperwood eyeing him curiously I dont suppose you need one but its the rule
Thank you replied Cowperwood pleased that his personality was counting for something even here Whatever the rules are I want to obey
When he started to take off his coat however Kendall put up his hand delayingly and tapped a bell There now issued from an adjoining room an assistant a prison servitor a weirdlooking specimen of the genus trusty He was a small dark lopsided individual one leg being slightly shorter and therefore one shoulder lower than the other He was hollowchested squinteyed and rather shambling but spry enough withal He was dressed in a thin poorly made baggy suit of striped jeans the prison stripes of the place showing a soft rollcollar shirt underneath and wearing a large widestriped cap peculiarly offensive in its size and shape to Cowperwood He could not help thinking how uncanny the mans squint eyes looked under its straight outstanding visor The trusty had a silly sycophantic manner of raising one hand in salute He was a professional secondstory man up for ten years but by dint of good behavior he had attained to the honor of working about this office without the degrading hood customary for prisoners to wear over the cap For this he was properly grateful He now considered his superior with nervous doglike eyes and looked at Cowperwood with a certain cunning appreciation of his lot and a show of initial mistrust
One prisoner is as good as another to the average convict as a matter of fact it is their only consolation in their degradation that all who come here are no better than they The world may have misused them but they misuse their confreres in their thoughts The holier than thou attitude intentional or otherwise is quite the last and most deadly offense within prison walls This particular trusty could no more understand Cowperwood than could a fly the motions of a flywheel but with the cocky superiority of the underling of the world he did not hesitate to think that he could A crook was a crook to him—Cowperwood no less than the shabbiest pickpocket His one feeling was that he would like to demean him to pull him down to his own level
You will have to take everything you have out of your pockets Kendall now informed Cowperwood Ordinarily he would have said Search the prisoner
Cowperwood stepped forward and laid out a purse with twentyfive dollars in it a penknife a leadpencil a small notebook and a little ivory elephant which Aileen had given him once for luck and which he treasured solely because she gave it to him Kendall looked at the latter curiously Now you can go on he said to the trusty referring to the undressing and bathing process which was to follow
This way said the latter addressing Cowperwood and preceding him into an adjoining room where three closets held three oldfashioned ironbodied woodentop bathtubs with their attendant shelves for rough crash towels yellow soap and the like and hooks for clothes
Get in there said the trusty whose name was Thomas Kuby pointing to one of the tubs
Cowperwood realized that this was the beginning of petty official supervision but he deemed it wise to appear friendly even here
I see he said I will
Thats right replied the attendant somewhat placated What did you bring
Cowperwood looked at him quizzically He did not understand The prison attendant realized that this man did not know the lingo of the place What did you bring he repeated How many years did you get
Oh exclaimed Cowperwood comprehendingly I understand Four and three months
He decided to humor the man It would probably be better so
What for inquired Kuby familiarly
Cowperwoods blood chilled slightly Larceny he said
Yuh got off easy commented Kuby Im up for ten A rube judge did that to me
Kuby had never heard of Cowperwoods crime He would not have understood its subtleties if he had Cowperwood did not want to talk to this man he did not know how He wished he would go away but that was not likely He wanted to be put in his cell and let alone
Thats too bad he answered and the convict realized clearly that this man was really not one of them or he would not have said anything like that Kuby went to the two hydrants opening into the bathtub and turned them on Cowperwood had been undressing the while and now stood naked but not ashamed in front of this eighthrate intelligence
Dont forget to wash your head too said Kuby and went away
Cowperwood stood there while the water ran meditating on his fate It was strange how life had dealt with him of late—so severely Unlike most men in his position he was not suffering from a consciousness of evil He did not think he was evil As he saw it he was merely unfortunate To think that he should be actually in this great silent penitentiary a convict waiting here beside this cheap iron bathtub not very sweet or hygienic to contemplate with this crackbrained criminal to watch over him
He stepped into the tub and washed himself briskly with the biting yellow soap drying himself on one of the rough only partially bleached towels He looked for his underwear but there was none At this point the attendant looked in again Out here he said inconsiderately
Cowperwood followed naked He was led through the receiving overseers office into a room where were scales implements of measurement a recordbook etc The attendant who stood guard at the door now came over and the clerk who sat in a corner automatically took down a recordblank Kendall surveyed Cowperwoods decidedly graceful figure already inclining to a slight thickening around the waist and approved of it as superior to that of most who came here His skin as he particularly noted was especially white
Step on the scale said the attendant brusquely
Cowperwood did so The former adjusted the weights and scanned the record carefully
Weight one hundred and seventyfive he called Now step over here
He indicated a spot in the side wall where was fastened in a thin slat—which ran from the floor to about seven and one half feet above perpendicularly—a small movable wooden indicator which when a man was standing under it could be pressed down on his head At the side of the slat were the total inches of height laid off in halves quarters eighths and so on and to the right a length measurement for the arm Cowperwood understood what was wanted and stepped under the indicator standing quite straight
Feet level back to the wall urged the attendant So Height five feet nine and tensixteenths he called The clerk in the corner noted it He now produced a tapemeasure and began measuring Cowperwoods arms legs chest waist hips etc He called out the color of his eyes his hair his mustache and looking into his mouth exclaimed Teeth all sound
After Cowperwood had once more given his address age profession whether he knew any trade etc—which he did not—he was allowed to return to the bathroom and put on the clothing which the prison provided for him—first the rough prickly underwear then the cheap soft rollcollar whitecotton shirt then the thick bluishgray cotton socks of a quality such as he had never worn in his life and over these a pair of indescribable roughleather clogs which felt to his feet as though they were made of wood or iron—oily and heavy He then drew on the shapeless baggy trousers with their telltale stripes and over his arms and chest the loosecut shapeless coat and waistcoat He felt and knew of course that he looked very strange wretched And as he stepped out into the overseers room again he experienced a peculiar sense of depression a gone feeling which before this had not assailed him and which now he did his best to conceal This then was what society did to the criminal he thought to himself It took him and tore away from his body and his life the habiliments of his proper state and left him these He felt sad and grim and try as he would—he could not help showing it for a moment It was always his business and his intention to conceal his real feelings but now it was not quite possible He felt degraded impossible in these clothes and he knew that he looked it Nevertheless he did his best to pull himself together and look unconcerned willing obedient considerate of those above him After all he said to himself it was all a play of sorts a dream even if one chose to view it so a miasma even from which in the course of time and with a little luck one might emerge safely enough He hoped so It could not last He was only acting a strange unfamiliar part on the stage this stage of life that he knew so well
Kendall did not waste any time looking at him however He merely said to his assistant See if you can find a cap for him and the latter going to a closet containing numbered shelves took down a cap—a highcrowned straightvisored shabby striped affair which Cowperwood was asked to try on It fitted well enough slipping down close over his ears and he thought that now his indignities must be about complete What could be added There could be no more of these disconcerting accoutrements But he was mistaken Now Kuby you take him to Mr Chapin said Kendall
Kuby understood He went back into the washroom and produced what Cowperwood had heard of but never before seen—a blueandwhitestriped cotton bag about half the length of an ordinary pillowcase and half again as wide which Kuby now unfolded and shook out as he came toward him It was a custom The use of this hood dating from the earliest days of the prison was intended to prevent a sense of location and direction and thereby obviate any attempt to escape Thereafter during all his stay he was not supposed to walk with or talk to or see another prisoner—not even to converse with his superiors unless addressed It was a grim theory and yet one definitely enforced here although as he was to learn later even this could be modified here
Youll have to put this on Kuby said and opened it in such a way that it could be put over Cowperwoods head
Cowperwood understood He had heard of it in some way in times past He was a little shocked—looked at it first with a touch of real surprise but a moment after lifted his hands and helped pull it down
Never mind cautioned the guard put your hands down Ill get it over
Cowperwood dropped his arms When it was fully on it came to about his chest giving him little means of seeing anything He felt very strange very humiliated very downcast This simple thing of a blueandwhite striped bag over his head almost cost him his sense of selfpossession Why could not they have spared him this last indignity he thought
This way said his attendant and he was led out to where he could not say
If you hold it out in front you can see to walk said his guide and Cowperwood pulled it out thus being able to discern his feet and a portion of the floor below He was thus conducted—seeing nothing in his transit—down a short walk then through a long corridor then through a room of uniformed guards and finally up a narrow flight of iron steps leading to the overseers office on the second floor of one of the twotier blocks There he heard the voice of Kuby saying Mr Chapin heres another prisoner for you from Mr Kendall
Ill be there in a minute came a peculiarly pleasant voice from the distance Presently a big heavy hand closed about his arm and he was conducted still further
You haint got far to go now the voice said and then Ill take that bag off and Cowperwood felt for some reason a sense of sympathy perhaps—as though he would choke The further steps were not many
A cell door was reached and unlocked by the inserting of a great iron key It was swung open and the same big hand guided him through A moment later the bag was pulled easily from his head and he saw that he was in a narrow whitewashed cell rather dim windowless but lighted from the top by a small skylight of frosted glass three and one half feet long by four inches wide For a night light there was a tinbodied lamp swinging from a hook near the middle of one of the side walls A rough iron cot furnished with a straw mattress and two pairs of dark blue probably unwashed blankets stood in one corner There was a hydrant and small sink in another A small shelf occupied the wall opposite the bed A plain wooden chair with a homely round back stood at the foot of the bed and a fairly serviceable broom was standing in one corner There was an iron stool or pot for excreta giving as he could see into a large drainpipe which ran along the inside wall and which was obviously flushed by buckets of water being poured into it Rats and other vermin infested this and it gave off an unpleasant odor which filled the cell The floor was of stone Cowperwoods clearseeing eyes took it all in at a glance He noted the hard cell door which was barred and crossbarred with great round rods of steel and fastened with a thick highly polished lock He saw also that beyond this was a heavy wooden door which could shut him in even more completely than the iron one There was no chance for any clear purifying sunlight here Cleanliness depended entirely on whitewash soap and water and sweeping which in turn depended on the prisoners themselves
He also took in Chapin the homely goodnatured cell overseer whom he now saw for the first time—a large heavy lumbering man rather dusty and misshapenlooking whose uniform did not fit him well and whose manner of standing made him look as though he would much prefer to sit down He was obviously bulky but not strong and his kindly face was covered with a short growth of grayishbrown whiskers His hair was cut badly and stuck out in odd strings or wisps from underneath his big cap Nevertheless Cowperwood was not at all unfavorably impressed—quite the contrary—and he felt at once that this man might be more considerate of him than the others had been He hoped so anyhow He did not know that he was in the presence of the overseer of the manners squad who would have him in charge for two weeks only instructing him in the rules of the prison and that he was only one of twentysix all told who were in Chapins care
That worthy by way of easy introduction now went over to the bed and seated himself on it He pointed to the hard wooden chair which Cowperwood drew out and sat on
Well now youre here haint yuh he asked and answered himself quite genially for he was an unlettered man generously disposed of long experience with criminals and inclined to deal kindly with kindly temperament and a form of religious belief—Quakerism—had inclined him to be merciful and yet his official duties as Cowperwood later found out seemed to have led him to the conclusion that most criminals were innately bad Like Kendall he regarded them as weaklings and neerdowells with evil streaks in them and in the main he was not mistaken Yet he could not help being what he was a fatherly kindly old man having faith in those shibboleths of the weak and inexperienced mentally—human justice and human decency
Yes Im here Mr Chapin Cowperwood replied simply remembering his name from the attendant and flattering the keeper by the use of it
To old Chapin the situation was more or less puzzling This was the famous Frank A Cowperwood whom he had read about the noted banker and treasurylooter He and his copartner in crime Stener were destined to serve as he had read comparatively long terms here Five hundred thousand dollars was a large sum of money in those days much more than five million would have been forty years later He was awed by the thought of what had become of it—how Cowperwood managed to do all the things the papers had said he had done He had a little formula of questions which he usually went through with each new prisoner—asking him if he was sorry now for the crime he had committed if he meant to do better with a new chance if his father and mother were alive etc and by the manner in which they answered these questions—simply regretfully defiantly or otherwise—he judged whether they were being adequately punished or not Yet he could not talk to Cowperwood as he now saw or as he would to the average secondstory burglar storelooter pickpocket and plain cheap thief and swindler And yet he scarcely knew how else to talk
Well now he went on I dont suppose you ever thought youd get to a place like this did you Mr Cowperwood
I never did replied Frank simply I wouldnt have believed it a few months ago Mr Chapin I dont think I deserve to be here now though of course there is no use of my telling you that
He saw that old Chapin wanted to moralize a little and he was only too glad to fall in with his mood He would soon be alone with no one to talk to perhaps and if a sympathetic understanding could be reached with this man now so much the better Any port in a storm any straw to a drowning man
Well no doubt all of us makes mistakes continued Mr Chapin superiorly with an amusing faith in his own value as a moral guide and reformer We cant just always tell how the plans we think so fine are coming out can we Youre here now an I suppose youre sorry certain things didnt come out just as you thought but if you had a chance I dont suppose youd try to do just as you did before now would yuh
No Mr Chapin I wouldnt exactly said Cowperwood truly enough though I believed I was right in everything I did I dont think legal justice has really been done me
Well thats the way continued Chapin meditatively scratching his grizzled head and looking genially about Sometimes as I allers says to some of these here young fellers that comes in here we dont know as much as we thinks we does We forget that others are just as smart as we are and that there are allers people that are watchin us all the time These here courts and jails and detectives—theyre here all the time and they get us I gad—Chapins moral version of by God—they do if we dont behave
Yes Cowperwood replied thats true enough Mr Chapin
Well continued the old man after a time after he had made a few more solemn owllike and yet wellintentioned remarks now heres your bed and theres your chair and theres your washstand and theres your watercloset Now keep em all clean and use em right You would have thought he was making Cowperwood a present of a fortune Youre the ones got to make up your bed every mornin and keep your floor swept and your toilet flushed and your cell clean There haint anybody herell do that for yuh You want to do all them things the first thing in the mornin when you get up and afterward youll get sumpin to eat about sixthirty Youre supposed to get up at fivethirty
Yes Mr Chapin Cowperwood said politely You can depend on me to do all those things promptly
There haint so much more added Chapin Youre supposed to wash yourself all over once a week an Ill give you a clean towel for that Next you gotta wash this floor up every Friday mornin Cowperwood winced at that You kin have hot water for that if you want it Ill have one of the runners bring it to you An as for your friends and relations—he got up and shook himself like a big Newfoundland dog You gotta wife haint you
Yes replied Cowperwood
Well the rules here are that your wife or your friends kin come to see you once in three months and your lawyer—you gotta lawyer haint yuh
Yes sir replied Cowperwood amused
Well he kin come every week or so if he likes—every day I guess—there haint no rules about lawyers But you kin only write one letter once in three months yourself an if you want anything like tobaccer or the like o that from the storeroom you gotta sign an order for it if you got any money with the warden an then I can git it for you
The old man was really above taking small tips in the shape of money He was a holdover from a much more severe and honest regime but subsequent presents or constant flattery were not amiss in making him kindly and generous Cowperwood read him accurately
Very well Mr Chapin I understand he said getting up as the old man did
Then when you have been here two weeks added Chapin rather ruminatively he had forgot to state this to Cowperwood before the warden ll come and git yuh and give yuh yer regular cell summers downstairs Yuh kin make up yer mind by that time what yud like tuh do what yud like to work at If you behave yourself proper moren like theyll give yuh a cell with a yard Yuh never can tell
He went out locking the door with a solemn click and Cowperwood stood there a little more depressed than he had been because of this latest intelligence Only two weeks and then he would be transferred from this kindly old mans care to anothers whom he did not know and with whom he might not fare so well
If ever you want me for anything—if yere sick or sumpin like that Chapin now returned to say after he had walked a few paces away we have a signal here of our own Just hang your towel out through these here bars Ill see it and Ill stop and find out what yuh want when Im passin
Cowperwood whose spirits had sunk revived for the moment
Yes sir he replied thank you Mr Chapin
The old man walked away and Cowperwood heard his steps dying down the cementpaved hall He stood and listened his ears being greeted occasionally by a distant cough a faint scraping of some ones feet the hum or whir of a machine or the iron scratch of a key in a lock None of the noises was loud Rather they were all faint and far away He went over and looked at the bed which was not very clean and without linen and anything but wide or soft and felt it curiously So here was where he was to sleep from now on—he who so craved and appreciated luxury and refinement If Aileen or some of his rich friends should see him here Worse he was sickened by the thought of possible vermin How could he tell How would he do The one chair was abominable The skylight was weak He tried to think of himself as becoming accustomed to the situation but he rediscovered the offal pot in one corner and that discouraged him It was possible that rats might come up here—it looked that way No pictures no books no scene no person no space to walk—just the four bare walls and silence which he would be shut into at night by the thick door What a horrible fate
He sat down and contemplated his situation So here he was at last in the Eastern Penitentiary and doomed according to the judgment of the politicians Butler among others to remain here four long years and longer Stener it suddenly occurred to him was probably being put through the same process he had just gone through Poor old Stener What a fool he had made of himself But because of his foolishness he deserved all he was now getting But the difference between himself and Stener was that they would let Stener out It was possible that already they were easing his punishment in some way that he Cowperwood did not know He put his hand to his chin thinking—his business his house his friends his family Aileen He felt for his watch but remembered that they had taken that There was no way of telling the time Neither had he any notebook pen or pencil with which to amuse or interest himself Besides he had had nothing to eat since morning Still that mattered little What did matter was that he was shut up here away from the world quite alone quite lonely without knowing what time it was and that he could not attend to any of the things he ought to be attending to—his business affairs his future True Steger would probably come to see him after a while That would help a little But even so—think of his position his prospects up to the day of the fire and his state now He sat looking at his shoes his suit God He got up and walked to and fro to and fro but his own steps and movements sounded so loud He walked to the cell door and looked out through the thick bars but there was nothing to see—nothing save a portion of two cell doors opposite something like his own He came back and sat in his single chair meditating but getting weary of that finally stretched himself on the dirty prison bed to try it It was not uncomfortable entirely He got up after a while however and sat then walked then sat What a narrow place to walk he thought This was horrible—something like a living tomb And to think he should be here now day after day and day after day until—until what Until the Governor pardoned him or his time was up or his fortune eaten away—or—
So he cogitated while the hours slipped by It was nearly five oclock before Steger was able to return and then only for a little while He had been arranging for Cowperwoods appearance on the following Thursday Friday and Monday in his several court proceedings When he was gone however and the night fell and Cowperwood had to trim his little shabby oillamp and to drink the strong tea and eat the rough poor bread made of bran and white flour which was shoved to him through the small aperture in the door by the trencher trusty who was accompanied by the overseer to see that it was done properly he really felt very badly And after that the center wooden door of his cell was presently closed and locked by a trusty who slammed it rudely and said no word Nine oclock would be sounded somewhere by a great bell he understood when his smoky oillamp would have to be put out promptly and he would have to undress and go to bed There were punishments no doubt for infractions of these rules—reduced rations the straitjacket perhaps stripes—he scarcely knew what He felt disconsolate grim weary He had put up such a long unsatisfactory fight After washing his heavy stone cup and tin plate at the hydrant he took off the sickening uniform and shoes and even the drawers of the scratching underwear and stretched himself wearily on the bed The place was not any too warm and he tried to make himself comfortable between the blankets—but it was of little use His soul was cold
This will never do he said to himself This will never do Im not sure whether I can stand much of this or not Still he turned his face to the wall and after several hours sleep eventually came
Chapter LIV
Those who by any pleasing courtesy of fortune accident of birth inheritance or the wisdom of parents or friends have succeeded in avoiding making that anathema of the prosperous and comfortable a mess of their lives will scarcely understand the mood of Cowperwood sitting rather gloomily in his cell these first days wondering what in spite of his great ingenuity was to become of him The strongest have their hours of depression There are times when life to those endowed with the greatest intelligence—perhaps mostly to those—takes on a somber hue They see so many phases of its dreary subtleties It is only when the soul of man has been built up into some strange selfconfidence some curious faith in its own powers based no doubt on the actual presence of these same powers subtly involved in the body that it fronts life unflinchingly It would be too much to say that Cowperwoods mind was of the first order It was subtle enough in all conscience—and involved as is common with the executively great with a strong sense of personal advancement It was a powerful mind turning like a vast searchlight a glittering ray into many a dark corner but it was not sufficiently disinterested to search the ultimate dark He realized in a way what the great astronomers sociologists philosophers chemists physicists and physiologists were meditating but he could not be sure in his own mind that whatever it was it was important for him No doubt life held many strange secrets Perhaps it was essential that somebody should investigate them However that might be the call of his own soul was in another direction His business was to make money—to organize something which would make him much money or better yet save the organization he had begun
But this as he now looked upon it was almost impossible It had been too disarranged and complicated by unfortunate circumstances He might as Steger pointed out to him string out these bankruptcy proceedings for years tiring out one creditor and another but in the meantime the properties involved were being seriously damaged Interest charges on his unsatisfied loans were making heavy inroads court costs were mounting up and to cap it all he had discovered with Steger that there were a number of creditors—those who had sold out to Butler and incidentally to Mollenhauer—who would never accept anything except the full value of their claims His one hope now was to save what he could by compromise a little later and to build up some sort of profitable business through Stephen Wingate The latter was coming in a day or two as soon as Steger had made some working arrangement for him with Warden Michael Desmas who came the second day to have a look at the new prisoner
Desmas was a large man physically—Irish by birth a politician by training—who had been one thing and another in Philadelphia from a policeman in his early days and a corporal in the Civil War to a ward captain under Mollenhauer He was a canny man tall rawboned singularly muscularlooking who for all his fiftyseven years looked as though he could give a splendid account of himself in a physical contest His hands were large and bony his face more square than either round or long and his forehead high He had a vigorous growth of shortclipped irongray hair and a bristly irongray mustache very short keen intelligent bluegray eyes a florid complexion and evenedged savagelooking teeth which showed the least bit in a slightly wolfish way when he smiled However he was not as cruel a person as he looked to be temperamental to a certain extent hard and on occasions savage but with kindly hours also His greatest weakness was that he was not quite mentally able to recognize that there were mental and social differences between prisoners and that now and then one was apt to appear here who with or without political influences was eminently worthy of special consideration What he could recognize was the differences pointed out to him by the politicians in special cases such as that of Stener—not Cowperwood However seeing that the prison was a public institution apt to be visited at any time by lawyers detectives doctors preachers propagandists and the public generally and that certain rules and regulations had to be enforced if for no other reason than to keep a moral and administrative control over his own help it was necessary to maintain—and that even in the face of the politician—a certain amount of discipline system and order and it was not possible to be too liberal with any one There were however exceptional cases—men of wealth and refinement victims of those occasional uprisings which so shocked the political leaders generally—who had to be looked after in a friendly way
Desmas was quite aware of course of the history of Cowperwood and Stener The politicians had already given him warning that Stener because of his past services to the community was to be treated with special consideration Not so much was said about Cowperwood although they did admit that his lot was rather hard Perhaps he might do a little something for him but at his own risk
Butler is down on him Strobik said to Desmas on one occasion Its that girl of his thats at the bottom of it all If you listened to Butler youd feed him on bread and water but he isnt a bad fellow As a matter of fact if George had had any sense Cowperwood wouldnt be where he is today But the big fellows wouldnt let Stener alone They wouldnt let him give Cowperwood any money
Although Strobik had been one of those who under pressure from Mollenhauer had advised Stener not to let Cowperwood have any more money yet here he was pointing out the folly of the victims course The thought of the inconsistency involved did not trouble him in the least
Desmas decided therefore that if Cowperwood were persona non grata to the Big Three it might be necessary to be indifferent to him or at least slow in extending him any special favors For Stener a good chair clean linen special cutlery and dishes the daily papers privileges in the matter of mail the visits of friends and the like For Cowperwood—well he would have to look at Cowperwood and see what he thought At the same time Stegers intercessions were not without their effect on Desmas So the morning after Cowperwoods entrance the warden received a letter from Terrence Relihan the Harrisburg potentate indicating that any kindness shown to Mr Cowperwood would be duly appreciated by him Upon the receipt of this letter Desmas went up and looked through Cowperwoods iron door On the way he had a brief talk with Chapin who told him what a nice man he thought Cowperwood was
Desmas had never seen Cowperwood before but in spite of the shabby uniform the clog shoes the cheap shirt and the wretched cell he was impressed Instead of the weak anaemic body and the shifty eyes of the average prisoner he saw a man whose face and form blazed energy and power and whose vigorous erectness no wretched clothes or conditions could demean He lifted his head when Desmas appeared glad that any form should have appeared at his door and looked at him with large clear examining eyes—those eyes that in the past had inspired so much confidence and surety in all those who had known him Desmas was stirred Compared with Stener whom he knew in the past and whom he had met on his entry this man was a force Say what you will one vigorous man inherently respects another And Desmas was vigorous physically He eyed Cowperwood and Cowperwood eyed him Instinctively Desmas liked him He was like one tiger looking at another
Instinctively Cowperwood knew that he was the warden This is Mr Desmas isnt it he asked courteously and pleasantly
Yes sir Im the man replied Desmas interestedly These rooms are not as comfortable as they might be are they The wardens even teeth showed in a friendly yet wolfish way
They certainly are not Mr Desmas replied Cowperwood standing very erect and soldierlike I didnt imagine I was coming to a hotel however He smiled
There isnt anything special I can do for you is there Mr Cowperwood began Desmas curiously for he was moved by a thought that at some time or other a man such as this might be of service to him Ive been talking to your lawyer Cowperwood was intensely gratified by the Mr So that was the way the wind was blowing Well then within reason things might not prove so bad here He would see He would sound this man out
I dont want to be asking anything Warden which you cannot reasonably give he now returned politely But there are a few things of course that I would change if I could I wish I might have sheets for my bed and I could afford better underwear if you would let me wear it This that I have on annoys me a great deal
Theyre not the best wool thats true enough replied Desmas solemnly Theyre made for the State out here in Pennsylvania somewhere I suppose theres no objection to your wearing your own underwear if you want to Ill see about that And the sheets too We might let you use them if you have them Well have to go a little slow about this There are a lot of people that take a special interest in showing the warden how to tend to his business
I can readily understand that Warden went on Cowperwood briskly and Im certainly very much obliged to you You may be sure that anything you do for me here will be appreciated and not misused and that I have friends on the outside who can reciprocate for me in the course of time He talked slowly and emphatically looking Desmas directly in the eye all of the time Desmas was very much impressed
Thats all right he said now that he had gone so far as to be friendly I cant promise much Prison rules are prison rules But there are some things that can be done because its the rule to do them for other men when they behave themselves You can have a better chair than that if you want it and something to read too If youre in business yet I wouldnt want to do anything to stop that We cant have people running in and out of here every fifteen minutes and you cant turn a cell into a business office—thats not possible It would break up the order of the place Still theres no reason why you shouldnt see some of your friends now and then As for your mail—well that will have to be opened in the ordinary way for the time being anyhow Ill have to see about that I cant promise too much Youll have to wait until you come out of this block and downstairs Some of the cells have a yard there if there are any empty— The warden cocked his eye wisely and Cowperwood saw that his tot was not to be as bad as he had anticipated—though bad enough The warden spoke to him about the different trades he might follow and asked him to think about the one he would prefer You want to have something to keep your hands busy whatever else you want Youll find youll need that Everybody here wants to work after a time I notice that
Cowperwood understood and thanked Desmas profusely The horror of idleness in silence and in a cell scarcely large enough to turn around in comfortably had already begun to creep over him and the thought of being able to see Wingate and Steger frequently and to have his mail reach him after a time untampered with was a great relief He was to have his own underwear silk and wool—thank God—and perhaps they would let him take off these shoes after a while With these modifications and a trade and perhaps the little yard which Desmas had referred to his life would be if not ideal at least tolerable The prison was still a prison but it looked as though it might not be so much of a terror to him as obviously it must be to many
During the two weeks in which Cowperwood was in the manners squad in care of Chapin he learned nearly as much as he ever learned of the general nature of prison life for this was not an ordinary penitentiary in the sense that the prison yard the prison squad the prison lockstep the prison diningroom and prison associated labor make the ordinary penitentiary There was for him and for most of those confined there no general prison life whatsoever The large majority were supposed to work silently in their cells at the particular tasks assigned them and not to know anything of the remainder of the life which went on around them the rule of this prison being solitary confinement and few being permitted to work at the limited number of outside menial tasks provided Indeed as he sensed and as old Chapin soon informed him not more than seventyfive of the four hundred prisoners confined here were so employed and not all of these regularly—cooking gardening in season milling and general cleaning being the only avenues of escape from solitude Even those who so worked were strictly forbidden to talk and although they did not have to wear the objectionable hood when actually employed they were supposed to wear it in going to and from their work Cowperwood saw them occasionally tramping by his cell door and it struck him as strange uncanny grim He wished sincerely at times since old Chapin was so genial and talkative that he were to be under him permanently but it was not to be
His two weeks soon passed—drearily enough in all conscience but they passed interlaced with his few commonplace tasks of bedmaking floorsweeping dressing eating undressing rising at fivethirty and retiring at nine washing his several dishes after each meal etc He thought he would never get used to the food Breakfast as has been said was at sixthirty and consisted of coarse black bread made of bran and some white flour and served with black coffee Dinner was at eleventhirty and consisted of bean or vegetable soup with some coarse meat in it and the same bread Supper was at six of tea and bread very strong tea and the same bread—no butter no milk no sugar Cowperwood did not smoke so the small allowance of tobacco which was permitted was without value to him Steger called in every day for two or three weeks and after the second day Stephen Wingate as his new business associate was permitted to see him also—once every day if he wished Desmas stated though the latter felt he was stretching a point in permitting this so soon Both of these visits rarely occupied more than an hour or an hour and a half and after that the day was long He was taken out on several days on a court order between nine and five to testify in the bankruptcy proceedings against him which caused the time in the beginning to pass quickly
It was curious once he was in prison safely shut from the world for a period of years apparently how quickly all thought of assisting him departed from the minds of those who had been most friendly He was done so most of them thought The only thing they could do now would be to use their influence to get him out some time how soon they could not guess Beyond that there was nothing He would really never be of any great importance to any one any more or so they thought It was very sad very tragic but he was gone—his place knew him not
A bright young man that observed President Davison of the Girard National on reading of Cowperwoods sentence and incarceration Too bad Too bad He made a great mistake
Only his parents Aileen and his wife—the latter with mingled feelings of resentment and sorrow—really missed him Aileen because of her great passion for him was suffering most of all Four years and three months she thought If he did not get out before then she would be nearing twentynine and he would be nearing forty Would he want her then Would she be so attractive And would nearly five years change his point of view He would have to wear a convict suit all that time and be known as a convict forever after It was hard to think about but only made her more than ever determined to cling to him whatever happened and to help him all she could
Indeed the day after his incarceration she drove out and looked at the grim gray walls of the penitentiary Knowing nothing absolutely of the vast and complicated processes of law and penal servitude it seemed especially terrible to her What might not they be doing to her Frank Was he suffering much Was he thinking of her as she was of him Oh the pity of it all The pity The pity of herself—her great love for him She drove home determined to see him but as he had originally told her that visiting days were only once in three months and that he would have to write her when the next one was or when she could come or when he could see her on the outside she scarcely knew what to do Secrecy was the thing
The next day however she wrote him just the same describing the drive she had taken on the stormy afternoon before—the terror of the thought that he was behind those grim gray walls—and declaring her determination to see him soon And this letter under the new arrangement he received at once He wrote her in reply giving the letter to Wingate to mail It ran
My sweet girl—I fancy you are a little downhearted to think I cannot be with you any more soon but you mustnt be I suppose you read all about the sentence in the paper I came out here the same morning—nearly noon If I had time dearest Id write you a long letter describing the situation so as to ease your mind but I havent Its against the rules and I am really doing this secretly Im here though safe enough and wish I were out of course Sweetest you must be careful how you try to see me at first You cant do me much service outside of cheering me up and you may do yourself great harm Besides I think I have done you far more harm than I can ever make up to you and that you had best give me up although I know you do not think so and I would be sad if you did I am to be in the Court of Special Pleas Sixth and Chestnut on Friday at two oclock but you cannot see me there Ill be out in charge of my counsel You must be careful Perhaps youll think better and not come here
This last touch was one of pure gloom the first Cowperwood had ever introduced into their relationship but conditions had changed him Hitherto he had been in the position of the superior being the one who was being sought—although Aileen was and had been well worth seeking—and he had thought that he might escape unscathed and so grow in dignity and power until she might not possibly be worthy of him any longer He had had that thought But here in stripes it was a different matter Aileens position reduced in value as it was by her long ardent relationship with him was now nevertheless superior to his—apparently so For after all was she not Edward Butlers daughter and might she after she had been away from him a while wish to become a convicts bride She ought not to want to and she might not want to for all he knew she might change her mind She ought not to wait for him Her life was not yet ruined The public did not know so he thought—not generally anyhow—that she had been his mistress She might marry Why not and so pass out of his life forever And would not that be sad for him And yet did he not owe it to her to a sense of fair play in himself to ask her to give him up or at least think over the wisdom of doing so
He did her the justice to believe that she would not want to give him up and in his position however harmful it might be to her it was an advantage a connecting link with the finest period of his past life to have her continue to love him He could not however scribbling this note in his cell in Wingates presence and giving it to him to mail Overseer Chapin was kindly keeping a respectful distance though he was supposed to be present refrain from adding at the last moment this little touch of doubt which when she read it struck Aileen to the heart She read it as gloom on his part—as great depression Perhaps after all the penitentiary and so soon was really breaking his spirit and he had held up so courageously so long Because of this now she was madly eager to get to him to console him even though it was difficult perilous She must she said
In regard to visits from the various members of his family—his mother and father his brother his wife and his sister—Cowperwood made it plain to them on one of the days on which he was out attending a bankruptcy hearing that even providing it could be arranged he did not think they should come oftener than once in three months unless he wrote them or sent word by Steger The truth was that he really did not care to see much of any of them at present He was sick of the whole social scheme of things In fact he wanted to be rid of the turmoil he had been in seeing it had proved so useless He had used nearly fifteen thousand dollars thus far in defending himself—court costs family maintenance Steger etc but he did not mind that He expected to make some little money working through Wingate His family were not utterly without funds sufficient to live on in a small way He had advised them to remove into houses more in keeping with their reduced circumstances which they had done—his mother and father and brothers and sister to a threestory brick house of about the caliber of the old Buttonwood Street house and his wife to a smaller less expensive twostory one on North Twentyfirst Street near the penitentiary a portion of the money saved out of the thirtyfive thousand dollars extracted from Stener under false pretenses aiding to sustain it Of course all this was a terrible descent from the Girard Avenue mansion for the elder Cowperwood for here was none of the furniture which characterized the other somewhat gorgeous domicile—merely storebought readymade furniture and neat but cheap hangings and fixtures generally The assignees to whom all Cowperwoods personal property belonged and to whom Cowperwood the elder had surrendered all his holdings would not permit anything of importance to be removed It had all to be sold for the benefit of creditors A few very small things but only a few had been kept as everything had been inventoried some time before One of the things which old Cowperwood wanted was his own desk which Frank had had designed for him but as it was valued at five hundred dollars and could not be relinquished by the sheriff except on payment of that sum or by auction and as Henry Cowperwood had no such sum to spare he had to let the desk go There were many things they all wanted and Anna Adelaide had literally purloined a few though she did not admit the fact to her parents until long afterward
There came a day when the two houses in Girard Avenue were the scene of a sheriffs sale during which the general public without let or hindrance was permitted to tramp through the rooms and examine the pictures statuary and objects of art generally which were auctioned off to the highest bidder Considerable fame had attached to Cowperwoods activities in this field owing in the first place to the real merit of what he had brought together and in the next place to the enthusiastic comment of such men as Wilton Ellsworth Fletcher Norton Gordon Strake—architects and art dealers whose judgment and taste were considered important in Philadelphia All of the lovely things by which he had set great store—small bronzes representative of the best period of the Italian Renaissance bits of Venetian glass which he had collected with great care—a full curio case statues by Powers Hosmer and Thorwaldsen—things which would be smiled at thirty years later but which were of high value then all of his pictures by representative American painters from Gilbert to Eastman Johnson together with a few specimens of the current French and English schools went for a song Art judgment in Philadelphia at this time was not exceedingly high and some of the pictures for lack of appreciative understanding were disposed of at much too low a figure Strake Norton and Ellsworth were all present and bought liberally Senator Simpson Mollenhauer and Strobik came to see what they could see The smallfry politicians were there en masse But Simpson calm judge of good art secured practically the best of all that was offered To him went the curio case of Venetian glass one pair of tall blueandwhite Mohammedan cylindrical vases fourteen examples of Chinese jade including several artists waterdishes and a pierced windowscreen of the faintest tinge of green To Mollenhauer went the furniture and decorations of the entryhall and receptionroom of Henry Cowperwoods house and to Edward Strobik two of Cowperwoods birdseye maple bedroom suites for the most modest of prices Adam Davis was present and secured the secretaire of buhl which the elder Cowperwood prized so highly To Fletcher Norton went the four Greek vases—a kylix a waterjar and two amphorae—which he had sold to Cowperwood and which he valued highly Various objects of art including a Sevres dinner set a Gobelin tapestry Barye bronzes and pictures by Detaille Fortuny and George Inness went to Walter Leigh Arthur Rivers Joseph Zimmerman Judge Kitchen Harper Steger Terrence Relihan Trenor Drake Mr and Mrs Simeon Jones W C Davison Frewen Kasson Fletcher Norton and Judge Rafalsky
Within four days after the sale began the two houses were bare of their contents Even the objects in the house at 931 North Tenth Street had been withdrawn from storage where they had been placed at the time it was deemed advisable to close this institution and placed on sale with the other objects in the two homes It was at this time that the senior Cowperwoods first learned of something which seemed to indicate a mystery which had existed in connection with their son and his wife No one of all the Cowperwoods was present during all this gloomy distribution and Aileen reading of the disposition of all the wares and knowing their value to Cowperwood to say nothing of their charm for her was greatly depressed yet she was not long despondent for she was convinced that Cowperwood would some day regain his liberty and attain a position of even greater significance in the financial world She could not have said why but she was sure of it
Chapter LV
In the meanwhile Cowperwood had been transferred to a new overseer and a new cell in Block 3 on the ground door which was like all the others in size ten by sixteen but to which was attached the small yard previously mentioned Warden Desmas came up two days before he was transferred and had another short conversation with him through his cell door
Youll be transferred on Monday he said in his reserved slow way Theyll give you a yard though it wont be much good to you—we only allow a halfhour a day in it Ive told the overseer about your business arrangements Hell treat you right in that matter Just be careful not to take up too much time that way and things will work out Ive decided to let you learn caning chairs Thatll be the best for you Its easy and itll occupy your mind
The warden and some allied politicians made a good thing out of this prison industry It was really not hard labor—the tasks set were simple and not oppressive but all of the products were promptly sold and the profits pocketed It was good therefore to see all the prisoners working and it did them good Cowperwood was glad of the chance to do something for he really did not care so much for books and his connection with Wingate and his old affairs were not sufficient to employ his mind in a satisfactory way At the same time he could not help thinking if he seemed strange to himself now how much stranger he would seem then behind these narrow bars working at so commonplace a task as caning chairs Nevertheless he now thanked Desmas for this as well as for the sheets and the toilet articles which had just been brought in
Thats all right replied the latter pleasantly and softly by now much intrigued by Cowperwood I know that there are men and men here the same as anywhere If a man knows how to use these things and wants to be clean I wouldnt be one to put anything in his way
The new overseer with whom Cowperwood had to deal was a very different person from Elias Chapin His name was Walter Bonhag and he was not more than thirtyseven years of age—a big flabby sort of person with a crafty mind whose principal object in life was to see that this prison situation as he found it should furnish him a better income than his normal salary provided A close study of Bonhag would have seemed to indicate that he was a stoolpigeon of Desmas but this was really not true except in a limited way Because Bonhag was shrewd and sycophantic quick to see a point in his or anybody elses favor Desmas instinctively realized that he was the kind of man who could be trusted to be lenient on order or suggestion That is if Desmas had the least interest in a prisoner he need scarcely say so much to Bonhag he might merely suggest that this man was used to a different kind of life or that because of some past experience it might go hard with him if he were handled roughly and Bonhag would strain himself to be pleasant The trouble was that to a shrewd man of any refinement his attentions were objectionable being obviously offered for a purpose and to a poor or ignorant man they were brutal and contemptuous He had built up an extra income for himself inside the prison by selling the prisoners extra allowances of things which he secretly brought into the prison It was strictly against the rules in theory at least to bring in anything which was not sold in the storeroom—tobacco writing paper pens ink whisky cigars or delicacies of any kind On the other hand and excellently well for him it was true that tobacco of an inferior grade was provided as well as wretched pens ink and paper so that no selfrespecting man if he could help it would endure them Whisky was not allowed at all and delicacies were abhorred as indicating rank favoritism nevertheless they were brought in If a prisoner had the money and was willing to see that Bonhag secured something for his trouble almost anything would be forthcoming Also the privilege of being sent into the general yard as a trusty or being allowed to stay in the little private yard which some cells possessed longer than the halfhour ordinarily permitted was sold
One of the things curiously enough at this time which worked in Cowperwoods favor was the fact that Bonhag was friendly with the overseer who had Stener in charge and Stener because of his political friends was being liberally treated and Bonhag knew of this He was not a careful reader of newspapers nor had he any intellectual grasp of important events but he knew by now that both Stener and Cowperwood were or had been individuals of great importance in the community also that Cowperwood had been the more important of the two Better yet as Bonhag now heard Cowperwood still had money Some prisoner who was permitted to read the paper told him so And so entirely aside from Warden Desmass recommendation which was given in a very quiet noncommittal way Bonhag was interested to see what he could do for Cowperwood for a price
The day Cowperwood was installed in his new cell Bonhag lolled up to the door which was open and said in a semipatronizing way Got all your things over yet It was his business to lock the door once Cowperwood was inside it
Yes sir replied Cowperwood who had been shrewd enough to get the new overseers name from Chapin this is Mr Bonhag I presume
Thats me replied Bonhag not a little flattered by the recognition but still purely interested by the practical side of this encounter He was anxious to study Cowperwood to see what type of man he was
Youll find it a little different down here from up there observed Bonhag It aint so stuffy These doors out in the yards make a difference
Oh yes said Cowperwood observantly and shrewdly that is the yard Mr Desmas spoke of
At the mention of the magic name if Bonhag had been a horse his ears would have been seen to lift For of course if Cowperwood was so friendly with Desmas that the latter had described to him the type of cell he was to have beforehand it behooved Bonhag to be especially careful
Yes thats it but it aint much he observed They only allow a halfhour a day in it Still it would be all right if a person could stay out there longer
This was his first hint at graft favoritism and Cowperwood distinctly caught the sound of it in his voice
Thats too bad he said I dont suppose good conduct helps a person to get more He waited to hear a reply but instead Bonhag continued with Id better teach you your new trade now Youve got to learn to cane chairs so the warden says If you want we can begin right away But without waiting for Cowperwood to acquiesce he went off returning after a time with three unvarnished frames of chairs and a bundle of cane strips or withes which he deposited on the floor Having so done—and with a flourish—he now continued Now Ill show you if youll watch me and he began showing Cowperwood how the strips were to be laced through the apertures on either side cut and fastened with little hickory pegs This done he brought a forcing awl a small hammer a box of pegs and a pair of clippers After several brief demonstrations with different strips as to how the geometric forms were designed he allowed Cowperwood to take the matter in hand watching over his shoulder The financier quick at anything manual or mental went at it in his customary energetic fashion and in five minutes demonstrated to Bonhag that barring skill and speed which could only come with practice he could do it as well as another Youll make out all right said Bonhag Youre supposed to do ten of those a day We wont count the next few days though until you get your hand in After that Ill come around and see how youre getting along You understand about the towel on the door dont you he inquired
Yes Mr Chapin explained that to me replied Cowperwood I think I know what most of the rules are now Ill try not to break any of them
The days which followed brought a number of modifications of his prison lot but not sufficient by any means to make it acceptable to him Bonhag during the first few days in which he trained Cowperwood in the art of caning chairs managed to make it perfectly clear that there were a number of things he would be willing to do for him One of the things that moved him to this was that already he had been impressed by the fact that Steners friends were coming to see him in larger numbers than Cowperwoods sending him an occasional basket of fruit which he gave to the overseers and that his wife and children had been already permitted to visit him outside the regular visitingday This was a cause for jealousy on Bonhags part His fellowoverseer was lording it over him—telling him as it were of the high jinks in Block 4 Bonhag really wanted Cowperwood to spruce up and show what he could do socially or otherwise
And so now he began with I see you have your lawyer and your partner here every day There aint anybody else youd like to have visit you is there Of course its against the rules to have your wife or sister or anybody like that except on visiting days— And here he paused and rolled a large and informing eye on Cowperwood—such an eye as was supposed to convey dark and mysterious things But all the rules aint kept around here by a long shot
Cowperwood was not the man to lose a chance of this kind He smiled a little—enough to relieve himself and to convey to Bonhag that he was gratified by the information but vocally he observed Ill tell you how it is Mr Bonhag I believe you understand my position better than most men would and that I can talk to you There are people who would like to come here but I have been afraid to let them come I did not know that it could be arranged If it could be I would be very grateful You and I are practical men—I know that if any favors are extended some of those who help to bring them about must be looked after If you can do anything to make it a little more comfortable for me here I will show you that I appreciate it I havent any money on my person but I can always get it and I will see that you are properly looked after
Bonhags short thick ears tingled This was the kind of talk he liked to hear I can fix anything like that Mr Cowperwood he replied servilely You leave it to me If theres any one you want to see at any time just let me know Of course I have to be very careful and so do you but thats all right too If you want to stay out in that yard a little longer in the mornings or get out there afternoons or evenings from now on why go ahead Its all right Ill just leave the door open If the warden or anybody else should be around Ill just scratch on your door with my key and you come in and shut it If theres anything you want from the outside I can get it for you—jelly or eggs or butter or any little thing like that You might like to fix up your meals a little that way
Im certainly most grateful Mr Bonhag returned Cowperwood in his grandest manner and with a desire to smile but he kept a straight face
In regard to that other matter went on Bonhag referring to the matter of extra visitors I can fix that any time you want to I know the men out at the gate If you want anybody to come here just write em a note and give it to me and tell em to ask for me when they come Thatll get em in all right When they get here you can talk to em in your cell See Only when I tap they have to come out You want to remember that So just you let me know
Cowperwood was exceedingly grateful He said so in direct choice language It occurred to him at once that this was Aileens opportunity and that he could now notify her to come If she veiled herself sufficiently she would probably be safe enough He decided to write her and when Wingate came he gave him a letter to mail
Two days later at three oclock in the afternoon—the time appointed by him—Aileen came to see him She was dressed in gray broadcloth with whitevelvet trimmings and cutsteel buttons which glistened like silver and wore as additional ornaments as well as a protection against the cold a cap stole and muff of snowwhite ermine Over this rather striking costume she had slipped a long dark circular cloak which she meant to lay off immediately upon her arrival She had made a very careful toilet as to her shoes gloves hair and the gold ornaments which she wore Her face was concealed by a thick green veil as Cowperwood had suggested and she arrived at an hour when as near as he had been able to prearrange he would be alone Wingate usually came at four after business and Steger in the morning when he came at all She was very nervous over this strange adventure leaving the streetcar in which she had chosen to travel some distance away and walking up a side street The cold weather and the gray walls under a gray sky gave her a sense of defeat but she had worked very hard to look nice in order to cheer her lover up She knew how readily he responded to the influence of her beauty when properly displayed
Cowperwood in view of her coming had made his cell as acceptable as possible It was clean because he had swept it himself and made his own bed and besides he had shaved and combed his hair and otherwise put himself to rights The caned chairs on which he was working had been put in the corner at the end of the bed His few dishes were washed and hung up and his clogs brushed with a brush which he now kept for the purpose Never before he thought to himself with a peculiar feeling of artistic degradation had Aileen seen him like this She had always admired his good taste in clothes and the way he carried himself in them and now she was to see him in garments which no dignity of body could make presentable Only a stoic sense of his own souldignity aided him here After all as he now thought he was Frank A Cowperwood and that was something whatever he wore And Aileen knew it Again he might be free and rich some day and he knew that she believed that Best of all his looks under these or any other circumstances as he knew would make no difference to Aileen She would only love him the more It was her ardent sympathy that he was afraid of He was so glad that Bonhag had suggested that she might enter the cell for it would be a grim procedure talking to her through a barred door
When Aileen arrived she asked for Mr Bonhag and was permitted to go to the central rotunda where he was sent for When he came she murmured I wish to see Mr Cowperwood if you please and he exclaimed Oh yes just come with me As he came across the rotunda floor from his corridor he was struck by the evident youth of Aileen even though he could not see her face This now was something in accordance with what he had expected of Cowperwood A man who could steal five hundred thousand dollars and set a whole city by the ears must have wonderful adventures of all kinds and Aileen looked like a true adventure He led her to the little room where he kept his desk and detained visitors and then bustled down to Cowperwoods cell where the financier was working on one of his chairs and scratching on the door with his key called Theres a young lady here to see you Do you want to let her come inside
Thank you yes replied Cowperwood and Bonhag hurried away unintentionally forgetting in his boorish incivility to unlock the cell door so that he had to open it in Aileens presence The long corridor with its thick doors mathematically spaced gratings and graystone pavement caused Aileen to feel faint at heart A prison iron cells And he was in one of them It chilled her usually courageous spirit What a terrible place for her Frank to be What a horrible thing to have put him here Judges juries courts laws jails seemed like so many foaming ogres ranged about the world glaring down upon her and her loveaffair The clank of the key in the lock and the heavy outward swinging of the door completed her sense of the untoward And then she saw Cowperwood
Because of the price he was to receive Bonhag after admitting her strolled discreetly away Aileen looked at Cowperwood from behind her veil afraid to speak until she was sure Bonhag had gone And Cowperwood who was retaining his selfpossession by an effort signaled her but with difficulty after a moment or two Its all right he said Hes gone away She lifted her veil removed her cloak and took in without seeming to the stuffy narrow thickness of the room his wretched shoes the cheap misshapen suit the iron door behind him leading out into the little yard attached to his cell Against such a background with his partially caned chairs visible at the end of the bed he seemed unnatural weird even Her Frank And in this condition She trembled and it was useless for her to try to speak She could only put her arms around him and stroke his head murmuring My poor boy—my darling Is this what they have done to you Oh my poor darling She held his head while Cowperwood anxious to retain his composure winced and trembled too Her love was so full—so genuine It was so soothing at the same time that it was unmanning as now he could see making of him a child again And for the first time in his life some inexplicable trick of chemistry—that chemistry of the body of blind forces which so readily supersedes reason at times—he lost his selfcontrol The depth of Aileens feelings the cooing sound of her voice the velvety tenderness of her hands that beauty that had drawn him all the time—more radiant here perhaps within these hard walls and in the face of his physical misery than it had ever been before—completely unmanned him He did not understand how it could he tried to defy the moods but he could not When she held his head close and caressed it of a sudden in spite of himself his breast felt thick and stuffy and his throat hurt him He felt for him an astonishingly strange feeling a desire to cry which he did his best to overcome it shocked him so There then combined and conspired to defeat him a strange rich picture of the great world he had so recently lost of the lovely magnificent world which he hoped some day to regain He felt more poignantly at this moment than ever he had before the degradation of the clog shoes the cotton shirt the striped suit the reputation of a convict permanent and not to be laid aside He drew himself quickly away from her turned his back clinched his hands drew his muscles taut but it was too late He was crying and he could not stop
Oh damn it he exclaimed half angrily half selfcommiseratingly in combined rage and shame Why should I cry What the devils the matter with me anyhow
Aileen saw it She fairly flung herself in front of him seized his head with one hand his shabby waist with the other and held him tight in a grip that he could not have readily released
Oh honey honey honey she exclaimed pityingly feverishly I love you I adore you They could cut my body into bits if it would do you any good To think that they should make you cry Oh my sweet my sweet my darling boy
She pulled his still shaking body tighter and with her free hand caressed his head She kissed his eyes his hair his cheeks He pulled himself loose again after a moment exclaiming What the devils got into me but she drew him back
Never mind honey darling dont you be ashamed to cry Cry here on my shoulder Cry here with me My baby—my honey pet
He quieted down after a few moments cautioning her against Bonhag and regaining his former composure which he was so ashamed to have lost
Youre a great girl pet he said with a tender and yet apologetic smile Youre all right—all that I need—a great help to me but dont worry any longer about me dear Im all right It isnt as bad as you think How are you
Aileen on her part was not to be soothed so easily His many woes including his wretched position here outraged her sense of justice and decency To think her fine wonderful Frank should be compelled to come to this—to cry She stroked his head tenderly while wild deadly unreasoning opposition to life and chance and untoward opposition surged in her brain Her father—damn him Her family—pooh What did she care Her Frank—her Frank How little all else mattered where he was concerned Never never never would she desert him—never—come what might And now she clung to him in silence while she fought in her brain an awful battle with life and law and fate and circumstance Law—nonsense People—they were brutes devils enemies hounds She was delighted eager crazy to make a sacrifice of herself She would go anywhere for or with her Frank now She would do anything for him Her family was nothing—life nothing nothing nothing She would do anything he wished nothing more nothing less anything she could do to save him to make his life happier but nothing for any one else
Chapter LVI
The days passed Once the understanding with Bonhag was reached Cowperwoods wife mother and sister were allowed to appear on occasions His wife and the children were now settled in the little home for which he was paying and his financial obligations to her were satisfied by Wingate who paid her one hundred and twenty five dollars a month for him He realized that he owed her more but he was sailing rather close to the wind financially these days The final collapse of his old interests had come in March when he had been legally declared a bankrupt and all his properties forfeited to satisfy the claims against him The citys claim of five hundred thousand dollars would have eaten up more than could have been realized at the time had not a pro rata payment of thirty cents on the dollar been declared Even then the city never received its due for by some hocuspocus it was declared to have forfeited its rights Its claims had not been made at the proper time in the proper way This left larger portions of real money for the others
Fortunately by now Cowperwood had begun to see that by a little experimenting his business relations with Wingate were likely to prove profitable The broker had made it clear that he intended to be perfectly straight with him He had employed Cowperwoods two brothers at very moderate salaries—one to take care of the books and look after the office and the other to act on change with him for their seats in that organization had never been sold And also by considerable effort he had succeeded in securing Cowperwood Sr a place as a clerk in a bank For the latter since the day of his resignation from the Third National had been in a deep sad quandary as to what further to do with his life His sons disgrace The horror of his trial and incarceration Since the day of Franks indictment and more so since his sentence and commitment to the Eastern Penitentiary he was as one who walked in a dream That trial That charge against Frank His own son a convict in stripes—and after he and Frank had walked so proudly in the front rank of the successful and respected here Like so many others in his hour of distress he had taken to reading the Bible looking into its pages for something of that mind consolation that always from youth up although rather casually in these latter years he had imagined was to be found there The Psalms Isaiah the Book of Job Ecclesiastes And for the most part because of the fraying nature of his present ills not finding it
But day after day secreting himself in his room—a little hallbedroom office in his newest home where to his wife he pretended that he had some commercial matters wherewith he was still concerned—and once inside the door locked sitting and brooding on all that had befallen him—his losses his good name Or after months of this and because of the new position secured for him by Wingate—a bookkeeping job in one of the outlying banks—slipping away early in the morning and returning late at night his mind a gloomy epitome of all that had been or yet might be
To see him bustling off from his new but very much reduced home at half after seven in the morning in order to reach the small bank which was some distance away and not accessible by streetcar line was one of those pathetic sights which the fortunes of trade so frequently offer He carried his lunch in a small box because it was inconvenient to return home in the time allotted for this purpose and because his new salary did not permit the extravagance of a purchased one It was his one ambition now to eke out a respectable but unseen existence until he should die which he hoped would not be long He was a pathetic figure with his thin legs and body his gray hair and his snowwhite sidewhiskers He was very lean and angular and when confronted by a difficult problem a little uncertain or vague in his mind An old habit which had grown on him in the years of his prosperity of putting his hand to his mouth and of opening his eyes in an assumption of surprise which had no basis in fact now grew upon him He really degenerated although he did not know it into a mere automaton Life strews its shores with such interesting and pathetic wrecks
One of the things that caused Cowperwood no little thought at this time and especially in view of his present extreme indifference to her was how he would bring up this matter of his indifference to his wife and his desire to end their relationship Yet apart from the brutality of the plain truth he saw no way As he could plainly see she was now persisting in her pretense of devotion uncolored apparently by any suspicion of what had happened Yet since his trial and conviction she had been hearing from one source and another that he was still intimate with Aileen and it was only her thought of his concurrent woes and the fact that he might possibly be spared to a successful financial life that now deterred her from speaking He was shut up in a cell she said to herself and she was really very sorry for him but she did not love him as she once had He was really too deserving of reproach for his general unseemly conduct and no doubt this was what was intended as well as being enforced by the Governing Power of the world
One can imagine how much such an attitude as this would appeal to Cowperwood once he had detected it By a dozen little signs in spite of the fact that she brought him delicacies and commiserated on his fate he could see that she felt not only sad but reproachful and if there was one thing that Cowperwood objected to at all times it was the moral as well as the funereal air Contrasted with the cheerful combative hopefulness and enthusiasm of Aileen the wearied uncertainty of Mrs Cowperwood was to say the least a little tame Aileen after her first burst of rage over his fate which really did not develop any tears on her part was apparently convinced that he would get out and be very successful again She talked success and his future all the time because she believed in it Instinctively she seemed to realize that prison walls could not make a prison for him Indeed on the first day she left she handed Bonhag ten dollars and after thanking him in her attractive voice—without showing her face however—for his obvious kindness to her bespoke his further favor for Cowperwood—a very great man as she described him which sealed that ambitious materialists fate completely There was nothing the overseer would not do for the young lady in the dark cloak She might have stayed in Cowperwoods cell for a week if the visitinghours of the penitentiary had not made it impossible
The day that Cowperwood decided to discuss with his wife the weariness of his present married state and his desire to be free of it was some four months after he had entered the prison By that time he had become inured to his convict life The silence of his cell and the menial tasks he was compelled to perform which had at first been so distressing banal maddening in their pointless iteration had now become merely commonplace—dull but not painful Furthermore he had learned many of the little resources of the solitary convict such as that of using his lamp to warm up some delicacy which he had saved from a previous meal or from some basket which had been sent him by his wife or Aileen He had partially gotten rid of the sickening odor of his cell by persuading Bonhag to bring him small packages of lime which he used with great freedom Also he succeeded in defeating some of the more venturesome rats with traps and with Bonhags permission after his cell door had been properly locked at night and sealed with the outer wooden door he would take his chair if it were not too cold out into the little back yard of his cell and look at the sky where when the nights were clear the stars were to be seen He had never taken any interest in astronomy as a scientific study but now the Pleiades the belt of Orion the Big Dipper and the North Star to which one of its lines pointed caught his attention almost his fancy He wondered why the stars of the belt of Orion came to assume the peculiar mathematical relation to each other which they held as far as distance and arrangement were concerned and whether that could possibly have any intellectual significance The nebulous conglomeration of the suns in Pleiades suggested a soundless depth of space, and he thought of the earth floating like a little ball in immeasurable reaches of ether His own life appeared very trivial in view of these things and he found himself asking whether it was all really of any significance or importance He shook these moods off with ease however for the man was possessed of a sense of grandeur largely in relation to himself and his affairs and his temperament was essentially material and vital Something kept telling him that whatever his present state he must yet grow to be a significant personage one whose fame would be heralded the world over—who must try try try It was not given all men to see far or to do brilliantly but to him it was given and he must be what he was cut out to be There was no more escaping the greatness that was inherent in him than there was for so many others the littleness that was in them
Mrs Cowperwood came in that afternoon quite solemnly bearing several changes of linen a pair of sheets some potted meat and a pie She was not exactly doleful but Cowperwood thought that she was tending toward it largely because of her brooding over his relationship to Aileen which he knew that she knew Something in her manner decided him to speak before she left and after asking her how the children were and listening to her inquiries in regard to the things that he needed he said to her sitting on his single chair while she sat on his bed
Lillian theres something Ive been wanting to talk with you about for some time I should have done it before but its better late than never I know that you know that there is something between Aileen Butler and me and we might as well have it open and aboveboard Its true I am very fond of her and she is very devoted to me and if ever I get out of here I want to arrange it so that I can marry her That means that you will have to give me a divorce if you will and I want to talk to you about that now This cant be so very much of a surprise to you because you must have seen this long while that our relationship hasnt been all that it might have been and under the circumstances this cant prove such a very great hardship to you—I am sure He paused waiting for Mrs Cowperwood at first said nothing
Her thought when he first broached this was that she ought to make some demonstration of astonishment or wrath but when she looked into his steady examining eyes so free from the illusion of or interest in demonstrations of any kind she realized how useless it would be He was so utterly matteroffact in what seemed to her quite private and secret affairs—very shameless She had never been able to understand quite how he could take the subtleties of life as he did anyhow Certain things which she always fancied should be hushed up he spoke of with the greatest nonchalance Her ears tingled sometimes at his frankness in disposing of a social situation but she thought this must be characteristic of notable men and so there was nothing to be said about it Certain men did as they pleased society did not seem to be able to deal with them in any way Perhaps God would later—she was not sure Anyhow bad as he was direct as he was forceful as he was he was far more interesting than most of the more conservative types in whom the social virtues of polite speech and modest thoughts were seemingly predominate
I know she said rather peacefully although with a touch of anger and resentment in her voice Ive known all about it all this time I expected you would say something like this to me some day Its a nice reward for all my devotion to you but its just like you Frank When you are set on something nothing can stop you It wasnt enough that you were getting along so nicely and had two children whom you ought to love but you had to take up with this Butler creature until her name and yours are a byword throughout the city I know that she comes to this prison I saw her out here one day as I was coming in and I suppose every one else knows it by now She has no sense of decency and she does not care—the wretched vain thing—but I would have thought that you would be ashamed Frank to go on the way that you have when you still have me and the children and your father and mother and when you are certain to have such a hard fight to get yourself on your feet as it is If she had any sense of decency she would not have anything to do with you—the shameless thing
Cowperwood looked at his wife with unflinching eyes He read in her remarks just what his observation had long since confirmed—that she was sympathetically out of touch with him She was no longer so attractive physically and intellectually she was not Aileens equal Also that contact with those women who had deigned to grace his home in his greatest hour of prosperity had proved to him conclusively she was lacking in certain social graces Aileen was by no means so vastly better still she was young and amenable and adaptable and could still be improved Opportunity as he now chose to think might make Aileen whereas for Lillian—or at least as he now saw it—it could do nothing
Ill tell you how it is Lillian he said Im not sure that you are going to get what I mean exactly but you and I are not at all well suited to each other any more
You didnt seem to think that three or four years ago interrupted his wife bitterly
I married you when I was twentyone went on Cowperwood quite brutally not paying any attention to her interruption and I was really too young to know what I was doing I was a mere boy It doesnt make so much difference about that I am not using that as an excuse The point that I am trying to make is this—that right or wrong important or not important I have changed my mind since I dont love you any more and I dont feel that I want to keep up a relationship however it may look to the public that is not satisfactory to me You have one point of view about life and I have another You think your point of view is the right one and there are thousands of people who will agree with you but I dont think so We have never quarreled about these things because I didnt think it was important to quarrel about them I dont see under the circumstances that I am doing you any great injustice when I ask you to let me go I dont intend to desert you or the children—you will get a good livingincome from me as long as I have the money to give it to you—but I want my personal freedom when I come out of here if ever I do and I want you to let me have it The money that you had and a great deal more once I am out of here you will get back when I am on my feet again But not if you oppose me—only if you help me I want and intend to help you always—but in my way
He smoothed the leg of his prison trousers in a thoughtful way and plucked at the sleeve of his coat Just now he looked very much like a highly intelligent workman as he sat here rather than like the important personage that he was Mrs Cowperwood was very resentful
Thats a nice way to talk to me and a nice way to treat me she exclaimed dramatically rising and walking the short space—some two steps—that lay between the wall and the bed I might have known that you were too young to know your own mind when you married me Money of course thats all you think of and your own gratification I dont believe you have any sense of justice in you I dont believe you ever had You only think of yourself Frank I never saw such a man as you You have treated me like a dog all through this affair and all the while you have been running with that little snip of an Irish thing and telling her all about your affairs I suppose You let me go on believing that you cared for me up to the last moment and then you suddenly step up and tell me that you want a divorce Ill not do it Ill not give you a divorce and you neednt think it
Cowperwood listened in silence His position in so far as this marital tangle was concerned as he saw was very advantageous He was a convict constrained by the exigencies of his position to be out of personal contact with his wife for a long period of time to come which should naturally tend to school her to do without him When he came out it would be very easy for her to get a divorce from a convict particularly if she could allege misconduct with another woman which he would not deny At the same time he hoped to keep Aileens name out of it Mrs Cowperwood if she would could give any false name if he made no contest Besides she was not a very strong person intellectually speaking He could bend her to his will There was no need of saying much more now the ice had been broken the situation had been put before her and time should do the rest
Dont be dramatic Lillian he commented indifferently Im not such a loss to you if you have enough to live on I dont think I want to live in Philadelphia if ever I come out of here My idea now is to go west and I think I want to go alone I shant get married right away again even if you do give me a divorce I dont care to take anybody along It would be better for the children if you would stay here and divorce me The public would think better of them and you
Ill not do it declared Mrs Cowperwood emphatically Ill never do it never so there You can say what you choose You owe it to me to stick by me and the children after all Ive done for you and Ill not do it You neednt ask me any more Ill not do it
Very well replied Cowperwood quietly getting up We neednt talk about it any more now Your time is nearly up anyhow Twenty minutes was supposed to be the regular allotment for visitors Perhaps youll change your mind sometime
She gathered up her muff and the shawlstrap in which she had carried her gifts and turned to go It had been her custom to kiss Cowperwood in a makebelieve way up to this time but now she was too angry to make this pretense And yet she was sorry too—sorry for herself and she thought for him
Frank she declared dramatically at the last moment I never saw such a man as you I dont believe you have any heart Youre not worthy of a good wife Youre worthy of just such a woman as youre getting The idea Suddenly tears came to her eyes and she flounced scornfully and yet sorrowfully out
Cowperwood stood there At least there would be no more useless kissing between them he congratulated himself It was hard in a way but purely from an emotional point of view He was not doing her any essential injustice he reasoned—not an economic one—which was the important thing She was angry today but she would get over it and in time might come to see his point of view Who could tell At any rate he had made it plain to her what he intended to do and that was something as he saw it He reminded one of nothing so much as he stood there as of a young chicken picking its way out of the shell of an old estate Although he was in a cell of a penitentiary with nearly four years more to serve yet obviously he felt within himself that the whole world was still before him He could go west if he could not reestablish himself in Philadelphia but he must stay here long enough to win the approval of those who had known him formerly—to obtain as it were a letter of credit which he could carry to other parts
Hard words break no bones he said to himself as his wife went out A mans never done till hes done Ill show some of these people yet Of Bonhag who came to close the cell door he asked whether it was going to rain it looked so dark in the hall
Its sure to before night replied Bonhag who was always wondering over Cowperwoods tangled affairs as he heard them retailed here and there
Chapter LVII
The time that Cowperwood spent in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania was exactly thirteen months from the day of his entry to his discharge The influences which brought about this result were partly of his willing and partly not For one thing some six months after his incarceration Edward Malia Butler died expired sitting in his chair in his private office at his home The conduct of Aileen had been a great strain on him From the time Cowperwood had been sentenced and more particularly after the time he had cried on Aileens shoulder in prison she had turned on her father in an almost brutal way Her attitude unnatural for a child was quite explicable as that of a tortured sweetheart Cowperwood had told her that he thought Butler was using his influence to withhold a pardon for him even though one were granted to Stener whose life in prison he had been following with considerable interest and this had enraged her beyond measure She lost no chance of being practically insulting to her father ignoring him on every occasion refusing as often as possible to eat at the same table and when she did sitting next her mother in the place of Norah with whom she managed to exchange She refused to sing or play any more when he was present and persistently ignored the large number of young political aspirants who came to the house and whose presence in a way had been encouraged for her benefit Old Butler realized of course what it was all about He said nothing He could not placate her
Her mother and brothers did not understand it at all at first Mrs Butler never understood But not long after Cowperwoods incarceration Callum and Owen became aware of what the trouble was Once when Owen was coming away from a reception at one of the houses where his growing financial importance made him welcome he heard one of two men whom he knew casually say to the other as they stood at the door adjusting their coats You saw where this fellow Cowperwood got four years didnt you
Yes replied the other A clever devil that—wasnt he I knew that girl he was in with too—you know who I mean Miss Butler—wasnt that her name
Owen was not sure that he had heard right He did not get the connection until the other guest opening the door and stepping out remarked Well old Butler got even apparently They say he sent him up
Owens brow clouded A hard contentious look came into his eyes He had much of his fathers force What in the devil were they talking about What Miss Butler did they have in mind Could this be Aileen or Norah and how could Cowperwood come to be in with either of them It could not possibly be Norah he reflected she was very much infatuated with a young man whom he knew and was going to marry him Aileen had been most friendly with the Cowperwoods and had often spoken well of the financier Could it be she He could not believe it He thought once of overtaking the two acquaintances and demanding to know what they meant but when he came out on the step they were already some distance down the street and in the opposite direction from that in which he wished to go He decided to ask his father about this
On demand old Butler confessed at once but insisted that his son keep silent about it
I wish Id have known said Owen grimly Id have shot the dirty dog
Aisy aisy said Butler Yer own lifes worth more than his and yed only be draggin the rest of yer family in the dirt with him Hes had somethin to pay him for his dirty trick and hell have more Just ye say nothin to no one Wait Hell be wantin to get out in a year or two Say nothin to her aither Talkin wont help there Shell come to her sinses when hes been away long enough Im thinkin Owen had tried to be civil to his sister after that but since he was a stickler for social perfection and advancement and so eager to get up in the world himself he could not understand how she could possibly have done any such thing He resented bitterly the stumblingblock she had put in his path Now among other things his enemies would have this to throw in his face if they wanted to—and they would want to trust life for that
Callum reached his knowledge of the matter in quite another manner but at about the same time He was a member of an athletic club which had an attractive building in the city and a fine country club where he went occasionally to enjoy the swimmingpool and the Turkish bath connected with it One of his friends approached him there in the billiardroom one evening and said Say Butler you know Im a good friend of yours dont you
Why certainly I know it replied Callum Whats the matter
Well you know said the young individual whose name was Richard Pethick looking at Callum with a look of almost strained affection I wouldnt come to you with any story that I thought would hurt your feelings or that you oughtnt to know about but I do think you ought to know about this He pulled at a high white collar which was choking his neck
I know you wouldnt Pethick replied Callum very much interested What is it Whats the point
Well I dont like to say anything replied Pethick but that fellow Hibbs is saying things around here about your sister
Whats that exclaimed Callum straightening up in the most dynamic way and bethinking him of the approved social procedure in all such cases He should be very angry He should demand and exact proper satisfaction in some form or other—by blows very likely if his honor had been in any way impugned What is it he says about my sister What right has he to mention her name here anyhow He doesnt know her
Pethick affected to be greatly concerned lest he cause trouble between Callum and Hibbs He protested that he did not want to when in reality he was dying to tell At last he came out with Why hes circulated the yarn that your sister had something to do with this man Cowperwood who was tried here recently and that thats why hes just gone to prison
Whats that exclaimed Callum losing the makebelieve of the unimportant and taking on the serious mien of some one who feels desperately He says that does he Where is he I want to see if hell say that to me
Some of the stern fighting ability of his father showed in his slender rather refined young face
Now Callum insisted Pethick realizing the genuine storm he had raised and being a little fearful of the result do be careful what you say You mustnt have a row in here You know its against the rules Besides he may be drunk Its just some foolish talk hes heard Im sure Now for goodness sake dont get so excited Pethick having evoked the storm was not a little nervous as to its results in his own case He too as well as Callum himself as the talebearer might now be involved
But Callum by now was not so easily restrained His face was quite pale and he was moving toward the old English grillroom where Hibbs happened to be consuming a brandyandsoda with a friend of about his own age Callum entered and called him
Oh Hibbs he said
Hibbs hearing his voice and seeing him in the door arose and came over He was an interesting youth of the collegiate type educated at Princeton He had heard the rumor concerning Aileen from various sources—other members of the club for one—and had ventured to repeat it in Pethicks presence
Whats that you were just saying about my sister asked Callum grimly looking Hibbs in the eye
Why—I— hesitated Hibbs who sensed trouble and was eager to avoid it He was not exceptionally brave and looked it His hair was strawcolored his eyes blue and his cheeks pink Why—nothing in particular Who said I was talking about her He looked at Pethick whom he knew to be the talebearer and the latter exclaimed excitedly
Now dont you try to deny it Hibbs You know I heard you
Well what did I say asked Hibbs defiantly
Well what did you say interrupted Callum grimly transferring the conversation to himself Thats just what I want to know
Why stammered Hibbs nervously I dont think Ive said anything that anybody else hasnt said I just repeated that some one said that your sister had been very friendly with Mr Cowperwood I didnt say any more than I have heard other people say around here
Oh you didnt did you exclaimed Callum withdrawing his hand from his pocket and slapping Hibbs in the face He repeated the blow with his left hand fiercely Perhaps thatll teach you to keep my sisters name out of your mouth you pup
Hibbss arms flew up He was not without pugilistic training and he struck back vigorously striking Callum once in the chest and once in the neck In an instant the two rooms of this suite were in an uproar Tables and chairs were overturned by the energy of men attempting to get to the scene of action The two combatants were quickly separated sides were taken by the friends of each excited explanations attempted and defied Callum was examining the knuckles of his left hand which were cut from the blow he had delivered He maintained a gentlemanly calm Hibbs very much flustered and excited insisted that he had been most unreasonably used The idea of attacking him here And anyhow as he maintained now Pethick had been both eavesdropping and lying about him Incidentally the latter was protesting to others that he had done the only thing which an honorable friend could do It was a nine days wonder in the club and was only kept out of the newspapers by the most strenuous efforts on the part of the friends of both parties Callum was so outraged on discovering that there was some foundation for the rumor at the club in a general rumor which prevailed that he tendered his resignation and never went there again
I wish to heaven you hadnt struck that fellow counseled Owen when the incident was related to him It will only make more talk She ought to leave this place but she wont Shes struck on that fellow yet and we cant tell Norah and mother We will never hear the last of this you and I—believe me
Damn it she ought to be made to go exclaimed Callum
Well she wont replied Owen Father has tried making her and she wont go Just let things stand Hes in the penitentiary now and thats probably the end of him The public seem to think that father put him there and thats something Maybe we can persuade her to go after a while I wish to God we had never had sight of that fellow If ever he comes out Ive a good notion to kill him
Oh I wouldnt do anything like that replied Callum Its useless It would only stir things up afresh Hes done for anyhow
They planned to urge Norah to marry as soon as possible And as for their feelings toward Aileen it was a very chilly atmosphere which Mrs Butler contemplated from now on much to her confusion grief and astonishment
In this divided world it was that Butler eventually found himself all at sea as to what to think or what to do He had brooded so long now for months and as yet had found no solution And finally in a form of religious despair sitting at his desk in his business chair he had collapsed—a weary and disconsolate man of seventy A lesion of the left ventricle was the immediate physical cause although brooding over Aileen was in part the mental one His death could not have been laid to his grief over Aileen exactly for he was a very large man—apoplectic and with sclerotic veins and arteries For a great many years now he had taken very little exercise and his digestion had been considerably impaired thereby He was past seventy and his time had been reached They found him there the next morning his hands folded in his lap his head on his bosom quite cold
He was buried with honors out of St Timothys Church the funeral attended by a large body of politicians and city officials who discussed secretly among themselves whether his grief over his daughter had anything to do with his end All his good deeds were remembered of course and Mollenhauer and Simpson sent great floral emblems in remembrance They were very sorry that he was gone for they had been a cordial three But gone he was and that ended their interest in the matter He left all of his property to his wife in one of the shortest wills ever recorded locally
I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Norah all my property of whatsoever kind to be disposed of as she may see fit
There was no misconstruing this A private paper drawn secretly for her sometime before by Butler explained how the property should be disposed of by her at her death It was Butlers real will masquerading as hers and she would not have changed it for worlds but he wanted her left in undisturbed possession of everything until she should die Aileens originally assigned portion had never been changed According to her fathers will which no power under the sun could have made Mrs Butler alter she was left 250000 to be paid at Mrs Butlers death Neither this fact nor any of the others contained in the paper were communicated by Mrs Butler who retained it to be left as her will Aileen often wondered but never sought to know what had been left her Nothing she fancied—but felt that she could not help this
Butlers death led at once to a great change in the temper of the home After the funeral the family settled down to a seemingly peaceful continuance of the old life but it was a matter of seeming merely The situation stood with Callum and Owen manifesting a certain degree of contempt for Aileen which she understanding reciprocated She was very haughty Owen had plans of forcing her to leave after Butlers death but he finally asked himself what was the use Mrs Butler who did not want to leave the old home was very fond of Aileen so therein lay a reason for letting her remain Besides any move to force her out would have entailed an explanation to her mother which was not deemed advisable Owen himself was interested in Caroline Mollenhauer whom he hoped some day to marry—as much for her prospective wealth as for any other reason though he was quite fond of her In the January following Butlers death which occurred in August Norah was married very quietly and the following spring Callum embarked on a similar venture
In the meanwhile with Butlers death the control of the political situation had shifted considerably A certain Tom Collins formerly one of Butlers henchmen but latterly a power in the First Second Third and Fourth Wards where he had numerous saloons and control of other forms of vice appeared as a claimant for political recognition Mollenhauer and Simpson had to consult him as he could make very uncertain the disposition of some hundred and fifteen thousand votes a large number of which were fraudulent but which fact did not modify their deadly character on occasion Butlers sons disappeared as possible political factors and were compelled to confine themselves to the streetrailway and contracting business The pardon of Cowperwood and Stener which Butler would have opposed because by keeping Stener in he kept Cowperwood in became a much easier matter The scandal of the treasury defalcation was gradually dying down the newspapers had ceased to refer to it in any way Through Steger and Wingate a large petition signed by all important financiers and brokers had been sent to the Governor pointing out that Cowperwoods trial and conviction had been most unfair and asking that he be pardoned There was no need of any such effort so far as Stener was concerned whenever the time seemed ripe the politicians were quite ready to say to the Governor that he ought to let him go It was only because Butler had opposed Cowperwoods release that they had hesitated It was really not possible to let out the one and ignore the other and this petition coupled with Butlers death cleared the way very nicely
Nevertheless nothing was done until the March following Butlers death when both Stener and Cowperwood had been incarcerated thirteen months—a length of time which seemed quite sufficient to appease the anger of the public at large In this period Stener had undergone a considerable change physically and mentally In spite of the fact that a number of the minor aldermen who had profited in various ways by his largess called to see him occasionally and that he had been given as it were almost the liberty of the place and that his family had not been allowed to suffer nevertheless he realized that his political and social days were over Somebody might now occasionally send him a basket of fruit and assure him that he would not be compelled to suffer much longer but when he did get out he knew that he had nothing to depend on save his experience as an insurance agent and realestate dealer That had been precarious enough in the days when he was trying to get some small political foothold How would it be when he was known only as the man who had looted the treasury of five hundred thousand dollars and been sent to the penitentiary for five years Who would lend him the money wherewith to get a little start even so much as four or five thousand dollars The people who were calling to pay their respects now and then and to assure him that he had been badly treated Never All of them could honestly claim that they had not so much to spare If he had good security to offer—yes but if he had good security he would not need to go to them at all The man who would have actually helped him if he had only known was Frank A Cowperwood Stener could have confessed his mistake as Cowperwood saw it and Cowperwood would have given him the money gladly without any thought of return But by his poor understanding of human nature Stener considered that Cowperwood must be an enemy of his and he would not have had either the courage or the business judgment to approach him
During his incarceration Cowperwood had been slowly accumulating a little money through Wingate He had paid Steger considerable sums from time to time until that worthy finally decided that it would not be fair to take any more
If ever you get on your feet Frank he said you can remember me if you want to but I dont think youll want to Its been nothing but lose lose lose for you through me Ill undertake this matter of getting that appeal to the Governor without any charge on my part Anything I can do for you from now on is free gratis for nothing
Oh dont talk nonsense Harper replied Cowperwood I dont know of anybody that could have done better with my case Certainly there isnt anybody that I would have trusted as much I dont like lawyers you know
Yes—well said Steger theyve got nothing on financiers so well call it even And they shook hands
So when it was finally decided to pardon Stener which was in the early part of March 1873—Cowperwoods pardon was necessarily but gingerly included A delegation consisting of Strobik Harmon and Winpenny representing as it was intended to appear the unanimous wishes of the council and the city administration and speaking for Mollenhauer and Simpson who had given their consent visited the Governor at Harrisburg and made the necessary formal representations which were intended to impress the public At the same time through the agency of Steger Davison and Walter Leigh the appeal in behalf of Cowperwood was made The Governor who had had instructions beforehand from sources quite superior to this committee was very solemn about the whole procedure He would take the matter under advisement He would look into the history of the crimes and the records of the two men He could make no promises—he would see But in ten days after allowing the petitions to gather considerable dust in one of his pigeonholes and doing absolutely nothing toward investigating anything he issued two separate pardons in writing One as a matter of courtesy he gave into the hands of Messrs Strobik Harmon and Winpenny to bear personally to Mr Stener as they desired that he should The other on Stegers request he gave to him The two committees which had called to receive them then departed and the afternoon of that same day saw Strobik Harmon and Winpenny arrive in one group and Steger Wingate and Walter Leigh in another at the prison gate but at different hours
Chapter LVIII
This matter of the pardon of Cowperwood the exact time of it was kept a secret from him though the fact that he was to be pardoned soon or that he had a very excellent chance of being had not been denied—rather had been made much of from time to time Wingate had kept him accurately informed as to the progress being made as had Steger but when it was actually ascertained from the Governors private secretary that a certain day would see the pardon handed over to them Steger Wingate and Walter Leigh had agreed between themselves that they would say nothing taking Cowperwood by surprise They even went so far—that is Steger and Wingate did—as to indicate to Cowperwood that there was some hitch to the proceedings and that he might not now get out so soon Cowperwood was somewhat depressed but properly stoical he assured himself that he could wait and that he would be all right sometime He was rather surprised therefore one Friday afternoon to see Wingate Steger and Leigh appear at his cell door accompanied by Warden Desmas
The warden was quite pleased to think that Cowperwood should finally be going out—he admired him so much—and decided to come along to the cell to see how he would take his liberation On the way Desmas commented on the fact that he had always been a model prisoner He kept a little garden out there in that yard of his he confided to Walter Leigh He had violets and pansies and geraniums out there and they did very well too
Leigh smiled It was like Cowperwood to be industrious and tasteful even in prison Such a man could not be conquered A very remarkable man that he remarked to Desmas
Very replied the warden You can tell that by looking at him
The four looked in through the barred door where he was working without being observed having come up quite silently
Hard at it Frank asked Steger
Cowperwood glanced over his shoulder and got up He had been thinking as always these days of what he would do when he did get out
What is this he asked—a political delegation He suspected something on the instant All four smiled cheeringly and Bonhag unlocked the door for the warden
Nothing very much Frank replied Stager gleefully only youre a free man You can gather up your traps and come right along if you wish
Cowperwood surveyed his friends with a level gaze He had not expected this so soon after what had been told him He was not one to be very much interested in the practical joke or the surprise but this pleased him—the sudden realization that he was free Still he had anticipated it so long that the charm of it had been discounted to a certain extent He had been unhappy here and he had not The shame and humiliation of it to begin with had been much Latterly as he had become inured to it all the sense of narrowness and humiliation had worn off Only the consciousness of incarceration and delay irked him Barring his intense desire for certain things—success and vindication principally—he found that he could live in his narrow cell and be fairly comfortable He had long since become used to the limy smell used to defeat a more sickening one and to the numerous rats which he quite regularly trapped He had learned to take an interest in chaircaning having become so proficient that he could seat twenty in a day if he chose and in working in the little garden in spring summer and fall Every evening he had studied the sky from his narrow yard which resulted curiously in the gift in later years of a great reflecting telescope to a famous university He had not looked upon himself as an ordinary prisoner by any means—had not felt himself to be sufficiently punished if a real crime had been involved From Bonhag he had learned the history of many criminals here incarcerated from murderers up and down and many had been pointed out to him from time to time He had been escorted into the general yard by Bonhag had seen the general food of the place being prepared had heard of Steners modified life here and so forth It had finally struck him that it was not so bad only that the delay to an individual like himself was wasteful He could do so much now if he were out and did not have to fight court proceedings Courts and jails He shook his head when he thought of the waste involved in them
Thats all right he said looking around him in an uncertain way Im ready
He stepped out into the hall with scarcely a farewell glance and to Bonhag who was grieving greatly over the loss of so profitable a customer he said I wish you would see that some of these things are sent over to my house Walter Youre welcome to the chair that clock this mirror those pictures—all of these things in fact except my linen razors and so forth
The last little act of beneficence soothed Bonhags lacerated soul a little They went out into the receiving overseers office where Cowperwood laid aside his prison suit and the soft shirt with a considerable sense of relief The clog shoes had long since been replaced by a better pair of his own He put on the derby hat and gray overcoat he had worn the year before on entering and expressed himself as ready At the entrance of the prison he turned and looked back—one last glance—at the iron door leading into the garden
You dont regret leaving that do you Frank asked Steger curiously
I do not replied Cowperwood It wasnt that I was thinking of It was just the appearance of it thats all
In another minute they were at the outer gate where Cowperwood shook the warden finally by the hand Then entering a carriage outside the large impressive Gothic entrance the gates were locked behind them and they were driven away
Well theres an end of that Frank observed Steger gayly that will never bother you any more
Yes replied Cowperwood Its worse to see it coming than going
It seems to me we ought to celebrate this occasion in some way observed Walter Leigh It wont do just to take Frank home Why dont we all go down to Greens Thats a good idea
Id rather not if you dont mind replied Cowperwood feelingly Ill get together with you all later Just now Id like to go home and change these clothes
He was thinking of Aileen and his children and his mother and father and of his whole future Life was going to broaden out for him considerably from now on he was sure of it He had learned so much about taking care of himself in those thirteen months He was going to see Aileen and find how she felt about things in general and then he was going to resume some such duties as he had had in his own concern with Wingate Co He was going to secure a seat on change again through his friends and to escape the effect of the prejudice of those who might not care to do business with an exconvict he was going to act as general outside man and floor man on charge for Wingate Co His practical control of that could not be publicly proved Now for some important development in the market—some slump or something He would show the world whether he was a failure or not
They let him down in front of his wifes little cottage and he entered briskly in the gathering gloom
On September 18 1873 at twelvefifteen of a brilliant autumn day in the city of Philadelphia one of the most startling financial tragedies that the world has ever seen had its commencement The banking house of Jay Cooke Co the foremost financial organization of America doing business at Number 114 South Third Street in Philadelphia and with branches in New York Washington and London closed its doors Those who know anything about the financial crises of the United States know well the significance of the panic which followed It is spoken of in all histories as the panic of 1873 and the widespread ruin and disaster which followed was practically unprecedented in American history
At this time Cowperwood once more a broker—ostensibly a brokers agent—was doing business in South Third Street and representing Wingate Co on change During the six months which had elapsed since he had emerged from the Eastern Penitentiary he had been quietly resuming financial if not social relations with those who had known him before
Furthermore Wingate Co were prospering and had been for some time a fact which redounded to his credit with those who knew Ostensibly he lived with his wife in a small house on North Twentyfirst Street In reality he occupied a bachelor apartment on North Fifteenth Street to which Aileen occasionally repaired The difference between himself and his wife had now become a matter of common knowledge in the family and although there were some faint efforts made to smooth the matter over no good resulted The difficulties of the past two years had so inured his parents to expect the untoward and exceptional that astonishing as this was it did not shock them so much as it would have years before They were too much frightened by life to quarrel with its weird developments They could only hope and pray for the best
The Butler family on the other hand what there was of it had become indifferent to Aileens conduct She was ignored by her brothers and Norah who now knew all and her mother was so taken up with religious devotions and brooding contemplation of her loss that she was not as active in her observation of Aileens life as she might have been Besides Cowperwood and his mistress were more circumspect in their conduct than they had ever been before Their movements were more carefully guarded though the result was the same Cowperwood was thinking of the West—of reaching some slight local standing here in Philadelphia and then with perhaps one hundred thousand dollars in capital removing to the boundless prairies of which he had heard so much—Chicago Fargo Duluth Sioux City places then heralded in Philadelphia and the East as coming centers of great life—and taking Aileen with him Although the problem of marriage with her was insoluble unless Mrs Cowperwood should formally agree to give him up—a possibility which was not manifest at this time neither he nor Aileen were deterred by that thought They were going to build a future together—or so they thought marriage or no marriage The only thing which Cowperwood could see to do was to take Aileen away with him and to trust to time and absence to modify his wifes point of view
This particular panic which was destined to mark a notable change in Cowperwoods career was one of those peculiar things which spring naturally out of the optimism of the American people and the irrepressible progress of the country It was the result to be accurate of the prestige and ambition of Jay Cooke whose early training and subsequent success had all been acquired in Philadelphia and who had since become the foremost financial figure of his day It would be useless to attempt to trace here the rise of this man to distinction it need only be said that by suggestions which he made and methods which he devised the Union government in its darkest hours was able to raise the money wherewith to continue the struggle against the South After the Civil War this man who had built up a tremendous banking business in Philadelphia with great branches in New York and Washington was at a loss for some time for some significant thing to do some constructive work which would be worthy of his genius The war was over the only thing which remained was the finances of peace and the greatest things in American financial enterprise were those related to the construction of transcontinental railway lines The Union Pacific authorized in 1860 was already building the Northern Pacific and the Southern Pacific were already dreams in various pioneer minds The great thing was to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific by steel to bind up the territorially perfected and newly solidified Union or to enter upon some vast project of mining of which gold and silver were the most important Actually railwaybuilding was the most significant of all and railroad stocks were far and away the most valuable and important on every exchange in America Here in Philadelphia New York Central Rock Island Wabash Central Pacific St Paul Hannibal St Joseph Union Pacific and Ohio Mississippi were freely traded in There were men who were getting rich and famous out of handling these things and such towering figures as Cornelius Vanderbilt Jay Gould Daniel Drew James Fish and others in the East and Fair Crocker W R Hearst and Collis P Huntington in the West were already raising their heads like vast mountains in connection with these enterprises Among those who dreamed most ardently on this score was Jay Cooke who without the wolfish cunning of a Gould or the practical knowledge of a Vanderbilt was ambitious to thread the northern reaches of America with a band of steel which should be a permanent memorial to his name
The project which fascinated him most was one that related to the development of the territory then lying almost unexplored between the extreme western shore of Lake Superior where Duluth now stands and that portion of the Pacific Ocean into which the Columbia River empties—the extreme northern onethird of the United States Here if a railroad were built would spring up great cities and prosperous towns There were it was suspected mines of various metals in the region of the Rockies which this railroad would traverse and untold wealth to be reaped from the fertile corn and wheat lands Products brought only so far east as Duluth could then be shipped to the Atlantic via the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal at a greatly reduced cost It was a vision of empire not unlike the Panama Canal project of the same period and one that bade fair apparently to be as useful to humanity It had aroused the interest and enthusiasm of Cooke Because of the fact that the government had made a grant of vast areas of land on either side of the proposed track to the corporation that should seriously undertake it and complete it within a reasonable number of years and because of the opportunity it gave him of remaining a distinguished public figure he had eventually shouldered the project It was open to many objections and criticisms but the genius which had been sufficient to finance the Civil War was considered sufficient to finance the Northern Pacific Railroad Cooke undertook it with the idea of being able to put the merits of the proposition before the people direct—not through the agency of any great financial corporation—and of selling to the butcher the baker and the candlestickmaker the stock or shares that he wished to dispose of
It was a brilliant chance His genius had worked out the sale of great government loans during the Civil War to the people direct in this fashion Why not Northern Pacific certificates For several years he conducted a pyrotechnic campaign surveying the territory in question organizing great railwayconstruction corps building hundreds of miles of track under most trying conditions and selling great blocks of his stock on which interest of a certain percentage was guaranteed If it had not been that he knew little of railroadbuilding personally and that the project was so vast that it could not well be encompassed by one man even so great a man it might have proved successful as under subsequent management it did However hard times the war between France and Germany which tied up European capital for the time being and made it indifferent to American projects envy calumny a certain percentage of mismanagement all conspired to wreck it On September 18 1873 at twelvefifteen noon Jay Cooke Co failed for approximately eight million dollars and the Northern Pacific for all that had been invested in it—some fifty million dollars more
One can imagine what the result was—the most important financier and the most distinguished railway enterprise collapsing at one and the same time A financial thunderclap in a clear sky said the Philadelphia Press No one could have been more surprised said the Philadelphia Inquirer if snow had fallen amid the sunshine of a summer noon The public which by Cookes previous tremendous success had been lulled into believing him invincible could not understand it It was beyond belief Jay Cooke fail Impossible or anything connected with him Nevertheless he had failed and the New York Stock Exchange after witnessing a number of crashes immediately afterward closed for eight days The Lake Shore Railroad failed to pay a callloan of one million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the Union Trust Company allied to the Vanderbilt interests closed its doors after withstanding a prolonged run The National Trust Company of New York had eight hundred thousand dollars of government securities in its vaults but not a dollar could be borrowed upon them and it suspended Suspicion was universal rumor affected every one
In Philadelphia when the news reached the stock exchange it came first in the form of a brief despatch addressed to the stock board from the New York Stock Exchange—Rumor on street of failure of Jay Cooke Co Answer It was not believed and so not replied to Nothing was thought of it The world of brokers paid scarcely any attention to it Cowperwood who had followed the fortunes of Jay Cooke Co with considerable suspicion of its presidents brilliant theory of vending his wares direct to the people—was perhaps the only one who had suspicions He had once written a brilliant criticism to some inquirer in which he had said that no enterprise of such magnitude as the Northern Pacific had ever before been entirely dependent upon one house or rather upon one man and that he did not like it I am not sure that the lands through which the road runs are so unparalleled in climate soil timber minerals etc as Mr Cooke and his friends would have us believe Neither do I think that the road can at present or for many years to come earn the interest which its great issues of stock call for There is great danger and risk there So when the notice was posted he looked at it wondering what the effect would be if by any chance Jay Cooke Co should fail
He was not long in wonder A second despatch posted on change read New York September 18th Jay Cooke Co have suspended
Cowperwood could not believe it He was beside himself with the thought of a great opportunity In company with every other broker he hurried into Third Street and up to Number 114 where the famous old banking house was located in order to be sure Despite his natural dignity and reserve he did not hesitate to run If this were true a great hour had struck There would be widespread panic and disaster There would be a terrific slump in prices of all stocks He must be in the thick of it Wingate must be on hand and his two brothers He must tell them how to sell and when and what to buy His great hour had come
Chapter LIX
The banking house of Jay Cooke Co in spite of its tremendous significance as a banking and promoting concern was a most unpretentious affair four stories and a half in height of gray stone and red brick It had never been deemed a handsome or comfortable banking house Cowperwood had been there often Wharfrats as long as the forearm of a man crept up the culverted channels of Dock Street to run through the apartments at will Scores of clerks worked under gasjets where light and air were not any too abundant keeping track of the firms vast accounts It was next door to the Girard National Bank where Cowperwoods friend Davison still flourished and where the principal financial business of the street converged As Cowperwood ran he met his brother Edward who was coming to the stock exchange with some word for him from Wingate
Run and get Wingate and Joe he said Theres something big on this afternoon Jay Cooke has failed
Edward waited for no other word but hurried off as directed
Cowperwood reached Cooke Co among the earliest To his utter astonishment the solid brownoak doors with which he was familiar were shut and a notice posted on them which he quickly read ran
September 18 1873
To the Public—
We regret to be obliged to announce that owing to
unexpected demands on us our firm has been obliged to
suspend payment In a few days we will be able to present a
statement to our creditors Until which time we must ask
their patient consideration We believe our assets to be
largely in excess of our liabilities
Jay Cooke Co
A magnificent gleam of triumph sprang into Cowperwoods eye In company with many others he turned and ran back toward the exchange while a reporter who had come for information knocked at the massive doors of the banking house and was told by a porter who peered out of a diamondshaped aperture that Jay Cooke had gone home for the day and was not to be seen
Now thought Cowperwood to whom this panic spelled opportunity not ruin Ill get my innings Ill go short of this—of everything
Before when the panic following the Chicago fire had occurred he had been long—had been compelled to stay long of many things in order to protect himself Today he had nothing to speak of—perhaps a paltry seventyfive thousand dollars which he had managed to scrape together Thank God he had only the reputation of Wingates old house to lose if he lost which was nothing With it as a trading agency behind him—with it as an excuse for his presence his right to buy and sell—he had everything to gain Where many men were thinking of ruin he was thinking of success He would have Wingate and his two brothers under him to execute his orders exactly He could pick up a fourth and a fifth man if necessary He would give them orders to sell—everything—ten fifteen twenty thirty points off if necessary in order to trap the unwary depress the market frighten the fearsome who would think he was too daring and then he would buy buy buy below these figures as much as possible in order to cover his sales and reap a profit
His instinct told him how widespread and enduring this panic would be The Northern Pacific was a hundredmilliondollar venture It involved the savings of hundreds of thousands of people—small bankers tradesmen preachers lawyers doctors widows institutions all over the land and all resting on the faith and security of Jay Cooke Once not unlike the Chicago fire map Cowperwood had seen a grand prospectus and map of the location of the Northern Pacific landgrant which Cooke had controlled showing a vast stretch or belt of territory extending from Duluth—The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas as Proctor Knott speaking in the House of Representatives had sarcastically called it—through the Rockies and the headwaters of the Missouri to the Pacific Ocean He had seen how Cooke had ostensibly managed to get control of this government grant containing millions upon millions of acres and extending fourteen hundred miles in length but it was only a vision of empire There might be silver and gold and copper mines there The land was usable—would some day be usable But what of it now It would do to fire the imaginations of fools with—nothing more It was inaccessible and would remain so for years to come No doubt thousands had subscribed to build this road but too thousands would now fail if it had failed Now the crash had come The grief and the rage of the public would be intense For days and days and weeks and months normal confidence and courage would be gone This was his hour This was his great moment Like a wolf prowling under glittering bitter stars in the night he was looking down into the humble folds of simple men and seeing what their ignorance and their unsophistication would cost them
He hurried back to the exchange the very same room in which only two years before he had fought his losing fight and finding that his partner and his brother had not yet come began to sell everything in sight Pandemonium had broken loose Boys and men were fairly tearing in from all sections with orders from panicstruck brokers to sell sell sell and later with orders to buy the various tradingposts were reeling swirling masses of brokers and their agents Outside in the street in front of Jay Cooke Co Clark Co the Girard National Bank and other institutions immense crowds were beginning to form They were hurrying here to learn the trouble to withdraw their deposits to protect their interests generally A policeman arrested a boy for calling out the failure of Jay Cooke Co but nevertheless the news of the great disaster was spreading like wildfire
Among these panicstruck men Cowperwood was perfectly calm deadly cold the same Cowperwood who had pegged solemnly at his ten chairs each day in prison who had baited his traps for rats and worked in the little garden allotted him in utter silence and loneliness Now he was vigorous and energetic He had been just sufficiently about this exchange floor once more to have made his personality impressive and distinguished He forced his way into the center of swirling crowds of men already shouting themselves hoarse offering whatever was being offered in quantities which were astonishing and at prices which allured the few who were anxious to make money out of the tumbling prices to buy New York Central had been standing at 104 78 when the failure was announced Rhode Island at 108 78 Western Union at 92 12 Wabash at 70 14 Panama at 117 38 Central Pacific at 99 58 St Paul at 51 Hannibal St Joseph at 48 Northwestern at 63 Union Pacific at 26 34 Ohio and Mississippi at 38 34 Cowperwoods house had scarcely any of the stocks on hand They were not carrying them for any customers and yet he sold sold sold to whoever would take at prices which he felt sure would inspire them
Five thousand of New York Central at ninetynine ninetyeight ninetyseven ninetysix ninetyfive ninetyfour ninetythree ninetytwo ninetyone ninety eightynine you might have heard him call and when his sales were not sufficiently brisk he would turn to something else—Rock Island Panama Central Pacific Western Union Northwestern Union Pacific He saw his brother and Wingate hurrying in and stopped in his work long enough to instruct them Sell everything you can he cautioned them quietly at fifteen points off if you have to—no lower than that now—and buy all you can below it Ed you see if you cannot buy up some local streetrailways at fifteen off Joe you stay near me and buy when I tell you
The secretary of the board appeared on his little platform
E W Clark Company he announced at onethirty have just closed their doors
Tighe Company he called at onefortyfive announce that they are compelled to suspend
The First National Bank of Philadelphia he called at two oclock begs to state that it cannot at present meet its obligations
After each announcement always as in the past when the gong had compelled silence the crowd broke into an ominous Aw aw aw
Tighe Company thought Cowperwood for a single second when he heard it Theres an end of him And then he returned to his task
When the time for closing came his coat torn his collar twisted loose his necktie ripped his hat lost he emerged sane quiet steadymannered
Well Ed he inquired meeting his brother howd you make out The latter was equally torn scratched exhausted
Christ he replied tugging at his sleeves I never saw such a place as this They almost tore my clothes off
Buy any local streetrailways
About five thousand shares
Wed better go down to Greens Frank observed referring to the lobby of the principal hotel Were not through yet Therell be more trading there
He led the way to find Wingate and his brother Joe and together they were off figuring up some of the larger phases of their purchases and sales as they went
And as he predicted the excitement did not end with the coming of the night The crowd lingered in front of Jay Cooke Cos on Third Street and in front of other institutions waiting apparently for some development which would be favorable to them For the initiated the center of debate and agitation was Greens Hotel where on the evening of the eighteenth the lobby and corridors were crowded with bankers brokers and speculators The stock exchange had practically adjourned to that hotel en masse What of the morrow Who would be the next to fail From whence would money be forthcoming These were the topics from each mind and upon each tongue From New York was coming momentarily more news of disaster Over there banks and trust companies were falling like trees in a hurricane Cowperwood in his perambulations seeing what he could see and hearing what he could hear reaching understandings which were against the rules of the exchange but which were nevertheless in accord with what every other person was doing saw about him men known to him as agents of Mollenhauer and Simpson and congratulated himself that he would have something to collect from them before the week was over He might not own a streetrailway but he would have the means to He learned from hearsay and information which had been received from New York and elsewhere that things were as bad as they could be and that there was no hope for those who expected a speedy return of normal conditions No thought of retiring for the night entered until the last man was gone It was then practically morning
The next day was Friday and suggested many ominous things Would it be another Black Friday Cowperwood was at his office before the street was fairly awake He figured out his program for the day to a nicety feeling strangely different from the way he had felt two years before when the conditions were not dissimilar Yesterday in spite of the sudden onslaught he had made one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and he expected to make as much if not more today There was no telling what he could make he thought if he could only keep his small organization in perfect trim and get his assistants to follow his orders exactly Ruin for others began early with the suspension of Fisk Hatch Jay Cookes faithful lieutenants during the Civil War They had calls upon them for one million five hundred thousand dollars in the first fifteen minutes after opening the doors and at once closed them again the failure being ascribed to Collis P Huntingtons Central Pacific Railroad and the Chesapeake Ohio There was a longcontinued run on the Fidelity Trust Company News of these facts and of failures in New York posted on change strengthened the cause Cowperwood was so much interested in for he was selling as high as he could and buying as low as he could on a constantly sinking scale By twelve oclock he figured with his assistants that he had cleared one hundred thousand dollars and by three oclock he had two hundred thousand dollars more That afternoon between three and seven he spent adjusting his trades and between seven and one in the morning without anything to eat in gathering as much additional information as he could and laying his plans for the future Saturday morning came and he repeated his performance of the day before following it up with adjustments on Sunday and heavy trading on Monday By Monday afternoon at three oclock he figured that all losses and uncertainties to one side he was once more a millionaire and that now his future lay clear and straight before him
As he sat at his desk late that afternoon in his office looking out into Third Street where a hurrying of brokers messengers and anxious depositors still maintained he had the feeling that so far as Philadelphia and the life here was concerned his day and its day with him was over He did not care anything about the brokerage business here any more or anywhere Failures such as this and disasters such as the Chicago fire that had overtaken him two years before had cured him of all love of the stock exchange and all feeling for Philadelphia He had been very unhappy here in spite of all his previous happiness and his experience as a convict had made him he could see quite plainly unacceptable to the element with whom he had once hoped to associate There was nothing else to do now that he had reestablished himself as a Philadelphia business man and been pardoned for an offense which he hoped to make people believe he had never committed but to leave Philadelphia to seek a new world
If I get out of this safely he said to himself this is the end I am going West and going into some other line of business He thought of streetrailways land speculation some great manufacturing project of some kind even mining on a legitimate basis
I have had my lesson he said to himself finally getting up and preparing to leave I am as rich as I was and only a little older They caught me once but they will not catch me again He talked to Wingate about following up the campaign on the lines in which he had started and he himself intended to follow it up with great energy but all the while his mind was running with this one rich thought I am a millionaire I am a free man I am only thirtysix and my future is all before me
It was with this thought that he went to visit Aileen and to plan for the future
It was only three months later that a train speeding through the mountains of Pennsylvania and over the plains of Ohio and Indiana bore to Chicago and the West the young financial aspirant who in spite of youth and wealth and a notable vigor of body was a solemn conservative speculator as to what his future might be The West as he had carefully calculated before leaving held much He had studied the receipts of the New York Clearing House recently and the disposition of bankbalances and the shipment of gold and had seen that vast quantities of the latter metal were going to Chicago He understood finance accurately The meaning of gold shipments was clear Where money was going trade was—a thriving developing life He wished to see clearly for himself what this world had to offer
Two years later following the meteoric appearance of a young speculator in Duluth and after Chicago had seen the tentative opening of a grain and commission company labeled Frank A Cowperwood Co which ostensibly dealt in the great wheat crops of the West a quiet divorce was granted Mrs Frank A Cowperwood in Philadelphia because apparently she wished it Time had not seemingly dealt badly with her Her financial affairs once so bad were now apparently all straightened out and she occupied in West Philadelphia near one of her sisters a new and interesting home which was fitted with all the comforts of an excellent middleclass residence She was now quite religious once more The two children Frank and Lillian were in private schools returning evenings to their mother Wash Sims was once more the negro general factotum Frequent visitors on Sundays were Mr and Mrs Henry Worthington Cowperwood no longer distressed financially but subdued and wearied the wind completely gone from their once muchfavored sails Cowperwood senior had sufficient money wherewith to sustain himself and that without slaving as a petty clerk but his social joy in life was gone He was old disappointed sad He could feel that with his quondam honor and financial glory he was the same—and he was not His courage and his dreams were gone and he awaited death
Here too came Anna Adelaide Cowperwood on occasion a clerk in the city water office who speculated much as to the strange vicissitudes of life She had great interest in her brother who seemed destined by fate to play a conspicuous part in the world but she could not understand him Seeing that all those who were near to him in any way seemed to rise or fall with his prosperity she did not understand how justice and morals were arranged in this world There seemed to be certain general principles—or people assumed there were—but apparently there were exceptions Assuredly her brother abided by no known rule and yet he seemed to be doing fairly well once more What did this mean Mrs Cowperwood his former wife condemned his actions and yet accepted of his prosperity as her due What were the ethics of that
Cowperwoods every action was known to Aileen Butler his present whereabouts and prospects Not long after his wifes divorce and after many trips to and from this new world in which he was now living these two left Philadelphia together one afternoon in the winter Aileen explained to her mother who was willing to go and live with Norah that she had fallen in love with the former banker and wished to marry him The old lady gathering only a garbled version of it at first consented
Thus ended forever for Aileen this longcontinued relationship with this older world Chicago was before her—a much more distinguished career Frank told her than ever they could have had in Philadelphia
Isnt it nice to be finally going she commented
It is advantageous anyhow he said
Concerning Mycteroperca Bonaci
There is a certain fish the scientific name of which is Mycteroperca Bonaci its common name Black Grouper which is of considerable value as an afterthought in this connection and which deserves to be better known It is a healthy creature growing quite regularly to a weight of two hundred and fifty pounds and lives a comfortable lengthy existence because of its very remarkable ability to adapt itself to conditions That very subtle thing which we call the creative power and which we endow with the spirit of the beatitudes is supposed to build this mortal life in such fashion that only honesty and virtue shall prevail Witness then the significant manner in which it has fashioned the black grouper One might go far afield and gather less forceful indictments—the horrific spider spinning his trap for the unthinking fly the lovely Drosera Sundew using its crimson calyx for a smotheringpit in which to seal and devour the victim of its beauty the rainbowcolored jellyfish that spreads its prismed tentacles like streamers of great beauty only to sting and torture all that falls within their radiant folds Man himself is busy digging the pit and fashioning the snare but he will not believe it His feet are in the trap of circumstance his eyes are on an illusion
Mycteroperca moving in its dark world of green waters is as fine an illustration of the constructive genius of nature which is not beatific as any which the mind of man may discover Its great superiority lies in an almost unbelievable power of simulation which relates solely to the pigmentation of its skin In electrical mechanics we pride ourselves on our ability to make over one brilliant scene into another in the twinkling of an eye and flash before the gaze of an onlooker picture after picture which appear and disappear as we look The directive control of Mycteroperca over its appearance is much more significant You cannot look at it long without feeling that you are witnessing something spectral and unnatural so brilliant is its power to deceive From being black it can become instantly white from being an earthcolored brown it can fade into a delightful watercolored green Its markings change as the clouds of the sky One marvels at the variety and subtlety of its power
Lying at the bottom of a bay it can simulate the mud by which it is surrounded Hidden in the folds of glorious leaves it is of the same markings Lurking in a flaw of light it is like the light itself shining dimly in water Its power to elude or strike unseen is of the greatest
What would you say was the intention of the overruling intelligent constructive force which gives to Mycteroperca this ability To fit it to be truthful To permit it to present an unvarying appearance which all honest lifeseeking fish may know Or would you say that subtlety chicanery trickery were here at work An implement of illusion one might readily suspect it to be a living lie a creature whose business it is to appear what it is not to simulate that with which it has nothing in common to get its living by great subtlety the power of its enemies to forefend against which is little The indictment is fair
Would you say in the face of this that a beatific beneficent creative overruling power never wills that which is either tricky or deceptive Or would you say that this material seeming in which we dwell is itself an illusion If not whence then the Ten Commandments and the illusion of justice Why were the Beatitudes dreamed of and how do they avail
The Magic Crystal
If you had been a mystic or a soothsayer or a member of that mysterious world which divines by incantations dreams the mystic bowl or the crystal sphere you might have looked into their mysterious depths at this time and foreseen a world of happenings which concerned these two who were now apparently so fortunately placed In the fumes of the witches pot or the depths of the radiant crystal might have been revealed cities cities cities a world of mansions carriages jewels beauty a vast metropolis outraged by the power of one man a great state seething with indignation over a force it could not control vast halls of priceless pictures a palace unrivaled for its magnificence a whole world reading with wonder at times of a given name And sorrow sorrow sorrow
The three witches that hailed Macbeth upon the blasted heath might in turn have called to Cowperwood Hail to you Frank Cowperwood master of a great railway system Hail to you Frank Cowperwood builder of a priceless mansion Hail to you Frank Cowperwood patron of arts and possessor of endless riches You shall be famed hereafter But like the Weird Sisters they would have lied for in the glory was also the ashes of Dead Sea fruit—an understanding that could neither be inflamed by desire nor satisfied by luxury a heart that was long since wearied by experience a soul that was as bereft of illusion as a windless moon And to Aileen as to Macduff they might have spoken a more pathetic promise one that concerned hope and failure To have and not to have All the seeming and yet the sorrow of not having Brilliant society that shone in a mirage yet locked its doors love that eluded as a willothewisp and died in the dark Hail to you Frank Cowperwood master and no master prince of a world of dreams whose reality was disillusion So might the witches have called the bowl have danced with figures the fumes with vision and it would have been true What wise man might not read from such a beginning such an end