Part 11 (1/2)
”All right, Stella, get yourself ready and we will leave right away.”
CHAPTER XIII.
RETURN OF BEN WEST.
About two months before Ben West returned to Orangeville, Mr. Hammond took a letter out of the Orangeville post-office, which read as follows:
”_Kohn & Kohn, Bankers and Brokers, Stillman Block._ ”SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 1899.
”_Harrison Hammond, Esq., ”Orangeville, Calif._
”DEAR SIR: We have been instructed by Benj. West, Esq., one of the leading capitalists of the Klondike, to send you a draft for five hundred dollars, with a letter from that gentleman to you, both of which we have enclosed.
”Yours resp't'y, ”KOHN & KOHN.”
The letter from Ben West to Mr. Hammond was as follows:
”DAWSON CITY, KLONDIKE, Feb. 12, 1899.
”_H. Hammond, Esq., ”Orangeville, Cal._
”FRIEND HAMMOND: After sending Julia the jewelry, I realized that I had got my foot in it, in this way: She thinks she must have a costly bridal outfit to match the jewelry. Now, I have written her that as we will be married in Orangeville, she need not get anything very extra fine; that what she thinks she may need in the way of costly dresses, she can get in San Francisco after we are married, but I realize she might like a few good clothes, so I send you five hundred dollars to buy her what she may need in that line, which I hope you will accept, as I know the income from a ranch cannot stand any such extravagance. You will receive the money from my brokers, Kohn & Kohn. Please keep this confidential and not let Julia know a word about it.
”Your friend, ”BEN WEST.”
After reading the letters Mr. Hammond had a good opportunity of talking the matter over with his wife, as Julia had gone out for the day.
They both took a sensible view of the matter and thought that under the circ.u.mstances it would be proper to accept the five hundred dollars, as Julia would wear the clothes as Ben West's wife, and said it was very thoughtful in him to send the money.
Mrs. Hammond said, as Julia was going to San Francisco as soon as she was married, she thought it would be best to go to Fresno and select her bridal trousseau there. Continuing, she said: ”Julia knows you have money in the bank, but how much she has no idea; therefore, she will not suspect but you are paying for her bridal outfit yourself.”
So Mrs. Hammond and Julia went to Fresno. On their return Julia seemed more than pleased with her purchases. It is not to be expected that each kind of garment that was bought will be mentioned here, neither will we go into a minute description of the amount of lace, embroidery, insertion and scallop work on the various garments.
In the four weeks previous to Julia's wedding day she had numerous callers to see her jewelry and her bridal trousseau.
The amount of close inspection, quick observation, speculative thought and general talk that was given to all articles pertaining to the bride's wardrobe and jewelry, if devoted to some of the serious social problems of the nation, would have settled them thoroughly for all time.
”Is it not strange,” remarked Mr. Hammond one evening after some callers had gone and Julia had retired, ”the amount of interest and thought people take in things that are really of so little consequence to them; but things which are of the greatest importance to their own welfare it is hard to get them to give two minutes' consideration to them? They want excitement, and love it a great deal more than an intelligent understanding of such issues as are to them of vital importance. For instance, government owners.h.i.+p of railroads, telegraphs and telephones to be operated at cost for the benefit of the people; the issuing and loaning of money by the government to the people, instead of by the banks to the people; also the adoption by the nation of the Initiative and Referendum.”
Some of the elderly ladies in Orangeville who had lived in the east many years before coming to California, brought to Orangeville some of their old sayings, and one of these sayings began to float through the atmosphere of Orangeville and was whispered from one to another; namely, that Julia Hammond had fallen into a tub of b.u.t.ter. Now, on first hearing such a statement one would think a sad calamity had happened to the young lady, especially when taking into consideration that in a few weeks' time she expected to change her name. But upon making an examination of her wearing apparel, one saw no sign of such an accident, and when she appeared at the table in her elegant morning wrapper you could not see any grease spots on her well-fitting garment, and when you began to wonder what they could mean by saying that Julia Hammond had fallen into a tub of b.u.t.ter, you resolve you will make a further and closer scrutiny of that young lady's person. At last it begins to dawn upon your mind, for you notice that when she puts her elbow on the table and her hand up to the side of her face, your eyes are almost dazzled by seeing something on her finger which are brilliant stones set in gold.
When Julia Hammond appeared at the ball the other night, the main talk of the evening was about her diamond ring, her gold watch set with diamonds, and her elegant diamond necklace, making that swan-like neck simply superb.
As she drove her span of matched bays one morning she pa.s.sed two young men in a buggy. Then the following conversation took place between the men:
Fred said to Henry, who was a stranger in Orangeville and was making him a visit:
”Henry, just look at that in her back hair.”
”That is just elegant,” said Henry, as his eyes rested on a very rich gold hairpin set with diamonds which were sparkling in their beauty, as the rays of the sun brought out their brilliancy.
Fred said: ”That's Julia Hammond, the bethrothed of Ben West, who went to the Klondike and struck it rich, having made a little over half a million dollars.”