Part 40 (1/2)
”George--I tell Henry he's had a dirty deal, too--Oh, such a dirty deal.
I know he's a man--he never cast off a girl--like I was cast off--you know how. Henry's a man, George--a real man, and oh, if I could help him--if I could help him get up again. He's had such a dirty deal.”
Brotherton saw her mouth in all its ugliness, and saw as he looked how tears were streaking the bedaubed face. She was repulsive beyond words, yet as she tried to hold back her tears, George Brotherton thought she was beautiful.
Fenn found his voice. ”Now, here, George--it's like this: I don't want any woman; I've washed most of that monkey business out of me with whisky--it's not in me any more. And I know she's had enough of men. And I've brought her here--we've come here to tell you that part is straight--decent--square. I wanted you to know that--and Violet would, too--wouldn't you, Violet?” She nodded.
”Now, then, George--I'm her man! Do you understand--her man. I'm going to see that she doesn't have to go on the streets. Why, when she was a girl I used to beau her around, and if she isn't ashamed of a drunken thief--then in Christ's name, I'm going to help her.”
He smiled out of his leaden eyes the ghost of his glittering, old, self-deprecatory smile. The woman remembered it, and bent over and kissed his dirty hand. She rose, and put her fingers gently upon his head, and sobbed:
”Oh, G.o.d, forgive me and make me worthy of this!”
There was an awkward pause. When the woman had controlled herself Fenn said: ”What I want is to keep right on sleeping in the bas.e.m.e.nt here--until I can get ahead enough to pay for my room. I'm not going to make any scandal for Violet, here. But we both feel better to talk it out with you.”
They started for the back door. The front of the store was dark.
Brotherton saw the man hesitate, and look down the alley to see if any one was in sight.
”Henry,” said Brotherton, ”here's a dollar. You might just as well begin fighting it out to-night. You go to the bas.e.m.e.nt. I'll take Violet home.”
The woman would have protested, but the big man said gently: ”No, Violet--you were Denny Hogan's wife. He was my friend. You are Henry's ward--he is my friend. Let's go out the front way, Violet.”
When they were gone, and the lights were out in the office of the bookstore, Henry Fenn slipped through the alley, went to the nearest saloon, walked in, stood looking at the whiskey sparkling brown and devilishly in the thick-bottomed cut gla.s.ses, saw the beer foaming upon the mahogany board, breathed it all in deeply, felt of the hard silver dollar in his pocket, shook as one in a palsy, set his teeth and while the tears came into his eyes stood and silently counted one hundred and another hundred; grinning foolishly when the loafers joked with him, and finally shuffled weakly out into the night, and ran to his cellar. And if Mr. Left's theory of angels is correct, then all the angels in heaven had their harps in their hands waving them for Henry, and cheering for joy!
CHAPTER x.x.xIV
A SHORT CHAPTER, YET IN IT WE EXAMINE ONE CANVAS HEAVEN, ONE REAL HEAVEN, AND TWO SNUG LITTLE h.e.l.lS
”The idea of h.e.l.l,” wrote the Peach Blow Philosopher in the Harvey _Tribune_, ”is the logical sequence of the belief that material punishments must follow spiritual offenses. For the wicked go unscathed of material punishments in this naughty world. And so the idea of Heaven is a logical sequence of the idea that only spiritual rewards come to men for spiritual services. Not that Heaven is needed to balance the accounts of good men after death--not at all. Good men get all that is coming to them here--whether it is a crucifixion or a crown--that makes no difference; crowns and crosses are mere material counters. They do not win or lose the game--nor even justly mark its loss or winning.
”The reason why Heaven is needed in the scheme of a neighborly man,”
said the Peach Blow Philosopher as he stood at his gate and reviewed the procession of pilgrims through the wilderness, ”is this: The man who leads a decent life, is building a great soul. Obviously, this world is not the natural final habitat of great souls; for they occur here sporadically--though perhaps more and more frequently every trip around the sun. But Heaven is needed in any scheme of general decency for decency's sake, so that the decent soul for whose primary development the earth was hung in the sky, may have a place to find further usefulness, and a far more exceeding glory than may be enjoyed in this material dwelling place. So as we grow better and kinder in this world, h.e.l.l sloughs off and Heaven is more real.”
There is more of this dissertation--if the reader cares to pursue it, and it may be found in the files of the Harvey _Tribune_. It also appears as a footnote to an article by an eminent authority on Abnormal Psychology in a report on Mr. Left, Vol. x.x.xII, p. 2126, of the Report of the Psychological a.s.sociation. The remarks of the Peach Blow Philosopher credited in the Report of the Proceedings above noted, to Mr. Left, appeared in the Harvey _Tribune_ Jan. 14, 1903. They may have been called forth by an editorial in the Harvey _Times_ of January 9 of that same year. So as that editorial has a proper place in this narrative, it may be set down here at the outset of this chapter.
The article from the _Times_ is headed: ”A Successful Career” and it follows:
”To-day Judge Thomas Van Dorn retires from ten years of faithful service as district judge of this district. He was appointed by the Governor and has been twice elected to this position by the people, and feeling that the honor should go to some other county in the district, the Judge was not a candidate for a third nomination or election. During the ten years of his service he has grown steadily in legal and intellectual attainments. He has been president of the state bar a.s.sociation, delegate from that body to the National Bar a.s.sociation, member of several important committees in that organization, and now is at the head of that branch of the National Bar a.s.sociation organized to secure a more strict interpretation of the Federal Const.i.tution, as a bulwark of commercial liberty. Judge Van Dorn also has been selected as a member of a subcommittee to draft a new state const.i.tution to be submitted to the legislature by the state bar a.s.sociation. So much for the recognition of his legal ability.
”As an orator he has won similar and enviable fame. His speech at the dedication of the state monument at Vicksburg will be a cla.s.sic in American oratory for years. At the Marquette Club Banquet in Chicago last month his oration was reprinted in New York and Boston with flattering comment. Recently he has been engaged--though his term of service has just ended--in every important criminal action now pending west of the Mississippi. As a jury lawyer he has no equal in all the West.
”But while this practice is highly interesting, and in a sense remunerative, the Judge feels that the criminal practice makes too much of a drain upon his mind and body, and while he will defend certain great lumber operators and will appear for the defense in the famous Yarborrough murder case, and is considering accepting an almost unbelievably large retainer in the Skelton divorce case with its ramifications leading into at least three criminal prosecutions, and four suits to change or perfect certain land t.i.tles, yet this kind of practice is distasteful to the Judge, and he will probably confine himself after this year to what is known as corporation practice. He has been retained as general counsel for all the industrial interests in the Wahoo Valley. The mine operators, the smelter owners, the cement manufacturers, the gla.s.s factories have seen in Judge Van Dorn a man in whom they all may safely trust their interests--amicably settling all differences between themselves in his office, and presenting for the Wahoo Valley an unbroken front in all future disputes--industrial or otherwise. This arrangement has been perfected by our giant of finance, Hon. Daniel Sands of the Traders' State Bank, who is, as every one knows, heavily interested in every concern in the Valley--excepting the Independent Coal Company, which by the way has preferred to remain outside of the united commercial union, and do business under its own flag--however dark that flag may be.
”This new career of Judge Van Dorn will be highly gratifying to his friends--and who is there who is not his friend?
”Courteous, knightly, impetuous, gallant Tom Van Dorn? What a career he has builded for himself in Harvey and the West.
”Scorning his enemies with the quiet contempt of the intellectual gladiator that he is, Tom Van Dorn has risen in this community as no other man young or old since its founding. His s.p.a.cious home is the temple of hospitality; his magnificent talent is given freely, often to the poor and needy to whom his money flows in a generous stream whenever the call comes. His shrewd investment of his savings in the Valley have made him rich; his beautiful wife and his widening circle of friends have made him happy--his fine, active brain has made him great.
”The _Times_ extends to the Judge upon his retirement from the bench the congratulations of an admiring community, and best wishes for future success.”