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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Metropolis
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Release Date: July 14, 2002 [EBook #5421]
+[Most recently updated: June 1, 2020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+[illustration]
+
+
+
+
+The Metropolis
+
+by Upton Sinclair
+
+FIRST PUBLISHED 1908
+
+PRINTED BY OFFSET IN GREAT BRITAIN
+
+
+Contents
+
+ CHAPTER I.
+ CHAPTER II.
+ CHAPTER III.
+ CHAPTER IV.
+ CHAPTER V.
+ CHAPTER VI.
+ CHAPTER VII.
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+ CHAPTER IX.
+ CHAPTER X.
+ CHAPTER XI.
+ CHAPTER XII.
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+ CHAPTER XV.
+ CHAPTER XVI.
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+ CHAPTER XVIII.
+ CHAPTER XIX.
+ CHAPTER XX.
+ CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+“Return at ten-thirty,” the General said to his chauffeur, and then
+they entered the corridor of the hotel.
+
+Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little
+with anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The quiet
+uptown hotel would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he was from
+the country; but, he did not see the marble columns and the gilded
+carvings-he was thinking of the men he was to meet. It seemed too much
+to crowd into one day-first the vision of the whirling, seething city,
+the centre of all his hopes of the future; and then, at night, this
+meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories of everything that
+he held precious in the past.
+
+There were groups of men in faded uniforms standing about in the
+corridors. General Prentice bowed here and there as they retired and
+took the elevator to the reception-rooms. In the doorway they passed a
+stout little man with stubby white moustaches, and the General stopped,
+exclaiming, “Hello, Major!” Then he added: “Let me introduce Mr. Allan
+Montague. Montague, this is Major Thorne.”
+
+A look of sudden interest flashed across the Major’s face. “General
+Montague’s son?” he cried. And then he seized the other’s hand in both
+of his, exclaiming, “My boy! my boy! I’m glad to see you!”
+
+Now Montague was no boy—he was a man of thirty, and rather sedate in
+his appearance and manner; there was enough in his six feet one to have
+made two of the round and rubicund little Major. And yet it seemed to
+him quite proper that the other should address him so. He was back in
+his boyhood to-night—he was a boy whenever anyone mentioned the name of
+Major Thorne.
+
+“Perhaps you have heard your father speak of me?” asked the Major,
+eagerly; and Montague answered, “A thousand times.”
+
+He was tempted to add that the vision that rose before him was of a
+stout gentleman hanging in a grape-vine, while a whole battery of
+artillery made him their target.
+
+Perhaps it was irreverent, but that was what Montague had always
+thought of, ever since he had first laughed over the tale his father
+told. It had happened one January afternoon in the Wilderness, during
+the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, when Montague’s father had
+been a rising young staff-officer, and it had fallen to his lot to
+carry to Major Thorne what was surely the most terrifying order that
+ever a cavalry officer received. It was in the crisis of the conflict,
+when the Army of the Potomac was reeling before the onslaught of
+Stonewall Jackson’s columns. There was no one to stop them-and yet they
+must be stopped, for the whole right wing of the army was going. So
+that cavalry regiment had charged full tilt through the thickets, and
+into a solid wall of infantry and artillery. The crash of their volley
+was blinding—and horses were fairly shot to fragments; and the Major’s
+horse, with its lower jaw torn off, had plunged madly away and left its
+rider hanging in the aforementioned grape-vine. After he had kicked
+himself loose, it was to find himself in an arena where pain-maddened
+horses and frenzied men raced about amid a rain of minie-balls and
+canister. And in this inferno the gallant Major had captured a horse,
+and rallied the remains of his shattered command, and held the line
+until help came-and then helped to hold it, all through the afternoon
+and the twilight and the night, against charge after charge.—And now to
+stand and gaze at this stout and red-nosed little personage, and
+realize that these mighty deeds had been his!
+
+Then, even while Montague was returning his hand-clasp and telling him
+of his pleasure, the Major’s eye caught some one across the room, and
+he called eagerly, “Colonel Anderson! Colonel Anderson!”
+
+And this was the heroic Jack Anderson! “Parson” Anderson, the men had
+called him, because he always prayed before everything he did. Prayers
+at each mess,—a prayer-meeting in the evening,—and then rumour said the
+Colonel prayed on while his men slept. With his battery of artillery
+trained to perfection under three years of divine guidance, the gallant
+Colonel had stood in the line of battle at Cold Harbour—name of
+frightful memory!—and when the enemy had swarmed out of their
+intrenchments and swept back the whole line just beyond him, his
+battery had stood like a cape in a storm-beaten ocean, attacked on two
+sides at once; and for the half-hour that elapsed before infantry
+support came up, the Colonel had ridden slowly up and down his line,
+repeating in calm and godly accents, “Give ’em hell, boys—give ’em
+hell!”—The Colonel’s hand trembled now as he held it out, and his voice
+was shrill and cracked as he told what pleasure it gave him to meet
+General Montague’s son.
+
+“Why have we never seen you before?” asked Major Thorne. Montague
+replied that he had spent all his life in Mississippi—his father having
+married a Southern woman after the war. Once every year the General had
+come to New York to attend the reunion of the Loyal Legion of the
+State; but some one had had to stay at home with his mother, Montague
+explained.
+
+There were perhaps a hundred men in the room, and he was passed about
+from group to group. Many of them had known his father intimately. It
+seemed almost uncanny to him to meet them in the body; to find them old
+and feeble, white-haired and wrinkled. As they lived in the chambers of
+his memory, they were in their mighty youth—heroes, transfigured and
+radiant, not subject to the power of time.
+
+Life on the big plantation had been a lonely one, especially for a
+Southern-born man who had fought in the Union army. General Montague
+had been a person of quiet tastes, and his greatest pleasure had been
+to sit with his two boys on his knees and “fight his battles o’er
+again.” He had collected all the literature of the corps which he had
+commanded—a whole library of it, in which Allan had learned to find his
+way as soon as he could read. He had literally been brought up on the
+war—for hours he would lie buried in some big illustrated history,
+until people came and called him away. He studied maps of campaigns and
+battle-fields, until they became alive with human passion and struggle;
+he knew the Army of the Potomac by brigade and division, with the names
+of commanders, and their faces, and their ways—until they lived and
+spoke, and the bare roll of their names had power to thrill him.—And
+now here were the men themselves, and all these scenes and memories
+crowding upon him in tumultuous throngs. No wonder that he was a little
+dazed, and could hardly find words to answer when he was spoken to.
+
+But then came an incident which called him suddenly back to the world
+of the present. “There is Judge Ellis,” said the General.
+
+Judge Ellis! The fame of his wit and eloquence had reached even far
+Mississippi—was there any remotest corner of America where men had not
+heard of the silver tongue of Judge Ellis? “Cultivate him!” Montague’s
+brother Oliver had laughed, when it was mentioned that the Judge would
+be present—“Cultivate him—he may be useful.”
+
+It was not difficult to cultivate one who was as gracious as Judge
+Ellis. He stood in the doorway, a smooth, perfectly groomed gentleman,
+conspicuous in the uniformed assembly by his evening dress. The Judge
+was stout and jovial, and cultivated Dundreary whiskers and a beaming
+smile. “General Montague’s son!” he exclaimed, as he pressed the young
+man’s hands. “Why, why—I’m surprised! Why have we never seen you
+before?”
+
+Montague explained that he had only been in New York about six hours.
+“Oh, I see,” said the Judge. “And shall you remain long?”
+
+“I have come to stay,” was the reply.
+
+“Well, well!” said the other, cordially. “Then we may see more of you.
+Are you going into business?”
+
+“I am a lawyer,” said Montague. “I expect to practise.”
+
+The Judge’s quick glance had been taking the measure of the tall,
+handsome man before him, with his raven-black hair and grave features.
+“You must give us a chance to try your mettle,” he said; and then, as
+others approached to meet him, and he was forced to pass on, he laid a
+caressing hand on Montague’s arm, whispering, with a sly smile, “I mean
+it.”
+
+Montague felt his heart beat a little faster. He had not welcomed his
+brother’s suggestion—there was nothing of the sycophant in him; but he
+meant to work and to succeed, and he knew what the favour of a man like
+Judge Ellis would mean to him. For the Judge was the idol of New York’s
+business and political aristocracy, and the doorways of fortune yielded
+at his touch.
+
+There were rows of chairs in one of the rooms, and here two or three
+hundred men were gathered. There were stands of battle-flags in the
+corners, each one of them a scroll of tragic history, to one like
+Montague, who understood. His eye roamed over them while the secretary
+was reading minutes of meetings and other routine announcements. Then
+he began to study the assemblage. There were men with one arm and men
+with one leg—one tottering old soldier ninety years of age, stone
+blind, and led about by his friends. The Loyal Legion was an officers’
+organization, and to that extent aristocratic; but worldly success
+counted for nothing in it—some of its members were struggling to exist
+on their pensions, and were as much thought of as a man like General
+Prentice, who was president of one of the city’s largest banks, and a
+rich man, even in New York’s understanding of that term.
+
+The presiding officer introduced “Colonel Robert Selden, who will read
+the paper of the evening: ‘Recollections of Spottsylvania.’” Montague
+started at the name—for “Bob” Selden had been one of his father’s
+messmates, and had fought all through the Peninsula Campaign at his
+side.
+
+He was a tall, hawk-faced man with a grey imperial. The room was still
+as he arose, and after adjusting his glasses, he began to read his
+story. He recalled the situation of the Army of the Potomac in the
+spring of 1864; for three years it had marched and fought, stumbling
+through defeat after defeat, a mighty weapon, lacking only a man who
+could wield it. Now at last the man had come—one who would put them
+into the battle and give them a chance to fight. So they had marched
+into the Wilderness, and there Lee struck them, and for three days they
+groped in a blind thicket, fighting hand to hand, amid suffocating
+smoke. The Colonel read in a quiet, unassuming voice; but one could see
+that he had hold of his hearers by the light that crossed their
+features when he told of the army’s recoil from the shock, and of the
+wild joy that ran through the ranks when they took up their march to
+the left, and realized that this time they were not going back.—So they
+came to the twelve days’ grapple of the Spottsylvania Campaign.
+
+There was still the Wilderness thicket; the enemy’s intrenchments,
+covering about eight miles, lay in the shape of a dome, and at the
+cupola of it were breastworks of heavy timbers banked with earth, and
+with a ditch and a tangle of trees in front. The place was the keystone
+of the Confederate arch, and the name of it was “the Angle”—“Bloody
+Angle!” Montague heard the man who sat next to him draw in his breath,
+as if a spasm of pain had shot through him.
+
+At dawn two brigades had charged and captured the place. The enemy
+returned to the attack, and for twenty hours thereafter the two armies
+fought, hurling regiment after regiment and brigade after brigade into
+the trenches. There was a pouring rain, and the smoke hung black about
+them; they could only see the flashes of the guns, and the faces of the
+enemy, here and there.
+
+The Colonel described the approach of his regiment. They lay down for a
+moment in a swamp, and the minie-balls sang like swarming bees, and
+split the blades of the grass above them. Then they charged, over
+ground that ran with human blood. In the trenches the bodies of dead
+and dying men lay three deep, and were trampled out of sight in the mud
+by the feet of those who fought. They would crouch behind the works,
+lifting their guns high over their heads, and firing into the throngs
+on the other side; again and again men sprang upon the breastworks and
+fired their muskets, and then fell dead. They dragged up cannon, one
+after another, and blew holes through the logs, and raked the’ ground
+with charges of canister.
+
+While the Colonel read, still in his calm, matter-of-fact voice, you
+might see men leaning forward in their chairs, hands clenched, teeth
+set. They knew! They knew! Had there ever before been a time in history
+when breastworks had been charged by artillery? Twenty-four men in the
+crew of one gun, and only two unhurt! One iron sponge-bucket with
+thirty-nine bullet holes shot through it! And then blasts of canister
+sweeping the trenches, and blowing scores of living and dead men to
+fragments! And into this hell of slaughter new regiments charging, in
+lines four deep! And squad after squad of the enemy striving to
+surrender, and shot to pieces by their own comrades as they clambered
+over the blood-soaked walls! And heavy timbers in the defences shot to
+splinters! Huge oak trees—one of them twenty-four inches in
+diameter—crashing down upon the combatants, gnawed through by
+rifle-bullets! Since the world began had men ever fought like that?
+
+Then the Colonel told of his own wound in the shoulder, and how, toward
+dusk, he had crawled away; and how he became lost, and strayed into the
+enemy’s line, and was thrust into a batch of prisoners and marched to
+the rear. And then of the night that he spent beside a hospital camp in
+the Wilderness, where hundreds of wounded and dying men lay about on
+the rain-soaked ground, moaning, screaming, praying to be killed. Again
+the prisoners were moved, having been ordered to march to the railroad;
+and on the way the Colonel went blind from suffering and exhaustion,
+and staggered and fell in the road. You could have heard a pin drop in
+the room, in the pause between sentences in his story, as he told how
+the guard argued with him to persuade him to go on. It was their duty
+to kill him if he refused, but they could not bring themselves to do
+it. In the end they left the job to one, and he stood and cursed the
+officer, trying to get up his courage; and finally fired his gun into
+the air, and went off and left him.
+
+Then he told how an old negro had found him, and how he lay delirious;
+and how, at last, the army marched his way. He ended his narrative the
+simple sentence: “It was not until the siege of Petersburg that I was
+able to rejoin my Command.”
+
+There was a murmur of applause; and then silence. Suddenly, from
+somewhere in the room, came the sound of singing—“Mine eyes have seen
+the glory of the coming of the Lord!” The old battle-hymn seemed to
+strike the very mood of the meeting; the whole throng took it up, and
+they sang it, stanza by stanza. It was rolling forth like a mighty
+organ-chant as they came to the fervid closing:—
+
+“He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
+He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat;
+Oh! be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet,—
+    Our God is marching on!”
+
+
+There was a pause again; and the presiding officer rose and said that,
+owing to the presence of a distinguished guest, they would forego one
+of their rules, and invite Judge Ellis to say a few words. The Judge
+came forward, and bowed his acknowledgment of their welcome. Then,
+perhaps feeling a need of relief after the sombre recital, the Judge
+took occasion to apologize for his own temerity in addressing a roomful
+of warriors; and somehow he managed to make that remind him of a story
+of an army mule, a very amusing story; and that reminded him of another
+story, until, when he stopped and sat down, every one in the room broke
+into delighted applause.
+
+They went in to dinner. Montague sat by General Prentice, and he, in
+turn, by the Judge; the latter was reminded of more stories during the
+dinner, and kept every one near him laughing. Finally Montague was
+moved to tell a story himself—about an old negro down home, who passed
+himself off for an Indian. The Judge was so good as to consider this an
+immensely funny story, and asked permission to tell it himself. Several
+times after that he leaned over and spoke to Montague, who felt a
+slight twinge of guilt as he recalled his brother’s cynical advice,
+“Cultivate him!” The Judge was so willing to be cultivated, however,
+that it gave one’s conscience little chance.
+
+They went back to the meeting-room again; chairs were shifted, and
+little groups formed, and cigars and pipes brought out. They moved the
+precious battle-flags forward, and some one produced a bugle and a
+couple of drums; then the walls of the place shook, as the whole
+company burst forth:—
+
+“Bring the good old bugle, boys! we’ll sing another song—
+Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along—
+Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong,—
+    While we were marching through Georgia!”
+
+
+It was wonderful to witness the fervour with which they went through
+this rollicking chant—whose spirit we miss because we hear it too
+often. They were not skilled musicians—they could only sing loud; but
+the fire leaped into their eyes, and they swayed with the rhythm, and
+sang! Montague found himself watching the old blind soldier, who sat
+beating his foot in time, upon his face the look of one who sees
+visions.
+
+And then he noticed another man, a little, red-faced Irishman, one of
+the drummers. The very spirit of the drum seemed to have entered into
+him—into his hands and his feet, his eyes and his head, and his round
+little body. He played a long roll between the verses, and it seemed as
+if he must surely be swept away upon the wings of it. Catching
+Montague’s eye, he nodded and smiled; and after that, every once in a
+while their eyes would meet and exchange a greeting. They sang “The
+Loyal Legioner” and “The Army Bean” and “John Brown’s Body” and “Tramp,
+tramp, tramp, the boys are marching”; all the while the drum rattled
+and thundered, and the little drummer laughed and sang, the very
+incarnation of the care-free spirit of the soldier!
+
+They stopped for a while, and the little man came over and was
+introduced. Lieutenant O’Day was his name; and after he had left,
+General Prentice leaned over to Montague and told him a story. “That
+little man,” he said, “began as a drummer-boy in my regiment, and went
+all through the war in my brigade; and two years ago I met him on the
+street one cold winter night, as thin as I am, and shivering in a
+summer overcoat. I took him to dinner with me and watched him eat, and
+I made up my mind there was something wrong. I made him take me home,
+and do you know, the man was starving! He had a little tobacco shop,
+and he’d got into trouble—the trust had taken away his trade. And he
+had a sick wife, and a daughter clerking at six dollars a week!”
+
+The General went on to tell of his struggle to induce the little man to
+accept his aid—to accept a loan of a few hundreds of dollars from
+Prentice, the banker! “I never had anything hurt me so in all my life,”
+he said. “Finally I took him into the bank—and now you can see he has
+enough to eat!”
+
+They began to sing again, and Montague sat and thought over the story.
+It seemed to him typical of the thing that made this meeting beautiful
+to him—of the spirit of brotherhood and service that reigned here.—They
+sang “We are tenting to-night on the old camp ground”; they sang “Benny
+Havens, Oh!” and “A Soldier No More”; they sang other songs of
+tenderness and sorrow, and men felt a trembling in their voices and a
+mist stealing over their eyes. Upon Montague a spell was falling.
+
+Over these men and their story there hung a mystery—a presence of
+wonder, that discloses itself but rarely to mortals, and only to those
+who have dreamed and dared. They had not found it easy to do their
+duty; they had had their wives and children, their homes and friends
+and familiar places; and all these they had left to serve the Republic.
+They had taught themselves a new way of life—they had forged themselves
+into an iron sword of war. They had marched and fought in dust and
+heat, in pouring rains and driving, icy blasts; they had become men
+grim and terrible in spirit-men with limbs of steel, who could march or
+ride for days and nights, who could lie down and sleep upon the ground
+in rain-storms and winter snows, who were ready to leap at a word and
+seize their muskets and rush into the cannon’s mouth. They had learned
+to stare into the face of death, to meet its fiery eyes; to march and
+eat and sleep, to laugh and play and sing, in its presence—to carry
+their life in their hands, and toss it about as a juggler tosses a
+ball. And this for Freedom: for the star-crowned goddess with the
+flaming eyes, who trod upon the mountain-tops and called to them in the
+shock and fury of the battle; whose trailing robes they followed
+through the dust and cannon-smoke; for a glimpse of whose shining face
+they had kept the long night vigils and charged upon the guns in the
+morning; for a touch of whose shimmering robe they had wasted in prison
+pens, where famine and loathsome pestilence and raving madness stalked
+about in the broad daylight.
+
+And now this army of deliverance, with its waving banners and its
+prancing horses and its rumbling cannon, had marched into the
+shadow-world. The very ground that it had trod was sacred; and one who
+fingered the dusty volumes which held the record of its deeds would
+feel a strange awe come upon him, and thrill with a sudden fear of
+life—that was so fleeting and so little to be understood. There were
+boyhood memories in Montague’s mind, of hours of consecration, when the
+vision had descended upon him, and he had sat with face hidden in his
+hands.
+
+It was for the Republic that these men had suffered; for him and his
+children—that a government of the people, by the people, for the
+people, might not perish from the earth. And with the organ-music of
+the Gettysburg Address echoing within him, the boy laid his soul upon
+the altar of his country. They had done so much for him—and now, was
+there anything that he could do? A dozen years had passed since then,
+and still he knew that deep within him—deeper than all other purposes,
+than all thoughts of wealth and fame and power—was the purpose that the
+men who had died for the Republic should find him worthy of their
+trust.
+
+The singing had stopped, and Judge Ellis was standing before him. The
+Judge was about to go, and in his caressing voice he said that he would
+hope to see Montague again. Then, seeing that General Prentice was also
+standing up, Montague threw off the spell that had gripped him, and
+shook hands with the little drummer, and with Selden and Anderson and
+all the others of his dream people. A few minutes later he found
+himself outside the hotel, drinking deep draughts of the cold November
+air.
+
+Major Thorne had come out with them; and learning that the General’s
+route lay uptown, he offered to walk with Montague to his hotel.
+
+They set out, and then Montague told the Major about the figure in the
+grape-vine, and the Major laughed and told how it had felt. There had
+been more adventures, it seemed; while he was hunting a horse he had
+come upon two mules loaded with ammunition and entangled with their
+harness about a tree; he had rushed up to seize them—when a solid shot
+had struck the tree and exploded the ammunition and blown the mules to
+fragments. And then there was the story of the charge late in the
+night, which had recovered the lost ground, and kept Stonewall Jackson
+busy up to the very hour of his tragic death. And there was the story
+of Andersonville, and the escape from prison. Montague could have
+walked the streets all night, exchanging these war-time reminiscences
+with the Major.
+
+Absorbed in their talk, they came to an avenue given up to the poorer
+class of people; with elevated trains rattling by overhead, and rows of
+little shops along it. Montague noticed a dense crowd on one of the
+corners, and asked what it meant.
+
+“Some sort of a meeting,” said the Major.
+
+They came nearer, and saw a torch, with a man standing near it, above
+the heads of the crowd.
+
+“It looks like a political meeting,” said Montague, “but it can’t be,
+now—just after election.”
+
+“Probably it’s a Socialist,” said the Major. “They’re at it all the
+time.”
+
+They crossed the avenue, and then they could see plainly. The man was
+lean and hungry-looking, and he had long arms, which he waved with
+prodigious violence. He was in a frenzy of excitement, pacing this way
+and that, and leaning over the throng packed about him. Because of a
+passing train the two could not hear a sound.
+
+“A Socialist!” exclaimed Montague, wonderingly. “What do they want?”
+
+“I’m not sure,” said the other. “They want to overthrow the
+government.”
+
+The train passed, and then the man’s words came to them: “They force
+you to build palaces, and then they put you into tenements! They force
+you to spin fine raiment, and then they dress you in rags! They force
+you to build jails, and then they lock you up in them! They force you
+to make guns, and then they shoot you with them! They own the political
+parties, and they name the candidates, and trick you into voting for
+them—and they call it the law! They herd you into armies and send you
+to shoot your brothers—and they call it order! They take a piece of
+coloured rag and call it the flag and teach you to let yourself be
+shot—and they call it _patriotism!_ First, last, and all the time, you
+do the work and they get the benefit—they, the masters and owners, and
+you—fools—fools—_fools!_”
+
+The man’s voice had mounted to a scream, and he flung his hands into
+the air and broke into jeering laughter. Then came another train, and
+Montague could not hear him; but he could see that he was rushing on in
+the torrent of his denunciation.
+
+Montague stood rooted to the spot; he was shocked to the depths of his
+being—he could scarcely contain himself as he stood there. He longed to
+spring forward to beard the man where he stood, to shout him down, to
+rebuke him before the crowd.
+
+The Major must have seen his agitation, for he took his arm and led him
+back from the throng, saying: “Come! We can’t help it.”
+
+“But—but—,” he protested, “the police ought to arrest him.”
+
+“They do sometimes,” said the Major, “but it doesn’t do any good.”
+
+They walked on, and the sounds of the shrill voice died away. “Tell
+me,” said Montague, in a low voice, “does that go on very often?”
+
+“Around the corner from where I live,” said the other, “it goes on
+every Saturday night.”
+
+“And do the people listen?” he asked.
+
+“Sometimes they can’t keep the street clear,” was the reply.
+
+And again they walked in silence. At last Montague asked, “What does it
+mean?”
+
+The Major shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps another civil war,” said he.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Allan Montague’s father had died about five years before. A couple of
+years later his younger brother, Oliver, had announced his intention of
+seeking a career in New York. He had no profession, and no definite
+plans; but his father’s friends were men of influence and wealth, and
+the doors were open to him. So he had turned his share of the estate
+into cash and departed.
+
+Oliver was a gay and pleasure-loving boy, with all the material of a
+prodigal son in him; his brother had more than half expected to see him
+come back in a year or two with empty pockets. But New York had seemed
+to agree with Oliver. He never told what he was doing—what he wrote was
+simply that he was managing to keep the wolf from the door. But his
+letters hinted at expensive ways of life; and at Christmas time, and at
+Cousin Alice’s birthday, he would send home presents which made the
+family stare.
+
+Montague had always thought of himself as a country lawyer and planter.
+But two months ago a fire had swept away the family mansion, and then
+on top of that had come an offer for the land; and with Oliver
+telegraphing several times a day in his eagerness, they had taken the
+sudden resolution to settle up their affairs and move to New York.
+
+There were Montague and his mother, and Cousin Alice, who was nineteen,
+and old “Mammy Lucy,” Mrs. Montague’s servant. Oliver had met them at
+Jersey City, radiant with happiness. He looked just as much of a boy as
+ever, and just as beautiful; excepting that he was a little paler, New
+York had not changed him at all. There was a man in uniform from the
+hotel to take charge of their baggage, and a big red touring-car for
+them; and now they were snugly settled in their apartments, with the
+younger brother on duty as counsellor and guide.
+
+Montague had come to begin life all over again. He had brought his
+money, and he expected to invest it, and to live upon the income until
+he had begun to earn something. He had worked hard at his profession,
+and he meant to work in New York, and to win his way in the end. He
+knew almost nothing about the city—he faced it with the wide-open eyes
+of a child.
+
+One began to learn quickly, he found. It was like being swept into a
+maelstrom: first the hurrying throngs on the ferry-boat, and then the
+cabmen and the newsboys shouting, and the cars with clanging gongs;
+then the swift motor, gliding between trucks and carriages and around
+corners where big policemen shepherded the scurrying populace; and then
+Fifth Avenue, with its rows of shops and towering hotels; and at last a
+sudden swing round a corner—and their home.
+
+“I have picked a quiet family place for you,” Oliver had said, and that
+had greatly pleased his brother. But he had stared in dismay when he
+entered this latest “apartment hotel”—which catered for two or three
+hundred of the most exclusive of the city’s aristocracy—and noted its
+great arcade, with massive doors of bronze, and its entrance-hall,
+trimmed with Caen stone and Italian marble, and roofed with a vaulted
+ceiling painted by modern masters. Men in livery bore their wraps and
+bowed the way before them; a great bronze elevator shot them to the
+proper floor; and they went to their rooms down a corridor walled with
+blood-red marble and paved with carpet soft as a cushion. Here were six
+rooms of palatial size, with carpets, drapery, and furniture of a
+splendour quite appalling to Montague.
+
+As soon as the man who bore their wraps had left the room, he turned
+upon his brother.
+
+“Oliver,” he said, “how much are we paying for all this?”
+
+Oliver smiled. “You are not paying anything, old man,” he replied.
+“You’re to be my guests for a month or two, until you get your
+bearings.”
+
+“That’s very good of you,” said the other; “—we’ll talk about it later.
+But meantime, tell me what the apartment costs.”
+
+And then Montague encountered his first full charge of New York
+dynamite. “Six hundred dollars a week,” said Oliver.
+
+He started as if his brother had struck him. “Six hundred dollars a
+week!” he gasped.
+
+“Yes,” said the other, quietly.
+
+It was fully a minute before he could find his breath. “Brother,” he
+exclaimed, “you’re mad!”
+
+“It is a very good bargain,” smiled the other; “I have some influence
+with them.”
+
+Again there was a pause, while Montague groped for words. “Oliver,” he
+exclaimed, “I can’t believe you! How could you think that we could pay
+such a price?”
+
+“I didn’t think it,” said Oliver; “I told you I expected to pay it
+myself.”
+
+“But how could we let you pay it for us?” cried the other. “Can you
+fancy that _I_ will ever earn enough to pay such a price?”
+
+“Of course you will,” said Oliver. “Don’t be foolish, Allan—you’ll find
+it’s easy enough to make money in New York. Leave it to me, and wait
+awhile.”
+
+But the other was not to be put off. He sat down on the embroidered
+silk bedspread, and demanded abruptly, “What do you expect my income to
+be a year?”
+
+“I’m sure I don’t know,” laughed Oliver; “nobody takes the time to add
+up his income. You’ll make what you need, and something over for good
+measure. This one thing you’ll know for certain—the more you spend, the
+more you’ll be able to make.”
+
+And then, seeing that the sober look was not to be expelled from his
+brother’s face, Oliver seated himself and crossed his legs, and
+proceeded to set forth the paradoxical philosophy of extravagance. His
+brother had come into a city of millionaires. There was a certain group
+of people—“the right set,” was Oliver’s term for them—and among them he
+would find that money was as free as air. So far as his career was
+concerned, he would find that there was nothing in all New York so
+costly as economy. If he did not live like a gentleman, he would find
+himself excluded from the circle of the elect—and how he would manage
+to exist then was a problem too difficult for his brother to face.
+
+And so, as quickly as he could, he was to bring himself to a state of
+mind where things did not surprise him; where he did what others did
+and paid what others paid, and did it serenely, as if he had done it
+all his life. He would soon find his place; meantime all he had to do
+was to put himself into his brother’s charge. “You’ll find in time that
+I have the strings in my hands,” the latter added. “Just take life
+easy, and let me introduce you to the right people.”
+
+All of which sounded very attractive. “But are you sure,” asked
+Montague, “that you understand what I’m here for? I don’t want to get
+into the Four Hundred, you know—I want to practise law.”
+
+“In the first place,” replied Oliver, “don’t talk about the Four
+Hundred—it’s vulgar and silly; there’s no such thing. In the next
+place, you’re going to live in New York, and you want to know the right
+people. If you know them, you can practise law, or practise billiards,
+or practise anything else that you fancy. If you don’t know them, you
+might as well go practise in Dahomey, for all you can accomplish. You
+might come on here and start in for yourself, and in twenty years you
+wouldn’t get as far as you can get in two weeks, if you’ll let me
+attend to it.”
+
+Montague was nearly five years his brother’s senior, and at home had
+taken a semi-paternal attitude toward him. Now, however, the situation
+seemed to have reversed itself. With a slight smile of amusement, he
+subsided, and proceeded to put himself into the attitude of a docile
+student of the mysteries of the Metropolis.
+
+They agreed that they would say nothing about these matters to the
+others. Mrs. Montague was half blind, and would lead her placid, indoor
+existence with old Mammy Lucy. As for Alice, she was a woman, and would
+not trouble herself with economics; if fairy godmothers chose to shower
+gifts upon her, she would take them.
+
+Alice was built to live in a palace, anyway, Oliver said. He had cried
+out with delight when he first saw her. She had been sixteen when he
+left, and tall and thin; now she was nineteen, and with the pale tints
+of the dawn in her hair and face. In the auto, Oliver had turned and,
+stared at her, and pronounced the cryptic judgment, “You’ll go!”
+
+Just now she was wandering about the rooms, exclaiming with wonder.
+Everything here was so quiet and so harmonious that at first one’s
+suspicions were lulled. It was simplicity, but of a strange and
+perplexing kind—simplicity elaborately studied. It was luxury, but
+grown assured of itself, and gazing down upon itself with aristocratic
+disdain. And after a while this began to penetrate the vulgarest mind,
+and to fill it with awe; one cannot remain long in an apartment which
+is trimmed and furnished in rarest Circassian walnut, and “papered”
+with hand-embroidered silk cloth, without feeling some excitement—even
+though there be no one to mention that the furniture has cost eight
+thousand dollars per room, and that the wall covering has been imported
+from Paris at a cost of seventy dollars per yard.
+
+Montague also betook himself to gazing about. He noted the great double
+windows, with sashes of bronze; the bronze fire-proof doors; the bronze
+electric candles and chandeliers, from which the room was flooded with
+a soft radiance at the touch of a button; the “duchesse” and “marquise”
+chairs, with upholstery matching the walls; the huge leather
+“slumber-couch,” with adjustable lamp at its head. When one opened the
+door of the dressing-room closet, it was automatically filled with
+light; there was an adjustable three-sided mirror, at which one could
+study his own figure from every side. There was a little bronze box
+near the bed, in which one might set his shoes, and with a locked door
+opening out into the hall, so that the floor-porter could get them
+without disturbing one. Each of the bath-rooms was the size of an
+ordinary man’s parlour, with floor and walls of snow-white marble, and
+a door composed of an imported plate-glass mirror. There was a great
+porcelain tub, with glass handles upon the wall by which you could help
+yourself out of it, and a shower-bath with linen duck curtains, which
+were changed every day; and a marble slab upon which you might lie to
+be rubbed by the masseur who would come at the touch of a button.
+
+There was no end to the miracles of this establishment, as Montague
+found in the course of time. There was no chance that the antique
+bronze clock on the mantel might go wrong, for it was electrically
+controlled from the office. You did not open the window and let in the
+dust, for the room was automatically ventilated, and you turned a
+switch marked “hot” and “cold.” The office would furnish you a guide
+who would show you the establishment; and you might see your bread
+being kneaded by electricity, upon an opal glass table, and your eggs
+being tested by electric light; you might peer into huge refrigerators,
+ventilated by electric fans, and in which each tiny lamb chop reposed
+in a separate holder. Upon your own floor was a pantry, provided with
+hot and cold storage-rooms and an air-tight dumb-waiter; you might have
+your own private linen and crockery and plate, and your own family
+butler, if you wished. Your children, however, would not be permitted
+in the building, even though you were dying—this was a small concession
+which you made to a host who had invested a million dollars and a half
+in furniture alone.
+
+A few minutes later the telephone bell rang, and Oliver answered it and
+said, “Send him up.”
+
+“Here’s the tailor,” he remarked, as he hung up the receiver.
+
+“Whose tailor?” asked his brother.
+
+“Yours,” said he.
+
+“Do I have to have some new clothes?” Montague asked.
+
+“You haven’t any clothes at present,” was the reply.
+
+Montague was standing in front of the “costumer,” as the elaborate
+mirror was termed. He looked himself over, and then he looked at his
+brother. Oliver’s clothing was a little like the Circassian walnut; at
+first you thought that it was simple, and even a trifle careless—it was
+only by degrees you realized that it was original and distinguished,
+and very expensive.
+
+“Won’t your New York friends make allowance for the fact that I am
+fresh from the country?” asked Montague, quizzically.
+
+“They might,” was the reply. “I know a hundred who would lend me money,
+if I asked them. But I don’t ask them.”
+
+“Then how soon shall I be able to appear?” asked Montague, with visions
+of himself locked up in the room for a week or two.
+
+“You are to have three suits to-morrow morning,” said Oliver. “Genet
+has promised.”
+
+“Suits made to order?” gasped the other, in perplexity.
+
+“He never heard of any other sort of suits,” said Oliver, with grave
+rebuke in his voice.
+
+M. Genet had the presence of a Russian grand duke, and the manner of a
+court chamberlain. He brought a subordinate to take Montague’s measure,
+while he himself studied his colour-scheme. Montague gathered from the
+conversation that he was going to a house-party in the country the next
+morning, and that he would need a dress-suit, a hunting-suit, and a
+“morning coat.” The rest might wait until his return. The two discussed
+him and his various “points” as they might have discussed a horse; he
+possessed distinction, he learned, and a great deal could be done with
+him—with a little skill he might be made into a personality. His French
+was not in training, but he managed to make out that it was M. Genet’s
+opinion that the husbands of New York would tremble when he made his
+appearance among them.
+
+When the tailor had left, Alice came in, with her face shining from a
+cold bathing. “Here you are decking yourselves out!” she cried. “And
+what about me?”
+
+“Your problem is harder,” said Oliver, with a laugh; “but you begin
+this afternoon. Reggie Mann is going to take you with him, and get you
+some dresses.”
+
+“What!” gasped Alice. “Get me some dresses! A man?”
+
+“Of course,” said the other. “Reggie Mann advises half the women in New
+York about their clothes.”
+
+“Who is he? A tailor?” asked the girl.
+
+Oliver was sitting on the edge of the canapé, swinging one leg over the
+other; and he stopped abruptly and stared, and then sank back, laughing
+softly to himself. “Oh, dear me!” he said. “Poor Reggie!”
+
+Then, realizing that he would have to begin at the beginning, he
+proceeded to explain that Reggie Mann was a cotillion leader, the idol
+of the feminine side of society. He was the special pet and protégé of
+the great Mrs. de Graffenried, of whom they had surely heard—Mrs. de
+Graffenried, who was acknowledged to be the mistress of society at
+Newport, and was destined some day to be mistress in New York. Reggie
+and Oliver were “thick,” and he had stayed in town on purpose to attend
+to her attiring—having seen her picture, and vowed that he would make a
+work of art out of her. And then Mrs. Robbie Walling would give her a
+dance; and all the world would come to fall at her feet.
+
+“You and I are going out to ‘Black Forest,’ the Wallings’
+shooting-lodge, to-morrow,” Oliver added to his brother. “You’ll meet
+Mrs. Robbie there. You’ve heard of the Wallings, I hope.”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague, “I’m not that ignorant.”
+
+“All right,” said the other, “we’re to motor down. I’m going to take
+you in my racing-car, so you’ll have an experience. We’ll start early.”
+
+“I’ll be ready,” said Montague; and when his brother replied that he
+would be at the door at eleven, he made another amused note as to the
+habits of New Yorkers.
+
+The price which he paid at the hotel included the services of a valet
+or a maid for each of them, and so when their baggage arrived they had
+nothing to do. They went to lunch in one of the main dining-rooms of
+the hotel, a room with towering columns of dark-green marble and a maze
+of palms and flowers. Oliver did the ordering; his brother noticed that
+the simple meal cost them about fifteen dollars, and he wondered if
+they were to eat at that rate all the time.
+
+Then Montague mentioned the fact that before leaving home he had
+received a telegram from General Prentice, asking him to go with him
+that evening to the meeting of the Loyal Legion. Montague wondered,
+half amused, if his brother would deem his old clothing fit for such a
+function. But Oliver replied that it would not matter what he wore
+there; he would not meet anyone who counted, except Prentice himself.
+The General and his family were prominent in society, it appeared, and
+were to be cultivated. But Oliver shrewdly forbore to elaborate upon
+this, knowing that his brother would be certain to talk about old
+times, which would be the surest possible method of lodging himself in
+the good graces of General Prentice.
+
+After luncheon came Reggie Mann, dapper and exquisite, with slender
+little figure and mincing gait, and the delicate hands and soft voice
+of a woman. He was dressed for the afternoon parade, and wore a
+wonderful scarlet orchid in his buttonhole. Montague’s hand he shook at
+his shoulder’s height; but when Alice came in he did not shake hands
+with her. Instead, he stood and gazed, and gazed again, and lifting his
+hands a little with excess of emotion, exclaimed, “Oh, perfect!
+perfect!”
+
+“And Ollie, I told you so!” he added, eagerly. “She is tall enough to
+wear satin! She shall have the pale blue Empire gown—she shall have the
+pale blue Empire gown if I have to pay for it myself! And oh, what
+times we shall have with that hair! And the figure—Réval will simply go
+wild!”
+
+So Reggie prattled on, with his airy grace; he took her hand and
+studied it, and then turned her about to survey her figure, while Alice
+blushed and strove to laugh to hide her embarrassment. “My dear Miss
+Montague,” he exclaimed, “I bring all Gotham and lay it at your feet!
+Ollie, your battle is won! Won without firing a shot! I know the very
+man for her—his father is dying, and he will have four millions in
+Transcontinental alone. And he is as handsome as Antinous and as
+fascinating as Don Juan! _Allons!_ we may as well begin with the
+trousseau this afternoon!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Oliver was not rooming with them; he had his own quarters at the club,
+which he did not wish to leave. But the next morning, about twenty
+minutes after the hour he had named, he was at the door, and Montague
+went down.
+
+Oliver’s car was an imported French racer. It had only two seats, open
+in front, with a rumble behind for the mechanic. It was long and low
+and rakish, a most wicked-looking object; whenever it stopped on the
+street a crowd gathered to stare at it. Oliver was clad in a black
+bearskin coat, covering his feet, and with cap and gloves to match; he
+wore goggles, pushed up over his forehead. A similar costume lay ready
+in his brother’s seat.
+
+The suits of clothing had come, and were borne in his grips by his
+valet. “We can’t carry them with us,” said Oliver. “He’ll have to take
+them down by train.” And while his brother was buttoning up the coat,
+he gave the address; then Montague clambered in, and after a quick
+glance over his shoulder, Oliver pressed a lever and threw over the
+steering-wheel, and they whirled about and sped down the street.
+
+Sometimes, at home in Mississippi, one would meet automobiling parties,
+generally to the damage of one’s harness and temper. But until the day
+before, when he had stepped off the ferry, Montague had never ridden in
+a motor-car. Riding in this one was like travelling in a dream—it slid
+along without a sound, or the slightest trace of vibration; it shot
+forward, it darted to right or to left, it slowed up, it stopped, as if
+of its own will—the driver seemed to do nothing. Such things as car
+tracks had no effect upon it at all, and serious defects in the
+pavement caused only the faintest swelling motion; it was only when it
+leaped ahead like a living thing that one felt the power of it, by the
+pressure upon his back.
+
+They went at what seemed to Montague a breakneck pace through the city
+streets, dodging among trucks and carriages, grazing cars, whirling
+round corners, taking the wildest of chances. Oliver seemed always to
+know what the other fellow would do; but the thought that he might do
+something different kept his companion’s heart pounding in a painful
+way. Once the latter cried out as a man leapt for his life; Oliver
+laughed, and said, without turning his head, “You’ll get used to it by
+and by.”
+
+They went down Fourth Avenue and turned into the Bowery. Elevated
+trains pounded overhead, and a maze of gin-shops, dime-museums, cheap
+lodging-houses, and clothing-stores sped past them. Once or twice
+Oliver’s hawk-like glance detected a blue uniform ahead, and then they
+slowed down to a decorous pace, and the other got a chance to observe
+the miserable population of the neighbourhood. It was a cold November
+day, and an “out of work” time, and wretched outcast men walked with
+shoulders drawn forward and hands in their pockets.
+
+“Where in the world are we going?” Montague asked.
+
+“To Long Island,” said the other. “It’s a beastly ride—this part of
+it—but it’s the only way. Some day we’ll have an overhead speedway of
+our own, and we won’t have to drive through this mess.”
+
+They turned off at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, and found
+the street closed for repairs. They had to make a détour of a block,
+and they turned with a vicious sweep and plunged into the very heart of
+the tenement district. Narrow, filthy streets, with huge, cañon-like
+blocks of buildings, covered with rusty iron fire-escapes and decorated
+with soap-boxes and pails and laundry and babies; narrow stoops,
+crowded with playing children; grocery-shops, clothing-shops, saloons;
+and a maze of placards and signs in English and German and Yiddish.
+Through the throngs Oliver drove, his brows knitted with impatience and
+his horn honking angrily. “Take it easy,”—protested Montague; but the
+other answered, “Bah!” Children screamed and darted out of the way, and
+men and women started back, scowling and muttering; when a blockade of
+wagons and push-carts forced them to stop, the children gathered about
+and jeered, and a group of hoodlums loafing by a saloon flung ribaldry
+at them; but Oliver never turned his eyes from the road ahead.
+
+And at last they were out on the bridge. “Slow vehicles keep to the
+right,” ran the sign, and so there was a lane for them to the left.
+They sped up the slope, the cold air beating upon them like a
+hurricane. Far below lay the river, with tugs and ferry-boats ploughing
+the wind-beaten grey water, and a city spread out on either bank—a
+wilderness of roofs, with chimneys sticking up and white jets of steam
+spouting everywhere. Then they sped down the farther slope, and into
+Brooklyn.
+
+There was an asphalted avenue, lined with little residences. There was
+block upon block of them, mile after mile of them—Montague had never,
+seen so many houses in his life before, and nearly all poured out of
+the same mould.
+
+Many other automobiles were speeding out by this avenue, and they raced
+with one another. The one which was passed the most frequently got the
+dust and smell; and so the universal rule was that when you were behind
+you watched for a clear track, and then put on speed, and went to the
+front; but then just when you had struck a comfortable pace, there was
+a whirring and a puffing at your left, and your rival came stealing
+past you. If you were ugly, you put on speed yourself, and forced him
+to fall back, or to run the risk of trouble with vehicles coming the
+other way. For Oliver there seemed to be but one rule,—pass everything.
+
+They came to the great Ocean Driveway. Here were many automobiles,
+nearly all going one way, and nearly all racing. There were two which
+stuck to Oliver and would not be left behind—one, two, three—one, two,
+three—they passed and repassed. Their dust was blinding, and the
+continual odour was sickening; and so Oliver set his lips tight, and
+the little dial on the indicator began to creep ahead, and they whirled
+away down the drive. “Catch us this time!” he muttered.
+
+A few seconds later Oliver gave a sudden exclamation, as a policeman,
+concealed behind a bush at the roadside, sprang out and hailed them.
+The policeman had a motor-cycle, and Oliver shouted to the mechanic,
+“Pull the cord!” His brother turned, alarmed and perplexed, and saw the
+man reach down to the floor of the car. He saw the policeman leap upon
+the cycle and start to follow. Then he lost sight of him in the clouds
+of dust.
+
+For perhaps five minutes they tore on, tense and silent, at a pace that
+Montague had never equalled in an express train. Vehicles coming the
+other way would leap into sight, charging straight at them, it seemed,
+and shooting past a hand’s breadth away. Montague had just about made
+up his mind that one such ride would last him for a lifetime, when he
+noticed that they were slacking up. “You can let go the cord,” said
+Oliver. “He’ll never catch us now.”
+
+“What _is_ the cord?” asked the other.
+
+“It’s tied to the tag with our number on, in back. It swings it up so
+it can’t be seen.”
+
+They were turning off into a country road, and Montague sank back and
+laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. “Is that a common trick?”
+he asked.
+
+“Quite,” said the other. “Mrs. Robbie has a trough of mud in their
+garage, and her driver sprinkles the tag every time before she goes
+out. You have to do something, you know, or you’d be taken up all the
+time.”
+
+“Have you ever been arrested?”
+
+“I’ve only been in court once,” said Oliver. “I’ve been stopped a dozen
+times.”
+
+“What did they do the other times—warn you?”
+
+“Warn me?” laughed Oliver. “What they did was to get in with me and
+ride a block or two, out of sight of the crowd; and then I slipped them
+a ten-dollar bill and they got out.”
+
+To which Montague responded, “Oh, I see!”
+
+They turned into a broad macadamized road, and here were more autos,
+and more dust, and more racing. Now and then they crossed a trolley or
+a railroad track, and here was always a warning sign; but Oliver must
+have had some occult way of knowing that the track was clear, for he
+never seemed to slow up. Now and then they came to villages, and did
+reduce speed; but from the pace at which they went through, the
+villagers could not have suspected it.
+
+And then came another adventure. The road was in repair, and was very
+bad, and they were picking their way, when suddenly a young man who had
+been walking on a side path stepped out before them, and drew a red
+handkerchief from his pocket, and faced them, waving it. Oliver
+muttered an oath.
+
+“What’s the matter?” cried his brother.
+
+“We’re arrested!” he exclaimed.
+
+“What!” gasped the other. “Why, we were not going at all.”
+
+“I know,” said Oliver; “but they’ve got us all the same.”
+
+He must have made up his mind at one glance that the case was hopeless,
+for he made no attempt to put on speed, but let the young man step
+aboard as they reached him.
+
+“What is it?” Oliver demanded.
+
+“I have been sent out by the Automobile Association,” said the
+stranger, “to warn you that they have a trap set in the next town. So
+watch out.”
+
+And Oliver gave a gasp, and said, “Oh! Thank you!” The young man
+stepped off, and they went ahead, and he lay back in his seat and shook
+with laughter.
+
+“Is that common?” his brother asked, between laughs.
+
+“It happened to me once before,” said Oliver. “But I’d forgotten it
+completely.”
+
+They proceeded very slowly; and when they came to the outskirts of the
+village they went at a funereal pace, while the car throbbed in
+protest. In front of a country store they saw a group of loungers
+watching them, and Oliver said, “There’s the first part of the trap.
+They have a telephone, and somewhere beyond is a man with another
+telephone, and beyond that a man to stretch a rope across the road.”
+
+“What would they do with you?” asked the other.
+
+“Haul you up before a justice of the peace, and fine you anywhere from
+fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars. It’s regular highway
+robbery—there are some places that boast of never levying taxes; they
+get all their money out of us!”
+
+Oliver pulled out his watch. “We’re going to be late to lunch, thanks
+to these delays,” he said. He added that they were to meet at the
+“Hawk’s Nest,” which he said was an “automobile joint.”
+
+Outside of the town they “hit it up” again; and half an hour later they
+came to a huge sign, “To the Hawk’s Nest,” and turned off. They ran up
+a hill, and came suddenly out of a pine-forest into view of a hostelry,
+perched upon the edge of a bluff overlooking the Sound. There was a
+broad yard in front, in which automobiles wheeled and sputtered, and a
+long shed that was lined with them.
+
+Half a dozen attendants ran to meet them as they drew up at the steps.
+They all knew Oliver, and two fell to brushing his coat, and one got
+his cap, while the mechanic took the car to the shed. Oliver had a tip
+for each of them; one of the things that Montague observed was that in
+New York you had to carry a pocketful of change, and scatter it about
+wherever you went. They tipped the man who carried their coats and the
+boy who opened the door. In the washrooms they tipped the boys who
+filled the basins for them and those who gave them a second brushing.
+
+The piazzas of the inn were crowded with automobiling parties, in all
+sorts of strange costumes. It seemed to Montague that most of them were
+flashy people—the men had red faces and the women had loud voices; he
+saw one in a sky-blue coat with bright scarlet facing. It occurred to
+him that if these women had not worn such large hats, they would not
+have needed quite such a supply of the bright-coloured veiling which
+they wound over the hats and tied under their chins, or left to float
+about in the breeze.
+
+The dining-room seemed to have been built in sections, rambling about
+on the summit of the cliff. The side of it facing the water was all
+glass, and could be taken down. The ceiling was a maze of streamers and
+Japanese lanterns, and here and there were orange-trees and palms and
+artificial streams and fountains. Every table was crowded, it seemed;
+one was half-deafened by the clatter of plates, the voices and
+laughter, and the uproar of a negro orchestra of banjos, mandolins, and
+guitars. Negro waiters flew here and there, and a huge, stout
+head-waiter, who was pirouetting and strutting, suddenly espied Oliver,
+and made for him with smiles of welcome.
+
+“Yes, sir—just come in, sir,” he said, and led the way down the room,
+to where, in a corner, a table had been set for sixteen or eighteen
+people. There was a shout, “Here’s Ollie!”—and a pounding of glasses
+and a chorus of welcome—“Hello, Ollie! You’re late, Ollie! What’s the
+matter—car broke down?”
+
+Of the party, about half were men and half women. Montague braced
+himself for the painful ordeal of being introduced to sixteen people in
+succession, but this was considerately spared him. He shook hands with
+Robbie Walling, a tall and rather hollow-chested young man, with slight
+yellow moustaches; and with Mrs. Robbie, who bade him welcome, and
+presented him with the freedom of the company.
+
+Then he found himself seated between two young ladies, with a waiter
+leaning over him to take his order for the drinks. He said, a little
+hesitatingly, that he would like some whisky, as he was about frozen,
+upon which the girl on his right, remarked, “You’d better try a
+champagne cocktail—you’ll get your results quicker.” She added, to the
+waiter, “Bring a couple of them, and be quick about it.”
+
+“You had a cold ride, no doubt, in that low car,” she went on, to
+Montague. “What made you late?”
+
+“We had some delays,” he answered. “Once we thought we were arrested.”
+
+“Arrested!” she exclaimed; and others took up the word, crying, “Oh,
+Ollie! tell us about it!”
+
+Oliver told the tale, and meantime his brother had a chance to look
+about him. All of the party were young—he judged that he was the oldest
+person there. They were not of the flashily dressed sort, but no one
+would have had to look twice to know that there was money in the crowd.
+They had had their first round of drinks, and started in to enjoy
+themselves. They were all intimates, calling each other by their first
+names. Montague noticed that these names always ended in “ie,”—there
+was Robbie and Freddie and Auggie and Clarrie and Bertie and Chappie;
+if their names could not be made to end properly, they had nicknames
+instead.
+
+“Ollie” told how they had distanced the policeman; and Clarrie Mason
+(one of the younger sons of the once mighty railroad king) told of a
+similar feat which his car had performed. And then the young lady who
+sat beside him told how a fat Irish woman had skipped out of their way
+as they rounded a corner, and stood and cursed them from the
+vantage-point of the sidewalk.
+
+The waiter came with the liquor, and Montague thanked his neighbour,
+Miss Price. Anabel Price was her name, and they called her “Billy”; she
+was a tall and splendidly formed creature, and he learned in due time
+that she was a famous athlete. She must have divined that he would feel
+a little lost in this crowd of intimates, and set to work to make him
+feel at home—an attempt in which she was not altogether successful.
+
+They were bound for a shooting-lodge, and so she asked him if he were
+fond of shooting. He replied that he was; in answer to a further
+question he said that he had hunted chiefly deer and wild turkey. “Ah,
+then you are a real hunter!” said Miss Price. “I’m afraid you’ll scorn
+our way.”
+
+“What do you do?” he inquired.
+
+“Wait and you’ll see,” replied she; and added, casually, “When you get
+to be pally with us, you’ll conclude we don’t furnish.”
+
+Montague’s jaw dropped just a little. He recovered himself, however,
+and said that he presumed so, or that he trusted not; afterward, when
+he had made inquiries and found out what he should have said, he had
+completely forgotten what he _had_ said.—Down in a hotel in Natchez
+there was an old head-waiter, to whom Montague had once appealed to
+seat him next to a friend. At the next meal, learning that the request
+had been granted, he said to the old man, “I’m afraid you have shown me
+partiality”; to which the reply came, “I always tries to show it as
+much as I kin.” Montague always thought of this whenever he recalled
+his first encounter with “Billy” Price.
+
+The young lady on the other side of him now remarked that Robbie was
+ordering another “topsy-turvy lunch.” He inquired what sort of a lunch
+that was; she told him that Robbie called it a “digestion exercise.”
+That was the only remark that Miss de Millo addressed to him during the
+meal (Miss Gladys de Mille, the banker’s daughter, known as “Baby” to
+her intimates). She was a stout and round-faced girl, who devoted
+herself strictly to the business of lunching; and Montague noticed at
+the end that she was breathing rather hard, and that her big round eyes
+seemed bigger than ever.
+
+Conversation was general about the table, but it was not easy
+conversation to follow. It consisted mostly of what is known as
+“joshing,” and involved acquaintance with intimate details of
+personalities and past events. Also, there was a great deal of slang
+used, which kept a stranger’s wits on the jump. However, Montague
+concluded that all his deficiencies were made up for by his brother,
+whose sallies were the cause of the loudest laughter. Just now he
+seemed to the other more like the Oliver he had known of old—for
+Montague had already noted a change in him. At home there had never
+been any end to his gaiety and fun, and it was hard to get him to take
+anything seriously; but now he kept all his jokes for company, and when
+he was alone he was in deadly earnest. Apparently he was working hard
+over his pleasures.
+
+Montague could understand how this was possible. Some one, for
+instance, had worked hard over the ordering of the lunch—to secure the
+maximum of explosive effect. It began with ice-cream, moulded in fancy
+shapes and then buried in white of egg and baked brown. Then there was
+a turtle soup, thick and green and greasy; and then—horror of horrors—a
+great steaming plum-pudding. It was served in a strange phenomenon of a
+platter, with six long, silver legs; and the waiter set it in front of
+Robbie Walling and lifted the cover with a sweeping gesture—and then
+removed it and served it himself. Montague had about made up his mind
+that this was the end, and begun to fill up on bread-and-butter, when
+there appeared cold asparagus, served in individual silver holders
+resembling andirons. Then—appetite now being sufficiently whetted—there
+came quail, in piping hot little casseroles—; and then half a
+grape-fruit set in a block of ice and filled with wine; and then little
+squab ducklings, bursting fat, and an artichoke; and then a _café
+parfait_; and then—as if to crown the audacity—huge thick slices of
+roast beef! Montague had given up long ago—he could keep no track of
+the deluge of food which poured forth. And between all the courses
+there were wines of precious brands, tumbled helter-skelter,—sherry and
+port, champagne and claret and liqueur. Montague watched poor “Baby” de
+Mille out of the corner of his eye, and pitied her; for it was evident
+that she could not resist the impulse to eat whatever was put before
+her, and she was visibly suffering. He wondered whether he might not
+manage to divert her by conversation, but he lacked the courage to make
+the attempt.
+
+The meal was over at four o’clock. By that time most of the other
+parties were far on their way to New York, and the inn was deserted.
+They possessed themselves of their belongings, and one by one their
+cars whirled away toward “Black Forest.”
+
+Montague had been told that it was a “shooting-lodge.” He had a vision
+of some kind of a rustic shack, and wondered dimly how so many people
+would be stowed away. When they turned off the main road, and his
+brother remarked, “Here we are,” he was surprised to see a rather large
+building of granite, with an archway spanning the road. He was still
+more surprised when they whizzed through and went on.
+
+“Where are we going?” he asked.
+
+“To ‘Black Forest,’” said Oliver.
+
+“And what was that we passed?”
+
+“That was the gate-keeper’s lodge,” was Oliver’s reply.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+They ran for about three miles upon a broad macadamized avenue, laid
+straight as an arrow’s flight through the forest; and then the sound of
+the sea came to them, and before them was a mighty granite pile,
+looming grim in the twilight, with a draw-bridge and moat, and four
+great castellated towers. “Black Forest” was built in imitation of a
+famous old fortress in Provence—only the fortress had forty small
+rooms, and its modern prototype had seventy large ones, and now every
+window was blazing with lights. A man does not let himself be caught
+twice in such a blunder; and having visited a “shooting-lodge” which
+had cost three-quarters of a million dollars and was set in a preserve
+of ten thousand acres, he was prepared for Adirondack “camps” which had
+cost half a million and Newport “cottages” which had cost a million or
+two.
+
+Liveried servants took the car, and others opened the door and took
+their coats. The first thing they saw was a huge fireplace, a fireplace
+a dozen feet across, made of great boulders, and with whole sections of
+a pine tree blazing in it. Underfoot was polished hardwood, with skins
+of bear and buffalo. The firelight flickered upon shields and
+battle-axes and broad-swords, hung upon the oaken pillars; while
+between them were tapestries, picturing the Song of Roland and the
+battle of Roncesvalles. One followed the pillars of the great hall to
+the vaulted roof, whose glass was glowing blood-red in the western
+light. A broad stairway ascended to the second floor, which opened upon
+galleries about the hall.
+
+Montague went to the fire, and stood rubbing his hands before the
+grateful blaze. “Scotch or Irish, sir?” inquired a lackey, hovering at
+his side. He had scarcely given his order when the door opened and a
+second motor load of the party appeared, shivering and rushing for the
+fire. In a couple of minutes they were all assembled—and roaring with
+laughter over “Baby” de Mille’s account of how her car had run over a
+dachshund. “Oh, do you know,” she cried, “he simply _popped!_”
+
+Half a dozen attendants hovered about, and soon the tables in the hall
+were covered with trays containing decanters and siphons. By this means
+everybody in the party was soon warmed up, and then in groups they
+scattered to amuse themselves.
+
+There was a great hall for indoor tennis, and there were half a dozen
+squash-courts. Montague knew neither of these games, but he was
+interested in watching the water-polo in the swimming-tank, and in
+studying the appointments of this part of the building. The tank, with
+the walls and floor about it, were all of marble; there was a bronze
+gallery running about it, from which one might gaze into the green
+depths of the water. There were luxurious dressing-rooms for men and
+women, with hot and cold needle-baths, steam-rooms with rubbers in
+attendance and weighing and lifting machines, electric machines for
+producing “violet rays,” and electric air-blasts for the drying of the
+women’s hair.
+
+He watched several games, in which men and women took part; and later
+on, when the tennis and other players appeared, he joined them in a
+plunge. Afterward, he entered one of the electric elevators and was
+escorted to his room, where he found his bag unpacked, and his evening
+attire laid out upon the bed.
+
+It was about nine when the party went into the dining-room, which
+opened upon a granite terrace and loggia facing the sea. The room was
+finished in some rare black wood, the name of which he did not know;
+soft radiance suffused it, and the table was lighted by electric
+candles set in silver sconces, and veiled by silk shades. It gleamed
+with its load of crystal and silver, set off by scattered groups of
+orchids and ferns. The repast of the afternoon had been simply a lunch,
+it seemed—and now they had an elaborate dinner, prepared by Robbie
+Walling’s famous ten-thousand-dollar chef. In contrast with the uproar
+of the inn was the cloistral stillness of this dining-room, where the
+impassive footmen seemed to move on padded slippers, and the courses
+appeared and vanished as if by magic. Montague did his best to accustom
+himself to the gowns of the women, which were cut lower than any he had
+ever seen in his life; but he hesitated every time he turned to speak
+to the young lady beside him, because he could look so deep down into
+her bosom, and it was difficult for him to realize that she did not
+mind it.
+
+The conversation was the same as before, except that it was a little
+more general, and louder in tone; for the guests had become more
+intimate, and as Robbie Walling’s wines of priceless vintage poured
+forth, they became a little “high.” The young lady who sat on
+Montague’s right was a Miss Vincent, a granddaughter of one of the
+sugar-kings; she was dark-skinned and slender, and had appeared at a
+recent lawn fête in the costume of an Indian maiden. The company amused
+itself by selecting an Indian name for her; all sorts of absurd ones
+were suggested, depending upon various intimate details of the young
+lady’s personality and habits. Robbie caused a laugh by suggesting
+“Little Dewdrop”—it appeared that she had once been discovered writing
+a poem about a dewdrop; some one else suggested “Little Raindrop,” and
+then Ollie brought down the house by exclaiming, “Little Raindrop in
+the Mud-puddle!” A perfect gale of laughter swept over the company, and
+it must have been a minute before they could recover their composure;
+in order to appreciate the humour of the sally it was necessary to know
+that Miss Vincent had “come a cropper” at the last meet of the Long
+Island Hunt Club, and been extricated from a slough several feet deep.
+
+This was explained to Montague by the young lady on his left—the one
+whose half-dressed condition caused his embarrassment. She was only
+about twenty, with a wealth of golden hair and the bright, innocent
+face of a child; he had not yet learned her name, for every one called
+her “Cherub.” Not long after this she made a remark across the table to
+Baby de Mille, a strange jumble of syllables, which sounded like
+English, yet was not. Miss de Mille replied, and several joined in,
+until there was quite a conversation going on. “Cherub” explained to
+him that “Baby” had invented a secret language, made by transposing
+letters; and that Ollie and Bertie were crazy to guess the key to it,
+and could not.
+
+The dinner lasted until late. The wine-glasses continued to be emptied,
+and to be magically filled again. The laughter was louder, and now and
+then there were snatches of singing; women lolled about in their
+chairs-one beautiful boy sat gazing dreamily across the table at
+Montague, now and then closing his eyes, and opening them more and more
+reluctantly. The attendants moved about, impassive and silent as ever;
+no one else seemed to be cognizant of their existence, but Montague
+could not help noticing them, and wondering what they thought of it
+all.
+
+When at last the party broke up, it was because the bridge-players
+wished to get settled for the evening. The others gathered in front of
+the fireplace, and smoked and chatted. At home, when one planned a
+day’s hunting, he went to bed early and rose before dawn; but here, it
+seemed, there was game a-plenty, and the hunters had nothing to
+consider save their own comfort.
+
+The cards were played in the vaulted “gun-room.” Montague strolled
+through it, and his eye ran down the wall, lined with glass cases and
+filled with every sort of firearm known to the hunter. He recalled,
+with a twinge of self-abasement, that he had suggested bringing his
+shotgun along!
+
+He joined a group in one corner, and lounged in the shadows, and
+studied “Billy” Price, whose conversation had so mystified him.
+“Billy,” whose father was a banker, proved to be a devotee of horses;
+she was a veritable Amazon, the one passion of whose life was glory.
+Seeing her sitting in this group, smoking cigarettes, and drinking
+highballs, and listening impassively to risqué stories, one might
+easily draw base conclusions about Billy Price. But as a matter of fact
+she was made of marble; and the men, instead of falling in love with
+her, made her their confidante, and told her their troubles, and sought
+her sympathy and advice.
+
+Some of this was explained to Montague by a young lady, who, as the
+evening wore on, came in and placed herself beside him. “My name is
+Betty Wyman,” she said, “and you and I will have to be friends, because
+Ollie’s my side partner.”
+
+Montague had to meet her advances; so had not much time to speculate as
+to what the term “side partner” might be supposed to convey. Betty was
+a radiant little creature, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, made of
+some soft and filmy and complicated material; there was a crimson rose
+in her hair, and a living glow of crimson in her cheeks. She was bright
+and quick, like a butterfly, full of strange whims and impulses;
+mischievous lights gleamed in her eyes and mischievous smiles played
+about her adorable little cherry lips. Some strange perfume haunted the
+filmy dress, and completed the bewilderment of the intended victim.
+
+“I have a letter of introduction to a Mr. Wyman in New York,” said
+Montague. “Perhaps he is a relative of yours.”
+
+“Is he a railroad president?” asked she; and when he answered in the
+affirmative, “Is he a railroad king?” she whispered, in a mocking,
+awe-stricken voice, “Is he rich—oh, rich as Solomon—and is he a
+terrible man, who eats people alive all the time?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague—“that must be the one.”
+
+“Well,” said Betty, “he has done me the honour to be my granddaddy; but
+don’t you take any letter of introduction to him.”
+
+“Why not?” asked he, perplexed.
+
+“Because he’ll eat _you_,” said the girl. “He hates Ollie.”
+
+“Dear me,” said the other; and the girl asked, “Do you mean that the
+boy hasn’t said a word about me?”
+
+“No,” said Montague—“I suppose he left it for you to do.”
+
+“Well,” said Betty, “it’s like a fairy story. Do you ever read fairy
+stories? In this story there was a princess—oh, the most beautiful
+princess! Do you understand?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague. “She wore a red rose in her hair.”
+
+“And then,” said the girl, “there was a young courtier—very handsome
+and gay; and they fell in love with each other. But the terrible old
+king—he wanted his daughter to wait a while, until he got through
+conquering his enemies, so that he might have time to pick out some
+prince or other, or maybe some ogre who was wasting his lands—do you
+follow me?”
+
+“Perfectly,” said he. “And then did the beautiful princess pine away?”
+
+“Um—no,” said Betty, pursing her lips. “But she had to dance terribly
+hard to keep from thinking about herself.” Then she laughed, and
+exclaimed, “Dear me, we are getting poetical!” And next, looking sober
+again, “Do you know, I was half afraid to talk to you. Ollie tells me
+you’re terribly serious. Are you?”
+
+“I don’t know,” said Montague—but she broke in with a laugh, “We were
+talking about you at dinner last night. They had some whipped cream
+done up in funny little curliques, and Ollie said, ‘Now, if my brother
+Allan were here, he’d be thinking about the man who fixed this cream,
+and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading ‘The
+Simple Life.’ Is that true?”
+
+“It involves a question of literary criticism”—said Montague.
+
+“I don’t want to talk about literature,” exclaimed the other. In truth,
+she wanted nothing save to feel of his armour and find out if there
+were any weak spots through which he could be teased. Montague was to
+find in time that the adorable Miss Elizabeth was a very thorny species
+of rose—she was more like a gay-coloured wasp, of predatory
+temperament.
+
+“Ollie says you want to go down town and work,” she went on. “I think
+you’re awfully foolish. Isn’t it much nicer to spend your time in an
+imitation castle like this?”
+
+“Perhaps,” said he, “but I haven’t any castle.”
+
+“You might get one,” answered Betty. “Stay around awhile and let us
+marry you to a nice girl. They will all throw themselves at your feet,
+you know, for you have such a delicious melting voice, and you look
+romantic and exciting.” (Montague made a note to inquire whether it was
+customary in New York to talk about you so frankly to your face.)
+
+Miss Betty was surveying him quizzically meantime. “I don’t know,” she
+said. “On second thoughts, maybe you’ll frighten the girls. Then it’ll
+be the married women who’ll fall in love with you. You’ll have to watch
+out.”
+
+“I’ve already been told that by my tailor,” said Montague, with a
+laugh.
+
+“That would be a still quicker way of making your fortune,” said she.
+“But I don’t think you’d fit in the rôle of a tame cat.”
+
+“A _what?_” he exclaimed; and Miss Betty laughed.
+
+“Don’t you know what that is? Dear me—how charmingly naïve! But perhaps
+you’d better get Ollie to explain for you.”
+
+That brought the conversation to the subject of slang; and Montague, in
+a sudden burst of confidence, asked for an interpretation of Miss
+Price’s cryptic utterance. “She said”—he repeated slowly—“that when I
+got to be pally with her, I’d conclude she didn’t furnish.”
+
+“Oh, yes,” said Miss Wyman. “She just meant that when you knew her,
+you’d be disappointed. You see, she picks up all the race-track
+slang—one can’t help it, you know. And last year she took her coach
+over to England, and so she’s got all the English slang. That makes it
+hard, even for us.”
+
+And then Betty sailed in to entertain him with little sketches of other
+members of the party. A phenomenon that had struck Montague immediately
+was the extraordinary freedom with which everybody in New York
+discussed everybody else. As a matter of fact, one seldom discussed
+anything else; and it made not the least difference, though the person
+were one of your set,—though he ate your bread and salt, and you ate
+his,—still you would amuse yourself by pouring forth the most painful
+and humiliating and terrifying things about him.
+
+There was poor Clarrie Mason: Clarrie, sitting in at bridge, with an
+expression of feverish eagerness upon his pale face. Clarrie always
+lost, and it positively broke his heart, though he had ten millions
+laid by on ice. Clarrie went about all day, bemoaning his brother, who
+had been kidnapped. Had Montague not heard about it? Well, the
+newspapers called it a marriage, but it was really a kidnapping. Poor
+Larry Mason was good-natured and weak in the knees, and he had been
+carried off by a terrible creature, three times as big as himself, and
+with a temper like—oh, there were no words for it! She had been an
+actress; and now she had carried Larry away in her talons, and was
+building a big castle to keep him in—for he had ten millions too, alas!
+
+And then there was Bertie Stuyvesant, beautiful and winning—the boy who
+had sat opposite Montague at dinner. Bertie’s father had been a coal
+man, and nobody knew how many millions he had left. Bertie was gay;
+last week he had invited them to a brook-trout breakfast—in
+November—and that had been a lark! Somebody had told him that trout
+never really tasted good unless you caught them yourself, and Bertie
+had suddenly resolved to catch them for that breakfast. “They have a
+big preserve up in the Adirondacks,” said Betty; “and Bertie ordered
+his private train, and he and Chappie de Peyster and some others
+started that night; they drove I don’t know how many miles the next
+day, and caught a pile of trout—and we had them for breakfast the next
+morning! The best joke of all is that Chappie vows they were so full
+they couldn’t fish, and that the trout were caught with nets! Poor
+Bertie—somebody’ll have to separate him from that decanter now!”
+
+From the hall there came loud laughter, with sounds of scuffling, and
+cries, “Let me have it!”—“That’s Baby de Mille,” said Miss Wyman.
+“She’s always wanting to rough-house it. Robbie was mad the last time
+she was down here; she got to throwing sofa-cushions, and upset a
+vase.”
+
+“Isn’t that supposed to be good form?” asked Montague.
+
+“Not at Robbie’s,” said she. “Have you had a chance to talk with Robbie
+yet? You’ll like him—he’s serious, like you.”
+
+“What’s he serious about?”
+
+“About spending his money,” said Betty. “That’s the only thing he has
+to be serious about.”
+
+“Has he got so very much?”
+
+“Thirty or forty millions,” she replied; “but then, you see, a lot of
+it’s in the inner companies of his railroad system, and it pays him
+fabulously. And his wife has money, too—she was a Miss Mason, you know,
+her father’s one of the steel crowd. We’ve a saying that there are
+millionaires, and then multi-millionaires, and then Pittsburg
+millionaires. Anyhow, the two of them spend all their income in
+entertaining. It’s Robbie’s fad to play the perfect host—he likes to
+have lots of people round him. He does put up good times—only he’s so
+very important about it, and he has so many ideas of what is proper! I
+guess most of his set would rather go to Mrs. Jack Warden’s any day;
+I’d be there to-night, if it hadn’t been for Ollie.”
+
+“Who’s Mrs. Jack Warden?” asked Montague.
+
+“Haven’t you ever heard of her?” said Betty. “She used to be Mrs. van
+Ambridge, and then she got a divorce and married Warden, the big lumber
+man. She used to give ‘boy and girl’ parties, in the English fashion;
+and when we went there we’d do as we please—play tag all over the
+house, and have pillow-fights, and ransack the closets and get up
+masquerades! Mrs. Warden’s as good-natured as an old cow. You’ll meet
+her sometime—only don’t you let her fool you with those soft eyes of
+hers. You’ll find she doesn’t mean it; it’s just that she likes to have
+handsome men hanging round her.”
+
+At one o’clock a few of Robbie’s guests went to bed, Montague among
+them. He left two tables of bridge fiends sitting immobile, the women
+with flushed faces and feverish hands, and the men with cigarettes
+dangling from their lips. There were trays and decanters beside each
+card-table; and in the hall he passed three youths staggering about in
+each other’s arms and feebly singing snatches of “coon songs.” Ollie
+and Betty had strolled away together to parts unknown.
+
+Montague had entered his name in the order-book to be called at nine
+o’clock. The man who awakened him brought him coffee and cream upon a
+silver tray, and asked him if he would have anything stronger. He was
+privileged to have his breakfast in his room, if he wished; but he went
+downstairs, trying his best to feel natural in his elaborate hunting
+costume. No one else had appeared yet, but he found the traces of last
+night cleared away, and breakfast ready—served in English fashion, with
+urns of tea and coffee upon the buffet. The grave butler and his
+satellites were in attendance, ready to take his order for anything
+else under the sun that he fancied.
+
+Montague preferred to go for a stroll upon the terrace, and to watch
+the sunlight sparkling upon the sea. The morning was
+beautiful—everything about the place was so beautiful that he wondered
+how men and women could live here and not feel the spell of it.
+
+Billy Price came down shortly afterward, clad in a khaki hunting suit,
+with knee kilts and button-pockets and gun-pads and Cossack
+cartridge-loops. She joined him in a stroll down the beach, and talked
+to him about the coming winter season, with its leading personalities
+and events,—the Horse Show, which opened next week, and the prospects
+for the opera, and Mrs. de Graffenried’s opening entertainment. When
+they came back it was eleven o’clock, and they found most of the guests
+assembled, nearly all of them looking a little pale and uncomfortable
+in the merciless morning light. As the two came in they observed Bertie
+Stuyvesant standing by the buffet, in the act of gulping down a tumbler
+of brandy. “Bertie has taken up the ‘no breakfast fad,’” said Billy
+with an ironical smile.
+
+Then began the hunt. The equipment of “Black Forest” included a granite
+building, steam-heated and elaborately fitted, in which an English
+expert and his assistants raised imported pheasants—magnificent
+bronze-coloured birds with long, floating black tails. Just before the
+opening of the season they were dumped by thousands into the
+covers—fat, and almost tame enough to be fed by hand; and now came the
+“hunters.”
+
+First they drew lots, for they were to hunt in pairs, a man and a
+woman. Montague drew Miss Vincent—“Little Raindrop in the Mud-puddle.”
+Then Ollie, who was master of ceremonies, placed them in a long line,
+and gave them the direction; and at a signal they moved through the
+forest; Following each person were two attendants, to carry the extra
+guns and reload them; and out in front were men to beat the bushes and
+scare the birds into flight.
+
+Now Montague’s idea of hunting had been to steal through the bayou
+forests, and match his eyes against those of the wild turkey, and shoot
+off their heads with a rifle bullet. So, when one of these birds rose
+in front of him, he fired, and the bird dropped; and he could have done
+it for ever, he judged—only it was stupid slaughter, and it sickened
+him. However, if the creatures were not shot, they must inevitably
+perish in the winter snows; and he had heard that Robbie sent the game
+to the hospitals. Also, the score was being kept, and Miss Vincent, who
+was something of a shot herself, was watching him with eager
+excitement, being wild with desire to beat out Billy Price and Chappie
+de Peyster, who were the champion shots of the company. Baby de Mille,
+who was on his left, and who could not shoot at all, was blundering
+along, puffing for breath and eyeing him enviously; and the attendants
+at his back were trembling with delight and murmuring their applause.
+So he shot on, as long as the drive lasted, and again on their way
+back, over a new stretch of the country. Sometimes the birds would rise
+in pairs, and he would drop them both; and twice when a blundering
+flock took flight in his direction he seized a second gun and brought
+down a second pair. When the day’s sport came to an end his score was
+fifteen better than his nearest competitor, and he and his partner had
+won the day.
+
+They crowded round to congratulate him; first his partner, and then his
+rivals, and his host and hostess. Montague found that he had suddenly
+become a person of consequence. Some who had previously taken no notice
+of him now became aware of his existence; proud society belles
+condescended to make conversation with him, and Clarrie Mason, who
+hated de Peyster, made note of a way to annoy him. As for Oliver, he
+was radiant with delight. “When it came to horses and guns, I knew
+you’d make good,” he whispered.
+
+Leaving the game to be gathered up in carts, they made their way home,
+and there the two victors received their prizes. The man’s consisted of
+a shaving set in a case of solid gold, set with diamonds. Montague was
+simply stunned, for the thing could not have cost less than one or two
+thousand dollars. He could not persuade himself that he had a right to
+accept of such hospitality, which he could never hope to return. He was
+to realize in time that Robbie lived for the pleasure of thus
+humiliating his fellow-men.
+
+After luncheon, the party came to an end. Some set out to return as
+they had come; and others, who had dinner engagements, went back with
+their host in his private car, leaving their autos to be returned by
+the chauffeurs. Montague and his brother were among these; and about
+dusk, when the swarms of working people were pouring out of the city,
+they crossed the ferry and took a cab to their hotel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+They found their apartments looking as if they had been struck by a
+snowstorm—a storm of red and green and yellow, and all the colours that
+lie between. All day the wagons of fashionable milliners and costumiers
+had been stopping at the door, and their contents had found their way
+to Alice’s room. The floors were ankle-deep in tissue paper and tape,
+and beds and couches and chairs were covered with boxes, in which lay
+wonderful symphonies of colour, half disclosed in their wrappings of
+gauze. In the midst of it all stood the girl, her eyes shining with
+excitement.
+
+“Oh, Allan!” she cried, as they entered. “How am I ever to thank you?”
+
+“You’re not to thank me,” Montague replied. “This is all Oliver’s
+doings.”
+
+“Oliver!” exclaimed the girl, and turned to him. “How in the world
+could you do it?” she cried. “How will you ever get the money to pay
+for it all?”
+
+“That’s my problem,” said the man, laughing. “All you have to think
+about is to look beautiful.”
+
+“If I don’t,” was her reply, “it won’t be for lack of clothes. I never
+saw so many wonderful things in all my life as I’ve seen to-day.”
+
+“There’s quite a show of them,” admitted Oliver.
+
+“And Reggie Mann! It was so queer, Allan! I never went shopping with a
+man before. And he’s so—so matter-of-fact. You know, he bought
+me—everything!”
+
+“That was what he was told to do,” said Oliver. “Did you like him?”
+
+“I don’t know,” said the girl. “He’s queer—I never met a man like that
+before. But he was awfully kind; and the people just turned their
+stores inside out for us—half a dozen people hurrying about to wait on
+you at once!”
+
+“You’ll get used to such things,” said Oliver; and then, stepping
+toward the bed, “Let’s see what you got.”
+
+“Most of the things haven’t come,” said Alice. “The gowns all have to
+be fitted.—That one is for to-night,” she added, as he lifted up a
+beautiful object made of rose-coloured chiffon.
+
+Oliver studied it, and glanced once or twice at the girl. “I guess you
+can carry it,” he said. “What sort of a cloak are you to wear?”
+
+“Oh, the cloak!” cried Alice. “Oliver, I can’t believe it’s really to
+belong to me. I didn’t know anyone but princesses wore such things.”
+
+The cloak was in Mrs. Montague’s room, and one of the maids brought it
+in. It was an opera-wrap of grey brocade, lined with unborn baby lamb—a
+thing of a gorgeousness that made Montague literally gasp for breath.
+
+“Did you ever see anything like it in your life?” cried Alice. “And
+Oliver, is it true that I have to have gloves and shoes and
+stockings—and a hat—to match every gown?”
+
+“Of course.” said Oliver. “If you were doing things right, you ought to
+have a cloak to match each evening gown as well.”
+
+“It seems incredible,” said the girl. “Can it be right to spend so much
+money for things to wear?”
+
+But Oliver was not discussing questions of ethics; he was examining
+sets of tinted _crêpe de chine lingerie_, and hand-woven hose of spun
+silk. There were boxes upon boxes, and bureau drawers and closet
+shelves already filled up with hand-embroidered and lace-trimmed
+creations—chemises and corset-covers, night-robes of “handkerchief
+linen” lawn, lace handkerchiefs and veils, corsets of French _coutil_,
+dressing-jackets of pale-coloured silks, and negligées of soft
+_batistes_, trimmed with Valenciennes lace, or even with fur.
+
+“You must have put in a full day,” he said.
+
+“I never looked at so many things in my life,” said Alice. “And Mr.
+Mann never stopped to ask the price of a thing.”
+
+“I didn’t think to tell him to,” said Oliver, laughing.
+
+Then the girl went in to dress—and Oliver faced about to find his
+brother sitting and staring hard at him.
+
+“Tell me!” Montague exclaimed. “In God’s name, what is all this to
+cost?”
+
+“I don’t know,” said Oliver, impassively. “I haven’t seen the bills.
+It’ll be fifteen or twenty thousand, I guess.”
+
+Montague’s hands clenched involuntarily, and he sat rigid. “How long
+will it all last her?” he asked.
+
+“Why,” said the other, “when she gets enough, it’ll last her until
+spring, of course—unless she goes South during the winter.”
+
+“How much is it going to take to dress her for a year?”
+
+“I suppose thirty or forty thousand,” was the reply. “I don’t expect to
+keep count.”
+
+Montague sat in silence. “You don’t want to shut her up and keep her at
+home, do you?” inquired his brother, at last.
+
+“Do you mean that other women spend that much on clothes?” he demanded.
+
+“Of course,” said Oliver, “hundreds of them. Some spend fifty
+thousand—I know several who go over a hundred.”
+
+“It’s monstrous!” Montague exclaimed.
+
+“Fiddlesticks!” was the other’s response. “Why, thousands of people
+live by it—wouldn’t know anything else to do.”
+
+Montague said nothing to that. “Can you afford to have Alice compete
+with such women indefinitely?” he asked.
+
+“I have no idea of her doing it indefinitely,” was Oliver’s reply. “I
+simply propose to give her a chance. When she’s married, her bills will
+be paid by her husband.”
+
+“Oh,” said the other, “then this layout is just for her to be exhibited
+in.”
+
+“You may say that,” answered Oliver,—“if you want to be foolish. You
+know perfectly well that parents who launch their daughters in Society
+don’t figure on keeping up the pace all their lifetimes.”
+
+“We hadn’t thought of marrying Alice off,” said Montague.
+
+To which his brother replied that the best physicians left all they
+could to nature. “Suppose,” said he, “that we just introduce her in the
+right set, and turn her loose and let her enjoy herself—and then cross
+the next bridge when we come to it?”
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, pondering. He was beginning to see a
+little daylight now. “Oliver,” he asked suddenly, “are you sure the
+stakes in this game aren’t too big?”
+
+“How do you mean?” asked the other.
+
+“Will you be able to stay in until the show-down? Until either Alice or
+myself begins to bring in some returns?”
+
+“Never worry about that,” said the other, with a laugh.
+
+“But hadn’t you better take me into your confidence?” Montague
+persisted. “How many weeks can you pay our rent in this place? Have you
+got the money to pay for all these clothes?”
+
+“I’ve got it,” laughed the other—“but that doesn’t say I’m going to pay
+it.”
+
+“Don’t you have to pay your bills? Can we do all this upon credit?”
+
+Oliver laughed again. “You go at me like a prosecuting attorney,” he
+said. “I’m afraid you’ll have to inquire around and learn some respect
+for your brother.” Then he added, seriously, “You see, Allan, people
+like Reggie or myself are in position to bring a great deal of custom
+to tradespeople, and so they are willing to go out of their way to
+oblige us. And we have commissions of all sorts coming to us, so it’s
+never any question of cash.”
+
+“Oh!” exclaimed the other, opening his eyes, “I see! Is _that_ the way
+you make money?”
+
+“It’s one of the ways we save it,” said Oliver. “It comes to the same
+thing.”
+
+“Do people know it?”
+
+“Why, of course. Why not?”
+
+“I don’t know,” said Montague. “It sounds a little queer.”
+
+“Nothing of the kind,” said Oliver. “Some of the best people in New
+York do it. Strangers come to the city, and they want to go to the
+right places, and they ask me, and I send them. Or take Robbie Walling,
+who keeps up five or six establishments, and spends several millions a
+year. He can’t see to it all personally—if he did, he’d never do
+anything else. Why shouldn’t he ask a friend to attend to things for
+him? Or again, a new shop opens, and they want Mrs. Walling’s trade for
+the sake of the advertising, and they offer her a discount and me a
+commission. Why shouldn’t I get her to try them?”
+
+“It’s quite intricate,” commented the other. “The stores have more than
+one price, then?”
+
+“They have as many prices as they have customers,” was the answer. “Why
+shouldn’t they? New York is full of raw rich people who value things by
+what they pay. And why shouldn’t they pay high and be happy? That
+opera-cloak that Alice has—Réval promised it to me for two thousand,
+and I’ll wager you she’d charge some woman from Butte, Montana,
+thirty-five hundred for one just like it.”
+
+Montague got up suddenly. “Stop,” he said, waving his hands. “You take
+all the bloom off the butterfly’s wings!”
+
+He asked where they were going that evening, and Oliver said that they
+were invited to an informal dinner-party at Mrs. Winnie Duval’s. Mrs.
+Winnie was the young widow who had recently married the founder of the
+great banking-house of Duval and Co.—so Oliver explained; she was a
+chum of his, and they would meet an interesting set there. She was
+going to invite her cousin, Charlie Carter—she wanted him to meet
+Alice. “Mrs. Winnie’s always plotting to get Charlie to settle down,”
+said Oliver, with a merry laugh.
+
+He telephoned for his man to bring over his clothes, and he and his
+brother dressed. Then Alice came in, looking like the goddess of the
+dawn in the gorgeous rose-coloured gown. The colour in her cheeks was
+even brighter than usual; for she was staggered to find how low the
+gown was cut, and was afraid she was committing a _faux pas_. “Tell me
+about it,” she stammered. “Mammy Lucy says I’m surely supposed to wear
+some lace, or a bouquet.”
+
+“Mammy Lucy isn’t a Paris costumier,” said Oliver, much amused. “Dear
+me—wait until you have seen Mrs. Winnie!”
+
+Mrs. Winnie had kindly sent her limousine car for them, and it stood
+throbbing in front of the hotel-entrance, its acetylenes streaming far
+up the street. Mrs. Winnie’s home was on Fifth Avenue, fronting the
+park. It occupied half a block, and had cost two millions to build and
+furnish. It was known as the “Snow Palace,” being all of white marble.
+
+At the curb a man in livery opened the door of the car, and in the
+vestibule another man in livery bowed the way. Lined up just inside the
+door was a corps of imposing personages, clad in scarlet waistcoats and
+velvet knee-breeches, with powdered wigs, and gold buttons, and gold
+buckles on their patent-leather pumps. These splendid creatures took
+their wraps, and then presented to Montague and Oliver a bouquet of
+flowers upon a silver salver, and upon another salver a tiny envelope
+bearing the name of their partner at this strictly “informal”
+dinner-party. Then the functionaries stood out of the way and permitted
+them to view the dazzling splendour of the entrance hall of the Snow
+Palace. There was a great marble staircase running up from the centre
+of the hall, with a carved marble gallery above, and a marble fireplace
+below. To decorate this mansion a real palace in the Punjab had been
+bought outright and plundered; there were mosaics of jade, and
+wonderful black marble, and rare woods, and strange and perplexing
+carvings.
+
+The head butler stood at the entrance to the salon, pronouncing their
+names; and just inside was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+Montague never forgot that first vision of her; she might have been a
+real princess out of the palace in the Punjab. She was a brunette,
+rich-coloured, full-throated and deep-bosomed, with scarlet lips, and
+black hair and eyes. She wore a court-gown of cloth of silver, with
+white kid shoes embroidered with jewelled flowers. All her life she had
+been collecting large turquoises, and these she had made into a tiara,
+and a neck ornament spreading over her chest, and a stomacher. Each of
+these stones was mounted with diamonds, and set upon a slender wire. So
+as she moved they quivered and shimmered, and the effect was dazzling,
+barbaric.
+
+She must have seen that Montague was staggered, for she gave him a
+little extra pressure of the hand, and said, “I’m so glad you came.
+Ollie has told me all about you.” Her voice was soft and melting, not
+so forbidding as her garb.
+
+Montague ran the gauntlet of the other guests: Charlie Carter, a
+beautiful, dark-haired boy, having the features of a Greek god, but a
+sallow and unpleasant complexion; Major “Bob” Venable, a stout little
+gentleman with a red face and a heavy jowl; Mrs. Frank Landis, a
+merry-eyed young widow with pink cheeks and auburn hair; Willie Davis,
+who had been a famous half-back, and was now junior partner in the
+banking-house; and two young married couples, whose names Montague
+missed.
+
+The name written on his card was Mrs. Alden. She came in just after
+him—a matron of about fifty, of vigorous aspect and ample figure,
+approaching what he had not yet learned to call _embonpoint_. She wore
+brocade, as became a grave dowager, and upon her ample bosom there lay
+an ornament the size of a man’s hand, and made wholly out of blazing
+diamonds—the most imposing affair that Montague had ever laid eyes
+upon. She gave him her hand to shake, and made no attempt to disguise
+the fact that she was looking him over in the meantime.
+
+“Madam, dinner is served,” said the stately butler; and the glittering
+procession moved into the dining-room—a huge state apartment, finished
+in some lustrous jet-black wood, and with great panel paintings
+illustrating the Romaunt de la Rose. The table was covered with a cloth
+of French embroidery, and gleaming with its load of crystal and gold
+plate. At either end there were huge candlesticks of solid gold, and in
+the centre a mound of orchids and lilies of the valley, matching in
+colour the shades of the candelabra and the daintily painted menu
+cards.
+
+“You are fortunate in coming to New York late in life,” Mrs. Alden was
+saying to him. “Most of our young men are tired out before they have
+sense enough to enjoy anything. Take my advice and look about you—don’t
+let that lively brother of yours set the pace for you.”
+
+In front of Mrs. Alden there was a decanter of Scotch whisky. “Will you
+have some?” she asked, as she took it up.
+
+“No, I thank you,” said he, and then wondered if perhaps he should not
+have said yes, as he watched the other select the largest of the
+half-dozen wine-glasses clustered at her place, and pour herself out a
+generous libation.
+
+“Have you seen much of the city?” she asked, as she tossed it
+off—without as much as a quiver of an eyelash.
+
+“No,” said he. “They have not given me much time. They took me off to
+the country—to the Robert Wallings’.”
+
+“Ah,” said Mrs. Alden; and Montague, struggling to make conversation,
+inquired, “Do you know Mr. Walling?”
+
+“Quite well,” said the other, placidly. “I used to be a Walling myself,
+you know.”
+
+“Oh,” said Montague, taken aback; and then added, “Before you were
+married?”
+
+“No,” said Mrs. Alden, more placidly than ever, “before I was
+divorced.”
+
+There was a dead silence, and Montague sat gasping to catch his breath.
+Then suddenly he heard a faint subdued chuckle, which grew into open
+laughter; and he stole a glance at Mrs. Alden, and saw that her eyes
+were twinkling; and then he began to laugh himself. They laughed
+together, so merrily that others at the table began to look at them in
+perplexity.
+
+So the ice was broken between them; which filled Montague with a vast
+relief. But he was still dimly touched with awe—for he realized that
+this must be the great Mrs. Billy Alden, whose engagement to the Duke
+of London was now the topic of the whole country. And that huge diamond
+ornament must be part of Mrs. Alden’s million-dollar outfit of
+jewellery!
+
+The great lady volunteered not to tell on him; and added generously
+that when he came to dinner with her she would post him concerning the
+company. “It’s awkward for a stranger, I can understand,” said she; and
+continued, grimly: “When people get divorces it sometimes means that
+they have quarrelled—and they don’t always make it up afterward,
+either. And sometimes other people quarrel—almost as bitterly as if
+they had been married. Many a hostess has had her reputation ruined by
+not keeping track of such things.”
+
+So Montague made the discovery that the great Mrs. Billy, though.
+forbidding of aspect, was good-natured when she chose to be, and with a
+pretty wit. She was a woman with a mind of her own—a hard-fighting
+character, who had marshalled those about her, and taken her place at
+the head of the column. She had always counted herself a personage
+enough to do exactly as she pleased; through the course of the dinner
+she would take up the decanter of Scotch, and make a pass to help
+Montague—and then, when he declined, pour out imperturbably what she
+wanted. “I don’t like your brother,” she said to him, a little later.
+“He won’t last; but he tells me you’re different, so maybe I will like
+you. Come and see me sometime, and let me tell you what not to do in
+New York.”
+
+Then Montague turned to talk with his hostess, who sat on his right.
+
+“Do you play bridge?” asked Mrs. Winnie, in her softest and most
+gracious tone.
+
+“My brother has given me a book to study from,” he answered. “But if he
+takes me about day and night, I don’t know how I’m to manage it.”
+
+“Come and let me teach you,” said Mrs. Winnie. “I mean it, really,” she
+added. “I’ve nothing to do—at least that I’m not tired of. Only I don’t
+believe you’d take long to learn all that I know.”
+
+“Aren’t you a successful player?” he asked sympathetically.
+
+“I don’t believe anyone wants me to learn,” said Mrs. Winnie.—“They’d
+rather come and get my money. Isn’t that true, Major?”
+
+Major Venable sat on her other hand, and he paused in the act of
+raising a spoonful of soup to his lips, and laughed, deep down in his
+throat—a queer little laugh that shook his fat cheeks and neck. “I may
+say,” he said, “that I know several people to whom the _status quo_ is
+satisfactory.”
+
+“Including yourself,” said the lady, with a little _moue_. “The
+wretched man won sixteen hundred dollars from me last night; and he sat
+in his club window all afternoon, just to have the pleasure of laughing
+at me as I went by. I don’t believe I’ll play at all to-night—I’m going
+to make myself agreeable to Mr. Montague, and let you win from Virginia
+Landis for a change.”
+
+And then the Major paused again in his attack upon the soup. “My dear
+Mrs. Winnie,” he said, “I can live for much more than one day upon
+sixteen hundred dollars!”
+
+The Major was a famous club-man and _bon vivant_, as Montague learned
+later on. “He’s an uncle of Mrs. Bobbie Walling’s,” said Mrs. Alden, in
+his ear. “And incidentally they hate each other like poison.”
+
+“That is so that I won’t repeat my luckless question again?” asked
+Montague, with a smile.
+
+“Oh, they meet,” said the other. “You wouldn’t be supposed to know
+that. Won’t you have any Scotch?”
+
+Montague’s thoughts were so much taken up with the people at this
+repast that he gave little thought to the food. He noticed with
+surprise that they had real spring lamb—it being the middle of
+November. But he could not know that the six-weeks-old creatures from
+which it had come had been raised in cotton-wool and fed on milk with a
+spoon—and had cost a dollar and a half a pound. A little later,
+however, there was placed before him a delicately browned sweetbread
+upon a platter of gold, and then suddenly he began to pay attention.
+Mrs. Winnie had a coat of arms; he had noticed it upon her auto, and
+again upon the great bronze gates of the Snow Palace, and again upon
+the liveries of her footmen, and yet again upon the decanter of Scotch.
+And now—incredible and appalling—he observed it branded upon the
+delicately browned sweetbread!
+
+After that, who would not have watched? There were large dishes of rare
+fruits upon the table—fruits which had been packed in cotton wool and
+shipped in cold storage from every corner of the earth. There were
+peaches which had come from South Africa (they had cost ten dollars
+apiece). There were bunches of Hamburg grapes, dark purple and bursting
+fat, which had been grown in a hot-house, wrapped in paper bags. There
+were nectarines and plums, and pomegranates and persimmons from Japan,
+and later on, little dishes of plump strawberries-raised in pots. There
+were quail which had come from Egypt, and a wonderful thing called
+“crab-flake à la Dewey,” cooked in a chafing-dish, and served with
+mushrooms that had been grown in the tunnels of abandoned mines in
+Michigan. There was lettuce raised by electric light, and lima beans
+that had come from Porto Rico, and artichokes brought from France at a
+cost of one dollar each.—And all these extraordinary viands were washed
+down by eight or nine varieties of wines, from the cellar of a man who
+had made collecting them a fad for the last thirty years, who had a
+vineyard in France for the growing of his own champagne, and kept
+twenty thousand quarts of claret in storage all the time—and procured
+his Rhine wine from the cellar of the German Emperor, at a cost of
+twenty-five dollars a quart!
+
+There were twelve people at dinner, and afterward they made two tables
+for bridge, leaving Charlie Carter to talk to Alice, and Mrs. Winnie to
+devote herself to Montague, according to her promise. “Everybody likes
+to see my house,” she said. “Would you?” And she led the way from the
+dining-room into the great conservatory, which formed a central court
+extending to the roof of the building. She pressed a button, and a soft
+radiance streamed down from above, in the midst of which Mrs. Winnie
+stood, with her shimmering jewels a very goddess of the fire.
+
+The conservatory was a place in which he could have spent the evening;
+it was filled with the most extraordinary varieties of plants. “They
+were gathered from all over the world,” said Mrs. Winnie, seeing that
+he was staring at them. “My husband employed a connoisseur to hunt them
+out for him. He did it before we were married—he thought it would make
+me happy.”
+
+In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen
+feet in height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the
+touch of a button the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and one
+might see scores of rare and beautiful fish swimming about.
+
+“Isn’t it fine!” said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly, “Do you know, I
+come here at night, sometimes when I can’t sleep, and sit for hours and
+gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary forms—some of
+them have faces, and look like human beings! And I wonder what they
+think about, and if life seems as strange to them as it does to me.”
+
+She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. “These fish
+were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him Buzzie. Have
+you met him yet?—No, of course not. He’s Charlie’s brother, and he
+collects art things—the most unbelievable things. Once, a long time
+ago, he took a fad for goldfish—some goldfish are very rare and
+beautiful, you know—one can pay twenty-five and fifty dollars apiece
+for them. He got all the dealers had, and when he learned that there
+were some they couldn’t get, he took a trip to Japan and China on
+purpose to get them. You know they raise them there, and some of them
+are sacred, and not allowed to be sold or taken out of the country. And
+he had all sorts of carved ivory receptacles for them, that he brought
+home with him—he had one beautiful marble basin about ten feet long,
+that had been stolen from the Emperor.”
+
+Over Montague’s shoulder where he sat, there hung an orchid, a most
+curious creation, an explosion of scarlet flame. “That is the
+_odonto-glossum_,” said Mrs. Winnie. “Have you heard of it?”
+
+“Never,” said the man.
+
+“Dear me,” said the other. “Such is fame!”
+
+“Is it supposed to be famous?” he asked.
+
+“Very,” she replied. “There was a lot in the newspapers about it. You
+see Winton—that’s my husband, you know—paid twenty-five thousand
+dollars to the man who created it; and that made a lot of foolish
+talk—people come from all over to look at it. I wanted to have it,
+because its shape is exactly like the coronet on my crest. Do you
+notice that?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague. “It’s curious.”
+
+“I’m very proud of my crest,” continued Mrs. Winnie. “Of course there
+are vulgar rich people who have them made to order, and make them
+ridiculous; but ours is a real one. It’s my own—not my husband’s; the
+Duvals are an old French family, but they’re not noble. I was a Morris,
+you know, and our line runs back to the old French ducal house of
+Montmorenci. And last summer, when we were motoring, I hunted up one of
+their chateaux; and see! I brought over this.”
+
+Mrs. Winnie pointed to a suit of armour, placed in a passage leading to
+the billiard-room. “I have had the lights fixed,” she added. And she
+pressed a button, and all illumination vanished, save for a faint red
+glow just above the man in armour.
+
+“Doesn’t he look real?” said she. (He had his visor down, and a
+battle-axe in his mailed hands.) “I like to imagine that he may have
+been my twentieth great-grandfather. I come and sit here, and gaze at
+him and shiver. Think what a terrible time it must have been to live
+in—when men wore things like that! It couldn’t be any worse to be a
+crab.”
+
+“You seem to be fond of strange emotions,” said Montague, laughing.
+
+“Maybe I am,” said the other. “I like everything that’s old and
+romantic, and makes you forget this stupid society world.”
+
+She stood brooding for a moment or two, gazing at the figure. Then she
+asked, abruptly, “Which do you like best, pictures or swimming?”
+
+“Why,” replied the man, laughing and perplexed, “I like them both, at
+times.”
+
+“I wondered which you’d rather see first,” explained his escort; “the
+art gallery or the natatorium. I’m afraid you’ll get tired before
+you’ve seen every thing.”
+
+“Suppose we begin with the art-gallery,” said he. “There’s not much to
+see in a swimming-pool.”
+
+“Ah, but ours is a very special one,” said the lady.—“And some day, if
+you’ll be very good, and promise not to tell anyone, I’ll let you see
+my own bath. Perhaps they’ve told you, I have one in my own apartments,
+cut out of a block of the most wonderful green marble.”
+
+Montague showed the expected amount of astonishment.
+
+“Of course that gave the dreadful newspapers another chance to gossip,”
+said Mrs. Winnie, plaintively. “People found out what I had paid for
+it. One can’t have anything beautiful without that question being
+asked.”
+
+And then followed a silence, while Mrs. Winnie waited for him to ask
+it. As he forebore to do so, she added, “It was fifty thousand
+dollars.”
+
+They were moving towards the elevator, where a small boy in the
+wonderful livery of plush and scarlet stood at attention. “Sometimes,”
+she continued, “it seems to me that it is wicked to pay such prices for
+things. Have you ever thought about it?”
+
+“Occasionally,” Montague replied.
+
+“Of course,” said she, “it makes work for people; and I suppose they
+can’t be better employed than in making beautiful things. But
+sometimes, when I think of all the poverty there is, I get unhappy. We
+have a winter place down South—one of those huge country-houses that
+look like exposition buildings, and have rooms for a hundred guests;
+and sometimes I go driving by myself, down to the mill towns, and go
+through them and talk to the children. I came to know some of them
+quite well—poor little wretches.”
+
+They stepped out of the elevator, and moved toward the art-gallery. “It
+used to make me so unhappy,” she went on. “I tried to talk to my
+husband about it, but he wouldn’t have it. ‘I don’t see why you can’t
+be like other people,’ he said—he’s always repeating that to me. And
+what could I say?”
+
+“Why not suggest that other people might be like you?” said the man,
+laughing.
+
+“I wasn’t clever enough,” said she, regretfully.—“It’s very hard for a
+woman, you know—with no one to understand. Once I went down to a
+settlement, to see what that was like. Do you know anything about
+settlements?”
+
+“Nothing at all,” said Montague.
+
+“Well, they are people who go to live among the poor, and try to reform
+them. It takes a terrible lot of courage, I think. I give them money
+now and then, but I am never sure if it does any good. The trouble with
+poor people, it seems to me, is that there are so _many_ of them.”
+
+“There are, indeed,” said Montague, thinking of the vision he had seen
+from Oliver’s racing-car.
+
+Mrs. Winnie had seated herself upon a cushioned seat near the entrance
+to the darkened gallery. “I haven’t been there for some time,” she
+continued. “I’ve discovered something that I think appeals more to my
+temperament. I have rather a leaning toward the occult and the
+mystical, I’m afraid. Did you ever hear of the Babists?”
+
+“No,” said Montague.
+
+“Well, that’s a religious sect—from Persia, I think—and they are quite
+the rage. They are priests, you understand, and they give lectures, and
+teach you all about the immanence of the divine, and about
+reincarnation, and Karma, and all that. Do you believe any of those
+things?”
+
+“I can’t say that I know about them,” said he.
+
+“It is very beautiful and strange,” added the other. “It makes you
+realize what a perplexing thing life is. They teach you how the
+universe is all one, and the soul is the only reality, and so bodily
+things don’t matter. If I were a Babist, I believe that I could be
+happy, even if I had to work in a cotton-mill.”
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie rose up suddenly. “You’d rather look at the pictures,
+I know,” she said; and she pressed a button, and a soft radiance
+flooded the great vaulted gallery.
+
+“This is our chief pride in life,” she said. “My husband’s object has
+been to get one representative work of each of the great painters of
+the world. We got their masterpiece whenever we could. Over there in
+the corner are the old masters—don’t you love to look at them?”
+
+Montague would have liked to look at them very much; but he felt that
+he would rather it were some time when he did not have Mrs. Winnie by
+his side. Mrs. Winnie must have had to show the gallery quite
+frequently; and now her mind was still upon the Persian
+transcendentalists.
+
+“That picture of the saint is a Botticelli,” she said. “And do you
+know, the orange-coloured robe always makes me think of the swami. That
+is my teacher, you know—Swami Babubanana. And he has the most beautiful
+delicate hands, and great big brown eyes, so soft and gentle—for all
+the world like those of the gazelles in our place down South!”
+
+Thus Mrs. Winnie, as she roamed from picture to picture, while the
+souls of the grave old masters looked down upon her in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Montague had now been officially pronounced complete by his tailor; and
+Réval had sent home the first of Alice’s street gowns, elaborately
+plain, but fitting her conspicuously, and costing accordingly. So the
+next morning they were ready to be taken to call upon Mrs. Devon.
+
+Of course Montague had heard of the Devons, but he was not sufficiently
+initiated to comprehend just what it meant to be asked to call. But
+when Oliver came in, a little before noon, and proceeded to examine his
+costume and to put him to rights, and insisted that Alice should have
+her hair done over, he began to realize that this was a special
+occasion. Oliver was in quite a state of excitement; and after they had
+left the hotel, and were driving up the Avenue, he explained to them
+that their future in Society depended upon the outcome of this visit.
+Calling upon Mrs. Devon, it seemed, was the American equivalent to
+being presented at court. For twenty-five years this grand lady had
+been the undisputed mistress of the Society of the metropolis; and if
+she liked them, they would be invited to her annual ball, which took
+place in January, and then for ever after their position would be
+assured. Mrs. Devon’s ball was the one great event of the social year;
+about one thousand people were asked, while ten thousand disappointed
+ones gnashed their teeth in outer darkness.
+
+All of which threw Alice into a state of trepidation.
+
+“Suppose we don’t suit her!” she said.
+
+To that the other replied that their way had been made smooth by Reggie
+Mann, who was one of Mrs. Devon’s favourites.
+
+A century and more ago the founder of the Devon line had come to
+America, and invested his savings in land on Manhattan Island. Other
+people had toiled and built a city there, and generation after
+generation of the Devons had sat by and collected the rents, until now
+their fortune amounted to four or five hundred millions of dollars.
+They were the richest old family in America, and the most famous; and
+in Mrs. Devon, the oldest member of the line, was centred all its
+social majesty and dominion. She lived a stately and formal life,
+precisely like a queen; no one ever saw her save upon her raised chair
+of state, and she wore her jewels even at breakfast. She was the
+arbiter of social destinies, and the breakwater against which the
+floods of new wealth beat in vain. Reggie Mann told wonderful tales
+about the contents of her enormous mail—about wives and daughters of
+mighty rich men who flung themselves at her feet and pleaded abjectly
+for her favour—who laid siege to her house for months, and intrigued
+and pulled wires to get near her, and even bought the favour of her
+servants! If Reggie might be believed, great financial wars had been
+fought, and the stock-markets of the world convulsed more than once,
+because of these social struggles; and women of wealth and beauty had
+offered to sell themselves for the privilege which was so freely
+granted to them.
+
+They came to the old family mansion and rang the bell, and the solemn
+butler ushered them past the grand staircase and into the front
+reception-room to wait. Perhaps five minutes later he came in and
+rolled back the doors, and they stood up, and beheld a withered old
+lady, nearly eighty years of age, bedecked with diamonds and seated
+upon a sort of throne. They approached, and Oliver introduced them, and
+the old lady held out a lifeless hand; and then they sat down.
+
+Mrs. Devon asked them a few questions as to how much of New York they
+had seen, and how they liked it, and whom they had met; but most of the
+time she simply looked them over, and left the making of conversation
+to Oliver. As for Montague, he sat, feeling perplexed and
+uncomfortable, and wondering, deep down in him, whether it could really
+be America in which this was happening.
+
+“You see,” Oliver explained to them, when they were seated in their
+carriage again, “her mind is failing, and it’s really quite difficult
+for her to receive.”
+
+“I’m glad I don’t have to call on her more than once,” was Alice’s
+comment. “When do we know the verdict?”
+
+“When you get a card marked ‘Mrs. Devon at home,’” said Oliver. And he
+went on to tell them about the war which had shaken Society long ago,
+when the mighty dame had asserted her right to be “Mrs. Devon,” and the
+only “Mrs. Devon.” He told them also about her wonderful dinner-set of
+china, which had cost thirty thousand dollars, and was as fragile as a
+humming-bird’s wing. Each piece bore her crest, and she had a china
+expert to attend to washing and packing it—no common hand was ever
+allowed to touch it. He told them, also, how Mrs. Devon’s housekeeper
+had wrestled for so long, trying to teach the maids to arrange the
+furniture in the great reception-rooms precisely as the mistress
+ordered; until finally a complete set of photographs had been taken, so
+that the maids might do their work by chart.
+
+Alice went back to the hotel, for Mrs. Robbie Walling was to call and
+take her home to lunch; and Montague and his brother strolled round to
+Reggie Mann’s apartments, to report upon their visit.
+
+Reggie received them in a pair of pink silk pyjamas, decorated with
+ribbons and bows, and with silk-embroidered slippers, set with pearls—a
+present from a feminine adorer. Montague noticed, to his dismay, that
+the little man wore a gold bracelet upon one arm! He explained that he
+had led a cotillion the night before—or rather this morning; he had got
+home at five o’clock. He looked quite white and tired, and there were
+the remains of a breakfast of brandy-and-soda on the table.
+
+“Did you see the old girl?” he asked. “And how does she hold up?”
+
+“She’s game,” said Oliver.
+
+“I had the devil’s own time getting you in,” said the other. “It’s
+getting harder every day.”
+
+“You’ll excuse me,” Reggie added, “if I get ready. I have an
+engagement.” And he turned to his dressing-table, which was covered
+with an array of cosmetics and perfumes, and proceeded, in a
+matter-of-fact way, to paint his face. Meanwhile his valet was flitting
+silently here and there, getting ready his afternoon costume; and
+Montague, in spite of himself, followed the man with his eyes. A
+haberdasher’s shop might have been kept going for quite a while upon
+the contents of Reggie’s dressers. His clothing was kept in a room
+adjoining the dressing-room; Montague, who was near the door, could see
+the rosewood wardrobes, each devoted to a separate article of
+clothing-shirts, for instance, laid upon sliding racks, tier upon tier
+of them, of every material and colour. There was a closet fitted with
+shelves and equipped like a little shoe store—high shoes and low shoes,
+black ones, brown ones, and white ones, and each fitted over a last to
+keep its shape perfect. These shoes were all made to order according to
+Reggie’s designs, and three or four times a year there was a cleaning
+out, and those which had gone out of fashion became the prey of his
+“man.” There was a safe in one closet, in which Reggie’s jewellery was
+kept.
+
+The dressing-room was furnished like a lady’s boudoir, the furniture
+upholstered with exquisite embroidered silk, and the bed hung with
+curtains of the same material. There was a huge bunch of roses on the
+centre-table, and the odour of roses hung heavy in the room.
+
+The valet stood at attention with a rack of neckties, from which Reggie
+critically selected one to match his shirt. “Are you going to take
+Alice with you down to the Havens’s?” he was asking; and he added,
+“You’ll meet Vivie Patton down there—she’s had another row at home.”
+
+“You don’t say so!” exclaimed Oliver.
+
+“Yes,” said the other. “Frank waited up all night for her, and he wept
+and tore his hair and vowed he would kill the Count. Vivie told him to
+go to hell.”
+
+“Good God!” said Oliver. “Who told you that?”
+
+“The faithful Alphonse,” said Reggie, nodding toward his valet. “Her
+maid told him. And Frank vows he’ll sue—I half expected to see it in
+the papers this morning.”
+
+“I met Vivie on the street yesterday,” said Oliver. “She looked as
+chipper as ever.”
+
+Reggie shrugged his shoulders. “Have you seen this week’s paper?” he
+asked. “They’ve got another of Ysabel’s suppressed poems in.”—And then
+he turned toward Montague to explain that “Ysabel” was the pseudonym of
+a young débutante who had fallen under the spell of Baudelaire and
+Wilde, and had published a volume of poems of such furious eroticism
+that her parents were buying up stray copies at fabulous prices.
+
+Then the conversation turned to the Horse Show, and for quite a while
+they talked about who was going to wear what. Finally Oliver rose,
+saying that they would have to get a bite to eat before leaving for the
+Havens’s. “You’ll have a good time,” said Reggie. “I’d have gone
+myself, only I promised to stay and help Mrs. de Graffenried design a
+dinner. So long!”
+
+Montague had heard nothing about the visit to the Havens’s; but now, as
+they strolled down the Avenue, Oliver explained that they were to spend
+the weekend at Castle Havens. There was quite a party going up this
+Friday afternoon, and they would find one of the Havens’s private cars
+waiting. They had nothing to do meantime, for their valets would attend
+to their packing, and Alice and her maid would meet them at the depot.
+
+“Castle Havens is one of the show places of the country,” Oliver added.
+“You’ll see the real thing this time.” And while they lunched, he went
+on to entertain his brother with particulars concerning the place and
+its owners. John had inherited the bulk of the enormous Havens fortune,
+and he posed as his father’s successor in the Steel Trust. Some day
+some one of the big men would gobble him up; meantime he amused himself
+fussing over the petty details of administration. Mrs. Havens had taken
+a fancy to a rural life, and they had built this huge palace in the
+hills of Connecticut, and she wrote verses in which she pictured
+herself as a simple shepherdess—and all that sort of stuff. But no one
+minded that, because the place was grand, and there was always so much
+to do. They had forty or fifty polo ponies, for instance, and every
+spring the place was filled with polo men.
+
+At the depot they caught sight of Charlie Carter, in his big red
+touring-car. “Are you going to the Havens’s?” he said. “Tell them we’re
+going to pick up Chauncey on the way.”
+
+“That’s Chauncey Venable, the Major’s nephew,” said Oliver, as they
+strolled to the train. “Poor Chauncey—he’s in exile!”
+
+“How do you mean?” asked Montague.
+
+“Why, he daren’t come into New York,” said the other. “Haven’t you read
+about it in the papers? He lost one or two hundred thousand the other
+night in a gambling place, and the district attorney’s trying to catch
+him.”
+
+“Does he want to put him in jail?” asked Montague.
+
+“Heavens, no!” said Oliver. “Put a Venable in jail? He wants him for a
+witness against the gambler; and poor Chauncey is flitting about the
+country hiding with his friends, and wailing because he’ll miss the
+Horse Show.”
+
+They boarded the palatial private car, and were introduced to a number
+of other guests. Among them was Major Venable; and while Oliver buried
+himself in the new issue of the fantastic-covered society journal,
+which contained the poem of the erotic “Ysabel,” his brother chatted
+with the Major. The latter had taken quite a fancy to the big handsome
+stranger, to whom everything in the city was so new and interesting.
+
+“Tell me what you thought of the Snow Palace,” said he. “I’ve an idea
+that Mrs. Winnie’s got quite a crush on you. You’ll find her dangerous,
+my boy—she’ll make you pay for your dinners before you get through!”
+
+After the train was under way, the Major got himself surrounded with
+some apollinaris and Scotch, and then settled back to enjoy himself.
+“Did you see the ‘drunken kid’ at the ferry?” he asked. “(That’s what
+our abstemious district attorney terms my precious young
+heir-apparent.) You’ll meet him at the Castle—the Havens are good to
+him. They know how it feels, I guess; when John was a youngster his
+piratical uncle had to camp in Jersey for six months or so, to escape
+the strong arm of the law.”
+
+“Don’t you know about it?” continued the Major, sipping at his
+beverage. “_Sic transit gloria mundi!_ That was when the great Captain
+Kidd Havens was piling up the millions which his survivors are spending
+with such charming _insouciance_. He was plundering a railroad, and the
+original progenitor of the Wallings tried to buy the control away from
+him, and Havens issued ten or twenty millions of new stock overnight,
+in the face of a court injunction, and got away with most of his money.
+It reads like opera bouffe, you know—they had a regular armed camp
+across the river for about six months—until Captain Kidd went up to
+Albany with half a million dollars’ worth of greenbacks in a satchel,
+and induced the legislature to legalize the proceedings. That was just
+after the war, you know, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. It
+seems strange to think that anyone shouldn’t know about it.”
+
+“I know about Havens in a general way,” said Montague.
+
+“Yes,” said the Major. “But I know in a particular way, because I’ve
+carried some of that railroad’s paper all these years, and it’s never
+paid any dividends since. It has a tendency to interfere with my
+appreciation of John’s lavish hospitality.”
+
+Montague was reminded of the story of the Roman emperor who pointed out
+that money had no smell.
+
+“Maybe not,” said the Major. “But all the same, if you were
+superstitious, you might make out an argument from the Havens fortune.
+Take that poor girl who married the Count.”
+
+And the Major went on to picture the dénouement of that famous
+international alliance, which, many years ago, had been the sensation
+of two continents. All Society had attended the gorgeous wedding, an
+archbishop had performed the ceremony, and the newspapers had devoted
+pages to describing the gowns and the jewels and the presents and all
+the rest of the magnificence. And the Count was a wretched little
+degenerate, who beat and kicked his wife, and flaunted his mistresses
+in her face, and wasted fourteen million dollars of her money in a
+couple of years. The mind could scarcely follow the orgies of this
+half-insane creature—he had spent two hundred thousand dollars on a
+banquet, and half as much again for a tortoise-shell wardrobe in which
+Louis the Sixteenth had kept his clothes! He had charged a diamond
+necklace to his wife, and taken two of the four rows of diamonds out of
+it before he presented it to her! He had paid a hundred thousand
+dollars a year to a jockey whom the Parisian populace admired, and a
+fortune for a palace in Verona, which he had promptly torn down, for
+the sake of a few painted ceilings. The Major told about one outdoor
+fête, which he had given upon a sudden whim: ten thousand Venetian
+lanterns, ten thousand metres of carpet; three thousand gilded chairs,
+and two or three hundred waiters in fancy costumes; two palaces built
+in a lake, with sea-horses and dolphins, and half a dozen orchestras,
+and several hundred chorus—girls from the Grand Opera! And in between
+adventures such as these, he bought a seat in the Chamber of Deputies,
+and made speeches and fought duels in defence of the Holy Catholic
+Church—and wrote articles for the yellow journals of America. “And
+that’s the fate of my lost dividends!” growled the Major.
+
+There were several automobiles to meet the party at the depot, and they
+were whirled through a broad avenue up a valley, and past a little
+lake, and so to the gates of Castle Havens.
+
+It was a tremendous building, a couple of hundred feet long. One
+entered into a main hall, perhaps fifty feet wide, with a great
+fireplace and staircase of marble and bronze, and furniture of gilded
+wood and crimson velvet, and a huge painting, covering three of the
+walls, representing the Conquest of Peru. Each of the rooms was
+furnished in the style of a different period—one Louis Quatorze, one
+Louis Quinze, one Marie Antoinette, and so on. There was a drawing-room
+and a regal music-room; a dining-room in the Georgian style, and a
+billiard-room, also in the English fashion, with high wainscoting and
+open beams in the ceiling; and a library, and a morning-room and
+conservatory. Upstairs in the main suite of rooms was a royal bedstead,
+which alone was rumoured to have cost twenty-five thousand dollars; and
+you might have some idea of the magnificence of things when you learned
+that underneath the gilding of the furniture was the rare and precious
+Circassian walnut.
+
+All this was beautiful. But what brought the guests to Castle Havens
+was the casino, so the Major had remarked. It was really a private
+athletic club—with tan-bark hippodrome, having a ring the size of that
+in Madison Square Garden, and a skylight roof, and thirty or forty
+arc-lights for night events. There were bowling-alleys, billiard and
+lounging-rooms, hand-ball, tennis and racket-courts, a completely
+equipped gymnasium, a shooting-gallery, and a swimming-pool with
+Turkish and Russian baths. In this casino alone there were rooms for
+forty guests.
+
+Such was Castle Havens; it had cost three or four millions of dollars,
+and within the twelve-foot wall which surrounded its grounds lived two
+world-weary people who dreaded nothing so much as to be alone. There
+were always guests, and on special occasions there might be three or
+four score. They went whirling about the country in their autos; they
+rode and drove; they played games, outdoor and indoor, or gambled, or
+lounged and chatted, or wandered about at their own sweet will. Coming
+to one of these places was not different from staying at a great hotel,
+save that the company was selected, and instead of paying a bill, you
+gave twenty or thirty dollars to the servants when you left.
+
+It was a great palace of pleasure, in which beautiful and graceful men
+and women played together in all sorts of beautiful and graceful ways.
+In the evenings great logs blazed in the fireplace in the hall, and
+there might be an informal dance—there was always music at hand. Now
+and then there would be a stately ball, with rich gowns and flashing
+jewels, and the grounds ablaze with lights, and a full orchestra, and
+special trains from the city. Or a whole theatrical company would be
+brought down to give an entertainment in the theatre; or a minstrel
+show, or a troupe of acrobats, or a menagerie of trained animals. Or
+perhaps there would be a great pianist, or a palmist, or a trance
+medium. Anyone at all would be welcome who could bring a new thrill—it
+mattered nothing at all, though the price might be several hundred
+dollars a minute.
+
+Montague shook hands with his host and hostess, and with a number of
+others; among them Billy Price who forthwith challenged him, and
+carried him off to the shooting-gallery. Here he took a rifle, and
+proceeded to satisfy her as to his skill. This brought him to the
+notice of Siegfried Harvey, who was a famous cross-country rider and
+“polo-man.” Harvey’s father owned a score of copper-mines, and had
+named him after a race-horse; he was a big broad-shouldered fellow, a
+favourite of every one; and next morning, when he found that Montague
+sat a horse like one who was born to it, he invited him to come out to
+his place on Long Island, and see some of the fox-hunting.
+
+Then, after he had dressed for dinner, Montague came downstairs, and
+found Betty Wyman, shining like Aurora in an orange-coloured cloud. She
+introduced him to Mrs. Vivie Patton, who was tall and slender and
+fascinating, and had told her husband to go to hell. Mrs. Vivie had
+black eyes that snapped and sparkled, and she was a geyser of animation
+in a perpetual condition of eruption. Montague wondered if she would
+have talked with him so gaily had she known what he knew about her
+domestic entanglements.
+
+The company moved into the dining-room, where there was served another
+of those elaborate and enormously expensive meals which he concluded he
+was fated to eat for the rest of his life. Only, instead of Mrs. Billy
+Alden with her Scotch, there was Mrs. Vivie, who drank champagne in
+terrifying quantities; and afterward there was the inevitable grouping
+of the bridge fiends.
+
+Among the guests there was a long-haired and wild-looking foreign
+personage, who was the “lion” of the evening, and sat with half a dozen
+admiring women about him. Now he was escorted to the music-room, and
+revealed the fact that he was a violin virtuoso. He played what was
+called “salon music”—music written especially for ladies and gentlemen
+to listen to after dinner; and also a strange contrivance called a
+_concerto_, put together to enable the player to exhibit within a brief
+space the utmost possible variety of finger gymnastics. To learn to
+perform these feats one had to devote his whole lifetime to practising
+them, just like any circus acrobat; and so his mind became atrophied,
+and a naïve and elemental vanity was all that was left to him.
+
+Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
+company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
+Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
+Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
+smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of young
+bloods about him to play “Klondike.” This was a game of deadly hazards,
+which they played without limit; the players themselves were silent and
+impassive, but the spectators who gathered about were tense with
+excitement.
+
+In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty in
+his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens’s
+jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday, and
+there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
+prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled about
+with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who would
+take part in it.
+
+And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed him
+the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended in
+laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared with
+an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas of
+green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
+staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian walk,
+leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with a basin
+sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses. There were
+sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of France, and
+Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and other treasures of
+art.
+
+And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a
+perfectly equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy; a
+polo-field, and an enclosed riding-ring for the children; and
+dog-kennels and pigeon-houses, greenhouses and deer-parks—one was
+prepared for bear-pits and a menagerie. Finally, on their way back,
+they passed the casino, where musical chimes pealed out the
+quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower from which
+the sounds had come.
+
+The more he gazed, the more he found to gaze at. The roof of this
+building had many gables, in the Queen Anne style; and from the midst
+of them shot up the tower, which was octagonal and solid, suggestive of
+the Normans. It was decorated with Christmas-wreaths in white stucco,
+and a few miscellaneous ornaments like the gilded tassels one sees upon
+plush curtains. Overtopping all of this was the dome of a Turkish
+mosque. Rising out of the dome was something that looked like a
+dove-cot; and out of this rose the slender white steeple of a Methodist
+country church. On top of that was a statue of Diana.
+
+“What are you looking at?” asked the Major.
+
+“Nothing,” said Montague, as he moved on. “Has there ever been any
+insanity in the Havens family?”
+
+“I don’t know,” replied the other, puzzled. “They say the old man never
+could sleep at night, and used to wander about alone in the park. I
+suppose he had things on his conscience.”
+
+They strolled away; and the Major’s flood-gates of gossip were opened.
+There was an old merchant in New York, who had been Havens’s private
+secretary. And Havens was always in terror of assassination, and so
+whenever they travelled abroad he and the secretary exchanged places.
+“The old man is big and imposing,” said the Major, “and it’s funny to
+hear him tell how he used to receive the visitors and be stared at by
+the crowds, while Havens, who was little and insignificant, would
+pretend to make himself useful. And then one day a wild-looking
+creature came into the Havens office, and began tearing the wrappings
+off some package that shone like metal—and quick as a flash he and
+Havens flung themselves down on the floor upon their faces. Then, as
+nothing happened, they looked up, and saw the puzzled stranger gazing
+over the railing at them. He had a patent churn, made of copper, which
+he wanted Havens to market for him!”
+
+Montague could have wished that this party might last for a week or
+two, instead of only two days. He was interested in the life, and in
+those who lived it; all whom he met were people prominent in the social
+world, and some in the business world as well, and one could not have
+asked a better chance to study them.
+
+Montague was taking his time and feeling his way slowly. But all the
+time that he was playing and gossiping he never lost from mind his real
+purpose, which was to find a place for himself in the world of affairs;
+and he watched for people from whose conversation he could get a view
+of this aspect of things. So he was interested when Mrs. Smythe
+remarked that among his fellow-guests was Vandam, an official of one of
+the great life-insurance companies. “Freddie” Vandam, as the lady
+called him, was a man of might in the financial world; and Montague
+said to himself that in meeting him he would really be accomplishing
+something. Crack shots and polo-players and four-in-hand experts were
+all very well, but he had his living to earn, and he feared that the
+problem was going to prove complicated.
+
+So he was glad when chance brought him and young Vandam together, and
+Siegfried Harvey introduced them. And then Montague got the biggest
+shock which New York had given him yet.
+
+It was not what Freddie Vandam said; doubtless he had a right to be
+interested in the Horse Show, since he was to exhibit many fine horses,
+and he had no reason to feel called upon to talk about anything more
+serious to a stranger at a house party. But it was the manner of the
+man, his whole personality. For Freddie was a man of fashion, with all
+the exaggerated and farcical mannerisms of the dandy of the comic
+papers. He wore a conspicuous and foppish costume, and posed with a
+little cane; he cultivated a waving pompadour, and his silky moustache
+and beard were carefully trimmed to points, and kept sharp by his
+active fingers. His conversation was full of French phrases and French
+opinions; he had been reared abroad, and had a whole-souled contempt
+for all things American—even dictating his business letters in French,
+and leaving it for his stenographer to translate them. His shirts were
+embroidered with violets and perfumed with violets—and there were
+bunches of violets at his horses’ heads, so that he might get the odour
+as he drove!
+
+There was a cruel saying about Freddie Vandam—that if only he had had a
+little more brains, he would have been half-witted. And Montague sat,
+and watched his mannerisms and listened to his inanities, with his mind
+in a state of bewilderment and dismay. When at last he got up and
+walked away, it was with a new sense of the complicated nature of the
+problem that confronted him. Who was there that could give him the key
+to this mystery—who could interpret to him a world in which a man such
+as this was in control of four or five hundred millions of trust funds?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+It was quite futile to attempt to induce anyone to talk about serious
+matters just now—for the coming week all Society belonged to the horse.
+The parties which went to church on Sunday morning talked about horses
+on the way, and the crowds that gathered in front of the church door to
+watch them descend from their automobiles, and to get “points” on their
+conspicuous costumes—these would read about horses all afternoon in the
+Sunday papers, and about the gowns which the women would wear at the
+show.
+
+Some of the party went up on Sunday evening; Montague went with the
+rest on Monday morning, and had lunch with Mrs. Robbie Walling and
+Oliver and Alice. They had arrayed him in a frock coat and silk hat and
+fancy “spats”; and they took him and sat him in the front row of
+Robbie’s box.
+
+There was a great tan-bark arena, in which the horses performed; and
+then a railing, and a broad promenade for the spectators; and then,
+raised a few feet above, the boxes in which sat all Society. For the
+Horse Show had now become a great social function. Last year a visiting
+foreign prince had seen fit to attend it, and this year “everybody”
+would come.
+
+Montague was rapidly getting used to things; he observed with a smile
+how easy it was to take for granted embroidered bed and table linen,
+and mural paintings, and private cars, and gold plate. At first it had
+seemed to him strange to be waited upon by a white woman, and by a
+white man quite unthinkable; but he was becoming accustomed to having
+silent and expressionless lackeys everywhere about him, attending to
+his slightest want. So he presumed that if he waited long enough, he
+might even get used to horses which had their tails cut off to stumps,
+and their manes to rows of bristles, and which had been taught to lift
+their feet in strange and eccentric ways, and were driven with burred
+bits in their mouths to torture them and make them step lively.
+
+There were road-horses, coach-horses, saddle-horses and hunters,
+polo-ponies, stud-horses—every kind of horse that is used for pleasure,
+over a hundred different “classes” of them. They were put through their
+paces about the ring, and there was a committee which judged them, and
+awarded blue and red ribbons. Apparently their highly artificial kind
+of excellence was a real thing to the people who took part in the show;
+for the spectators thrilled with excitement, and applauded the popular
+victors. There was a whole set of conventions which were generally
+understood—there was even a new language. You were told that these
+“turnouts” were “nobby” and “natty”; they were “swagger” and “smart”
+and “swell.”
+
+However, the horse was really a small part of this show; before one had
+sat out an afternoon he realized that the function was in reality a
+show of Society. For six or seven hours during the day the broad
+promenade would be so packed with human beings that one moved about
+with difficulty; and this throng gazed towards the ring almost never—it
+stared up into the boxes. All the year round the discontented millions
+of the middle classes read of the doings of the “smart set”; and here
+they had a chance to come and see them—alive, and real, and dressed in
+their showiest costumes. Here was all the _grand monde_, in numbered
+boxes, and with their names upon the programmes, so that one could get
+them straight. Ten thousand people from other cities had come to New
+York on purpose to get a look. Women who lived in boarding-houses and
+made their own clothes, had come to get hints; all the dressmakers in
+town were present for the same purpose.. Society reporters had come,
+with notebooks in hand; and next morning the imitators of Society all
+over the United States would read about it, in such fashion as this:
+“Mrs. Chauncey Venable was becomingly gowned in mauve cloth, made with
+an Eton jacket trimmed with silk braid, and opening over a chemisette
+of lace. Her hat was of the same colour, draped with a great quantity
+of mauve and orange tulle, and surmounted with birds of paradise to
+match. Her furs were silver fox.”
+
+The most intelligent of the great metropolitan dailies would print
+columns of this sort of material; and as for the “yellow” journals,
+they would have discussions of the costumes by “experts,” and half a
+page of pictures of the most conspicuous of the box-holders. While
+Montague sat talking with Mrs. Walling, half a dozen cameras were
+snapped at them; and once a young man with a sketch-book placed himself
+in front of them and went placidly to work.—Concerning such things the
+society dame had three different sets of emotions: first, the one which
+she showed in public, that of bored and contemptuous indifference;
+second, the one which she expressed to her friends, that of outraged
+but helpless indignation; and third, the one which she really felt,
+that of triumphant exultation over her rivals, whose pictures were not
+published and whose costumes were not described.
+
+It was a great dress parade of society women. One who wished to play a
+proper part in it would spend at least ten thousand dollars upon her
+costumes for the week. It was necessary to have a different gown for
+the afternoon and evening of each day; and some, who were adepts at
+quick changes and were proud of it, would wear three or four a day, and
+so need a couple of dozen gowns for the show. And of course there had
+to be hats and shoes and gloves to match. There would be robes of
+priceless fur hung carelessly over the balcony to make a setting; and
+in the evening there would be pyrotechnical displays of jewels. Mrs.
+Virginia Landis wore a pair of simple pearl earrings, which she told
+the reporters had cost twenty thousand dollars; and there were two
+women who displayed four hundred thousand dollars’ worth of
+diamonds—and each of them had hired a detective to hover about in the
+crowd and keep watch over her!
+
+Nor must one suppose, because the horse was an inconspicuous part of
+the show, that he was therefore an inexpensive part. One man was to be
+seen here driving a four-in-hand of black stallions which had cost
+forty thousand; there were other men who drove only one horse, and had
+paid forty thousand for that. Half a million was a moderate estimate of
+the cost of the “string” which some would exhibit. And of course these
+horses were useless, save for show purposes, and to breed other horses
+like them. Many of them never went out of their stables except for
+exercise upon a track; and the cumbrous and enormously expensive
+coaches were never by any possibility used elsewhere—when they were
+taken from place to place they seldom went upon their own wheels.
+
+And there were people here who made their chief occupation in life the
+winning of blue ribbons at these shows. They kept great country estates
+especially for the horses, and had private indoor exhibition rings.
+Robbie Walling and Chauncey Venable were both such people; in the
+summer of next year another of the Wallings took a string across the
+water to teach the horse-show game to Society in London. He took twenty
+or thirty horses, under the charge of an expert manager and a dozen
+assistants; he sent sixteen different kinds of carriages, and two great
+coaches, and a ton of harness and other stuff. It required one whole
+deck of a steamer, and the expedition enabled him to get rid of six
+hundred thousand dollars.
+
+All through the day, of course, Robbie was down in the ring with his
+trainers and his competitors, and Montague sat and kept his wife
+company. There was a steady stream of visitors, who came to
+congratulate her upon their successes, and to commiserate with Mrs.
+Chauncey Venable over the sufferings of the unhappy victim of a
+notoriety-seeking district attorney.
+
+There was just one drawback to the Horse Show, as Montague gathered
+from the conversation that went on among the callers: it was public,
+and there was no way to prevent undesirable people from taking part.
+There were, it appeared, hordes of rich people in New York who were not
+in Society, and of whose existence Society was haughtily unaware; but
+these people might enter horses and win prizes, and even rent a box and
+exhibit their clothes. And they might induce the reporters to mention
+them—and of course the ignorant populace did not know the difference,
+and stared at them just as hard as at Mrs. Robbie or Mrs. Winnie. And
+so for a whole blissful week these people had all the sensations of
+being in Society! “It won’t be very long before that will kill the
+Horse Show,” said Mrs. Vivie Patton, with a snap of her black eyes.
+
+There was Miss Yvette Simpkins, for instance; Society frothed at the
+mouth when her name was mentioned. Miss Yvette was the niece of a
+stock-broker who was wealthy, and she thought that she was in Society,
+and the foolish public thought so, too. Miss Yvette made a speciality
+of newspaper publicity; you were always seeing her picture, with some
+new “Worth creation,” and the picture would be labelled “Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, the best-dressed woman in New York,” or “Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, who is known as the best woman whip in Society.” It was said
+that Miss Yvette, who was short and stout, and had a rosy German face,
+had paid five thousand dollars at one clip for photographs of herself
+in a new wardrobe; and her pictures were sent to the newspapers in
+bundles of a dozen at a time. Miss Yvette possessed over a million
+dollars’ worth of diamonds—the finest in the country, according to the
+newspapers; she had spent a hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars
+this year upon her clothes, and she gave long interviews, in which she
+set forth the fact that a woman nowadays could not really be well
+dressed upon less than a hundred thousand a year. It was Miss Yvette’s
+boast that she had never ridden in a street-car in her life.
+
+Montague always had a soft spot in his heart for the unfortunate Miss
+Yvette, who laboured so hard to be a guiding light; for it chanced to
+be while she was in the ring, exhibiting her skill in driving tandem,
+that he met with a fateful encounter. Afterward, when he came to look
+back upon these early days, it seemed strange to him that he should
+have gone about this place, so careless and unsuspecting, while the
+fates were weaving strange destinies about him.
+
+It was on Tuesday afternoon, and he sat in the box of Mrs. Venable, a
+sister-in-law of the Major. The Major, who was a care-free bachelor,
+was there himself, and also Betty Wyman, who was making sprightly
+comments on the passers-by; and there strolled into the box Chappie de
+Peyster, accompanied by a young lady.
+
+So many people had stopped and been introduced and then passed on, that
+Montague merely glanced at her once. He noticed that she was tall and
+graceful, and caught her name, Miss Hegan.
+
+The turnouts in the ring consisted of one horse harnessed in front of
+another; and Montague was wondering what conceivable motive could
+induce a human being to hitch and drive horses in that fashion. The
+conversation turned upon Miss Yvette, who was in the ring; and Betty
+remarked upon the airy grace with which she wielded the long whip she
+carried. “Did you see what the paper said about her this morning?” she
+asked. “‘Miss Simpkins was exquisitely clad in purple velvet,’ and so
+on! She looked for all the world like the Venus at the Hippodrome!”
+
+“Why isn’t she in Society?” asked Montague, curiously.
+
+“She!” exclaimed Betty. “Why, she’s a travesty!”
+
+There was a moment’s pause, preceding a remark by their young lady
+visitor. “I’ve an idea,” said she, “that the real reason she never got
+into Society was that she was fond of her old father.”
+
+And Montague gave a short glance at the speaker, who was gazing fixedly
+into the ring. He heard the Major chuckle, and he thought that he heard
+Betty Wyman give a little sniff. A few moments later the young lady
+arose, and with some remark to Mrs. Venable about how well her costume
+became her, she passed on out of the box.
+
+“Who is that?” asked Montague.
+
+“That,” the Major answered, “that’s Laura Hegan—Jim Hegan’s daughter.”
+
+“Oh!” said Montague, and caught his breath. Jim Hegan—Napoleon of
+finance—czar of a gigantic system of railroads, and the power behind
+the political thrones of many states.
+
+“His only daughter, too,” the Major added. “Gad, what a juicy morsel
+for somebody!”
+
+“Well, she’ll make him pay for all he gets, whoever he is!” retorted
+Betty, vindictively.
+
+“You don’t like her?” inquired Montague; and Betty replied promptly, “I
+do not!”
+
+“Her daddy and Betty’s granddaddy are always at swords’ points,” put in
+Major Venable.
+
+“I have nothing to do with my granddaddy’s quarrels,” said the young
+lady. “I have troubles enough of my own.”
+
+“What is the matter with Miss Hegan?” asked Montague, laughing.
+
+“She’s an idea she’s too good for the world she lives in,” said Betty.
+“When you’re with her, you feel as you will before the judgment
+throne.”
+
+“Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling,” put in the Major.
+
+“She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it,” went on
+the girl. “All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my life
+is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to say what
+they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them or not.”
+
+“Mostly not,” said the Major, grimly; and added, “Anyway, she’s
+beautiful.”
+
+“Perhaps,” said the other. “So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer something
+more comfortable.”
+
+“What’s Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?” asked Mrs. Venable.
+“Is he a candidate?”
+
+“Maybe his debts are troubling him again,” said Mistress Betty. “He
+must be in a desperate plight.—Did you hear how Jack Audubon proposed
+to her?”
+
+“Did Jack propose?” exclaimed the Major.
+
+“Of course he did,” said the girl. “His brother told me.” Then, for
+Montague’s benefit, she explained, “Jack Audubon is the Major’s nephew,
+and he’s a bookworm, and spends all his time collecting scarabs.”
+
+“What did he say to her?” asked the Major, highly amused.
+
+“Why,” said Betty, “he told her he knew she didn’t love him; but also
+she knew that he didn’t care anything about her money, and she might
+like to marry him so that other men would let her alone.”
+
+“Gad!” cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. “A masterpiece!”
+
+“Does she have so many suitors?” asked Montague; and the Major replied,
+“My dear boy—she’ll have a hundred million dollars some day!”
+
+At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went for a
+stroll with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss Hegan’s
+remark.
+
+“What she said is perfectly true,” replied the Major; “only it riled
+Betty. There’s many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who has
+stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold.”
+
+“What’s the matter with old Simpkins?” asked the other.
+
+“Just a queer boy,” was the reply. “He has a big pile, and his one joy
+in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he who makes her
+ridiculous—he has a regular press agent for her, a chap he loads up
+with jewellery and cheques whenever he gets her picture into the
+papers.”
+
+The Major paused a moment to greet some acquaintance, and then resumed
+the conversation. Apparently he could gossip in this intimate fashion
+about any person whom you named. Old Simpkins had been very poor as a
+boy, it appeared, and he had never got over the memory of it. Miss
+Yvette spent fifty thousand at a clip for Paris gowns; but every day
+her old uncle would save up the lumps of sugar which came with the
+expensive lunch he had brought to his office. And when he had several
+pounds he would send them home by messenger!
+
+This conversation gave Montague a new sense of the complicatedness of
+the world into which he had come. Miss Simpkins was “impossible”; and
+yet there was—for instance—that Mrs. Landis whom he had met at Mrs.
+Winnie Duval’s. He had met her several times at the show; and he heard
+the Major and his sister-in-law chuckling over a paragraph in the
+society journal, to the effect that Mrs. Virginia van Rensselaer Landis
+had just returned from a successful hunting-trip in the far West. He
+did not see the humour of this, at least not until they had told him of
+another paragraph which had appeared some time before: stating that
+Mrs. Landis had gone to acquire residence in South Dakota, taking with
+her thirty-five trunks and a poodle; and that “Leanie” Hopkins, the
+handsome young stock-broker, had taken a six months’ vow of poverty,
+chastity, and obedience.
+
+And yet Mrs. Landis was “in” Society! And moreover, she spent nearly as
+much upon her clothes as Miss Yvette, and the clothes were quite as
+conspicuous; and if the papers did not print pages about them, it was
+not because Mrs. Landis was not perfectly willing. She was painted and
+made up quite as frankly as any chorus-girl on the stage. She laughed a
+great deal, and in a high key, and she and her friends told stories
+which made Montague wish to move out of the way.
+
+Mrs. Landis had for some reason taken a fancy to Alice, and invited her
+home to lunch with her twice during the show. And after they had got
+home in the evening, the girl sat upon the bed in her fur-trimmed
+wrapper, and told Montague and his mother and Mammy Lucy all about her
+visit.
+
+“I don’t believe that woman has a thing to do or to think about in the
+world except to wear clothes!” she said. “Why, she has adjustable
+mirrors on ball-bearings, so that she can see every part of her skirts!
+And she gets all her gowns from Paris, four times a year—she says there
+are four seasons now, instead of two! I thought that my new clothes
+amounted to something, but my goodness, when I saw hers!”
+
+Then Alice went on to describe the unpacking of fourteen trunks, which
+had just come up from the custom-house that day. Mrs. Virginia’s
+_coutourière_ had her photograph and her colouring (represented in
+actual paints) and a figure made up from exact measurements; and so
+every one of the garments would fit her perfectly. Each one came
+stuffed with tissue paper and held in place by a lattice-work of tape;
+and attached to each gown was a piece of the fabric, from which her
+shoemaker would make shoes or slippers. There were street-costumes and
+opera-wraps, _robes de chambre_ and tea-gowns, reception-dresses, and
+wonderful ball and dinner gowns. Most of these latter were to be
+embroidered with jewellery before they were worn, and imitation jewels
+were sewn on, to show how the real ones were to be placed. These
+garments were made of real lace or Parisian embroidery, and the prices
+paid for them were almost impossible to credit. Some of them were made
+of lace so filmy that the women who made them had to sit in damp
+cellars, because the sunlight would dry the fine threads and they would
+break; a single yard of the lace represented forty days of labour.
+There was a pastel “_batiste de soie_” Pompadour robe, embroidered with
+cream silk flowers, which had cost one thousand dollars. There was a
+hat to go with it, which had cost a hundred and twenty-five, and shoes
+of grey antelope-skin, buckled with mother-of-pearl, which had cost
+forty. There was a gorgeous and intricate ball-dress of pale green
+chiffon satin, with orchids embroidered in oxidized silver, and a long
+court train, studded with diamonds—and this had cost six thousand
+dollars without the jewels! And there was an auto-coat which had cost
+three thousand; and an opera-wrap made in Leipsic, of white unborn baby
+lamb, lined with ermine, which had cost twelve thousand—with a thousand
+additional for a hat to match! Mrs. Landis thought nothing of paying
+thirty-five dollars for a lace handkerchief, or sixty dollars for a
+pair of spun silk hose, or two hundred dollars for a pearl and
+gold-handled parasol trimmed with cascades of chiffon, and made, like
+her hats, one for each gown.
+
+“And she insists that these things are worth the money,” said Alice.
+“She says it’s not only the material in them, but the ideas. Each
+costume is a study, like a picture. ‘I pay for the creative genius of
+the artist,’ she said to me—‘for his ability to catch my ideas and
+apply them to my personality—my complexion and hair and eyes. Sometimes
+I design my own costumes, and so I know what hard work it is!’”
+
+Mrs. Landis came from one of New York’s oldest families, and she was
+wealthy in her own right; she had a palace on Fifth Avenue, and now
+that she had turned her husband out, she had nothing at all to put in
+it except her clothes. Alice told about the places in which she kept
+them—it was like a museum! There was a gown-room, made dust-proof, of
+polished hardwood, and with tier upon tier of long poles running
+across, and padded skirt-supporters hanging from them. Everywhere there
+was order and system—each skirt was numbered, and in a
+chiffonier-drawer of the same number you would find the waist—and so on
+with hats and stockings and gloves and shoes and parasols. There was a
+row of closets, having shelves piled up with dainty lace-trimmed and
+beribboned _lingerie;_ there were two closets full of hats and three of
+shoes. “When she went West,” said Alice, “one of her maids counted, and
+found that she had over four hundred pairs! And she actually has a
+cabinet with a card-catalogue to keep track of them. And all the
+shelves are lined with perfumed silk sachets, and she has tiny sachets
+sewed in every skirt and waist; and she has her own private perfume—she
+gave me some. She calls it _Cœur de Jeannette_, and she says she
+designed it herself, and had it patented!”
+
+And then Alice went on to describe the maid’s work-room, which was also
+of polished hardwood, and dust-proof, and had a balcony for brushing
+clothes, and wires upon which to hang them, and hot and cold water, and
+a big ironing-table and an electric stove. “But there can’t be much
+work to do,” laughed the girl, “for she never wears a gown more than
+two or three times. Just think of paying several thousand dollars for a
+costume, and giving it to your poor relations after you have worn it
+only twice! And the worst of it is that Mrs. Landis says it’s all
+nothing unusual; you’ll find such arrangements in every home of people
+who are socially prominent. She says there are women who boast of never
+appearing twice in the same gown, and there’s one dreadful personage in
+Boston who wears each costume once, and then has it solemnly cremated
+by her butler!”
+
+“It is wicked to do such things,” put in old Mrs. Montague, when she
+had heard this tale through. “I don’t see how people can get any
+pleasure out of it.”
+
+“That’s what I said,” replied Alice.
+
+“To whom did you say that?” asked Montague. “To Mrs. Landis?”
+
+“No,” said Alice, “to a cousin of hers. I was downstairs waiting for
+her, and this girl came in. And we got to talking about it, and I said
+that I didn’t think I could ever get used to such things.”
+
+“What did she say?” asked the other.
+
+“She answered me strangely,” said the girl. “She’s tall, and very
+stately, and I was a little bit afraid of her. She said, ‘You’ll get
+used to it. Everybody you know will be doing it, and if you try to do
+differently they’ll take offence; and you won’t have the courage to do
+without friends. You’ll be meaning every day to stop, but you never
+will, and you’ll go on until you die.’”
+
+“What did you say to that?”
+
+“Nothing,” answered Alice. “Just then Mrs. Landis came in, and Miss
+Hegan went away.”
+
+“Miss Hegan?” echoed Montague.
+
+“Yes,” said the other. “That’s her name—Laura Hegan. Have you met her?”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+The Horse Show was held in Madison Square Garden, a building occupying
+a whole city block. It seemed to Montague that during the four days he
+attended he was introduced to enough people to fill it to the doors.
+Each one of the exquisite ladies and gentlemen extended to him a
+delicately gloved hand, and remarked what perfect weather they were
+having, and asked him how long he had been in New York, and what he
+thought of it. Then they would talk about the horses, and about the
+people who were present, and what they had on.
+
+He saw little of his brother, who was squiring the Walling ladies most
+of the time; and Alice, too, was generally separated from him and taken
+care of by others. Yet he was never alone—there was always some young
+matron ready to lead him to her carriage and whisk him away to lunch or
+dinner.
+
+Many times he wondered why people should be so kind to him, a stranger,
+and one who could do nothing for them in return. Mrs. Billy Alden
+undertook to explain it to him, one afternoon, as he sat in her box.
+There had to be some people to enjoy, it appeared, or there would be no
+fun in the game. “Everything is new and strange to you,” said she, “and
+you’re delicious and refreshing; you make these women think perhaps
+they oughtn’t to be so bored after all! Here’s a woman who’s bought a
+great painting; she’s told that it’s great, but she doesn’t understand
+it herself—all she knows is that it cost her a hundred thousand
+dollars. And now you come along, and to you it’s really a painting—and
+don’t you see how gratifying that is to her?”
+
+“Oliver is always telling me it’s bad form to admire,” said the man,
+laughing.
+
+“Yes?” said the other. “Well, don’t you let that brother of yours spoil
+you. There are more than enough of _blasé_ people in town—you be
+yourself.”
+
+He appreciated the compliment, but added, “I’m afraid that when the
+novelty is worn off, people will be tired of me.”
+
+“You’ll find your place,” said Mrs. Alden—“the people you like and who
+like you.” And she went on to explain that here he was being passed
+about among a number of very different “sets,” with different people
+and different tastes. Society had become split up in that manner of
+late—each set being jealous and contemptuous of all the other sets.
+Because of the fact that they overlapped a little at the edges, it was
+possible for him to meet here a great many people who never met each
+other, and were even unaware of each other’s existence.
+
+And Mrs. Alden went on to set forth the difference between these
+“sets”; they ran from the most exclusive down to the most “yellow,”
+where they shaded off into the disreputable rich—of whom, it seemed,
+there were hordes in the city. These included “sporting” and theatrical
+and political people, some of whom were very rich indeed; and these
+sets in turn shaded off into the criminals and the _demi-monde_—who
+might also easily be rich. “Some day,” said Mrs. Alden “you should get
+my brother to tell you about all these people. He’s been in politics,
+you know, and he has a racing-stable.”
+
+And Mrs. Alden told him about the subtle little differences in the
+conventions of these various sets of Society. There was the matter of
+women smoking, for instance. All women smoked, nowadays; but some would
+do it only in their own apartments, with their women friends; and some
+would retire to an out-of-the-way corner to do it; while others would
+smoke in their own dining-rooms, or wherever the men smoked. All agreed
+however, in never smoking “in public”—that is, where they would be seen
+by people not of their own set. Such, at any rate, had always been the
+rule, though a few daring ones were beginning to defy even that.
+
+Such rules were very rigid, but they were purely conventional, they had
+nothing to do with right or wrong: a fact which Mrs. Alden set forth
+with her usual incisiveness. A woman, married or unmarried, might
+travel with a man all over Europe, and every one might know that she
+did it, but it would make no difference, so long as she did not do it
+in America. There was one young matron whom Montague would meet, a
+raging beauty, who regularly got drunk at dinner parties, and had to be
+escorted to her carriage by the butler. She moved in the most exclusive
+circles, and every one treated it as a joke. Unpleasant things like
+this did not hurt a person unless they got “out”—that is, unless they
+became a scandal in the courts or the newspapers. Mrs. Alden herself
+had a cousin (whom she cordially hated) who had gotten a divorce from
+her husband and married her lover forthwith and had for this been
+ostracized by Society. Once when she came to some semi-public affair,
+fifty women had risen at once and left the room! She might have lived
+with her lover, both before and after the divorce, and every one might
+have known it, and no one would have cared; but the _convenances_
+declared that she should not marry him until a year had elapsed after
+the divorce.
+
+One thing to which Mrs. Alden could testify, as a result of a
+lifetime’s observation, was the rapid rate at which these conventions,
+even the most essential of them, were giving way, and being replaced by
+a general “do as you please.” Anyone could see that the power of women
+like Mrs. Devon, who represented the old régime, and were dignified and
+austere and exclusive, was yielding before the onslaught of new people,
+who were bizarre and fantastic and promiscuous and loud. And the
+younger sets cared no more about anyone—nor about anything under
+heaven, save to have a good time in their own harum-scarum ways. In the
+old days one always received a neatly-written or engraved invitation to
+dinner, worded in impersonal and formal style; but the other day Mrs.
+Alden had found a message which had been taken from the telephone:
+“Please come to dinner, but don’t come unless you can bring a man, or
+we’ll be thirteen at the table.”
+
+And along with this went a perfectly incredible increase in luxury and
+extravagance. “You are surprised at what you see here to-day,” said
+she—“but take my word for it, if you were to come back five years
+later, you’d find all our present standards antiquated, and our present
+pace-makers sent to the rear. You’d find new hotels and theatres
+opening, and food and clothing and furniture that cost twice as much as
+they cost now. Not so long ago a private car was a luxury; now it’s as
+much a necessity as an opera-box or a private ball-room, and people who
+really count have private trains. I can remember when our girls wore
+pretty muslin gowns in summer, and sent them to wash; now they wear
+what they call _lingerie_ gowns, dimity _en princesse_, with silk
+embroidery and real lace and ribbons, that cost a thousand dollars
+apiece and won’t wash. Years ago when I gave a dinner, I invited a
+dozen friends, and my own chef cooked it and my own servants served it.
+Now I have to pay my steward ten thousand a year, and nothing that I
+have is good enough. I have to ask forty or fifty people, and I call in
+a caterer, and he brings everything of his own, and my servants go off
+and get drunk. You used to get a good dinner for ten dollars a plate,
+and fifteen was something special; but now you hear of dinners that
+cost a thousand a plate! And it’s not enough to have beautiful flowers
+on the table—you have to have ‘scenery’; there must be a rural
+landscape for a background, and goldfish in the finger-bowls, and five
+thousand dollars’ worth of Florida orchids on the table, and floral
+favours of roses that cost a hundred and fifty dollars a dozen. I
+attended a dinner at the Waldorf last year that had cost fifty thousand
+dollars; and when I ask those people to see me, I have to give them as
+good as I got. The other day I paid a thousand dollars for a
+table-cloth!”
+
+“Why do you do it?” asked Montague, abruptly.
+
+“God knows,” said the other; “I don’t. I sometimes wonder myself. I
+guess it’s because I’ve nothing else to do. It’s like the story they
+tell about my brother—he was losing money in a gambling-place in
+Saratoga, and some one said to him, ‘Davy, why do you go there—don’t
+you know the game is crooked?’ ‘Of course it’s crooked,’ said he, ‘but,
+damn it, it’s the only game in town!’”
+
+“The pressure is more than anyone can stand,” said Mrs. Alden, after a
+moment’s thought. “It’s like trying to swim against a current. You have
+to float, and do what every one expects you to do—your children and
+your friends and your servants and your tradespeople. All the world is
+in a conspiracy against you.”
+
+“It’s appalling to me,” said the man.
+
+“Yes,” said the other, “and there’s never any end to it. You think you
+know it all, but you find you really know very little. Just think of
+the number of people there are trying to go the pace! They say there
+are seven thousand millionaires in this country, but I say there are
+twenty thousand in New York alone—or if they don’t own a million,
+they’re spending the income of it, which amounts to the same thing. You
+can figure that a man who pays ten thousand a year for rent is paying
+fifty thousand to live; and there’s Fifth Avenue—two miles of it, if
+you count the uptown and downtown parts; and there’s Madison Avenue,
+and half a dozen houses adjoining on every side street; and then there
+are the hotels and apartment houses, to say nothing of the West Side
+and Riverside Drive. And you meet these mobs of people in the shops and
+the hotels and the theatres, and they all want to be better dressed
+than you. I saw a woman here to-day that I never saw in my life before,
+and I heard her say she’d paid two thousand dollars for a lace
+handkerchief; and it might have been true, for I’ve been asked to pay
+ten thousand for a lace shawl at a bargain. It’s a common enough thing
+to see a woman walking on Fifth Avenue with twenty or thirty thousand
+dollars’ worth of furs on her. Fifty thousand is often paid for a coat
+of sable, and I know of one that cost two hundred thousand. I know
+women who have a dozen sets of furs—ermine, chinchilla, black fox, baby
+lamb, and mink and sable; and I know a man whose chauffeur quit him
+because he wouldn’t buy him a ten-thousand-dollar fur coat! And once
+people used to pack their furs away and take care of them; but now they
+wear them about the street, or at the sea-shore, and you can fairly see
+them fade. Or else their cut goes out of fashion, and so they have to
+have new ones!”
+
+All that was material for thought. It was all true—there was no
+question about that. It seemed to be the rule that whenever you
+questioned a tale of the extravagances of New York, you would hear the
+next day of something several times more startling. Montague was
+staggered at the idea of a two-hundred-thousand-dollar fur coat; and
+yet not long afterward there arrived in the city a titled Englishwoman,
+who owned a coat worth a million dollars, which hard-headed insurance
+companies had insured for half a million. It was made of the soft
+plumage of rare Hawaiian birds, and had taken twenty years to make;
+each feather was crescent-shaped, and there were wonderful designs in
+crimson and gold and black. Every day in the casual conversation of
+your acquaintances you heard of similar incredible things; a tiny
+antique Persian rug, which could be folded into an overcoat pocket, for
+ten thousand dollars; a set of five “art fans,” each blade painted by a
+famous artist and costing forty-three thousand dollars; a crystal cup
+for eighty thousand; an _edition de luxe_ of the works of Dickens for a
+hundred thousand; a ruby, the size of a pigeon’s egg, for three hundred
+thousand. In some of these great New York palaces there were fountains
+which cost a hundred dollars a minute to run; and in the harbour there
+were yachts which cost twenty thousand a month to keep in commission.
+
+And that same day, as it chanced, he learned of a brand-new kind of
+squandering. He went home to lunch with Mrs. Winnie Duval, and there
+met Mrs. Caroline Smythe, with whom he had talked at Castle Havens.
+Mrs. Smythe, whose husband had been a well-known Wall Street plunger,
+was soft and mushy, and very gushing in manner; and she asked him to
+come home to dinner with her, adding, “I’ll introduce you to my
+babies.”
+
+From what Montague had so far seen, he judged that babies played a very
+small part in the lives of the women of Society; and so he was
+interested, and asked, “How many have you?”
+
+“Only two, in town,” said Mrs. Smythe. “I’ve just come up, you see.”
+
+“How old are they?” he inquired politely; and when the lady added,
+“About two years,” he asked, “Won’t they be in bed by dinner time?”
+
+“Oh my, no!” said Mrs. Smythe. “The dear little lambs wait up for me. I
+always find them scratching at my chamber door and wagging their little
+tails.”
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie laughed merrily and said, “Why do you fool him?” and
+went on to inform Montague that Caroline’s “babies” were _griffons
+Bruxelloises. Griffons_ suggested to him vague ideas of dragons and
+unicorns and gargoyles; but he said nothing more, save to accept the
+invitation, and that evening he discovered that _griffons Bruxelloises_
+were tiny dogs, long-haired, yellow, and fluffy; and that for her two
+priceless treasures Mrs. Smythe had an expert nurse, to whom she paid a
+hundred dollars a month, and also a footman, and a special cuisine in
+which their complicated food was prepared. They had a regular dentist,
+and a physician, and gold plate to eat from. Mrs. Smythe also owned two
+long-haired St. Bernards of a very rare breed, and a fierce Great Dane,
+and a very fat Boston bull pup—the last having been trained to go for
+an airing all alone in her carriage, with a solemn coachman and footman
+to drive him.
+
+Montague, deftly keeping the conversation upon the subject of pets,
+learned that all this was quite common. Many women in Society
+artificially made themselves barren, because of the inconvenience
+incidental to pregnancy and motherhood; and instead they lavished their
+affections upon cats and dogs. Some of these animals had elaborate
+costumes, rivalling in expensiveness those of their step-mothers. They
+wore tiny boots, which cost eight dollars a pair—house boots, and
+street boots lacing up to the knees; they had house-coats,
+walking-coats, dusters, sweaters, coats lined with ermine, and
+automobile coats with head and chest-protectors and hoods and
+goggles—and each coat fitted with a pocket for its tiny handkerchief of
+fine linen or lace! And they had collars set with rubies and pearls and
+diamonds—one had a collar that cost ten thousand dollars! Sometimes
+there would be a coat to match every gown of the owner. There were dog
+nurseries and resting-rooms, in which they might be left temporarily;
+and manicure parlours for cats, with a physician in charge. When these
+pets died, there was an expensive cemetery in Brooklyn especially for
+their interment; and they would be duly embalmed and buried in
+plush-lined casket, and would have costly marble monuments. When one of
+Mrs. Smythe’s best loved pugs had fallen ill of congestion of the
+liver, she had had tan-bark put upon the street in front of her house;
+and when in spite of this the dog died, she had sent out cards edged in
+black, inviting her friends to a “memorial service.” Also she showed
+Montague a number of books with very costly bindings, in which were
+demonstrated the unity, simplicity, and immortality of the souls of
+cats and dogs.
+
+Apparently the sentimental Mrs. Smythe was willing to talk about these
+pets all through dinner; and so was her aunt, a thin and angular
+spinster, who sat on Montague’s other side. And he was willing to
+listen—he wanted to know it all. There were umbrellas for dogs, to be
+fastened over their backs in wet weather; there were manicure and
+toilet sets, and silver medicine-chests, and jewel-studded whips. There
+were sets of engraved visiting-cards; there were wheel-chairs in which
+invalid cats and dogs might be taken for an airing. There were shows
+for cats and dogs, with pedigrees and prizes, and nearly as great
+crowds as the Horse Show; Mrs. Smythe’s St. Bernards were worth seven
+thousand dollars apiece, and there were bull-dogs worth twice that.
+There was a woman who had come all the way from the Pacific coast to
+have a specialist perform an operation upon the throat of her Yorkshire
+terrier! There was another who had built for her dog a tiny Queen Anne
+cottage, with rooms papered and carpeted and hung with lace curtains!
+Once a young man of fashion had come to the Waldorf and registered
+himself and “Miss Elsie Cochrane”; and when the clerk made the usual
+inquiries as to the relationship of the young lady, it transpired that
+Miss Elsie was a dog, arrayed in a prim little tea-gown, and requiring
+a room to herself. And then there was a tale of a cat which had
+inherited a life-pension from a forty-thousand-dollar estate; it had a
+two-floor apartment and several attendants, and sat at table and ate
+shrimps and Italian chestnuts, and had a velvet couch for naps, and a
+fur-lined basket for sleeping at night!
+
+Four days of horses were enough for Montague, and on Friday morning,
+when Siegfried Harvey called him up and asked if he and Alice would
+come out to “The Roost” for the week-end, he accepted gladly. Charlie
+Carter was going, and volunteered to take them in his car; and so again
+they crossed the Williamsburg Bridge—“the Jewish passover,” as Charlie
+called it—and went out on Long Island.
+
+Montague was very anxious to get a “line” on Charlie Carter; for he had
+not been prepared for the startling promptness with which this young
+man had fallen at Alice’s feet. It was so obvious, that everybody was
+smiling over it—he was with her every minute that he could arrange it,
+and he turned up at every place to which she was invited. Both Mrs.
+Winnie and Oliver were quite evidently complacent, but Montague was by
+no means the same. Charlie had struck him as a good-natured but rather
+weak youth, inclined to melancholy; he was never without a cigarette in
+his fingers, and there had been signs that he was not quite proof
+against the pitfalls which Society set about him in the shape of
+decanters and wine-cups: though in a world where the fragrance of
+spirits was never out of one’s nostrils, and where people drank with
+such perplexing frequency, it was hard to know where to draw a line.
+
+“You won’t find my place like Havens’s,” Siegfried Harvey had said. “It
+is real country.” Montague found it the most attractive of all the
+homes he had seen so far. It was a big rambling house, all in rustic
+style, with great hewn logs outside, and rafters within, and a winding
+oak stairway, and any number of dens and cosy corners, and broad
+window-seats with mountains of pillows. Everything here was built for
+comfort—there was a billiard-room and a smoking-room, and a real
+library with readable books and great chairs in which one sank out of
+sight. There were log fires blazing everywhere, and pictures on the
+walls that told of sport, and no end of guns and antlers and trophies
+of all sorts. But you were not to suppose that all this elaborate
+rusticity would be any excuse for the absence of attendants in livery,
+and a chef who boasted the _cordon bleu_, and a dinner-table
+resplendent with crystal and silver and orchids and ferns. After all,
+though the host called it a “small” place, he had invited twenty
+guests, and he had a hunter in his stables for each one of them.
+
+But the most wonderful thing about “The Roost” was the fact that, at a
+touch of a button, all the walls of the lower rooms vanished into the
+second story, and there was one huge, log-lighted room, with violins
+tuning up and calling to one’s feet. They set a fast pace here—the
+dancing lasted until three o’clock, and at dawn again they were dressed
+and mounted, and following the pink-coated grooms and the hounds across
+the frost-covered fields.
+
+Montague was half prepared for a tame fox, but this was spared him.
+There was a real game, it seemed; and soon the pack gave tongue, and
+away went the hunt. It was the wildest ride that Montague ever had
+taken—over ditches and streams and innumerable rail-fences, and through
+thick coverts and densely populated barnyards; but he was in at the
+death, and Alice was only a few yards behind, to the immense delight of
+the company. This seemed to Montague the first real life he had met,
+and he thought to himself that these full-blooded and high-spirited men
+and women made a “set” into which he would have been glad to fit—save
+only that he had to earn his living, and they did not.
+
+In the afternoon there was more riding, and walks in the crisp November
+air; and indoors, bridge and rackets and ping-pong, and a fast and
+furious game of roulette, with the host as banker. “Do I look much like
+a professional gambler?” he asked of Montague; and when the other
+replied that he had not yet met any New York gamblers, young Harvey
+went on to tell how he had gone to buy this apparatus (the sale of
+which was forbidden by law) and had been asked by the dealer how
+“strong” he wanted it!
+
+Then in the evening there was more dancing, and on Sunday another hunt.
+That night a gambling mood seemed to seize the company—there were two
+bridge tables, and in another room the most reckless game of poker that
+Montague had ever sat in. It broke up at three in the morning, and one
+of the company wrote him a cheque for sixty-five hundred dollars; but
+even that could not entirely smooth his conscience, nor reconcile him
+to the fever that was in his blood.
+
+Most important to him, however, was the fact that during the game he at
+last got to know Charlie Carter. Charlie did not play, for the reason
+that he was drunk, and one of the company told him so and refused to
+play with him; which left poor Charlie nothing to do but get drunker.
+This he did, and came and hung over the shoulders of the players, and
+told the company all about himself.
+
+Montague was prepared to allow for the “wild oats” of a youngster with
+unlimited money, but never in his life had he heard or dreamed of
+anything like this boy. For half an hour he wandered about the table,
+and poured out a steady stream of obscenities; his mind was like a
+swamp, in which dwelt loathsome and hideous serpents which came to the
+surface at night and showed their flat heads and their slimy coils. In
+the heavens above or the earth beneath there was nothing sacred to him;
+there was nothing too revolting to be spewed out. And the company
+accepted the performance as an old story—the men would laugh, and push
+the boy away, and say, “Oh, Charlie, go to the devil!”
+
+After it was all over, Montague took one of the company aside and asked
+him what it meant; to which the man replied: “Good God! Do you mean
+that nobody has told you about Charlie Carter?”
+
+It appeared that Charlie was one of the “gilded youths” of the
+Tenderloin, whose exploits had been celebrated in the papers. And after
+the attendants had bundled him off to bed, several of the men gathered
+about the fire and sipped hot punch, and rehearsed for Montague’s
+benefit some of his leading exploits.
+
+Charlie was only twenty-three, it seemed; and when he was ten his
+father had died and left eight or ten millions in trust for him, in the
+care of a poor, foolish aunt whom he twisted about his finger. At the
+age of twelve he was a cigarette fiend, and had the run of the
+wine-cellar. When he went to a rich private school he took whole trunks
+full of cigarettes with him, and finally ran away to Europe, to acquire
+the learning of the brothels of Paris. And then he came home and struck
+the Tenderloin; and at three o’clock one morning he walked through a
+plate-glass window, and so the newspapers took him up. That had
+suddenly opened a new vista in life for Charlie—he became a devotee of
+fame; everywhere he went he was followed by newspaper reporters and a
+staring crowd. He carried wads as big round as his arm, and gave away
+hundred-dollar tips to bootblacks, and lost forty thousand dollars in a
+game of poker. He gave a fête to the _demi-monde_, with a jewelled
+Christmas tree in midsummer, and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of
+splendour. But the greatest stroke of all was the announcement that he
+was going to build a submarine yacht and fill it with chorus-girls!—Now
+Charlie had sunk out of public attention, and his friends would not see
+him for days; he would be lying in a “sporting house” literally
+wallowing in champagne.
+
+And all this, Montague realized, his brother must have known! And he
+had said not a word about it—because of the eight or ten millions which
+Charlie would have when he was twenty-five!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+In the morning they went home with others of the party by train. They
+could not wait for Charlie and his automobile, because Monday was the
+opening night of the Opera, and no one could miss that. Here Society
+would appear in its most gorgeous raiment, and, there would be a show
+of jewellery such as could be seen nowhere else in the world.
+
+General Prentice and his wife had opened their town-house, and had
+invited them to dinner and to share their box; and so at about
+half-past nine o’clock Montague found himself seated in a great balcony
+of the shape of a horseshoe, with several hundred of the richest people
+in the city. There was another tier of boxes above, and three galleries
+above that, and a thousand or more people seated and standing below
+him. Upon the big stage there was an elaborate and showy play, the
+words of which were sung to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
+
+Now Montague had never heard an opera, and he was fond of music. The
+second act had just begun when he came in, and all through it he sat
+quite spellbound, listening to the most ravishing strains that ever he
+had heard in his life. He scarcely noticed that Mrs. Prentice was
+spending her time studying the occupants of the other boxes through a
+jewelled lorgnette, or that Oliver was chattering to her daughter.
+
+But after the act was over, Oliver got him alone outside the box, and
+whispered, “For God’s sake, Allan, don’t make a fool of yourself.”
+
+“Why, what’s the matter?” asked the other.
+
+“What will people think,” exclaimed Oliver, “seeing you sitting there
+like a man in a dope dream?”
+
+“Why,” laughed the other, “they’ll think I’m listening to the music.”
+
+To which Oliver responded, “People don’t come to the Opera to listen to
+the music.”
+
+This sounded like a joke, but it was not. To Society the Opera was a
+great state function, an exhibition of far more exclusiveness and
+magnificence than the Horse Show; and Society certainly had the right
+to say, for it owned the opera-house and ran it. The real music-lovers
+who came, either stood up in the back, or sat in the fifth gallery,
+close to the ceiling, where the air was foul and hot. How much Society
+cared about the play was sufficiently indicated by the fact that all of
+the operas were sung in foreign languages, and sung so carelessly that
+the few who understood the languages could make but little of the
+words. Once there was a world-poet who devoted his life to trying to
+make the Opera an art; and in the battle with Society he all but
+starved to death. Now, after half a century, his genius had triumphed,
+and Society consented to sit for hours in darkness and listen to the
+domestic disputes of German gods and goddesses. But what Society really
+cared for was a play with beautiful costumes and scenery and dancing,
+and pretty songs to which one could listen while one talked; the story
+must be elemental and passionate, so that one could understand it in
+pantomime—say the tragic love of a beautiful and noble-minded courtesan
+for a gallant young man of fashion.
+
+Nearly every one who came to the Opera had a glass, by means of which
+he could bring each gorgeously-clad society dame close to him, and
+study her at leisure. There were said to be two hundred million
+dollars’ worth of diamonds in New York, and those that were not in the
+stores were very apt to be at this show; for here was where they could
+accomplish the purpose for which they existed—here was where all the
+world came to stare at them. There were nine prominent Society women,
+who among them displayed five million dollars’ worth of jewels. You
+would see stomachers which looked like a piece of a coat of mail, and
+were made wholly of blazing diamonds. You would see emeralds and rubies
+and diamonds and pearls made in tiaras—that is to say, imitation crowns
+and coronets—and exhibited with a stout and solemn dowager for a
+pediment. One of the Wallings had set this fashion, and now every one
+of importance wore them. One lady to whom Montague was introduced made
+a speciality of pearls—two black pearl ear-rings at forty thousand
+dollars, a string at three hundred thousand, a brooch of pink pearls at
+fifty thousand, and two necklaces at a quarter of a million each!
+
+This incessant repetition of the prices of things came to seem very
+sordid; but Montague found that there was no getting away from it. The
+people in Society who paid these prices affected to be above all such
+considerations, to be interested only in the beauty and artistic
+excellence of the things themselves; but one found that they always
+talked about the prices which other people had paid, and that somehow
+other people always knew what they had paid. They took care also to see
+that the public and the newspapers knew what they had paid, and knew
+everything else that they were doing. At this Opera, for instance,
+there was a diagram of the boxes printed upon the programme, and a list
+of all the box-holders, so that anyone could tell who was who. You
+might see these great dames in their gorgeous robes coming from their
+carriages, with crowds staring at them and detectives hovering about.
+And the bosom of each would be throbbing with a wild and wonderful
+vision of the moment when she would enter her box, and the music would
+be forgotten, and all eyes would be turned upon her; and she would lay
+aside her wraps, and flash upon the staring throngs, a vision of
+dazzling splendour.
+
+Some of these jewels were family treasures, well known to New York for
+generations; and in such cases it was becoming the fashion to leave the
+real jewels in the safe-deposit vault, and to wear imitation stones
+exactly like them. From homes where the jewels were kept, detectives
+were never absent, and in many cases there were detectives watching the
+detectives; and yet every once in a while the newspapers would be full
+of a sensational story of a robbery. Then the unfortunates who chanced
+to be suspected would be seized by the police and subjected to what was
+jocularly termed the “third degree,” and consisted of tortures as
+elaborate and cruel as any which the Spanish Inquisition had invented.
+The advertising value of this kind of thing was found to be so great
+that famous actresses also had costly jewels, and now and then would
+have them stolen.
+
+That night, when they had got home, Montague had a talk with his cousin
+about Charlie Carter. He discovered a peculiar situation. It seemed
+that Alice already knew that Charlie had been “bad.” He was sick and
+miserable; and her beauty and innocence had touched him and made him
+ashamed of himself, and he had hinted darkly at dreadful evils. Thus
+carefully veiled, and tinged with mystery and romance, Montague could
+understand how Charlie made an interesting and appealing figure. “He
+says I’m different from any girl he ever met,” said Alice—a remark of
+such striking originality that her cousin could not keep back his
+smile.
+
+Alice was not the least bit in love with him, and had no idea of being;
+and she said that she would accept no invitations, and never go alone
+with him; but she did not see how she could avoid him when she met him
+at other people’s houses. And to this Montague had to assent.
+
+General Prentice had inquired kindly as to what Montague had seen in
+New York, and how he was getting along. He added that he had talked
+about him to Judge Ellis, and that when he was ready to get to work,
+the Judge would perhaps have some suggestions to make to him. He
+approved, however, of Montague’s plan of getting his bearings first;
+and said that he would introduce him and put him up at a couple of the
+leading clubs.
+
+All this remained in Montague’s mind; but there was no use trying to
+think of it at the moment. Thanksgiving was at hand, and in countless
+country mansions there would be gaieties under way. Bertie Stuyvesant
+had planned an excursion to his Adirondack camp, and had invited a
+score or so of young people, including the Montagues. This would be a
+new feature of the city’s life, worth knowing about.
+
+Their expedition began with a theatre-party. Bertie had engaged four
+boxes, and they met there, an hour or so after the performance had
+begun. This made no difference, however, for the play was like the
+opera-a number of songs and dances strung together, and with only plot
+enough to provide occasion for elaborate scenery and costumes. From the
+play they were carried to the Grand Central Station, and a little
+before midnight Bertie’s private train set out on its journey.
+
+This train was a completely equipped hotel. There was a baggage
+compartment and a dining-car and kitchen; and a drawing-room and
+library-car; and a bedroom-car—not with berths, such as the ordinary
+sleeping-car provides, but with comfortable bedrooms, furnished in
+white mahogany, and provided with running water and electric light. All
+these cars were built of steel, and automatically ventilated: and they
+were furnished in the luxurious fashion of everything with which Bertie
+Stuyvesant had anything to do. In the library-car there were velvet
+carpets upon the floor, and furniture of South American mahogany, and
+paintings upon the walls over which great artists had laboured for
+years.
+
+Bertie’s chef and servants were on board, and a supper was ready in the
+dining-car, which they ate while watching the Hudson by moonlight. And
+the next morning they reached their destination, a little station in
+the mountain wilderness. The train lay upon a switch, and so they had
+breakfast at their leisure, and then, bundled in furs, came out into
+the crisp pine-laden air of the woods. There was snow upon the ground,
+and eight big sleighs waiting; and for nearly three hours they drove in
+the frosty sunlight, through most beautiful mountain scenery. A good
+part of the drive was in Bertie’s “preserve,” and the road was private,
+as big signs notified one every hundred yards or so.
+
+So at last they reached a lake, winding like a snake among towering
+hills, and with a huge baronial castle standing out upon the rocky
+shore. This imitation fortress was the “camp.”
+
+Bertie’s father had built it, and visited it only half a dozen times in
+his life. Bertie himself had only been here twice, he said. The deer
+were so plentiful that in the winter they died in scores. Nevertheless
+there were thirty game-keepers to guard the ten thousand acres of
+forest, and prevent anyone’s hunting in it. There were many such
+“preserves” in this Adirondack wilderness, so Montague was told; one
+man had a whole mountain fenced about with heavy iron railing, and had
+moose and elk and even wild boar inside. And as for the “camps,” there
+were so many that a new style of architecture had been developed
+here—to say nothing of those which followed old styles, like this
+imported Rhine castle. One of Bertie’s crowd had a big Swiss chalet;
+and one of the Wallings had a Japanese palace to which he came every
+August—a house which had been built from plans drawn in Japan, and by
+labourers imported especially from Japan. It was full of Japanese
+ware—furniture, tapestry, and mosaics; and the guides remembered with
+wonder the strange silent, brown-skinned little men who had laboured
+for days at carving a bit of wood, and had built a tiny pagoda-like
+tea-house with more bits of wood in it than a man could count in a
+week.
+
+They had a luncheon of fresh venison and partridges and trout, and in
+the afternoon a hunt. The more active set out to track the deer in the
+snow; but most prepared to watch the lake-shore, while the game-keepers
+turned loose the dogs back in the hills. This “hounding” was against
+the law, but Bertie was his own law here—and at the worst there could
+simply be a small fine, imposed upon some of the keepers. They drove
+eight or ten deer to water; and as they fired as many as twenty shots
+at one deer, they had quite a lively time. Then at dusk they came back,
+in a fine glow of excitement, and spent the evening before the blazing
+logs, telling over their adventures.
+
+The party spent two days and a half here, and on the last evening,
+which was Thanksgiving, they had a wild turkey which Bertie had shot
+the week before in Virginia, and were entertained by a minstrel show
+which had been brought up from New York the night before. The next
+afternoon they drove back to the train.
+
+In the morning, when they reached the city, Alice found a note from
+Mrs. Winnie Duval, begging her and Montague to come to lunch and attend
+a private lecture by the Swami Babubanana, who would tell them all
+about the previous states of their souls. They went—though not without
+a protest from old Mrs. Montague, who declared it was “worse than Bob
+Ingersoll.”
+
+And then, in the evening, came Mrs. de Graffenried’s opening
+entertainment, which was one of the great events of the social year. In
+the general rush of things Montague had not had a chance properly to
+realize it; but Reggie Mann and Mrs. de Graffenried had been working
+over it for weeks. When the Montagues arrived, they found the Riverside
+mansion—which was decorated in imitation of an Arabian palace—turned
+into a jungle of tropical plants.
+
+They had come early at Reggie’s request, and he introduced them to Mrs.
+de Graffenried, a tall and angular lady with a leathern complexion
+painfully painted; Mrs. de Graffenried was about fifty years of age,
+but like all the women of Society she was made up for thirty. Just at
+present there were beads of perspiration upon her forehead; something
+had gone wrong at the last moment, and so Reggie would have no time to
+show them the favours, as he had intended.
+
+About a hundred and fifty guests were invited to this entertainment. A
+supper was served at little tables in the great ball-room, and
+afterward the guests wandered about the house while the tables were
+whisked out of the way and the room turned into a play-house. A company
+from one of the Broadway theatres would be bundled into cabs at the end
+of the performance, and by midnight they would be ready to repeat the
+performance at Mrs. de Graffenried’s. Montague chanced to be near when
+this company arrived, and he observed that the guests had crowded up
+too close, and not left room enough for the actors. So the manager had
+placed them in a little ante-room, and when Mrs. de Graffenried
+observed this, she rushed at the man, and swore at him like a dragoon,
+and ordered the bewildered performers out into the main room.
+
+But this was peering behind the scenes, and he was supposed to be
+watching the play. The entertainment was another “musical comedy” like
+the one he had seen a few nights before. On that occasion, however,
+Bertie Stuyvesant’s sister had talked to him the whole time, while now
+he was let alone, and had a chance to watch the performance.
+
+This was a very popular play; it had had a long run, and the papers
+told how its author had an income of a couple of hundred thousand
+dollars a year. And here was an audience of the most rich and
+influential people in the city; and they laughed and clapped, and made
+it clear that they were enjoying themselves heartily. And what sort of
+a play was it?
+
+It was called “The Kaliph of Kamskatka.” It had no shred of a plot; the
+Kaliph had seventeen wives, and there was an American drummer who
+wanted to sell him another—but then you did not need to remember this,
+for nothing came of it. There was nothing in the play which could be
+called a character—there was nothing which could be connected with any
+real emotion ever felt by human beings. Nor could one say that there
+was any incident—at least nothing happened because of anything else.
+Each event was a separate thing, like the spasmodic jerking in the face
+of an idiot. Of this sort of “action” there was any quantity—at an
+instant’s notice every one on the stage would fall simultaneously into
+this condition of idiotic jerking. There was rushing about, shouting,
+laughing, exclaiming; the stage was in a continual uproar of
+excitement, which was without any reason or meaning. So it was
+impossible to think of the actors in their parts; one kept thinking of
+them as human beings—thinking of the awful tragedy of full-grown men
+and women being compelled by the pressure of hunger to dress up and
+paint themselves, and then come out in public and dance, stamp, leap
+about, wring their hands, make faces, and otherwise be “lively.”
+
+The costumes were of two sorts: one fantastic, supposed to represent
+the East, and the other a kind of _reductio ad absurdum_ of fashionable
+garb. The leading man wore a “natty” outing-suit, and strutted with a
+little cane; his stock-in-trade was a jaunty air, a kind of perpetual
+flourish, and a wink that suggested the cunning of a satyr. The leading
+lady changed her costume several times in each act; but it invariably
+contained the elements of bare arms and bosom and back, and a skirt
+which did not reach her knees, and bright-coloured silk stockings, and
+slippers with heels two inches high. Upon the least provocation she
+would execute a little pirouette, which would reveal the rest of her
+legs, surrounded by a mass of lace ruffles. It is the nature of the
+human mind to seek the end of things; if this woman had worn a suit of
+tights and nothing else, she would have been as uninteresting as an
+underwear advertisement in a magazine; but this incessant
+not-quite-revealing of herself exerted a subtle fascination. At
+frequent intervals the orchestra would start up a jerky little tune,
+and the two “stars” would begin to sing in nasal voices some words
+expressive of passion; then the man would take the woman about the
+waist and dance and swing her about and bend her backward and gaze into
+her eyes—actions all vaguely suggestive of the relationship of sex. At
+the end of the verse a chorus would come gliding on, clad in any sort
+of costume which admitted of colour and the display of legs; the
+painted women of this chorus were never still for an instant—if they
+were not actually dancing, they were wriggling their legs, and jerking
+their bodies from side to side, and nodding their heads, and in all
+other possible ways being “lively.”
+
+But it was not the physical indecency of this show that struck Montague
+so much as its intellectual content. The dialogue of the piece was what
+is called “smart”; that is, it was full of a kind of innuendo which
+implied a secret understanding of evil between the actor and his
+audience—a sort of countersign which passed between them. After all, it
+would have been an error to say that there were no ideas in the
+play—there was one idea upon which all the interest of it was based;
+and Montague strove to analyze this idea and formulate it to himself.
+There are certain life principles—one might call them moral
+axioms—which are the result of the experience of countless ages of the
+human race, and upon the adherence to which the continuance of the race
+depends. And here was an audience by whom all these principles were—not
+questioned, nor yet disputed, nor yet denied—but to whom the denial was
+the axiom, something which it would be too banal to state flatly, but
+which it was elegant and witty to take for granted. In this audience
+there were elderly people, and married men and women, and young men and
+maidens; and a perfect gale of laughter swept through it at a story of
+a married woman whose lover had left her when he got married:—
+
+“She must have been heartbroken,” said the leading lady.
+
+“She was desperate,” said the leading man, with a grin.
+
+“What did she do?” asked the lady “Go and shoot herself?”
+
+“Worse than that,” said the man. “She, went back to her husband and had
+a baby!”
+
+But to complete your understanding of the significance of this play,
+you must bring yourself to realize that it was not merely a play, but a
+_kind_ of a play; it had a name—a “musical comedy”—the meaning of which
+every one understood. Hundreds of such plays were written and produced,
+and “dramatic critics” went to see them and gravely discussed them, and
+many thousands of people made their livings by travelling over the
+country and playing them; stately theatres were built for them, and
+hundreds of thousands of people paid their money every night to see
+them. And all this no joke and no nightmare—but a thing that really
+existed. Men and women were doing these things—actual flesh-and-blood
+human beings.
+
+Montague wondered, in an awestricken sort of way, what kind of human
+being it could be who had flourished the cane and made the grimaces in
+that play. Later on, when he came to know the “Tenderloin,” he met this
+same actor, and he found that he had begun life as a little Irish
+“mick” who lived in a tenement, and whose mother stood at the head of
+the stairway and defended him with a rolling-pin against a policeman
+who was chasing him. He had discovered that he could make a living by
+his comical antics; but when he came home and told his mother that he
+had been offered twenty dollars a week by a show manager, she gave him
+a licking for lying to her. Now he was making three thousand dollars a
+week—more than the President of the United States and his Cabinet; but
+he was not happy, as he confided to Montague, because he did not know
+how to read, and this was a cause of perpetual humiliation. The secret
+desire of this little actor’s heart was to play Shakespeare; he had
+“Hamlet” read to him, and pondered how to act it—all the time that he
+was flourishing his little cane and making his grimaces! He had chanced
+to be on the stage when a fire had broken out, and five or six hundred
+victims of greed were roasted to death. The actor had pleaded with the
+people to keep their seats, but all in vain; and all his life
+thereafter he went about with this vision of horror in his mind, and
+haunted by the passionate conviction that he had failed because of his
+lack of education—that if only he had been a man of culture, he would
+have been able to think of something to say to hold those
+terror-stricken people!
+
+At three o’clock in the morning the performance came to an end, and
+then there were more refreshments; and Mrs. Vivie Patton came and sat
+by him, and they had a nice comfortable gossip. When Mrs. Vivie once
+got started at talking about people, her tongue ran on like a windmill.
+
+There was Reggie Mann, meandering about and simpering at people. Reggie
+was in his glory at Mrs. de Graffenried’s affairs. Reggie had arranged
+all this—he did the designing and the ordering, and contracted for the
+shows with the agents. You could bet that he had got his commission on
+them, too—though sometimes Mrs. de Graffenried got the shows to come
+for nothing, because of the advertising her name would bring.
+Commissions were Reggie’s speciality—he had begun life as an auto
+agent. Montague didn’t know what that was? An auto agent was a man who
+was for ever begging his friends to use a certain kind of car, so that
+he might make a living; and Reggie had made about thirty thousand a
+year in that way. He had come from Boston, where his reputation had
+been made by the fact that early one morning, as they were driving home
+from a celebration, he had dared a young society matron to take off her
+shoes and stockings, and get out and wade in the public fountain; and
+she had done it, and he had followed her. On the strength of the eclat
+of this he had been taken up by Mrs. Devon; and one day Mrs. Devon had
+worn a white gown, and asked him what he thought of it. “It needs but
+one thing to make it perfect,” said Reggie, and taking a red rose, he
+pinned it upon her corsage. The effect was magical; every one exclaimed
+with delight, and so Reggie’s reputation as an authority upon dress was
+made for ever. Now he was Mrs. de Graffenried’s right-hand man, and
+they made up their pranks together. Once they had walked down the
+street in Newport with a big rag doll between them. And Reggie had
+given a dinner at which the guest of honour had been a monkey—surely
+Montague had heard of that, for it had been the sensation of the
+season. It was really the funniest thing imaginable; the monkey wore a
+suit of broad-cloth with collar and cuffs, and he shook hands with all
+the guests, and behaved himself exactly like a gentleman—except that he
+did not get drunk.
+
+And then Mrs. Vivie pointed out the great Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, who
+was sitting with one of her favourites, a grave, black-bearded
+gentleman who had leaped into fame by inheriting fifty million dollars.
+“Mrs. R.-C.” had taken him up, and ordered his engagement book for him,
+and he was solemnly playing the part of a social light. He had
+purchased an old New York mansion, upon the decoration of which three
+million dollars had been spent; and when he came down to business from
+Tuxedo, his private train waited all day for him with steam up. Mrs.
+Vivie told an amusing tale of a woman who had announced her engagement
+to him, and borrowed large sums of money upon the strength of it,
+before his denial came out. That had been a source of great delight to
+Mrs. de Graffenried, who was furiously jealous of “Mrs. R. C.”
+
+From the anecdotes that people told, Montague judged that Mrs. de
+Graffenried must be one of those new leaders of Society, who, as Mrs.
+Alden said, were inclined to the bizarre and fantastic. Mrs. de
+Graffenried spent half a million dollars every season to hold the
+position of leader of the Newport set, and you could always count upon
+her for new and striking ideas. Once she had given away as cotillion
+favours tiny globes with goldfish in them; again she had given a dance
+at which everybody got themselves up as different vegetables. She was
+fond of going about at Newport and inviting people haphazard to
+lunch—thirty or forty at a time—and then surprising them with a
+splendid banquet. Again she would give a big formal dinner, and perplex
+people by offering them something which they really cared to eat. “You
+see,” explained Mrs. Vivie, “at these dinners we generally get thick
+green turtle soup, and omelettes with some sort of Florida water poured
+over them, and mushrooms cooked under glass, and real hand-made
+desserts; but Mrs. de Graffenried dares to have baked ham and sweet
+potatoes, or even real roast beef. You saw to-night that she had green
+corn; she must have arranged for that months ahead—we can never get it
+from Porto Rico until January. And you see this little dish of wild
+strawberries—they were probably transplanted and raised in a hothouse,
+and every single one wrapped separately before they were shipped.”
+
+All these labours had made Mrs. de Graffenried a tremendous power in
+the social world. She had a savage tongue, said Mrs. Vivie, and every
+one lived in terror of her; but once in a while she met her match. Once
+she had invited a comic opera star to sing for her guests, and all the
+men had crowded round this actress, and Mrs. de Graffenried had flown
+into a passion and tried to drive them away; and the actress, lolling
+back in her chair, and gazing up idly at Mrs. de Graffenried, had
+drawled, “_Ten years older than God!_” Poor Mrs. de Graffenried would
+carry that saying with her until she died.
+
+Something reminiscent of this came under Montague’s notice that same
+evening. At about four o’clock Mrs. Vivie wished to go home, and asked
+him to find her escort, the Count St. Elmo de Champignon—the man, by
+the way, for whom her husband was gunning. Montague roamed all about
+the house, and finally went downstairs, where a room had been set apart
+for the theatrical company to partake of refreshments. Mrs. de
+Graffenried’s secretary was on guard at the door; but some of the boys
+had got into the room, and were drinking champagne and “making dates”
+with the chorus-girls. And here was Mrs. de Graffenried herself,
+pushing them bodily out of the room, a score and more of them—and among
+them Mrs. Vivie’s Count!
+
+Montague delivered his message, and then went upstairs to wait until
+his own party should be ready to leave. In the smoking-room were a
+number of men, also waiting; and among them he noticed Major Venable,
+in conversation with a man whom he did not know. “Come over here,” the
+Major called; and Montague obeyed, at the same time noticing the
+stranger.
+
+He was a tall, loose-jointed, powerfully built man, a small head and a
+very striking face: a grim mouth with drooping corners tightly set, and
+a hawk-like nose, and deep-set, peering eyes. “Have you met Mr. Hegan?”
+said the Major. “Hegan, this is Mr. Allan Montague.” Jim Hegan!
+Montague repressed a stare and took the chair which they offered him.
+“Have a cigar,” said Hegan, holding out his case.
+
+“Mr. Montague has just come to New York,” said the Major. “He is a
+Southerner, too.”
+
+“Indeed?” said Hegan, and inquired what State he came from. Montague
+replied, and added, “I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter last
+week, at the Horse Show.”
+
+That served to start a conversation; for Hegan came from Texas, and
+when he found that Montague knew about horses—real horses—he warmed to
+him. Then the Major’s party called him away, and the other two were
+left to carry on the conversation.
+
+It was very easy to chat with Hegan; and yet underneath, in the other’s
+mind, there lurked a vague feeling of trepidation, as he realized that
+he was chatting with a hundred millions of dollars. Montague was new
+enough at the game to imagine that there ought to be something strange,
+some atmosphere of awe and mystery, about a man who was master of a
+dozen railroads and of the politics of half a dozen States. He was
+simple and very kindly in his manner, a plain man, interested in plain
+things. There was about him, as he talked, a trace of timidity, almost
+of apology, which Montague noticed and wondered at. It was only later,
+when he had time to think about it, that he realized that Hegan had
+begun as a farmer’s boy in Texas, a “poor white”; and could it be that
+after all these years an instinct remained in him, so that whenever he
+met a gentleman of the old South he stood by with a little deference,
+seeming to beg pardon for his hundred millions of dollars?
+
+And yet there was the power of the man. Even chatting about horses, you
+felt it; you felt that there was a part of him which did not chat, but
+which sat behind and watched. And strangest of all, Montague found
+himself fancying that behind the face that smiled was another face,
+that did not smile, but that was grim and set. It was a strange face,
+with its broad, sweeping eyebrows and its drooping mouth; it haunted
+Montague and made him feel ill at ease.
+
+There came Laura Hegan, who greeted them in her stately way; and Mrs.
+Hegan, bustling and vivacious, costumed _en grande dame_. “Come and see
+me some time,” said the man. “You won’t be apt to meet me otherwise,
+for I don’t go about much.” And so they took their departure; and
+Montague sat alone and smoked and thought. The face still stayed with
+him; and now suddenly, in a burst of light, it came to him what it was:
+the face of a bird of prey—of the great wild, lonely eagle! You have
+seen it, perhaps, in a menagerie; sitting high up, submitting
+patiently, biding its time. But all the while the soul of the eagle is
+far away, ranging the wide spaces, ready for the lightning swoop, and
+the clutch with the cruel talons!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+The next week was a busy one for the Montagues. The Robbie Wallings had
+come to town and opened their house, and the time drew near for the
+wonderful débutante dance at which Alice was to be formally presented
+to Society. And of course Alice must have a new dress for the occasion,
+and it must be absolutely the most beautiful dress ever known. In an
+idle moment her cousin figured out that it was to cost her about five
+dollars a minute to be entertained by the Wallings!
+
+What it would cost the Wallings, one scarcely dared to think. Their
+ballroom would be turned into a flower-garden; and there would be a
+supper for a hundred guests, and still another supper after the dance,
+and costly favours for every figure. The purchasing of these latter had
+been entrusted to Oliver, and Montague heard with dismay what they were
+to cost. “Robbie couldn’t afford to do anything second-rate,” was the
+younger brother’s only reply to his exclamations.
+
+Alice divided her time between the Wallings and her costumiers, and
+every evening she came home with a new tale of important developments.
+Alice was new at the game, and could afford to be excited; and Mrs.
+Robbie liked to see her bright face, and to smile indulgently at her
+eager inquiries. Mrs. Robbie herself had given her orders to her
+steward and her florist and her secretary, and went on her way and
+thought no more about it. That was the way of the great ladies—or, at
+any rate, it was their pose.
+
+The town-house of the Robbies was a stately palace occupying a block
+upon Fifth Avenue—one of the half-dozen mansions of the Walling family
+which were among the show places of the city. It would take a catalogue
+to list the establishments maintained by the Wallings—there was an
+estate in North Carolina, and another in the Adirondacks, and others on
+Long Island and in New Jersey. Also there were several in Newport—one
+which was almost never occupied, and which Mrs. Billy Alden
+sarcastically described as “a three-million-dollar castle on a desert.”
+
+Montague accompanied Alice once or twice, and had an opportunity to
+study Mrs. Robbie at home. There were thirty-eight servants in her
+establishment; it was a little state all in itself, with Mrs. Robbie as
+queen, and her housekeeper as prime minister, and under them as many
+different ranks and classes and castes as in a feudal principality.
+There had to be six separate dining-rooms for the various kinds of
+servants who scorned each other; there were servants’ servants and
+servants of servants’ servants. There were only three to whom the
+mistress was supposed to give orders—the butler, the steward, and the
+housekeeper; she did not even know the names of many of them, and they
+were changed so often, that, as she declared, she had to leave it to
+her detective to distinguish between employees and burglars.
+
+Mrs. Robbie was quite a young woman, but it pleased her to pose as a
+care-worn matron, weary of the responsibilities of her exalted station.
+The ignorant looked on and pictured her as living in the lap of ease,
+endowed with every opportunity: in reality the meanest kitchen-maid was
+freer—she was quite worn thin with the burdens that fell upon her. The
+huge machine was for ever threatening to fall to pieces, and required
+the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job to keep it running. One
+paid one’s steward a fortune, and yet he robbed right and left, and
+quarrelled with the chef besides. The butler was suspected of getting
+drunk upon rare and costly vintages, and the new parlour-maid had
+turned out to be a Sunday reporter in disguise. The man who had come
+every day for ten years to wind the clocks of the establishment was
+dead, and the one who took care of the bric-à-brac was sick, and the
+housekeeper was in a panic over the prospect of having to train
+another.
+
+And even suppose that you escaped from these things, the real problems
+of your life had still to be faced. It was not enough to keep alive;
+you had your career—your duties as a leader of Society. There was the
+daily mail, with all the pitiful letters from people begging
+money—actually in one single week there were demands for two million
+dollars. There were geniuses with patent incubators and stove-lifters,
+and every time you gave a ball you stirred up swarms of anarchists and
+cranks. And then there were the letters you really had to answer, and
+the calls that had to be paid. These latter were so many that people in
+the same neighbourhood had arranged to have the same day at home; thus,
+if you lived on Madison Avenue you had Thursday; but even then it took
+a whole afternoon to leave your cards. And then there were invitations
+to be sent and accepted; and one was always making mistakes and
+offending somebody—people would become mortal enemies overnight, and
+expect all the world to know it the next morning. And now there were so
+many divorces and remarryings, with consequent changing of names; and
+some men knew about their wives’ lovers and didn’t care, and some did
+care, but didn’t know—altogether it was like carrying a dozen chess
+games in your head. And then there was the hairdresser and the
+manicurist and the masseuse, and the tailor and the bootmaker and the
+jeweller; and then one absolutely had to glance through a newspaper,
+and to see one’s children now and then.
+
+All this Mrs. Robbie explained at luncheon; it was the rich man’s
+burden, about which common people had no conception whatever. A person
+with a lot of money was like a barrel of molasses—all the flies in the
+neighbourhood came buzzing about. It was perfectly incredible, the
+lengths to which people would go to get invited to your house; not only
+would they write and beg you, they might attack your business
+interests, and even bribe your friends. And on the other hand, when
+people thought you needed them, the time you had to get them to come!
+“Fancy,” said Mrs. Robbie, “offering to give a dinner to an English
+countess, and having her try to charge you for coming!” And incredible
+as it might seem, some people had actually yielded to her, and the
+disgusting creature had played the social celebrity for a whole season,
+and made quite a handsome income out of it. There seemed to be no limit
+to the abjectness of some of the tuft-hunters in Society.
+
+It was instructive to hear Mrs. Robbie denounce such evils; and
+yet—alas for human frailty—the next time that Montague called, the
+great lady was blazing with wrath over the tidings that a new foreign
+prince was coming to America, and that Mrs. Ridgely-Clieveden had
+stolen a march upon her and grabbed him. He was to be under her
+tutelage the entire time, and all the effulgence of his magnificence
+would be radiated upon that upstart house. Mrs. Robbie revenged herself
+by saying as many disagreeable things about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden as
+she could think of; winding up with the declaration that if she behaved
+with this prince as she had with the Russian grand duke, Mrs. Robbie
+Walling, for one, would cut her dead. And truly the details which Mrs.
+Robbie cited were calculated to suggest that her rival’s hospitality
+was a reversion to the customs of primitive savagery.
+
+The above is a fair sample of the kind of conversation that one heard
+whenever one visited any of the Wallings. Perhaps, as Mrs. Robbie said,
+it may have been their millions that made necessary their attitude
+toward other people; certain it was, at any rate, that Montague found
+them all most disagreeable people to know. There was always some
+tempest in a teapot over the latest machinations of their enemies. And
+then there was the whole dead mass of people who sponged upon them and
+toadied to them; and finally the barbarian hordes outside the magic
+circle of their acquaintance—some specimens of whom came up every day
+for ridicule. They had big feet and false teeth; they ate mush and
+molasses; they wore ready-made ties; they said: “Do you wish that I
+should do it?” Their grandfathers had been butchers and pedlars and
+other abhorrent things. Montague tried his best to like the Wallings,
+because of what they were doing for Alice; but after he had sat at
+their lunch-table and listened to a conversation such as this, he found
+himself in need of fresh air.
+
+And then he would begin to wonder about his own relation to these
+people. If they talked about every one else behind their backs,
+certainly they must talk about him behind his. And why did they go out
+of their way to make him at home, and why were they spending their
+money to launch Alice in Society? In the beginning he had assumed that
+they did it out of the goodness of their hearts; but now that he had
+looked into their hearts, he rejected the explanation. It was not their
+way to shower princely gifts upon strangers; in general, the attitude
+of all the Wallings toward a stranger was that of the London
+hooligan—“‘Eave a ’arf a brick at ’im!” They considered themselves
+especially appointed by Providence to protect Society from the vulgar
+newly rich who poured into the city, seeking for notoriety and
+recognition. They prided themselves upon this attitude—they called it
+their “exclusiveness”; and the exclusiveness of the younger generations
+of Wallings had become a kind of insanity.
+
+Nor could the reason be that Alice was beautiful and attractive. One
+could have imagined it if Mrs. Robbie had been like—say, Mrs. Winnie
+Duval. It was easy to think of Mrs. Winnie taking a fancy to a girl,
+and spending half her fortune upon her. But from a hundred little
+things that he had seen, Montague had come to realize that the Robbie
+Wallings, with all their wealth and power and grandeur, were actually
+quite stingy. While all the world saw them scattering fortunes in their
+pathway, in reality they were keeping track of every dollar. And Robbie
+himself was liable to panic fits of economy, in which he went to the
+most absurd excesses—Montague once heard him haggling over fifty cents
+with a cabman. Lavish hosts though they both were, it was the literal
+truth that they never spent money upon anyone but themselves—the end
+and aim of their every action was the power and prestige of the Robbie
+Wallings.
+
+“They do it because they are friends of mine,” said Oliver, and
+evidently wished that to satisfy his brother. But it only shifted the
+problem and set him to watching Robbie and Oliver, and trying to make
+out the basis of their relationship. There was a very grave question
+concerned in this. Oliver had come to New York comparatively poor, and
+now he was rich—or, at any rate, he lived like a rich man. And his
+brother, whose scent was growing keener with every day of his stay in
+New York, had about made up his mind that Oliver got his money from
+Robbie Walling.
+
+Here, again, the problem would have been simple, if it had been another
+person than Robbie; Montague would have concluded that his brother was
+a “hanger-on.” There were many great families whose establishments were
+infested with such parasites. Siegfried Harvey, for instance, was a man
+who had always half a dozen young chaps hanging about him; good-looking
+and lively fellows, who hunted and played bridge, and amused the
+married women while their husbands were at work, and who, if ever they
+dropped a hint that they were hard up, might be reasonably certain of
+being offered a cheque. But if the Robbie Wallings were to write
+cheques, it must be for value received. And what could the value be?
+
+“Ollie” was rather a little god among the ultra-swagger; his taste was
+a kind of inspiration. And yet his brother noticed that in such
+questions he always deferred instantly to the Wallings; and surely the
+Wallings were not people to be persuaded that they needed anyone to
+guide them in matters of taste. Again, Ollie was the very devil of a
+wit, and people were heartily afraid of him; and Montague had noticed
+that he never by any chance made fun of Robbie—that the fetiches of the
+house of Walling were always treated with respect. So he had wondered
+if by any chance Robbie was maintaining his brother in princely state
+for the sake of his ability to make other people uncomfortable. But he
+realized that the Robbies, in their own view of it, could have no more
+need of wit than a battleship has need of popguns. Oliver’s position,
+when they were about, was rather that of the man who hardly ever dared
+to be as clever as he might, because of the restless jealousy of his
+friend.
+
+It was a mystery; and it made the elder brother very uncomfortable.
+Alice was young and guileless, and a pleasant person to patronize; but
+he was a man of the world, and it was his business to protect her. He
+had always paid his own way through life, and he was very loath to put
+himself under obligations to people like the Wallings, whom he did not
+like, and who, he felt instinctively, could not like him.
+
+But of course there was nothing he could do about it. The date for the
+great festivity was set; and the Wallings were affable and friendly,
+and Alice all a-tremble with excitement. The evening arrived, and with
+it came the enemies of the Wallings, dressed in their jewels and fine
+raiment. They had been asked because they were too important to be
+skipped, and they had come because the Wallings were too powerful to be
+ignored. They revenged themselves by consuming many courses of
+elaborate and costly viands; and they shook hands with Alice and beamed
+upon her, and then discussed her behind her back as if she were a
+French doll in a show-case. They decided unanimously that her elder
+cousin was a “stick,” and that the whole family were interlopers and
+shameless adventurers; but it was understood that since the Robbie
+Wallings had seen fit to take them up, it would be necessary to invite
+them about.
+
+At any rate, that was the way it all seemed to Montague, who had been
+brooding. To Alice it was a splendid festivity, to which exquisite
+people came to take delight in each other’s society. There were
+gorgeous costumes and sparkling gems; there was a symphony of perfumes,
+intoxicating the senses, and a golden flood of music streaming by;
+there were laughing voices and admiring glances, and handsome partners
+with whom one might dance through the portals of fairyland.—And then,
+next morning, there were accounts in all the newspapers, with
+descriptions of one’s costume and then some of those present, and even
+the complete menus of the supper, to assist in preserving the memories
+of the wonderful occasion.
+
+Now they were really in Society. A reporter called to get Alice’s photo
+for the Sunday supplement; and floods of invitations came—and with them
+all the cares and perplexities about which Mrs. Robbie had told. Some
+of these invitations had to be declined, and one must know whom it was
+safe to offend. Also, there was a long letter from a destitute widow,
+and a proposal from a foreign count. Mrs. Robbie’s secretary had a list
+of many hundreds of these professional beggars and blackmailers.
+
+Conspicuous at the dance was Mrs. Winnie, in a glorious electric-blue
+silk gown. And she shook her fan at Montague, exclaiming, “You wretched
+man—you promised to come and see me!”
+
+“I’ve been out of town,” Montague protested.
+
+“Well, come to dinner to-morrow night,” said Mrs. Winnie. “There’ll be
+some bridge fiends.”
+
+“You forget I haven’t learned to play,” he objected.
+
+“Well, come anyhow,” she replied. “We’ll teach you. I’m no player
+myself, and my husband will be there, and he’s good-natured; and my
+brother Dan—he’ll have to be whether he likes it or not.”
+
+So Montague visited the Snow Palace again, and met Winton Duval, the
+banker,—a tall, military-looking man of about fifty, with a big grey
+moustache, and bushy eyebrows, and the head of a lion. His was one of
+the city’s biggest banking-houses, and in alliance with powerful
+interests in the Street. At present he was going in for mines in Mexico
+and South America, and so he was very seldom at home. He was a man of
+most rigid habits—he would come back unexpectedly after a month’s trip,
+and expect to find everything ready for him, both at home and in his
+office, as if he had just stepped round the corner. Montague observed
+that he took his menu-card and jotted down his comments upon each dish,
+and then sent it down to the chef. Other people’s dinners he very
+seldom attended, and when his wife gave her entertainments, he
+invariably dined at the club.
+
+He pleaded a business engagement for the evening; and as brother Dan
+did not appear, Montague did not learn any bridge. The other four
+guests settled down to the game, and Montague and Mrs. Winnie sat and
+chatted, basking before the fireplace in the great entrance-hall.
+
+“Have you seen Charlie Carter?” was the first question she asked him.
+
+“Not lately,” he answered; “I met him at Harvey’s.”
+
+“I know that,” said she. “They tell me he got drunk.”
+
+“I’m afraid he did,” said Montague.
+
+“Poor boy!” exclaimed Mrs. Winnie. “And Alice saw him! He must be
+heartbroken!”
+
+Montague said nothing. “You know,” she went on, “Charlie really means
+well. He has honestly an affectionate nature.”
+
+She paused; and Montague Said, vaguely, “I suppose so.”
+
+“You don’t like him,” said the other. “I can see that. And I suppose
+now Alice will have no use for him, either. And I had it all fixed up
+for her to reform him!”
+
+Montague smiled in spite of himself.
+
+“Oh, I know,” said she. “It wouldn’t have been easy. But you’ve no idea
+what a beautiful boy Charlie used to be, until all the women set to
+work to ruin him.”
+
+“I can imagine it,” said Montague; but he did not warm to the subject.
+
+“You’re just like my husband,” said Mrs. Winnie, sadly. “You have no
+use at all for anything that’s weak or unfortunate.”
+
+There was a pause. “And I suppose,” she said finally, “you’ll be
+turning into a business man also—with no time for anybody or anything.
+Have you begun yet?”
+
+“Not yet,” he answered. “I’m still looking round.”
+
+“I haven’t the least idea about business,” she confessed. “How does one
+begin at it?”
+
+“I can’t say I know that myself as yet,” said Montague, laughing.
+
+“Would you like to be a protégé of my husband’s?” she asked.
+
+The proposition was rather sudden, but he answered, with a smile, “I
+should have no objections. What would he do with me?”
+
+“I don’t know that. But he can do whatever he wants down town. And he’d
+show you how to make a lot of money if I asked him to.” Then Mrs.
+Winnie added, quickly, “I mean it—he could do it, really.”
+
+“I haven’t the least doubt of it,” responded Montague.
+
+“And what’s more,” she went on, “you don’t want to be shy about taking
+advantage of the opportunities that come to you. You’ll find you won’t
+get along in New York unless you go right in and grab what you can.
+People will be quick enough to take advantage of you.”
+
+“They have all been very kind to me so far,” said he. “But when I get
+ready for business, I’ll harden my heart.”
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat lost in meditation. “I think business is dreadful,” she
+said. “So much hard work and worry! Why can’t men learn to get along
+without it?”
+
+“There are bills that have to be paid,” Montague replied.
+
+“It’s our dreadfully extravagant way of life,” exclaimed the other.
+“Sometimes I wish I had never had any money in my life.”
+
+“You would soon tire of it,” said he. “You would miss this house.”
+
+“I should not miss it a bit,” said Mrs. Winnie, promptly. “That is
+really the truth—I don’t care for this sort of thing at all. I’d like
+to live simply, and without so many cares and responsibilities. And
+some day I’m going to do it, too—I really am. I’m going to get myself a
+little farm, away off somewhere in the country. And I’m going there to
+live and raise chickens and vegetables, and have my own flower-gardens,
+that I can take care of myself. It will all be plain and simple—” and
+then Mrs. Winnie stopped short, exclaiming, “You are laughing at me!”
+
+“Not at all!” said Montague. “But I couldn’t help thinking about the
+newspaper reporters—”
+
+“There you are!” said she. “One can never have a beautiful dream, or
+try to do anything sensible—because of the newspaper reporters!”
+
+If Montague had been meeting Mrs. Winnie Duval for the first time, he
+would have been impressed by her yearnings for the simple life; he
+would have thought it an important sign of the times. But alas, he knew
+by this time that his charming hostess had more flummery about her than
+anybody else he had encountered—and all of her own devising! Mrs.
+Winnie smoked her own private brand of cigarettes, and when she offered
+them to you, there were the arms of the old ducal house of Montmorenci
+on the wrappers! And when you got a letter from Mrs. Winnie, you
+observed a three-cent stamp upon the envelope—for lavender was her
+colour, and two-cent stamps were an atrocious red! So one might feel
+certain that it Mrs. Winnie ever went in for chicken-raising, the
+chickens would be especially imported from China or Patagonia, and the
+chicken-coops would be precise replicas of those in the old Chateau de
+Montmorenci which she had visited in her automobile.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie was beautiful, and quite entertaining to talk to, and
+so he was respectfully sympathetic while she told him about her
+pastoral intentions. And then she told him about Mrs. Caroline Smythe,
+who had called a meeting of her friends at one of the big hotels, and
+organized a society and founded the “Bide-a-Wee Home” for destitute
+cats. After that she switched off into psychic research—somebody had
+taken her to a seance, where grave college professors and ladies in
+spectacles sat round and waited for ghosts to materialize. It was Mrs.
+Winnie’s first experience at this, and she was as excited as a child
+who has just found the key to the jam-closet. “I hardly knew whether to
+laugh or to be afraid,” she said. “What would you think?”
+
+“You may have the pleasure of giving me my first impressions of it,”
+said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+“Well,” said she, “they had table-tipping—and it was the most uncanny
+thing to see the table go jumping about the room! And then there were
+raps—and one can’t imagine how strange it was to see people who really
+believed they were getting messages from ghosts. It positively made my
+flesh creep. And then this woman—Madame Somebody-or-other—went into a
+trance—ugh! Afterward I talked with one of the men, and he told me
+about how his father had appeared to him in the night and told him he
+had just been drowned at sea. Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
+
+“We have such a tradition in our family,” said he.
+
+“Every family seems to have,” said Mrs. Winnie. “But, dear me, it made
+me so uncomfortable—I lay awake all night expecting to see my own
+father. He had the asthma, you know; and I kept fancying I heard him
+breathing.”
+
+They had risen and were strolling into the conservatory; and she
+glanced at the man in armour. “I got to fancying that his ghost might
+come to see me,” she said. “I don’t think I shall attend any more
+séances. My husband was told that I promised them some money, and he
+was furious—he’s afraid it’ll get into the papers.” And Montague shook
+with inward laughter, picturing what a time the aristocratic and
+stately old banker must have, trying to keep his wife out of the
+papers!
+
+Mrs. Winnie turned on the lights in the fountain, and sat by the edge,
+gazing at her fish. Montague was half expecting her to inquire whether
+he thought that they had ghosts; but she spared him this, going off on
+another line.
+
+“I asked Dr. Parry about it,” she said. “Have you met him?”
+
+Dr. Parry was the rector of St. Cecilia’s, the fashionable Fifth Avenue
+church which most of Montague’s acquaintances attended. “I haven’t been
+in the city over Sunday yet,” he answered. “But Alice has met him.”
+
+“You must go with me some time,” said she. “But about the ghosts—”
+
+“What did he say?”
+
+“He seemed to be shy of them,” laughed Mrs. Winnie. “He said it had a
+tendency to lead one into dangerous fields. But oh! I forgot—I asked my
+swami also, and it didn’t startle him. They are used to ghosts; they
+believe that souls keep coming back to earth, you know. I think if it
+was his ghost, I wouldn’t mind seeing it—for he has such beautiful
+eyes. He gave me a book of Hindu legends—and there was such a sweet
+story about a young princess who loved in vain, and died of grief; and
+her soul went into a tigress; and she came in the night-time where her
+lover lay sleeping by the firelight, and she carried him off into the
+ghost-world. It was a most creepy thing—I sat out here and read it, and
+I could imagine the terrible tigress lurking in the shadows, with its
+stripes shining in the firelight, and its green eyes gleaming. You know
+that poem—we used to read it in school—‘Tiger, tiger, burning bright!’”
+
+It was not very easy for Montague to imagine a tigress in Mrs. Winnie’s
+conservatory; unless, indeed, one were willing to take the proposition
+in a metaphorical sense. There are wild creatures which sleep in the
+heart of man, and which growl now and then, and stir their tawny limbs,
+and cause one to start and turn cold. Mrs. Winnie wore a dress of filmy
+softness, trimmed with red flowers which paled beside her own intenser
+colouring. She had a perfume of her own, with a strange exotic
+fragrance which touched the chorus of memory as only an odour can. She
+leaned towards him, speaking eagerly, with her soft white arms lying
+upon the basin’s rim. So much loveliness could not be gazed at without
+pain; and a faint trembling passed through Montague, like a breeze
+across a pool. Perhaps it touched Mrs. Winnie also, for she fell
+suddenly silent, and her gaze wandered off into the darkness. For a
+minute or two there was stillness, save for the pulse of the fountain,
+and the heaving of her bosom keeping time with it.
+
+And then in the morning Oliver inquired, “Where were you, last night?”
+And when his brother answered, “At Mrs. Winnie’s,” he smiled and said,
+“Oh!” Then he added, gravely, “Cultivate Mrs. Winnie—you can’t do
+better at present.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+Montague accepted his friend’s invitation to share her pew at St.
+Cecilia’s, and next Sunday morning he and Alice went, and found Mrs.
+Winnie with her cousin. Poor Charlie had evidently been scrubbed and
+shined, both physically and morally, and got ready to appeal for “one
+more chance.” While he shook hands with Alice, he was gazing at her
+with dumb and pleading eyes; he seemed to be profoundly grateful that
+she did not refuse to enter the pew with him.
+
+A most interesting place was St. Cecilia’s. Church-going was another of
+the customs of men and women which Society had taken up, like the
+Opera, and made into a state function. Here was a magnificent temple,
+with carved marble and rare woods, and jewels gleaming decorously in a
+dim religious light. At the door of this edifice would halt the
+carriages of Society, and its wives and daughters would alight,
+rustling with new silk petticoats and starched and perfumed linen, each
+one a picture, exquisitely gowned and bonneted and gloved, and carrying
+a demure little prayer-book. Behind them followed the patient men, all
+in new frock-coats and shiny silk hats; the men of Society were always
+newly washed and shaved, newly groomed and gloved, but now they seemed
+to be more so—they were full of the atmosphere of Sunday. Alas for
+those unregenerate ones, the infidels and the heathen who scoff in
+outer darkness, and know not the delicious _feeling_ of Sunday—the joy
+of being washed and starched and perfumed, and made to be clean and
+comfortable and good, after all the really dreadful wickedness of six
+days of fashionable life!—And afterward the parade upon the Avenue,
+with the congregations of several score additional churches, and such a
+show of stylish costumes that half the city came to see!
+
+Amid this exquisite assemblage at St. Cecilia’s, the revolutionary
+doctrines of the Christian religion produced neither perplexity nor
+alarm. The chance investigator might have listened in dismay to solemn
+pronouncements of everlasting damnation, to statements about rich men
+and the eyes of needles, and the lilies of the field which did not
+spin. But the congregation of St. Cecilia’s understood that these
+things were to be taken in a quixotic sense; sharing the view of the
+French marquis that the Almighty would think twice before damning a
+gentleman like him.
+
+One had heard these phrases ever since childhood, and one accepted them
+as a matter of course. After all, these doctrines had come from the
+lips of a divine being, whom it would be presumptuous in a mere mortal
+to attempt to imitate. Such points one could but leave to those whose
+business it was to interpret them—the doctors and dignitaries of the
+church; and when one met them, one’s heart was set at rest—for they
+were not iconoclasts and alarmists, but gentlemen of culture and tact.
+The bishop who presided in this metropolitan district was a stately
+personage, who moved in the best Society and belonged to the most
+exclusive clubs.
+
+The pews in St. Cecilia’s were rented, and they were always in great
+demand; it was one of the customs of those who hung upon the fringe of
+Society to come every Sunday, and bow and smile, and hope against hope
+for some chance opening. The stranger who came was dependent upon
+hospitality; but there were soft-footed and tactful ushers, who would
+find one a seat, if one were a presentable person. The contingency of
+an unpresentable person seldom arose, for the proletariat did not swarm
+at the gates of St. Cecilia’s. Out of its liberal income the church
+maintained a “mission” upon the East Side, where young curates wrestled
+with the natural depravity of the lower classes—meantime cultivating a
+soul-stirring tone, and waiting until they should be promoted to a real
+church. Society was becoming deferential to its religious guides, and
+would have been quite shocked at the idea that it exerted any pressure
+upon them; but the young curates were painfully aware of a process of
+unnatural selection, whereby those whose manner and cut of coat were
+not pleasing were left a long time in the slums.—On one occasion there
+had been an amusing blunder; a beautiful new church was built at
+Newport, and an eloquent young minister was installed, and all Society
+attended the opening service—and sat and listened in consternation to
+an arraignment of its own follies and vices! The next Sunday, needless
+to say, Society was not present; and within half a year the church was
+stranded, and had to be dismantled and sold!
+
+They had elaborate music at St. Cecilia’s, so beautiful that Alice felt
+uncomfortable, and thought that it was perilously “high.” At this Mrs.
+Winnie laughed, offering to take her to an afternoon service around the
+corner, where they had a full orchestra, and a harp, and opera music,
+and incense and genuflexions and confessionals. There were people, it
+seemed, who like to thrill themselves by dallying with the wickedness
+of “Romanism”; somewhat as a small boy tries to see how near he can
+walk to the edge of a cliff. The “father” at this church had a jewelled
+robe with a train so many yards long, and which had cost some
+incredible number of thousands of dollars; and every now and then he
+marched in a stately procession through the aisles, so that all the
+spectators might have a good look at it. There was a fierce controversy
+about these things in the church, and libraries of pamphlets were
+written, and intrigues and social wars were fought over them.
+
+But Montague and Alice did not attend this service—they had promised
+themselves the very plebeian diversion of a ride in the subway; for so
+far they had not seen this feature of the city. People who lived in
+Society saw Madison and Fifth Avenues, where their homes were, with the
+churches and hotels scattered along them; and the shopping district
+just below, and the theatre district at one side, and the park to the
+north. Unless one went automobiling, that was all of the city one need
+ever see. When visitors asked about the Aquarium, and the Stock
+Exchange, and the Museum of Art, and Tammany Hall, and Ellis Island,
+where the immigrants came, the old New Yorkers would look perplexed,
+and say: “Dear me, do you really want to see those things? Why, I have
+been here all my life, and have never seen them!”
+
+For the hordes of sightseers there had been provided a special
+contrivance, a huge automobile omnibus which seated thirty or forty
+people, and went from the Battery to Harlem with a young man shouting
+through a megaphone a description of the sights. The irreverent had
+nicknamed this the “yap-wagon”; and declared that the company
+maintained a fake “opium-joint” in Chinatown, and a fake “dive” in the
+Bowery, and hired tough-looking individuals to sit and be stared at by
+credulous excursionists from Oklahoma and Kalamazoo. Of course it would
+never have done for people who had just been passed into Society to
+climb upon a “yap-wagon”; but they were permitted to get into the
+subway, and were whirled with a deafening clatter through a long tunnel
+of steel and stone. And then they got out and climbed a steep hill like
+any common mortals, and stood and gazed at Grant’s tomb: a huge white
+marble edifice upon a point overlooking the Hudson. Architecturally it
+was not a beautiful structure—but one was consoled by reflecting that
+the hero himself would not have cared about that. It might have been
+described as a soap-box with a cheese-box on top of it; and these
+homely and familiar articles were perhaps not altogether out of keeping
+with the character of the humblest great man who ever lived.
+
+The view up the river was magnificent, quite the finest which the city
+had to offer; but it was ruined by a hideous gas-tank, placed squarely
+in the middle of it. And this, again, was not inappropriate—it was
+typical of all the ways of the city. It was a city which had grown up
+by accident, with nobody to care about it or to help it; it was huge
+and ungainly, crude, uncomfortable, and grotesque. There was nowhere in
+it a beautiful sight upon which a man could rest his eyes, without
+having them tortured by something ugly near by. At the foot of the
+slope of the River Drive ran a hideous freight-railroad; and across the
+river the beautiful Palisades were being blown to pieces to make paving
+stone—and meantime were covered with advertisements of land-companies.
+And if there was a beautiful building, there, was sure to be a tobacco
+advertisement beside it; if there was a beautiful avenue, there were
+trucks and overworked horses toiling in the harness; if there was a
+beautiful park, it was filled with wretched, outcast men. Nowhere was
+any order or system—everything was struggling for itself, and jarring
+and clashing with everything else; and this broke the spell of power
+which the Titan city would otherwise have produced. It seemed like a
+monstrous heap of wasted energies; a mountain in perpetual labour, and
+producing an endless series of abortions. The men and women in it were
+wearing themselves out with toil; but there was a spell laid upon them,
+so that, struggle as they might, they accomplished nothing.
+
+Coming out of the church, Montague had met Judge Ellis; and the Judge
+had said, “I shall soon have something to talk over with you.” So
+Montague gave him his address, and a day or two later came an
+invitation to lunch with him at his club.
+
+The Judge’s club took up a Fifth Avenue block, and was stately and
+imposing. It had been formed in the stress of the Civil War days; lean
+and hungry heroes had come home from battle and gone into business, and
+those who had succeeded had settled down here to rest. To see them now,
+dozing in huge leather-cushioned arm-chairs, you would have had a hard
+time to guess that they had ever been lean and hungry heroes. They were
+diplomats and statesmen, bishops and lawyers, great merchants and
+financiers—the men who had made the city’s ruling-class for a century.
+Everything here was decorous and grave, and the waiters stole about
+with noiseless feet.
+
+Montague talked with the Judge about New York and what he had seen of
+it, and the people he had met; and about his father, and the war; and
+about the recent election and the business outlook. And meantime they
+ordered luncheon; and when they had got to the cigars, the Judge
+coughed and said, “And now I have a matter of business to talk over
+with you.”
+
+Montague settled himself to listen. “I have a friend,” the Judge
+explained—“a very good friend, who has asked me to find him a lawyer to
+undertake an important case. I talked the matter over with General
+Prentice, and he agreed with me that it would be a good idea to lay the
+matter before you.”
+
+“I am very much obliged to you,” said Montague.
+
+“The matter is a delicate one,” continued the other. “It has to do with
+life insurance. Are you familiar with the insurance business?”
+
+“Not at all.”
+
+“I had supposed not,” said the Judge. “There are some conditions which
+are not generally known about, but which I may say, to put it mildly,
+are not altogether satisfactory. My friend is a large policy-holder in
+several companies, and he is not satisfied with the management of them.
+The delicacy of the situation, so far as I am concerned, is that the
+company with which he has the most fault to find is one in which I
+myself am a director. You understand?”
+
+“Perfectly,” said Montague. “What company is it?”
+
+“The Fidelity,” replied the other—and his companion thought in a flash
+of Freddie Vandam, whom he had met at Castle Havens! For the Fidelity
+was Freddie’s company.
+
+“The first thing that I have to ask you,” continued the Judge, “is
+that, whether you care to take the case or not, you will consider my
+own intervention in the matter absolutely _entre nous_. My position is
+simply this: I have protested at the meetings of the directors of the
+company against what I consider an unwise policy—and my protests have
+been ignored. And when my friend asked me for advice, I gave it to him;
+but at the same time I am not in a position to be publicly quoted in
+connexion with the matter. You follow me?”
+
+“Perfectly,” said the other. “I will agree to what you ask.”
+
+“Very good. Now then, the condition is, in brief, this: the companies
+are accumulating an enormous surplus, which, under the law, belongs to
+the policy-holders; but the administrations of the various companies
+are withholding these dividends, for the sake of the banking-power
+which these accumulated funds afford to them and their associates. This
+is, as I hold, a very manifest injustice, and a most dangerous
+condition of affairs.”
+
+“I should say so!” responded Montague. He was amazed at such a
+statement, coming from such a source. “How could this continue?” he
+asked.
+
+“It has continued for a long time,” the Judge answered.
+
+“But why is it not known?”
+
+“It is perfectly well known to every one in the insurance business,”
+was the answer. “The matter has never been taken up or published,
+simply because the interests involved have such enormous and widely
+extended power that no one has ever dared to attack them.”
+
+Montague sat forward, with his eyes riveted upon the Judge. “Go on,” he
+said.
+
+“The situation is simply this,” said the other. “My friend, Mr.
+Hasbrook, wishes to bring a suit against the Fidelity Company to compel
+it to pay to him his proper share of its surplus. He wishes the suit
+pressed, and followed to the court of last resort.”
+
+“And do you mean to tell me,” asked Montague, “that you would have any
+difficulty to find a lawyer in New York to undertake such a case?”
+
+“No,” said the other, “not exactly that. There are lawyers in New York
+who would undertake anything. But to find a lawyer of standing who
+would take it, and withstand all the pressure that would be brought to
+bear upon him—that might take some time.”
+
+“You astonish me, Judge.”
+
+“Financial interests in this city are pretty closely tied together, Mr.
+Montague. Of course there are law firms which are identified with
+interests opposed to those who control the company. It would be very
+easy to get them to take the case, but you can see that in that event
+my friend would be accused of bringing the suit in their interest;
+whereas he wishes it to appear, as it really is, a suit of an
+independent person, seeking the rights of the vast body of the
+policy-holders. For that reason, he wished to find a lawyer who was
+identified with no interest of any sort, and who was free to give his
+undivided attention to the issue. So I thought of you.”
+
+“I will take the case,” said Montague instantly.
+
+“It is my duty to warn you,” said the Judge, gravely, “that you will be
+taking a very serious step. You must be prepared to face powerful, and,
+I am afraid, unscrupulous enemies. You may find that you have made it
+impossible for other and very desirable clients to deal with you. You
+may find your business interests, if you have any, embarrassed—your
+credit impaired, and so on. You must be prepared to have your character
+assailed, and your motives impugned in the public press. You may find
+that social pressure will be brought to bear on you. So it is a step
+from which most young men who have their careers to make would shrink.”
+
+Montague’s face had turned a shade paler as he listened. “I am
+assuming,” he said, “that the facts are as you have stated them to
+me—that an unjust condition exists.”
+
+“You may assume that.”
+
+“Very well.” And Montague clenched his hand, and put it down upon the
+table. “I will take the case,” he said.
+
+For a few moments they sat in silence.
+
+“I will arrange,” said the Judge, at last, “for you and Mr. Hasbrook to
+meet. I must explain to you, as a matter of fairness, that he is a rich
+man, and will be able to pay you for your services. He is asking a
+great deal of you, and he should expect to pay for it.”
+
+Montague sat in thought. “I have not really had time to get my bearings
+in New York,” he said at last. “I think I had best leave it to you to
+say what I should charge him.”
+
+“If I were in your position,” the Judge answered, “I think that I
+should ask a retaining-fee of fifty thousand dollars. I believe he will
+expect to pay at least that.”
+
+Montague could scarcely repress a start. Fifty thousand dollars! The
+words made his head whirl round. But then, all of a sudden, he recalled
+his half-jesting resolve to play the game of business sternly. So he
+nodded his head gravely, and said, “Very well; I am much obliged to
+you.”
+
+After a pause, he added, “I hope that I may prove able to handle the
+case to your friend’s satisfaction.”
+
+“Your ability remains for you to prove,” said the Judge. “I have only
+been in position to assure him of your character.”
+
+“He must understand, of course,” said Montague, “that I am a stranger,
+and that it will take me a while to study the situation.”
+
+“Of course he knows that. But you will find that Mr. Hasbrook knows a
+good deal about the law himself. And he has already had a lot of work
+done. You must understand that it is very easy to get legal _advice_
+about such a matter—what is sought is some one to take the conduct of
+the case.”
+
+“I see,” said Montague; and the Judge added, with a smile, “Some one to
+get up on horseback, and draw the fire of the enemy!”
+
+And then the great man was, as usual, reminded of a story; and then of
+more stories; until at last they rose from the table, and shook hands
+upon their bargain, and parted.
+
+Fifty thousand dollars! _Fifty thousand dollars!_ It was all Montague
+could do to keep from exclaiming it aloud on the street. He could
+hardly believe that it was a reality—if it had been a less-known person
+than Judge Ellis, he would have suspected that some one must be playing
+a joke upon him. Fifty thousand dollars was more than many a lawyer
+made at home in a lifetime; and simply as a retaining-fee in one case!
+The problem of a living had weighed on his soul ever since the first
+day in the city, and now suddenly it was solved; all in a few minutes,
+the way had been swept clear before him. He walked home as if upon air.
+
+And then there was the excitement of telling the family about it. He
+had an idea that his brother might be alarmed if he were told about the
+seriousness of the case; and so he simply said that the Judge had
+brought him a rich client, and that it was an insurance case. Oliver,
+who knew and cared nothing about law, asked no questions, and contented
+himself with saying, “I told you how easy it was to make money in New
+York, if only you knew the right people!” As for Alice, she had known
+all along that her cousin was a great man, and that clients would come
+to him as soon as he hung out his sign.
+
+His sign was not out yet, by the way; that was the next thing to be
+attended to. He must get himself an office at once, and some books, and
+begin to read up insurance law; and so, bright and early the next
+morning, he took the subway down town.
+
+And here, for the first time, Montague saw the real New York. All the
+rest was mere shadow—the rest was where men slept and played, but here
+was where they fought out the battle of their lives. Here the fierce
+intensity of it smote him in the face—he saw the cruel waste and ruin
+of it, the wreckage of the blind, haphazard strife.
+
+It was a city caught in a trap. It was pent in at one end of a narrow
+little island. It had been no one’s business to foresee that it must
+some day outgrow this space; now men were digging a score of tunnels to
+set it free, but they had not begun these until the pressure had become
+unendurable, and now it had reached its climax. In the financial
+district, land had been sold for as much as four dollars a square inch.
+Huge blocks of buildings shot up to the sky in a few months—fifteen,
+twenty, twenty-five stories of them, and with half a dozen stories hewn
+out of the solid rock beneath; there was to be one building of
+forty-two stories, six hundred and fifty feet in height. And between
+them were narrow chasms of streets, where the hurrying crowds
+overflowed the sidewalks. Yet other streets were filled with trucks and
+heavy vehicles, with electric cars creeping slowly along, and little
+swirls and eddies of people darting across here and there.
+
+These huge buildings were like beehives, swarming with life and
+activity, with scores of elevators shooting through them at bewildering
+speed. Everywhere was the atmosphere of rush; the spirit of it seized
+hold of one, and he began to hurry, even though he had no place to go.
+The man who walked slowly and looked about him was in the way—he was
+jostled here and there, and people eyed him with suspicion and
+annoyance.
+
+Elsewhere on the island men did the work of the city; here they did the
+work of the world. Each room in these endless mazes of buildings was a
+cell in a mighty brain; the telephone wires were nerves, and by the
+whole huge organism the thinking and willing of a continent were done.
+It was a noisy place to the physical ear; but to the ear of the mind it
+roared with the roaring of a thousand Niagaras. Here was the Stock
+Exchange, where the scales of trade were held before the eyes of the
+country. Here was the clearing-house, where hundreds of millions of
+dollars were exchanged every day. Here were the great banks, the
+reservoirs into which the streams of the country’s wealth were poured.
+Here were the brains of the great railroad systems, of the telegraph
+and telephone systems, of mines and mills and factories. Here were the
+centres of the country’s trade; in one place the shipping trade, in
+another the jewellery trade, the grocery trade, the leather trade. A
+little farther up town was the clothing district, where one might see
+the signs of more Hebrews than all Jerusalem had ever held; in yet
+other districts were the newspaper offices, and the centre of the
+magazine and book-publishing business of the whole country. One might
+climb to the top of one of the great “sky-scrapers,” and gaze down upon
+a wilderness of houses, with roofs as innumerable as tree-tops, and
+people looking like tiny insects below. Or one might go out into the
+harbour late upon a winter afternoon, and see it as a city of a million
+lights, rising like an incantation from the sea. Round about it was an
+unbroken ring of docks, with ferry-boats and tugs darting everywhere,
+and vessels which had come from every port in the world, emptying their
+cargoes into the huge maw of the Metropolis.
+
+And of all this, nothing had been planned! All lay just as it had
+fallen, and men bore the confusion and the waste as best they could.
+Here were huge steel vaults, in which lay many billions of dollars’
+worth of securities, the control of the finances of the country; and a
+block or two in one direction were warehouses and gin-mills, and in
+another direction cheap lodging-houses and sweating-dens. And at a
+certain hour all this huge machine would come to a halt, and its
+millions of human units would make a blind rush for their homes. Then
+at the entrances to bridges and ferries and trams, would be seen sights
+of madness and terror; throngs of men and women swept hither and
+thither, pushing and struggling, shouting, cursing—fighting, now and
+then, in sudden panic fear. All decency was forgotten here—people would
+be mashed into cars like football players in a heap, and guards and
+policemen would jam the gates tight—or like as not be swept away
+themselves in the pushing, grunting, writhing mass of human beings.
+Women would faint and be trampled; men would come out with clothing
+torn to shreds, and sometimes with broken arms or ribs. And thinking
+people would gaze at the sight and shudder, wondering—how long a city
+could hold together, when the masses of its population were thus forced
+back, day after day, habitually, upon the elemental brute within them.
+
+In this vast business district Montague would have felt utterly lost
+and helpless, if it had not been for that fifty thousand dollars, and
+the sense of mastery which it gave him. He sought out General Prentice,
+and under his guidance selected his suite of rooms, and got his
+furniture and books in readiness. And a day or two later, by
+appointment, came Mr. Hasbrook.
+
+He was a wiry, nervous little man, who did not impress one as much of a
+personality; but he had the insurance situation at his fingers’
+ends—his grievance had evidently wrought upon him. Certainly, if half
+of what he alleged were true, it was time that the courts took hold of
+the affair.
+
+Montague spent the whole day in consultation, going over every aspect
+of the case, and laying out his course of procedure. And then, at the
+end, Mr. Hasbrook remarked that it would be necessary for them to make
+some financial arrangement. And the other set his teeth together, and
+took a tight grip upon himself, and said, “Considering the importance
+of the case, and all the circumstances, I think I should have a
+retainer of fifty thousand dollars.”
+
+And the little man never turned a hair! “That will be perfectly
+satisfactory,” he said. “I will attend to it at once.” And the other’s
+heart gave a great leap.
+
+And sure enough, the next morning’s mail brought the money, in the
+shape of a cashier’s cheque from one of the big banks. Montague
+deposited it to his own account, and felt that the city was his!
+
+And so he flung himself into the work. He went to his office every day,
+and he shut himself up in his own rooms in the evening. Mrs. Winnie was
+in despair because he would not come and learn bridge, and Mrs. Vivie
+Patton sought him in vain for a week-end party. He could not exactly
+say that while the others slept he was toiling upward in the night, for
+the others did not sleep in the night; but he could say that while they
+were feasting and dancing, he was delving into insurance law. Oliver
+argued in vain to make him realize that he could not live for ever upon
+one client; and that it was as important for a lawyer to be a social
+light as to win his first big case. Montague was so absorbed that he
+even failed to be thrilled when one morning he opened an invitation
+envelope, and read the fateful legend: “Mrs. Devon requests the honour
+of your company”—telling him that he had “passed” on that critical
+examination morning, and that he was definitely and irrevocably in
+Society!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+Montague was now a capitalist, and therefore a keeper of the gates of
+opportunity. It seemed as though the seekers for admission must have
+had some occult way of finding it out; almost immediately they began to
+lay siege to him.
+
+About a week after his cheque arrived, Major Thorne, whom he had met
+the first evening at the Loyal Legion, called him up and asked to see
+him; and he came to Montague’s room that evening, and after chatting
+awhile about old times, proceeded to unfold a business proposition. It
+seemed that the Major had a grandson, a young mechanical engineer, who
+had been labouring for a couple of years at a very important invention,
+a device for loading coal upon steamships and weighing it automatically
+in the process. It was a very complicated problem, needless to say, but
+it had been solved successfully, and patents had been applied for, and
+a working model constructed. But it had proved unexpectedly difficult
+to interest the officials of the great steamship companies in the
+device. There was no doubt about the practicability of the machine, or
+the economies it would effect; but the officials raised trivial
+objections, and caused delays, and offered prices that were
+ridiculously inadequate. So the young inventor had conceived the idea
+of organizing a company to manufacture the machines, and rent them upon
+a royalty. “I didn’t know whether you would have any money,” said Major
+Thorne, “—but I thought you might be in touch with others who could be
+got to look into the matter. There is a fortune in it for those who
+take it up.”
+
+Montague was interested, and he looked over the plans and descriptions
+which his friend had brought, and said that he would see the working
+model, and talk the proposition over with others. And so the Major took
+his departure.
+
+The first person Montague spoke to about it was Oliver, with whom he
+chanced to be lunching, at the latter’s club. This was the “All Night”
+club, a meeting-place of fast young Society men and millionaire
+Bohemians, who made a practice of going to bed at daylight, and had
+taken for their motto the words of Tennyson—“For men may come and men
+may go, but I go on for ever.” It was not a proper club for his brother
+to join, Oliver considered; Montague’s “game” was the heavy
+respectable, and the person to put him up was General Prentice. But he
+was permitted to lunch there with his brother to chaperon him—and also
+Reggie Mann, who happened in, fresh from talking over the itinerary of
+the foreign prince with Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, and bringing a
+diverting account of how Mrs. R.-C. had had a fisticuffs with her maid.
+
+Montague mentioned the invention casually, and with no idea that his
+brother would have an opinion one way or the other. But Oliver had
+quite a vigorous opinion: “Good God, Allan, you aren’t going to let
+yourself be persuaded into a thing like that!”
+
+“But what do you know about it?” asked the other. “It may be a
+tremendous thing.”
+
+“Of course!” cried Oliver. “But what can you tell about it? You’ll be
+like a child in other people’s hands, and they’ll be certain to rob
+you. And why in the world do you want to take risks when you don’t have
+to?”
+
+“I have to put my money somewhere,” said Montague.
+
+“His first fee is burning a hole in his pocket!” put in Reggie Mann,
+with a chuckle. “Turn it over to me, Mr. Montague; and let me spend it
+in a gorgeous entertainment for Alice; and the prestige of it will
+bring you more cases than you can handle in a lifetime!”
+
+“He had much better spend it all for soda water than buy a lot of coal
+chutes with it,” said Oliver: “Wait awhile, and let me find you some
+place to put your money, and you’ll see that you don’t have to take any
+risks.”
+
+“I had no idea of taking it up until I’d made certain of it,” replied
+the other. “And those whose judgment I took would, of course, go in
+also.”
+
+The younger man thought for a moment. “You are going to dine with Major
+Venable to-night, aren’t you?” he asked; and when the other answered in
+the affirmative, he continued, “Very well, then, ask him. The Major’s
+been a capitalist for forty years, and if you can get him to take it
+up, why, you’ll know you’re safe.”
+
+Major Venable had taken quite a fancy to Montague—perhaps the old
+gentleman liked to have somebody to gossip with, to whom all his
+anecdotes were new. He had seconded Montague’s name at the
+“Millionaires’,” where he lived, and had asked him there to make the
+acquaintance of some of the other members. Before Montague parted with
+his brother, he promised that he would talk the matter over with the
+Major.
+
+The Millionaires’ was the show club of the city, the one which the
+ineffably rich had set apart for themselves. It was up by the park, in
+a magnificent white marble palace which had cost a million dollars.
+Montague felt that he had never really known the Major until he saw him
+here. The Major was excellent at all times and places, but in this club
+he became an _edition de luxe_ of himself. He made his headquarters
+here, keeping his suite of rooms all the year round; and the atmosphere
+and surroundings of the place seemed to be a part of him.
+
+Montague thought that the Major’s face grew redder every day, and the
+purple veins in it purpler; or was it that the old gentleman’s shirt
+bosom gleamed more brightly in the glare of the lights? The Major met
+him in the stately entrance hall, fifty feet square and all of Numidian
+marble, with a ceiling of gold, and a great bronze stairway leading to
+the gallery above. He apologized for his velvet slippers and for his
+hobbling walk—he was getting his accursed gout again. But he limped
+around and introduced his friend to the other millionaires—and then
+told scandal about them behind their backs.
+
+The Major was the very type of a blue-blooded old aristocrat; he was
+all _noblesse oblige_ to those within the magic circle of his
+intimacy—but alas for those outside it! Montague had never heard anyone
+bully servants as the Major did. “Here you!” he would cry, when
+something went wrong at the table. “Don’t you know any better than to
+bring me a dish like that? Go and send me somebody who knows how to set
+a table!” And, strange to say, the servants all acknowledged his
+perfect right to bully them, and flew with terrified alacrity to do his
+bidding. Montague noticed that the whole staff of the club leaped into
+activity whenever the Major appeared; and when he was seated at the
+table, he led off in this fashion—“Now I want two dry Martinis. And I
+want them at once—do you understand me? Don’t stop to get me any butter
+plates or finger-bowls—I want two cock-tails, just as quick as you can
+carry them!”
+
+Dinner was an important event to Major Venable—the most important in
+life. The younger man humbly declined to make any suggestions, and sat
+and watched while his friend did all the ordering. They had some very
+small oysters, and an onion soup, and a grouse and asparagus, with some
+wine from the Major’s own private store, and then a romaine salad.
+Concerning each one of these courses, the Major gave special
+injunctions, and throughout his conversation he scattered comments upon
+them: “This is good thick soup—lots of nourishment in onion soup. Have
+the rest of this?—I think the Burgundy is too cold. Sixty-five is as
+cold as Burgundy ought ever to be. I don’t mind sherry as low as
+sixty.—They always cook a bird too much—Robbie Walling’s chef is the
+only person I know who never makes a mistake with game.”
+
+All this, of course, was between comments upon the assembled
+millionaires. There was Hawkins, the corporation lawyer; a shrewd
+fellow, cold as a corpse. He was named for an ambassadorship—a very
+efficient man. Used to be old Wyman’s confidential adviser and buy
+aldermen for him.—And the man at table with him was Harrison, publisher
+of the _Star;_ administration newspaper, sound and conservative.
+Harrison was training for a cabinet position. He was a nice little man,
+and would make a fine splurge in Washington.—And that tall man coming
+in was Clarke, the steel magnate; and over there was Adams, a big
+lawyer also—prominent reformer—civic righteousness and all that sort of
+stuff. Represented the Oil Trust secretly, and went down to Trenton to
+argue against some reform measure, and took along fifty thousand
+dollars in bills in his valise. “A friend of mine got wind of what he
+was doing, and taxed him with it,” said the Major, and laughed
+gleefully over the great lawyer’s reply—“How did I know but I might
+have to pay for my own lunch?”—And the fat man with him—that was Jimmie
+Featherstone, the chap who had inherited a big estate. “Poor Jimmie’s
+going all to pieces,” the Major declared. “Goes down town to board
+meetings now and then—they tell a hair-raising story about him and old
+Dan Waterman. He had got up and started a long argument, when Waterman
+broke in, ‘But at the earlier meeting you argued directly to the
+contrary, Mr. Featherstone!’ ‘Did I?’ said Jimmie, looking bewildered.
+‘I wonder why I did that?’ ‘Well, Mr. Featherstone, since you ask me,
+I’ll tell you,’ said old Dan—he’s savage as a wild boar, you know, and
+won’t be delayed at meetings. ‘The reason is that the last time you
+were drunker than you are now. If you would adopt a uniform standard of
+intoxication for the directors’ meetings of this road, it would
+expedite matters considerably.’”
+
+They had got as far as the romaine salad. The waiter came with a bowl
+of dressing—and at the sight of it, the old gentleman forgot Jimmie
+Featherstone. “Why are you bringing me that stuff?” he cried. “I don’t
+want that! Take it away and get me some vinegar and oil.”
+
+The waiter fled in dismay, while the Major went on growling under his
+breath. Then from behind him came a voice: “What’s the matter with you
+this evening, Venable? You’re peevish!”
+
+The Major looked up. “Hello, you old cormorant,” said he. “How do you
+do these days?”
+
+The old cormorant replied that he did very well. He was a pudgy little
+man, with a pursed-up, wrinkled face. “My friend Mr. Montague—Mr.
+Symmes,” said the Major.
+
+“I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Montague,” said Mr. Symmes, peering
+over his spectacles.
+
+“And what are you doing with yourself these days?” asked the Major.
+
+The other smiled genially. “Nothing much,” said he. “Seducing my
+friends’ wives, as usual.”
+
+“And who’s the latest?”
+
+“Read the newspapers, and you’ll find out,” laughed Symmes. “I’m told
+I’m being shadowed.”
+
+He passed on down the room, chuckling to himself; and the Major said,
+“That’s Maltby Symmes. Have you heard of him?”
+
+“No,” said Montague.
+
+“He gets into the papers a good deal. He was up in supplementary
+proceedings the other day—couldn’t pay his liquor bill.”
+
+“A member of the Millionaires’?” laughed Montague.
+
+“Yes, the papers made quite a joke out of it,” said the other. “But you
+see he’s run through a couple of fortunes; the last was his
+mother’s—eleven millions, I believe. He’s been a pretty lively old boy
+in his time.”
+
+The vinegar and oil had now arrived, and the Major set to work to dress
+the salad. This was quite a ceremony, and Montague took it with amused
+interest. The Major first gathered all the necessary articles together,
+and looked them all over and grumbled at them. Then he mixed the
+vinegar and the pepper and salt, a tablespoonful at a time, and poured
+it over the salad. Then very slowly and carefully the oil had to be
+poured on, the salad being poked and turned about so that it would be
+all absorbed. Perhaps it was because he was so busy narrating the
+escapades of Maltby Symmes that the old gentleman kneaded it about so
+long; all the time fussing over it like a hen-partridge with her
+chicks, and interrupting himself every sentence or two: “It was Lenore,
+the opera star, and he gave her about two hundred thousand dollars’
+worth of railroad shares. (Really, you know, romaine ought not to be
+served in a bowl at all, but in a square, flat dish, so that one could
+keep the ends quite dry.) And when they quarrelled, she found the old
+scamp had fooled her—the shares had never been transferred. (One is not
+supposed to use a fork at all, you know.) But she sued him, and he
+settled with her for about half the value. (If this dressing were done
+properly, there ought not to be any oil in the bottom of the dish at
+all.)”
+
+This last remark meant that the process had reached its climax—that the
+long, crisp leaves were receiving their final affectionate
+overturnings. While the waiter stood at respectful attention, two or
+three pieces at a time were laid carefully upon the little silver plate
+intended for Montague. “And now,” said the triumphant host, “try it! If
+it’s good, it ought to be neither sweet nor bitter, but just
+right.”—And he watched anxiously while Montague tasted it, saying, “If
+it’s the least bit bitter, say so; and we’ll send it out. I’ve told
+them about it often enough before.”
+
+But it was not bitter, and so the Major proceeded to help himself,
+after which the waiter whisked the bowl away. “I’m told that salad is
+the one vegetable we have from the Romans,” said the old boy, as he
+munched at the crisp green leaves. “It’s mentioned by Horace, you
+know.—As I was saying, all this was in Symmes’s early days. But since
+his son’s been grown up, he’s married another chorus-girl.”
+
+After the salad the Major had another cocktail. In the beginning
+Montague had noticed that his hands shook and his eyes were watery; but
+now, after these copious libations, he was vigorous, and, if possible,
+more full of anecdotes than ever. Montague thought that it would be a
+good time to broach his inquiry, and so when the coffee had been
+served, he asked, “Have you any objections to talking business after
+dinner?”
+
+“Not with you,” said the Major. “Why? What is it?”
+
+And then Montague told him about his friend’s proposition, and
+described the invention. The other listened attentively to the end; and
+then, after a pause, Montague asked him, “What do you think of it?”
+
+“The invention’s no good,” said the Major, promptly.
+
+“How do you know?” asked the other.
+
+“Because, if it had been, the companies would have taken it long ago,
+without paying him a cent.”
+
+“But he has it patented,” said Montague.
+
+“Patented hell!” replied the other. “What’s a patent to lawyers of
+concerns of that size? They’d have taken it and had it in use from
+Maine to Texas; and when he sued, they’d have tied the case up in so
+many technicalities and quibbles that he couldn’t have got to the end
+of it in ten years—and he’d have been ruined ten times over in the
+process.”
+
+“Is that really done?” asked Montague.
+
+“Done!” exclaimed the Major. “It’s done so often you might say it’s the
+only thing that’s done.—The people are probably trying to take you in
+with a fake.”
+
+“That couldn’t possibly be so,” responded the other. “The man is a
+friend—”
+
+“I’ve found it an excellent rule never to do business with friends,”
+said the Major, grimly.
+
+“But listen,” said Montague; and he argued long enough to convince his
+companion that that could not be the true explanation. Then the Major
+sat for a minute or two and pondered; and suddenly he exclaimed, “I
+have it! I see why they won’t touch it!”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“It’s the coal companies! They’re giving the steamships short weight,
+and they don’t want the coal weighed truly!”
+
+“But there’s no sense in that,” said Montague. “It’s the steamship
+companies that won’t take the machine.”
+
+“Yes,” said the Major; “naturally, their officers are sharing the
+graft.” And he laughed heartily at Montague’s look of perplexity.
+
+“Do you know anything about the business?” Montague asked.
+
+“Nothing whatever,” said the Major. “I am like the German who shut
+himself up in his inner consciousness and deduced the shape of an
+elephant from first principles. I know the game of big business from A
+to Z, and I’m telling you that if the invention is good and the
+companies won’t take it, that’s the reason; and I’ll lay you a wager
+that if you were to make an investigation, some such thing as that is
+what you’d find! Last winter I went South on a steamer, and when we got
+near port, I saw them dumping a ton or two of good food overboard; and
+I made inquiries, and learned that one of the officials of the company
+ran a farm, and furnished the stuff—and the orders were to get rid of
+so much every trip!”
+
+Montague’s jaw had fallen. “What could Major Thorne do against such a
+combination?” he asked.
+
+“I don’t know,” said the Major, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s a case
+to take to a lawyer—one who knows the ropes. Hawkins over there would
+know what to tell you. I should imagine the thing he’d advise would be
+to call a strike of the men who handle the coal, and tie up the
+companies and bring them to terms.”
+
+“You’re joking now!” exclaimed the other.
+
+“Not at all,” said the Major, laughing again. “It’s done all the time.
+There’s a building trust in this city, and the way it put all its
+rivals out of business was by having strikes called on their jobs.”
+
+“But how could it do that?”
+
+“Easiest thing in the world. A labour leader is a man with a great deal
+of power, and a very small salary to live on. And even if he won’t sell
+out—there are other ways. I could introduce you to a man right in this
+room who had a big strike on at an inconvenient time, and he had the
+president of the union trapped in a hotel with a woman, and the poor
+fellow gave in and called off the strike.”
+
+“I should think the strikers might sometimes get out of hand,” said
+Montague.
+
+“Sometimes they do,” smiled the other. “There is a regular procedure
+for that case. Then you hire detectives and start violence, and call
+out the militia and put the strike leaders into jail.”
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that. The programme seemed to
+be complete.
+
+“You see,” the Major continued, earnestly, “I’m advising you as a
+friend, and I’m taking the point of view of a man who has money in his
+pocket. I’ve had some there always, but I’ve had to work hard to keep
+it there. All my life I’ve been surrounded by people who wanted to do
+me good; and the way they wanted to do it was to exchange my real money
+for pieces of paper which they’d had printed with fancy scroll-work and
+eagles and flags. Of course, if you want to look at the thing from the
+other side, why, then the invention is most ingenious, and trade is
+booming just now, and this is a great country, and merit is all you
+need in it—and everything else is just as it ought to be. It makes all
+the difference in the world, you know, whether a man is buying a horse
+or selling him!”
+
+Montague had observed with perplexity that such incendiary talk as this
+was one of the characteristics of people in these lofty altitudes. It
+was one of the liberties accorded to their station. Editors and bishops
+and statesmen and all the rest of their retainers had to believe in the
+respectabilities, even in the privacy of their clubs—the people’s ears
+were getting terribly sharp these days! But among the real giants of
+business you might have thought yourself in a society of
+revolutionists; they would tear up the mountain tops and hurl them at
+each other. When one of these old war-horses once got started, he would
+tell tales of deviltry to appall the soul of the hardiest muck-rake
+man. It was always the other fellow, of course; but then, if you pinned
+your man down, and if he thought that he could trust you—he would
+acknowledge that he had sometimes fought the enemy with the enemy’s own
+weapons!
+
+But of course one must understand that all this radicalism was for
+conversational purposes only. The Major, for instance, never had the
+slightest idea of doing anything about all the evils of which he told;
+when it came to action, he proposed to do just what he had done all his
+life—to sit tight on his own little pile. And the Millionaires’ was an
+excellent place to learn to do it!
+
+“See that old money-bags over there in the corner,” said the Major.
+“He’s a man you want to fix in your mind—old Henry S. Grimes. Have you
+heard of him?”
+
+“Vaguely,” said the other.
+
+“He’s Laura Hegan’s uncle. She’ll have his money also some day—but
+Lord, how he does hold on to it meantime! It’s quite tragic, if you
+come to know him—he’s frightened at his own shadow. He goes in for slum
+tenements, and I guess he evicts more people in a month than you could
+crowd into this building!”
+
+Montague looked at the solitary figure at the table, a man with a
+wizened-up little face like a weasel’s, and a big napkin tied around
+his neck. “That’s so as to save his shirt-front for to-morrow,” the
+Major explained. “He’s really only about sixty, but you’d think he was
+eighty. Three times every day he sits here and eats a bowl of graham
+crackers and milk, and then goes out and sits rigid in an arm-chair for
+an hour. That’s the regimen his doctors have put him on—angels and
+ministers of grace defend us!”
+
+The old gentleman paused, and a chuckle shook his scarlet jowls. “Only
+think!” he said—“they tried to do that to me! But no, sir—when Bob
+Venable has to eat graham crackers and milk, he’ll put in arsenic
+instead of sugar! That’s the way with many a one of these rich fellows,
+though—you picture him living in Capuan luxury, when, as a matter of
+fact, he’s a man with a torpid liver and a weak stomach, who is put to
+bed at ten o’clock with a hot-water bag and a flannel night-cap!”
+
+The two had got up and were strolling toward the smoking-room; when
+suddenly at one side a door opened, and a group of men came out. At the
+head of them was an extraordinary figure, a big powerful body with a
+grim face. “Hello!” said the Major. “All the big bugs are here
+to-night. There must be a governors’ meeting.”
+
+“Who is that?” asked his companion; and he answered, “That? Why, that’s
+Dan Waterman.”
+
+Dan Waterman! Montague stared harder than ever, and now he identified
+the face with the pictures he had seen. Waterman, the Colossus of
+finance, the Croesus of copper and gold! How many trusts had Waterman
+organized! And how many puns had been made upon that name of his!
+
+“Who are the other men?” Montague asked.
+
+“Oh, they’re just little millionaires,” was the reply.
+
+The “little millionaires” were following as a kind of body-guard; one
+of them, who was short and pudgy, was half running, to keep up with
+Waterman’s heavy stride. When they came to the coat-room, they crowded
+the attendants away, and one helped the great man on with his coat, and
+another held his hat, and another his stick, and two others tried to
+talk to him. And Waterman stolidly buttoned his coat, and then seized
+his hat and stick, and without a word to anyone, bolted through the
+door.
+
+It was one of the funniest sights that Montague had ever seen in his
+life, and he laughed all the way into the smoking-room. And, when Major
+Venable had settled himself in a big chair and bitten off the end of a
+cigar and lighted it, what floodgates of reminiscence were opened!
+
+For Dan Waterman was one of the Major’s own generation, and he knew all
+his life and his habits. Just as Montague had seen him there, so he had
+been always; swift, imperious, terrible, trampling over all opposition;
+the most powerful men in the city quailed before the glare of his eyes.
+In the old days Wall Street had reeled in the shock of the conflicts
+between him and his most powerful rival.
+
+And the Major went on to tell about Waterman’s rival, and his life. He
+had been the city’s traction-king, old Wyman had been made by him. He
+was the prince among political financiers; he had ruled the Democratic
+party in state and nation. He would give a quarter of a million at a
+time to the boss of Tammany Hall, and spend a million in a single
+campaign; on “dough-day,” when the district leaders came to get the
+election funds, there would be a table forty feet long completely
+covered with hundred-dollar bills. He would have been the richest man
+in America, save that he spent his money as fast as he got it. He had
+had the most famous racing-stable in America; and a house on Fifth
+Avenue that was said to be the finest Italian palace in the world. Over
+three millions had been spent in decorating it; all the ceilings had
+been brought intact from palaces abroad, which he had bought and
+demolished! The Major told a story to show how such a man lost all
+sense of the value of money; he had once been sitting at lunch with
+him, when the editor of one of his newspapers had come in and remarked,
+“I told you we would need eight thousand dollars, and the check you
+send is for ten.” “I know it,” was the smiling answer—“but somehow I
+thought eight seemed harder to write than ten!”
+
+“Old Waterman’s quite a spender, too, when it comes to that,” the Major
+went on. “He told me once that it cost him five thousand dollars a day
+for his ordinary expenses. And that doesn’t include a million-dollar
+yacht, nor even the expenses of it.
+
+“And think of another man I know of who spent a million dollars for a
+granite pier, so that he could land and see his mistress!—It’s a fact,
+as sure as God made me! She was a well-known society woman, but she was
+poor, and he didn’t dare to make her rich for fear of the scandal. So
+she had to live in a miserable fifty-thousand-dollar villa; and when
+other people’s children would sneer at her children because they lived
+in a fifty-thousand-dollar villa, the answer would be, ‘But you haven’t
+got any pier!’ And if you don’t believe that—”
+
+But here suddenly the Major turned, and observed a boy who had brought
+him some cigars, and who was now standing near by, pretending to
+straighten out some newspapers upon the table. “Here, sir!” cried the
+Major, “what do you mean—listening to what I’m saying! Out of the room
+with you now, you rascal!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+Another week-end came, and with it an invitation from the Lester Todds
+to visit them at their country place in New Jersey. Montague was buried
+in his books, but his brother routed him out with strenuous protests.
+His case be damned—was he going to ruin his career for one case? At all
+hazards, he must meet people—“people who counted.” And the Todds were
+such, a big money crowd, and a power in the insurance world; if
+Montague were going to be an insurance lawyer, he could not possibly
+decline their invitation. Freddie Vandam would be a guest—and Montague
+smiled at the tidings that Betty Wyman would be there also. He had
+observed that his brother’s week-end visits always happened at places
+where Betty was, and where Betty’s granddaddy was not.
+
+So Montague’s man packed his grips, and Alice’s maid her trunks; and
+they rode with a private-car party to a remote Jersey suburb, and were
+whirled in an auto up a broad shell road to a palace upon the top of a
+mountain. Here lived the haughty Lester Todds, and scattered about on
+the neighbouring hills, a set of the ultra-wealthy who had withdrawn to
+this seclusion. They were exceedingly “classy”; they affected to regard
+all the Society of the city with scorn, and had their own
+all-the-year-round diversions—an open-air horse show in summer, and in
+the fall fox-hunting in fancy uniforms.
+
+The Lester Todds themselves were ardent pursuers of all varieties of
+game, and in various clubs and private preserves they followed the
+seasons, from Florida and North Carolina to Ontario, with occasional
+side trips to Norway, and New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Here at
+home they had a whole mountain of virgin forest, carefully preserved;
+and in the Renaissance palace at the summit—which they carelessly
+referred to as a “lodge”—you would find such _articles de vertu_ as a
+ten-thousand-dollar table with a set of two-thousand-dollar chairs, and
+quite ordinary-looking rugs at ten and twenty thousand dollars
+each.—All these prices you might ascertain without any difficulty at
+all, because there were many newspaper articles describing the house to
+be read in an album in the hall. On Saturday afternoons Mrs. Todd
+welcomed the neighbours in a pastel grey reception-gown, the front of
+which contained a peacock embroidered in silk, with jewels in every
+feather, and a diamond solitaire for an eye; and in the evening there
+was a dance, and she appeared in a gown with several hundred diamonds
+sewn upon it, and received her guests upon a rug set with jewels to
+match.
+
+All together, Montague judged this the “fastest” set he had yet
+encountered; they ate more and drank more and intrigued more openly. He
+had been slowly acquiring the special lingo of Society, but these
+people had so much more slang that he felt all lost again. A young lady
+who was gossiping to him about those present remarked that a certain
+youth was a “spasm”; and then, seeing the look of perplexity upon his
+face, she laughed, “I don’t believe you know what I mean!” Montague
+replied that he had ventured to infer that she did not like him.
+
+And then there was Mrs. Harper, who came from Chicago by way of London.
+Ten years ago Mrs. Harper had overwhelmed New York with the millions
+brought from her great department-store; and had then moved on, sighing
+for new worlds to conquer. When she had left Chicago, her grammar had
+been unexceptionable; but since she had been in England, she said “you
+ain’t” and dropped all her g’s; and when Montague brought down a bird
+at long range, she exclaimed, condescendingly, “Why, you’re quite a dab
+at it!” He sat in the front seat of an automobile, and heard the great
+lady behind him referring to the sturdy Jersey farmers, whose ancestors
+had fought the British and Hessians all over the state, as “your
+peasantry.”
+
+It was an extraordinary privilege to have Mrs. Harper for a guest; “at
+home” she moved about in state recalling that of Queen Victoria, with
+flags and bunting on the way, and crowds of school children cheering.
+She kept up half a dozen establishments, and had a hundred thousand
+acres of game preserves in Scotland. She made a speciality of
+collecting jewels which had belonged to the romantic and picturesque
+queens of history. She appeared at the dance in a breastplate of
+diamonds covering the entire front of her bodice, so that she was
+literally clothed in light; and with her was her English friend, Mrs.
+Percy, who had accompanied her in her triumph through the courts and
+camps of Europe, and displayed a famous lorgnette-chain, containing one
+specimen of every rare and beautiful jewel known. Mrs. Percy wore a
+gown of cloth of gold tissue, covered with a fortune in Venetian lace,
+and made a tremendous sensation—until the rumour spread that it was a
+rehash of the costume which Mrs. Harper had worn at the Duchess of
+London’s ball. The Chicago lady herself never by any chance appeared in
+the same costume twice.
+
+Alice had a grand time at the Todds’; all the men fell in love with
+her—one in particular, a young chap named Fayette, quite threw himself
+at her feet. He was wealthy, but unfortunately he had made his money by
+eloping with a rich girl (who was one of the present party), and so,
+from a practical point of view, his attentions were not desirable for
+Alice.
+
+Montague was left with the task of finding these things out for
+himself, for his brother devoted himself exclusively to Betty Wyman.
+The way these two disappeared between meals was a jest of the whole
+company; so that when they were on their way home, Montague felt called
+upon to make paternal inquiries.
+
+“We’re as much engaged as we dare to be,” Oliver answered him.
+
+“And when do you expect to marry her?”
+
+“God knows,” said he, “I don’t. The old man wouldn’t give her a cent.”
+
+“And you couldn’t support her?”
+
+“I? Good heavens, Allan—do you suppose Betty would consent to be poor?”
+
+“Have you asked her?” inquired Montague.
+
+“I don’t want to ask her, thank you! I’ve not the least desire to live
+in a hovel with a girl who’s been brought up in a palace.”
+
+“Then what do you expect to do?”
+
+“Well, Betty has a rich aunt in a lunatic asylum. And then I’m making
+money, you know—and the old boy will have to relent in the end. And
+we’re having a very good time in the meanwhile, you know.”
+
+“You can’t be very much in love,” said Montague—to which his brother
+replied cheerfully that they were as much in love as they felt like
+being.
+
+This was on the train Monday morning. Oliver observed that his brother
+relapsed into a brown study, and remarked, “I suppose you’re going back
+now to bury yourself in your books. You’ve got to give me one evening
+this week for a dinner that’s important.”
+
+“Where’s that?” asked the other.
+
+“Oh, it’s a long story,” said Oliver. “I’ll explain it to you some
+time. But first we must have an understanding about next week, also—I
+suppose you’ve not overlooked the fact that it’s Christmas week. And
+you won’t be permitted to do any work then.”
+
+“But that’s impossible!” exclaimed the other.
+
+“Nothing else is possible,” said Oliver, firmly. “I’ve made an
+engagement for you with the Eldridge Devons up the Hudson—”
+
+“For the whole week?”
+
+“The whole week. And it’ll be the most important thing you’ve done.
+Mrs. Winnie’s going to take us all in her car, and you will make no end
+of indispensable acquaintances.”
+
+“Oliver, I don’t see how in the world I can do it!” the other protested
+in dismay, and went on for several minutes arguing and explaining what
+he had to do. But Oliver contented himself with the assurance that
+where there’s a will, there’s a way. One could not refuse an invitation
+to spend Christmas with the Eldridge Devons!
+
+And sure enough, there was a way. Mr. Hasbrook had mentioned to him
+that he had had considerable work done upon the case, and would have
+the papers sent round. And when Montague reached his office that
+morning, he found them there. There was a package of several thousand
+pages; and upon examining them, he found to his utter consternation
+that they contained a complete bill of complaint, with all the
+necessary references and citations, and a preliminary draught of a
+brief—in short, a complete and thoroughgoing preparation of his case.
+There could not have been less than ten or fifteen thousand dollars’
+worth of work in the papers; and Montague sat quite aghast, turning
+over the neatly typewritten sheets. He could indeed afford to attend
+Christmas house parties, if all his clients were to treat him like
+this!
+
+He felt a little piqued about it—for he had noted some of these points
+for himself, and felt a little proud about them. Apparently he was to
+be nothing but a figure-head in the case! And he turned to the phone
+and called up Mr. Hasbrook, and asked him what he expected him to do
+with these papers. There was the whole case here; and was he simply to
+take them as they stood?
+
+No one could have replied more considerately than did Mr. Hasbrook. The
+papers were for Montague’s benefit—he would do exactly as he pleased
+with them. He might use them as they stood, or reject them altogether,
+or make them the basis for his own work—anything that appealed to his
+judgment would be satisfactory. And so Montague turned about and wrote
+an acceptance to the formal invitation which had come from the Eldridge
+Devons.
+
+Later on in the day Oliver called up, and said that he was to go out to
+dinner the following evening, and that he would call for him at eight.
+“It’s with the Jack Evanses,” Oliver added. “Do you know them?”
+
+Montague had heard the name, as that of the president of a chain of
+Western railroads. “Do you mean him?” he asked.
+
+“Yes,” said the other. “They’re a rum crowd, but there’s money in it.
+I’ll call early and explain it to you.”
+
+But it was explained sooner than that. During the next afternoon
+Montague had a caller—none other than Mrs. Winnie Duval. Some one had
+left Mrs. Winnie some more money, it appeared; and there was a lot of
+red tape attached to it, which she wanted the new lawyer to attend to.
+Also, she said, she hoped that he would charge her a lot of money by
+way of encouraging himself. It was a mere bagatelle of a hundred
+thousand or so, from some forgotten aunt in the West.
+
+The business was soon disposed of, and then Mrs. Winnie asked Montague
+if he had any place to go to for dinner that evening: which was the
+occasion of his mentioning the Jack Evanses. “O dear me!” said Mrs.
+Winnie, with a laugh. “Is Ollie going to take you there? What a funny
+time you’ll have!”
+
+“Do you know them?” asked the other.
+
+“Heavens, no!” was the answer. “Nobody knows them; but everybody knows
+about them. My husband meets old Evans in business, of course, and
+thinks he’s a good sort. But the family—dear me!”
+
+“How much of it is there?”
+
+“Why, there’s the old lady, and two grown daughters and a son. The
+son’s a fine chap, they say—the old man took him in hand and put him at
+work in the shops. But I suppose he thought that daughters were too
+much of a proposition for him, and so he sent them to a fancy
+school—and, I tell you, they’re the most highly polished human
+specimens that ever you encountered!”
+
+It sounded entertaining. “But what does Oliver want with them?” asked
+Montague, wonderingly.
+
+“It isn’t that he wants them—they want him. They’re climbers, you
+know—perfectly frantic. They’ve come to town to get into Society.”
+
+“Then you mean that they pay Oliver?” asked Montague.
+
+“I don’t know that,” said the other, with a laugh. “You’ll have to ask
+Ollie. They’ve a number of the little brothers of the rich hanging
+round them, picking up whatever plunder’s in sight.”
+
+A look of pain crossed Montague’s face; and she saw it, and put out her
+hand with a sudden gesture. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “I’ve offended you!”
+
+“No,” said he, “it’s not that exactly—I wouldn’t be offended. But I’m
+worried about my brother.”
+
+“How do you mean?”
+
+“He gets a lot of money somehow, and I don’t know what it means.”
+
+The woman sat for a few moments in silence, watching him. “Didn’t he
+have any when he came here?” she asked.
+
+“Not very much,” said he.
+
+“Because,” she went on, “if he didn’t, he certainly managed it very
+cleverly—we all thought he had.”
+
+Again there was a pause; then suddenly Mrs. Winnie said: “Do you know,
+you feel differently about money from the way we do in New York. Do you
+realize it?”
+
+“I’m not sure,” said he. “How do you mean?”
+
+“You look at it in an old-fashioned sort of way—a person has to earn
+it—it’s a sign of something he’s done. It came to me just now, all in a
+flash—we don’t feel that way about money. We haven’t any of us earned
+ours; we’ve just got it. And it never occurs to us to expect other
+people to earn it—all we want to know is if they have it.”
+
+Montague did not tell his companion how very profound a remark he
+considered that; he was afraid it would not be delicate to agree with
+her. He had heard a story of a negro occupant of the “mourners’ bench,”
+who was voluble in confession of his sins, but took exception to the
+fervour with which the congregation said “Amen!”
+
+“The Evanses used to be a lot funnier than they are now,” continued
+Mrs. Winnie, after a while. “When they came here last year, they were
+really frightful. They had an English chap for social secretary—a
+younger son of some broken-down old family. My brother knew a man who
+had been one of their intimates in the West, and he said it was
+perfectly excruciating—this fellow used to sit at the table and give
+orders to the whole crowd: ‘Your ice-cream fork should be at your right
+hand, Miss Mary.—One never asks for more soup, Master Robert.—And Miss
+Anna, always move your soup-spoon _from_ you—that’s better!’”
+
+“I fancy I shall feel sorry for them,” said Montague.
+
+“Oh, you needn’t,” said the other, promptly. “They’ll get what they
+want.”
+
+“Do you think so?”
+
+“Why, certainly they will. They’ve got the money; and they’ve been
+abroad—they’re learning the game. And they’ll keep at it until they
+succeed—what else is there for them to do? And then my husband says
+that old Evans is making himself a power here in the East; so that
+pretty soon they won’t dare offend him.”
+
+“Does that count?” asked the man.
+
+“Well, I guess it counts!” laughed Mrs. Winnie. “It has of late.” And
+she went on to tell him of the Society leader who had dared to offend
+the daughters of a great magnate, and how the magnate had retaliated by
+turning the woman’s husband out of his high office. That was often the
+way in the business world; the struggles were supposed to be affairs of
+men, but oftener than not the moving power was a woman’s intrigue. You
+would see a great upheaval in Wall Street, and it would be two of the
+big men quarrelling over a mistress; you would see some man rush
+suddenly into a high office—and that would be because his wife had sold
+herself to advance him.
+
+Mrs. Winnie took him up town in her auto, and he dressed for dinner;
+and then came Oliver, and his brother asked, “Are you trying to put the
+Evanses into Society?”
+
+“Who’s been telling you about them?” asked the other.
+
+“Mrs. Winnie,” said Montague.
+
+“What did she tell you?”
+
+Montague went over her recital, which his brother apparently found
+satisfactory. “It’s not as serious as that,” he said, answering the
+earlier question. “I help them a little now and then.”
+
+“What do you do?”
+
+“Oh, advise them, mostly—tell them where to go and what to wear. When
+they first came to New York, they were dressed like paraquets, you
+know. And”—here Oliver broke into a laugh—“I refrain from making jokes
+about them. And when I hear other people abusing them, I point out that
+they are sure to land in the end, and will be dangerous enemies. I’ve
+got one or two wedges started for them.”
+
+“And do they pay you for doing it?”
+
+“You’d call it paying me, I suppose,” replied the other. “The old man
+carries a few shares of stock for me now and then.”
+
+“Carries a few shares?” echoed Montague, and Oliver explained the
+procedure. This was one of the customs which had grown up in a
+community where people did not have to earn their money. The recipient
+of the favour put up nothing and took no risks; but the other person
+was supposed to buy some stock for him, and then, when the stock went
+up, he would send a cheque for the “profits.” Many a man who would have
+resented a direct offer of money, would assent pleasantly when a
+powerful friend offered to “carry a hundred shares for him.” This was
+the way one offered a tip in the big world; it was useful in the case
+of newspaper men, whose good opinion of a stock was desired, or of
+politicians and legislators, whose votes might help its fortunes. When
+one expected to get into Society, one must be prepared to strew such
+tips about him.
+
+“Of course,” added Oliver, “what the family would really like me to do
+is to get the Robbie Wallings to take them up. I suppose I could get
+round half a million of them if I could manage that.”
+
+To all of which Montague replied, “I see.”
+
+A great light had dawned upon him. So _that_ was the way it was
+managed! That was why one paid thirty thousand a year for one’s
+apartments, and thirty thousand more for a girl’s clothes! No wonder it
+was better to spend Christmas week at the Eldridge Devons than to
+labour at one’s law books!
+
+“One more question,” Montague went on. “Why are you introducing me to
+them?”
+
+“Well,” his brother answered, “it won’t hurt you; you’ll find it
+amusing. You see, they’d heard I had a brother; and they asked me to
+bring you. I couldn’t keep you hidden for ever, could I?”
+
+All this was while they were driving up town. The Evanses’ place was on
+Riverside Drive; and when Montague got out of the cab and saw it
+looming up in the semi-darkness, he emitted an exclamation of wonder.
+It was as big as a jail!
+
+“Oh, yes, they’ve got room enough,” said Oliver, with a laugh. “I put
+this deal through for them—it’s the old Lamson palace, you know.”
+
+They had the room; and likewise they had all the trappings of
+snobbery—Montague took that fact in at a glance. There were
+knee-breeches and scarlet facings and gold braid—marble balconies and
+fireplaces and fountains—French masters and real Flemish tapestry. The
+staircase of their palace was a winding one, and there was a white
+velvet carpet which had been specially woven for it, and had to be
+changed frequently; at the top of it was a white cashmere rug which had
+a pedigree of six centuries—and so on.
+
+And then came the family: this tall, raw-boned, gigantic man, with
+weather-tanned face and straggling grey moustache—this was Jack Evans;
+and Mrs. Evans, short and pudgy, but with a kindly face, and not too
+many diamonds; and the Misses Evans,—stately and slender and perfectly
+arrayed. “Why, they’re all right!” was the thought that came to
+Montague.
+
+They were all right until they opened their mouths. When they spoke,
+you discovered that Evans was a miner, and that his wife had been cook
+on a ranch; also that Anne and Mary had harsh voices, and that they
+never by any chance said or did anything natural.
+
+They were escorted into the stately dining-room—Henri II., with a
+historic mantel taken from the palace of Fontainebleau, and four great
+allegorical paintings of Morning, Evening, Noon, and Midnight upon the
+walls. There were no other guests—the table, set for six, seemed like a
+toy in the vast apartment. And in a sudden flash—with a start of almost
+terror—Montague realized what it must mean not to be in Society. To
+have all this splendour, and nobody to share it! To have Henri II.
+dining-rooms and Louis XVI. parlours and Louis XIV. libraries—and see
+them all empty! To have no one to drive with or talk with, no one to
+visit or play cards with—to go to the theatre and the opera and have no
+one to speak to! Worse than that, to be stared at and smiled at! To
+live in this huge palace, and know that all the horde of servants,
+underneath their cringing deference, were sneering at you! To face
+that—to live in the presence of it day after day! And then, outside of
+your home, the ever widening circles of ridicule and contempt—Society,
+with all its hangers-on and parasites, its imitators and admirers!
+
+And some one had defied all that—some one had taken up the sword and
+gone forth to beat down that opposition! Montague looked at this little
+family of four, and wondered which of them was the driving force in
+this most desperate emprise!
+
+He arrived at it by a process of elimination. It could not be Evans
+himself. One saw that the old man was quite hopeless socially; nothing
+could change his big hairy hands or his lean scrawny neck, or his
+irresistible impulse to slide down in his chair and cross his long legs
+in front of him. The face and the talk of Jack Evans brought
+irresistibly to mind the mountain trail and the prospector’s pack-mule,
+the smoke of camp-fires and the odour of bacon and beans. Seventeen
+long years the man had tramped in deserts and mountain wildernesses,
+and Nature had graven her impress deep into his body and soul.
+
+He was very shy at this dinner; but Montague came to know him well in
+the course of time. And after he had come to realize that Montague was
+not one of the grafters, he opened up his heart. Evans had held on to
+his mine when he had found it, and he had downed the rivals who had
+tried to take it away from him, and he had bought the railroads who had
+tried to crush him—and now he had come to Wall Street to fight the men
+who had tried to ruin his railroads. But through it all, he had kept
+the heart of a woman, and the sight of real distress was unbearable to
+him. He was the sort of man to keep a roll of ten-thousand-dollar bills
+in his pistol pocket, and to give one away if he thought he could do it
+without offence. And, on the other hand, men told how once when he had
+seen a porter insult a woman passenger on his line, he jumped up and
+pulled the bell-cord, and had the man put out on the roadside at
+midnight, thirty miles from the nearest town!
+
+No, it was the women folks, he said to Montague, with his grim laugh.
+It didn’t trouble him at all to be called a “noovoo rich”; and when he
+felt like dancing a shakedown, he could take a run out to God’s
+country. But the women folks had got the bee in their bonnet. The old
+man added sadly that one of the disadvantages of striking it rich was
+that it left the women folks with nothing to do.
+
+Nor was it Mrs. Evans, either. “Sarey,” as she was called by the head
+of the house, sat next to Montague at dinner; and he discovered that
+with the very least encouragement, the good lady was willing to become
+homelike and comfortable. Montague gave the occasion, because he was a
+stranger, and volunteered the opinion that New York was a shamelessly
+extravagant place, and hard to get along in; and Mrs. Evans took up the
+subject and revealed herself as a good-natured and kindly personage,
+who had wistful yearnings for mush and molasses, and flap-jacks, and
+bread fried in bacon-grease, and similar sensible things, while her
+chef was compelling her to eat _paté de foie gras_ in aspic, and
+milk-fed guinea-chicks, and _biscuits glacées Tortoni_. Of course she
+did not say that at dinner,—she made a game effort to play her
+part,—with the result of at least one diverting experience for
+Montague.
+
+Mrs. Evans was telling him what a dreadful place she considered the
+city for young men; and how she feared to bring her boy here. “The men
+here have no morals at all,” said she, and added earnestly, “I’ve come
+to the conclusion that Eastern men are naturally amphibious!”
+
+Then, as Montague knitted his brows and looked perplexed, she added,
+“Don’t you think so?” And he replied, with as little delay as possible,
+that he had never really thought of it before.
+
+It was not until a couple of hours later that the light dawned upon
+him, in the course of a conversation with Miss Anne. “We met Lady
+Stonebridge at luncheon to-day,” said that young person. “Do you know
+her?”
+
+“No,” said Montague, who had never heard of her.
+
+“I think those aristocratic English women use the most abominable
+slang,” continued Anne. “Have you noticed it?”
+
+“Yes, I have,” he said.
+
+“And so utterly cynical! Do you know, Lady Stonebridge quite shocked
+mother—she told her she didn’t believe in marriage at all, and that she
+thought all men were naturally polygamous!”
+
+Later on, Montague came to know “Mrs. Sarey”; and one afternoon,
+sitting in her _Petit Trianon_ drawing-room, he asked her abruptly,
+“Why in the world do you want to get into Society?” And the poor lady
+caught her breath, and tried to be indignant; and then, seeing that he
+was in earnest, and that she was cornered, broke down and confessed.
+“It isn’t me,” she said, “it’s the gals.” (For along with the surrender
+went a reversion to natural speech.) “It’s Mary, and more particularly
+Anne.”
+
+They talked it over confidentially—which was a great relief to Mrs.
+Sarey’s soul, for she was cruelly lonely. So far as she was concerned,
+it was not because she wanted Society, but because Society didn’t want
+her. She flashed up in sudden anger, and clenched her fists, declaring
+that Jack Evans was as good a man as walked the streets of New York—and
+they would acknowledge it before he got through with them, too! After
+that she intended to settle down at home and be comfortable, and mend
+her husband’s socks.
+
+She went on to tell him what a hard road was the path of glory. There
+were hundreds of people ready to know them—but oh, such a riffraff!
+They might fill up their home with the hangers-on and the yellow, but
+no, they could wait. They had learned a lot since they set out. One
+very aristocratic lady had invited them to dinner, and their hopes had
+been high—but alas, while they were sitting by the fireplace, some one
+admired a thirty-thousand-dollar emerald ring which Mrs. Evans had on
+her finger, and she had taken it off and passed it about among the
+company, and somewhere it had vanished completely! And another person
+had invited Mary to a bridge-party, and though she had played hardly at
+all, her hostess had quietly informed her that she had lost a thousand
+dollars. And the great Lady Stonebridge had actually sent for her and
+told her that she could introduce her in some of the very best circles,
+if only she was willing to lose always! Mrs. Evans had possessed a very
+homely Irish name before she was married; and Lady Stonebridge had got
+five thousand dollars from her to use some great influence she
+possessed in the Royal College of Heralds, and prove that she was
+descended directly from the noble old family of Magennis, who had been
+the lords of Iveagh, way back in the fourteenth century. And now Oliver
+had told them that this imposing charter would not help them in the
+least!
+
+In the process of elimination, there were the Misses Evans left.
+Montague’s friends made many jests when they heard that he had met
+them—asking him if he meant to settle down. Major Venable went so far
+as to assure him that there was not the least doubt that either of the
+girls would take him in a second. Montague laughed, and answered that
+Mary was not so bad—she had a sweet face and was good-natured; but
+also, she was two years younger than Anne; and he could not get over
+the thought that two more years might make another Anne of her.
+
+For it was Anne who was the driving force of the family! Anne who had
+planned the great campaign, and selected the Lamson palace, and pried
+the family loose from the primeval rocks of Nevada! She was cold as an
+iceberg, tireless, pitiless to others as to herself; for seventeen
+years her father had wandered and dug among the mountains; and for
+seventeen years, if need be, she would dig beneath the walls of the
+fortress of Society!
+
+After Montague had had his heart to heart talk with the mother, Miss
+Anne Evans became very haughty toward him; whereby he knew that the old
+lady had told about it, and that the daughter resented his presumption.
+But to Oliver she laid bare her soul, and Oliver would come and tell
+his brother about it: how she plotted and planned and studied, and
+brought new schemes to him every week. She had some of the real people
+bought over to secret sympathy with her; if there was some especial
+favour which she asked for, she would set to work with the good-natured
+old man, and the person would have some important money service done
+him. She had the people of Society all marked—she was learning all
+their weaknesses, and the underground passages of their lives, and
+working patiently to find the key to her problem—some one family which
+was socially impregnable, but whose finances were in such a shape that
+they would receive the proposition to take up the Evanses, and
+definitely put them in. Montague used to look back upon all this with
+wonder and amusement—from those days in the not far distant future,
+when the papers had cable descriptions of the gowns of the Duchess of
+Arden, _née_ Evans, who was the bright particular star of the London
+social season!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+Montague had written a reluctant letter to Major Thorne, telling him
+that he had been unable to interest anyone in his proposition, and that
+he was not in position to undertake it himself. Then, according to his
+brother’s injunction, he left his money in the bank, and waited. There
+would be “something doing” soon, said Oliver.
+
+And as they drove home from the Evanses’, Oliver served notice upon him
+that this event might be expected any day. He was very mysterious about
+it, and would answer none of his brother’s questions—except to say that
+it had nothing to do with the people they had just visited.
+
+“I suppose,” Montague remarked, “you have not failed to realize that
+Evans might play you false.”
+
+And the other laughed, echoing the words, “_Might_ do it!” Then he went
+on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West, whose
+daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and some of the
+young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental mood, had
+asked him for his views about the market. He advised them to buy the
+stock of his road; and they formed a pool and bought, and as fast as
+they bought, he sold—until the little venture cost the boys a total of
+seven million and a half!
+
+“No, no,” Oliver added. “I have never put up a dollar for anything of
+Evans’s, and I never shall.—They are simply a side issue, anyway,” he
+added carelessly.
+
+A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his
+brother called him up and said that he was coming round, and would go
+down town with him. Montague knew at once that that meant something
+serious, for he had never before known his brother to be awake so
+early.
+
+They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had arrived—the
+time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He could not tell
+much about it, for it was a matter upon which he stood pledged to
+absolute secrecy. There were but four people in the country who knew
+about it. It was the chance of a lifetime—and in four or five hours it
+would be gone. Three times before it had come to Oliver, and each time
+he had multiplied his capital several times; that he had not made
+millions was simply because he did not have enough money. His brother
+must take his word for this and simply put himself into his hands.
+
+“What is it you want me to do?” asked Montague, gravely.
+
+“I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your
+hands on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with.”
+
+“To buy on margin, you mean?”
+
+“Of course I mean that,” said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother
+frown, he added, “Understand me, I have absolutely certain information
+as to how a certain stock will behave to-day.”
+
+“The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters,” said
+Montague.
+
+“It is not a question of any person’s judgment,” was the reply. “It is
+a question of knowledge. The stock is to be _made_ to behave so.”
+
+“But how can you know that the person who intends to make it behave may
+not be lying to you?”
+
+“My information does not come from that person, but from a person who
+has no such interest—who, on the contrary, is in on the deal with me,
+and gains only as I gain.”
+
+“Then, in other words,” said Montague, “your information is stolen?”
+
+“Everything in Wall Street is stolen,” was Oliver’s concise reply.
+
+There was a long silence, while the cab rolled swiftly on its way.
+“Well?” Oliver asked at last.
+
+“I can imagine,” said Montague, “how a man might intend to move a
+certain stock, and think that he had the power, and yet find that he
+was mistaken. There are so many forces, so many chances to be
+considered—it seems to me you must be taking a risk.”
+
+Oliver laughed. “You talk like a child,” was his reply. “Suppose that I
+were in absolute control of a corporation, and that I chose to run it
+for purposes of market manipulation, don’t you think I might come
+pretty near knowing what its stock was going to do?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague, slowly, “if such a thing as that were
+conceivable.”
+
+“If it were conceivable!” laughed his brother. “And now suppose that I
+had a confidential man—a secretary, we’ll say—and I paid him twenty
+thousand a year, and he saw chances to make a hundred thousand in an
+hour—don’t you think he might conceivably try it?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague, “he might. But where do you come in?”
+
+“Well, if the man were going to do anything worth while, he’d need
+capital, would he not? And he’d hardly dare to look for any money in
+the Street, where a thousand eyes would be watching him. What more
+natural than to look out for some person who is in Society and has the
+ear of private parties with plenty of cash?”
+
+And Montague sat in deep thought. “I see,” he said slowly; “I see!”
+Then, fixing his eyes upon Oliver, he exclaimed, earnestly, “One thing
+more!”
+
+“Don’t ask me any more,” protested the other. “I told you I was
+pledged—”
+
+“You must tell me this,” said Montague. “Does Bobbie Walling know about
+it?”
+
+“He does not,” was the reply. But Montague had known his brother long
+and intimately, and he could read things in his eyes. He knew that that
+was a lie. He had solved the mystery at last!
+
+Montague knew that he had come to a parting of the ways. He did not
+like this kind of thing—he had not come to New York to be a
+stock-gambler. But what a difficult thing it would be to say so; and
+how unfair it was to be confronted with such an issue, and compelled to
+decide in a few minutes in a cab!
+
+He had put himself in his brother’s hands, and now he was under
+obligations to him, which he could not pay off. Oliver had paid all his
+expenses; he was doing everything for him. He had made all his
+difficulties his own, and all in frankness and perfect trust—upon the
+assumption that his brother would play the game with him. And now, at
+the critical moment, he was to face about, and say; “I do not like the
+game. I do not approve of your life!” Such a painful thing it is to
+have a higher moral code than one’s friends!
+
+If he refused, he saw that he would have to face a complete break; he
+could not go on living in the world to which he had been introduced.
+Fifty thousand had seemed an enormous fee, yet even a week or two had
+sufficed for it to come to seem inadequate. He would have to have many
+such fees, if they were to go on living at their present rate; and if
+Alice were to have a social career, and entertain her friends. And to
+ask Alice to give up now, and retire, would be even harder than to face
+his brother here in the cab.
+
+Then came the temptation. Life was a battle, and this was the way it
+was being fought. If he rejected the opportunity, others would seize
+it; in fact, by refusing, he would be handing it to them. This great
+man, whoever he might be, who was manipulating stocks for his own
+convenience—could anyone in his senses reject a chance to wrench from
+him some part of his spoils? Montague saw the impulse of refusal dying
+away within him.
+
+“Well?” asked his brother, finally.
+
+“Oliver,” said the other, “don’t you think that I ought to know more
+about it, so that I can judge?”
+
+“You could not judge, even if I told you all,” said Oliver. “It would
+take you a long time to become familiar with the circumstances, as I
+am. You must take my word; I know it is certain and safe.”
+
+Then suddenly he unbuttoned his coat, and took out some papers, and
+handed his brother a telegram. It was dated Chicago, and read, “Guest
+is expected immediately.—HENRY.” “That means, ‘Buy Transcontinental
+this morning,’” said Oliver.
+
+“I see,” said the other. “Then the man is in Chicago?”
+
+“No,” was the reply. “That is his wife. He wires to her.”
+
+“—How much money have you?” asked Oliver, after a pause.
+
+“I’ve most of the fifty thousand,” the other answered, “and about
+thirty thousand we brought with us.”
+
+“How much can you put your hands on?”
+
+“Why, I could get all of it; but part of the money is mother’s, and I
+would not touch that.”
+
+The younger man was about to remonstrate, but Montague stopped him, “I
+will put up the fifty thousand I have earned,” he said. “I dare not
+risk any more.”
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “As you please,” he said. “You may never
+have another such chance in your life.”
+
+He dropped the subject, or at least he probably tried to. Within a few
+minutes, however, he was back at it again, with the result that by the
+time they reached the banking-district, Montague had agreed to draw
+sixty thousand.
+
+They stopped at his bank. “It isn’t open yet,—” said Oliver, “but the
+paying teller will oblige you. Tell him you want it before the Exchange
+opens.”
+
+Montague went in and got his money, in six new, crisp,
+ten-thousand-dollar bills. He buttoned them up in his inmost pocket,
+wondering a little, incidentally, at the magnificence of the place, and
+at the swift routine manner in which the clerk took in and paid out
+such sums as this. Then they drove to Oliver’s bank, and he drew a
+hundred and twenty thousand; and then he paid off the cab, and they
+strolled down Broadway into Wall Street. It lacked a quarter of an hour
+of the time of the opening of the Exchange; and a stream of
+prosperous-looking men were pouring in from all the cars and ferries to
+their offices.
+
+“Where are your brokers?” Montague inquired.
+
+“I don’t have any brokers—at least not for a matter such as this,” said
+Oliver. And he stopped in front of one of the big buildings. “In
+there,” he said, “are the offices of Hammond and Streeter—second floor
+to your left. Go there and ask for a member of the firm, and introduce
+yourself under an assumed name—”
+
+“What!” gasped Montague.
+
+“Of course, man—you would not dream of giving your own name! What
+difference will that make?”
+
+“I never thought of doing such a thing,” said the other.
+
+“Well, think of it now.”
+
+But Montague shook his head. “I would not do that,” he said.
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “All right,” he said; “tell him you
+don’t care to give your name. They’re a little shady—they’ll take your
+money.”
+
+“Suppose they won’t?” asked the other.
+
+“Then wait outside for me, and I’ll take you somewhere else.”
+
+“What shall I buy?”
+
+“Ten thousand shares of Transcontinental Common at the opening price;
+and tell them to buy on the scale up, and to raise the stop; also to
+take your orders to sell over the ’phone. Then wait there until I come
+for you.”
+
+Montague set his teeth together and obeyed orders. Inside the door
+marked Hammond and Streeter a pleasant-faced young man advanced to meet
+him, and led him to a grey-haired and affable gentleman, Mr. Streeter.
+And Montague introduced himself as a stranger in town, from the South,
+and wishing to buy some stock. Mr. Streeter led him into an inner
+office and seated himself at a desk and drew some papers in front of
+him. “Your name, please?” he asked.
+
+“I don’t care to give my name,” replied the other. And Mr. Streeter put
+down his pen.
+
+“Not give your name?” he said.
+
+“No,” said Montague quietly.
+
+“Why?”—said Mr. Streeter—“I don’t understand—”
+
+“I am a stranger in town,” said Montague, “and not accustomed to
+dealing in stocks. I should prefer to remain unknown.”
+
+The man eyed him sharply. “Where do you come from?” he asked.
+
+“From Mississippi,” was the reply.
+
+“And have you a residence in New York?”
+
+“At a hotel,” said Montague.
+
+“You have to give some name,” said the other.
+
+“Any will do,” said Montague. “John Smith, if you like.”
+
+“We never do anything like this,” said the broker.
+
+“We require that our customers be introduced. There are rules of the
+Exchange—there are rules—”
+
+“I am sorry,” said Montague; “this would be a cash transaction.”
+
+“How many shares do you want to buy?”
+
+“Ten thousand,” was the reply.
+
+Mr. Streeter became more serious. “That is a large order,” he said.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+“What do you wish to buy?” was the next question.
+
+“Transcontinental Common,” he replied.
+
+“Well,” said the other, after another pause.—“we will try to
+accommodate you. But you will have to consider it—er—”
+
+“Strictly confidential,” said Montague.
+
+So Mr. Streeter made out the papers, and Montague, looking them over,
+discovered that they called for one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+“That is a mistake,” he said. “I have only sixty thousand.”
+
+“Oh,” said the other, “we shall certainly have to charge you a ten per
+cent, margin.”
+
+Montague was not prepared for this contingency; but he did some mental
+arithmetic. “What is the present price of the stock?” he asked.
+
+“Fifty-nine and five-eighths,” was the reply.
+
+“Then sixty thousand dollars is more than ten per cent, of the market
+price,” said Montague.
+
+“Yes,” said Mr. Streeter. “But in dealing with a stranger we shall
+certainly have to put a ‘stop loss’ order at four points above, and
+that would leave you only two points of safety—surely not enough.”
+
+“I see,” said Montague—and he had a sudden appalling realization of the
+wild game which his brother had planned for him.
+
+“Whereas,” Mr. Streeter continued, persuasively, “if you put up ten per
+cent., you will have six points.”
+
+“Very well,” said the other promptly. “Then please buy me six thousand
+shares.”
+
+So they closed the deal, and the papers were signed, and Mr. Streeter
+took the six new, crisp ten-thousand-dollar bills.
+
+Then he escorted him to the outer office, remarking pleasantly on the
+way, “I hope you’re well advised. We’re inclined to be bearish upon
+Transcontinental ourselves—the situation looks rather squally.”
+
+These words were not worth the breath it took to say them; but Montague
+was not aware of this, and felt a painful start within. But he
+answered, carelessly, that one must take his chance, and sat down in
+one of the customer’s chairs. Hammond and Streeter’s was like a little
+lecture-hall, with rows of seats and a big blackboard in front, with
+the initials of the most important stocks in columns, and yesterday’s
+closing prices above, on little green cards. At one side was a ticker,
+with two attendants awaiting the opening click.
+
+In the seats were twenty or thirty men, old and young; most of them
+regular _habitués_, victims of the fever of the Street. Montague
+watched them, catching snatches of their whispered conversation, with
+its intricate and disagreeable slang. He felt intensely humiliated and
+uncomfortable—for he had got the fever of the Street into his own
+veins, and he could not conquer it. There were nasty shivers running up
+and down his spine, and his hands were cold.
+
+He stared at the little figures, fascinated; they stood for some vast
+and tremendous force outside, which could not be controlled or even
+comprehended,—some merciless, annihilating force, like the lightning or
+the tornado. And he had put himself at the mercy of it; it might do its
+will with him! “Tr. C. 59-5/8” read the little pasteboard; and he had
+only six points of safety. If at any time in the day that figure should
+be changed to read “53-5/8”—then every dollar of Montague’s sixty
+thousand would be gone for ever! The great fee that he had worked so
+hard for and rejoiced so greatly over—that would be all gone, and a
+slice out of his inheritance besides!
+
+A boy put into his hand a little four-page paper—one of the countless
+news-sheets which different houses and interests distributed free for
+advertising or other purposes; and a heading “Transcontinental” caught
+his eye, among the paragraphs in the _Day’s Events_. He read: “The
+directors’ meeting of the Transcontinental R.R. will be held at noon.
+It is confidently predicted that the quarterly dividend will be passed,
+as it has been for the last three quarters. There is great
+dissatisfaction among the stock-holders. The stock has been decidedly
+weak, with no apparent inside support; it fell off three points just
+before closing yesterday, upon the news of further proceedings by
+Western state officials, and widely credited rumours of dissensions
+among the directors, with renewed opposition to the control of the
+Hopkins interests.”
+
+Ten o’clock came and went, and the ticker began its long journey. There
+was intense activity in Transcontinental, many thousands of shares
+changing hands, and the price swaying back and forth. When Oliver came
+in, in half an hour, it stood at 59-3/8.
+
+“That’s all right,” said he. “Our time will not come till afternoon.”
+
+“But suppose we are wiped out before afternoon?” said the other.
+
+“That is impossible,” answered Oliver. “There will be big buying all
+the morning.”
+
+They sat for a while, nervous and restless. Then, by way of breaking
+the monotony, Oliver suggested that his brother might like to see the
+“Street.” They went around the corner to Broad Street. Here at the head
+stood the Sub-treasury building, with all the gold of the government
+inside, and a Gatling gun in the tower. The public did not know it was
+there, but the financial men knew it, and it seemed as if they had
+huddled all their offices and banks and safe-deposit vaults under its
+shelter. Here, far underground, were hidden the two hundred millions of
+securities of the Oil Trust—in a huge six-hundred-ton steel vault, with
+a door so delicately poised that a finger could swing it on its hinges.
+And opposite to this was the white Grecian building of the Stock
+Exchange. Down the street were throngs of men within a roped arena,
+pushing, shouting, jostling; this was “the curb,” where one could buy
+or sell small blocks of stock, and all the wild-cat mining and oil
+stocks which were not listed by the Exchange. Rain or shine, these men
+were always here; and in the windows of the neighbouring buildings
+stood others shouting quotations to them through megaphones, or
+signalling in deaf and dumb language. Some of these brokers wore
+coloured hats, so that they could be distinguished; some had offices
+far off, where men sat all day with strong glasses trained upon them.
+Everywhere was the atmosphere of speculation—the restless, feverish
+eyes; the quick, nervous gestures; the haggard, care-worn faces. For in
+this game every man was pitted against every other man; and the dice
+were loaded so that nine out of every ten were doomed in advance to
+ruin and defeat. They procured passes to the visitors’ gallery of the
+Exchange. From here one looked down into a room one or two hundred feet
+square, its floor covered with a snowstorm of torn pieces of paper, and
+its air a babel of shouts and cries. Here were gathered perhaps two
+thousand men and boys; some were lounging and talking, but most were
+crowded about the various trading-posts, pushing, climbing over each
+other, leaping up, waving their hands and calling aloud. A “seat” in
+this exchange was worth about ninety-five thousand dollars, and so no
+one of these men was poor; but yet they came, day after day, to play
+their parts in this sordid arena, “seeking in sorrow for each other’s
+joy”: inventing a thousand petty tricks to outwit and deceive each
+other; rejoicing in a thousand petty triumphs; and spending their
+lives, like the waves upon the shore, a very symbol of human futility.
+Now and then a sudden impulse would seize them, and they would become
+like howling demons, surging about one spot, shrieking, gasping,
+clawing each other’s clothing to pieces; and the spectator shuddered,
+seeing them as the victims of some strange and dreadful enchantment,
+which bound them to struggle and torment each other until they were
+worn out and grey.
+
+But one felt these things only dimly, when he had put all his fortune
+into Transcontinental Common. For then he had sold his own soul to the
+enchanter, and the spell was upon him, and he hoped and feared and
+agonized with the struggling throng. Montague had no need to ask which
+was his “post”; for a mob of a hundred men were packed about it, with
+little whirls and eddies here and there on the outside. “Something
+doing to-day all right,” said a man in his ear.
+
+It was interesting to watch; but there was one difficulty—there were no
+quotations provided for the spectators. So the sight of this activity
+merely set them on edge with anxiety—something must be happening to
+their stock! Even Oliver was visibly nervous—after all, in the surest
+cases, the game was a dangerous one; there might be a big failure, or
+an assassination, or an earthquake! They rushed out and made for the
+nearest broker’s office, where a glance at the board showed them
+Transcontinental at 60. They drew a long breath, and sat down again to
+wait.
+
+That was about half-past eleven. At a quarter to twelve the stock went
+up an eighth, and then a quarter, and then another eighth. The two
+gripped their hands in excitement. Had the time come?
+
+Apparently it had. A minute later the stock leaped to 61, on large
+buying. Then it went three-eighths more. A buzz of excitement ran
+through the office, and the old-timers sat up in their seats. The stock
+went another quarter.
+
+Montague heard a man behind him say to his neighbour, “What does it
+mean?”
+
+“God knows,” was the answer; but Oliver whispered in his brother’s ear,
+“I know what it means. The insiders are buying.”
+
+Somebody was buying, and buying furiously. The ticker seemed to set all
+other business aside and give its attention to the trading in
+Transcontinental. It was like a base-ball game, when one side begins to
+pile up runs, and the man in the coacher’s box chants exultantly, and
+the dullest spectator is stirred—since no man can be indifferent to
+success. And as the stock went higher and higher, a little wave of
+excitement mounted with it, a murmur running through the room, and a
+thrill passing from person to person. Some watched, wondering if it
+would last, and if they had not better take on a little; then another
+point would be scored, and they would wish they had done it, and
+hesitate whether to do it now. But to others, like the Montagues, who
+“had some,” it was victory, glorious and thrilling; their pulses leaped
+faster with every new change of the figures; and between times they
+reckoned up their gains, and hung between hope and dread for the new
+gains which were on the way, but not yet in sight.
+
+There was little lull, and the boys who tended the board had a chance
+to rest. The stock was above 66; at which price, owing to the device of
+“pyramiding.” Montague was on “velvet,” to use the picturesque phrase
+of the Street. His earnings amounted to sixty thousand dollars, and
+even if the stock were to fall and he were to be sold out, he would
+lose nothing.
+
+He wished to sell and realize his profits; but his brother gripped him
+fast by the arm. “No! _no!_” he said. “It hasn’t really come yet!”
+
+Some went out to lunch—to a restaurant where they could have a
+telephone on their table, so as to keep in touch with events. But the
+Montagues had no care about eating; they sat picturing the directors in
+session, and speculating upon a score of various eventualities. Things
+might yet go wrong, and all their profits would vanish like early
+snow-flakes—and all their capital with them. Oliver shook like a leaf,
+but he would not stir. “Stay game!” he whispered.
+
+He took out his watch, and glanced at it. It was after two o’clock. “It
+may go over till to-morrow!” he muttered.—But then suddenly came the
+storm.
+
+The ticker recorded a rise in the price of Transcontinental of a point
+and a half, upon a purchase of five thousand shares; and then half a
+point for two thousand more. After that it never stopped. It went a
+point at a time; it went ten points in about fifteen minutes. And babel
+broke loose in the office, and in several thousand other offices in the
+street, and spread to others all over the world. Montague had got up,
+and was moving here and there, because the tension was unendurable; and
+at the door of an inner office he heard some one at the telephone
+exclaiming, “For the love of God, can’t you find out what’s the
+matter?”—A moment later a man rushed in, breathless and wild-eyed, and
+his voice rang through the office, “The directors have declared a
+quarterly dividend of three per cent, and an extra dividend of two!”
+
+And Oliver caught his brother by the arm and started for the door with
+him. “Get to your broker’s,” he said. “And if the stock has stopped
+moving, sell; and sell in any case before the close.” And then he
+dashed away to his own headquarters.
+
+At about half after three o’clock, Oliver came into Hammond and
+Streeter’s, breathless, and with his hair and clothing dishevelled. He
+was half beside himself with exultation; and Montague was scarcely less
+wrought up—in fact he felt quite limp after the strain he had been
+through.
+
+“What price did you get?” his brother inquired; and he answered, “An
+average of 78-3/8.” There had been another sharp rise at the end, and
+he had sold all his stock without checking the advance.
+
+“I got five-eighths,” said Oliver. “O ye gods!”
+
+There were some unhappy “shorts” in the office; Mr. Streeter was one of
+them. It was bitterness and gall to them to see the radiant faces of
+the two lucky ones; but the two did not even see this. They went out,
+half dancing, and had a drink or two to steady their nerves.
+
+They would not actually get their money until the morrow; but Montague
+figured a profit of a trifle under a quarter of a million for himself.
+Of this about twenty thousand would go to make up the share of his
+unknown informant; the balance he considered would be an ample reward
+for his six hours’ work that day.
+
+His brother had won more than twice as much. But as they drove up home,
+talking over it in awe-stricken whispers, and pledging themselves to
+absolute secrecy, Oliver suddenly clenched his fist and struck his
+knee.
+
+“By God!” he exclaimed. “If I hadn’t been a fool and tried to save an
+extra margin, I could have had a million!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas festivities,—for
+music and dancing and all beautiful and happy things.
+
+Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet him;
+clad in her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy ermine, so
+truly gorgeous that wherever she went, people turned and stared and
+caught their breath. Mrs. Winnie was a picture of joyful health, with a
+glow in her rich complexion, and a sparkle in her black eyes.
+
+She sat in her big touring-car—in which one could afford to wear
+ermine. It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine
+were seats for six persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths for
+sleeping, and a writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful electric
+chandelier to light it at night. Its trimmings were of South American
+mahogany, and its upholstering of Spanish and Morocco leathers; it had
+a telephone with which one spoke to the driver; an ice-box and a lunch
+hamper—in fact, one might have spent an hour discovering new gimcracks
+in this magic automobile. It had been made especially for Mrs. Winnie a
+couple of years ago, and the newspapers said it had cost thirty
+thousand dollars; it had then been quite a novelty, but now “everybody”
+was getting them. In this car one might sit at ease, and laugh and
+chat, and travel at the rate of an express train; and with never a jar
+or a quiver, nor the faintest sound of any sort.
+
+The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went
+through the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road which
+runs out of Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a macadamized
+avenue, lined with beautiful and stately homes. As one went farther
+yet, he came to the great country estates—a whole district of hundreds
+of square miles given up to them. There were forests and lakes and
+streams; there were gardens and greenhouses filled with rare plants and
+flowers, and parks with deer browsing, and peacocks and lyre-birds
+strutting about. The road wound in and out among hills, the surfaces of
+which would be one unbroken lawn; and upon the highest points stood
+palaces of every conceivable style and shape.
+
+One might find these great domains anywhere around the city, at a
+distance of from thirty to sixty miles; there were two or three hundred
+of them, and incredible were the sums of money which had been spent
+upon their decoration. One saw an artificial lake of ten thousand
+acres, made upon land which had cost several hundred dollars an acre;
+one saw gardens with ten thousand rose-bushes, and a quarter of a
+million dollars’ worth of lilies from Japan; there was one estate in
+which had been planted a million dollars’ worth of rare trees, imported
+from all over the world. Some rich men, who had nothing else to amuse
+them, would make their estates over and over again, changing the view
+about their homes as one changes the scenery in a play. Over in New
+Jersey the Hegans were building a castle upon a mountain-top, and had
+built a special railroad simply to carry the materials. Here, also, was
+the estate of the tobacco king, upon which three million dollars had
+been spent before the plans of the mansion had even been drawn; there
+were artificial lakes and streams, and fantastic bridges and statuary,
+and scores of little model plantations and estates, according to the
+whim of the owner. And here in the Pocantico Hills was the estate of
+the oil king, about four square miles, with thirty miles of model
+driveways; many car-loads of rare plants had been imported for its
+gardens, and it took six hundred men to keep it in order. There was a
+golf course, a little miniature Alps, upon which the richest man in the
+world pursued his lost health, with armed guards and detectives
+patrolling the place all day, and a tower with a search-light, whereby
+at night he could flood the grounds with light by pressing a button.
+
+In one of these places lived the heir of the great house of Devon. His
+cousin dwelt in Europe, saying that America was not a fit place for a
+gentleman to live in. Each of them owned a hundred million dollars’
+worth of New York real estate, and drew their tribute of rents from the
+toil of the swarming millions of the city. And always, according to the
+policy of the family, they bought new real estate. They were directors
+of the great railroads tributary to the city, and in touch with the
+political machines, and in every other way in position to know what was
+under way: if a new subway were built to set the swarming millions
+free, the millions would find the land all taken up, and
+apartment-houses newly built for them—and the Devons were the owners.
+They had a score of the city’s greatest hotels—and also slum tenements,
+and brothels and dives in the Tenderloin. They did not even have to
+know what they owned; they did not have to know anything, or do
+anything—they lived in their palaces, at home or abroad, and in their
+offices in the city the great rent-gathering machine ground on.
+
+Eldridge Devon’s occupation was playing with his country-place and his
+automobiles. He had recently sold all his horses, and turned his
+stables into a garage equipped with a score or so of cars; he was
+always getting a new one, and discussing its merits. As to Hudson
+Cliff, the estate, he had conceived the brilliant idea of establishing
+a gentleman’s country-place which should be self-supporting—that is to
+say, which should furnish the luxuries and necessities of its owner’s
+table for no more than it would have cost to buy them. Considering the
+prices usually paid, this was no astonishing feat, but Devon took a
+child’s delight in it; he showed Montague his greenhouses, filled with
+rare flowers and fruits, and his model dairy, with marble stables and
+nickel plumbing, and attendants in white uniforms and rubber gloves. He
+was a short and very stout gentleman with red cheeks, and his
+conversation was not brilliant.
+
+To Hudson Cliff came many of Montague’s earlier acquaintances, and
+others whom he had not met before. They amused themselves in all the
+ways with which he had become familiar at house-parties; likewise on
+Christmas Eve there were festivities for the children, and on Christmas
+night a costume ball, very beautiful and stately. Many came from New
+York to attend this, and others from the neighbourhood; and in
+returning calls, Montague saw others of these hill-top mansions.
+
+Also, and most important of all, they played bridge—as they had played
+at every function which he had attended so far. Here Mrs. Winnie, who
+had rather taken him up, and threatened to supplant Oliver as his
+social guide and chaperon, insisted that no more excuses would be
+accepted; and so for two mornings he sat with her in one of the
+sun-parlours, and diligently put his mind upon the game. As he proved
+an apt pupil, he was then advised that he might take a trial plunge.
+
+And so Montague came into touch with a new social phenomenon; perhaps
+on the whole the most significant and soul-disturbing phenomenon which
+Society had exhibited to him. He had just had the experience of getting
+a great deal of money without earning it, and was fresh from the
+disagreeable memories of it—the trembling and suspense, the burning
+lustful greed, the terrible nerve-devouring excitement. He had hoped
+that he would not soon have to go through such an experience again—and
+here was the prospect of an endless dalliance with it!
+
+For that was the meaning of bridge; it was a penalty which people were
+paying for getting their money without earning it. The disease got into
+their blood, and they could no longer live without the excitement of
+gain and the hope of gain. So after their labours were over, when they
+were supposed to be resting and enjoying themselves, they would get
+together and torment themselves with an imitation struggle, mimicking
+the grim and dreadful gamble of business. Down in the Street, Oliver
+had pointed out to his brother a celebrated “plunger,” who had
+sometimes won six or eight millions in a single day; and that man would
+play at stocks all morning, and “play the ponies” in the afternoon, and
+then spend the evening in a millionaires’ gambling-house. And so it was
+with the bridge fiends.
+
+It was a social plague; it had run through all Society, high and low.
+It had destroyed conversation and all good-fellowship—it would end by
+destroying even common decency, and turning the best people into vulgar
+gamblers.—Thus spoke Mrs. Billy Alden, who was one of the guests; and
+Montague thought that Mrs. Billy ought to know, for she herself was
+playing all the time.
+
+Mrs. Billy did not like Mrs. Winnie Duval; and the beginning of the
+conversation was her inquiry why he let that woman corrupt him. Then
+the good lady went on to tell him what bridge had come to be; how
+people played it on the trains all the way from New York to San
+Francisco; how they had tables in their autos, and played while they
+were touring over the world. “Once,” said she, “I took a party to see
+the America’s Cup races off Sandy Hook; and when we got back to the
+pier, some one called, ‘Who won?’ And the answer was, ‘Mrs. Billy’s
+ahead, but we’re going on this evening.’ I took a party of friends
+through the Mediterranean and up the Nile, and we passed Venice and
+Cairo and the Pyramids and the Suez Canal, and they never once looked
+up—they were playing bridge. And you think I’m joking, but I mean just
+literally what I say. I know a man who was travelling from New York to
+Philadelphia, and got into a game with some strangers, and rode all the
+way to Palm Beach to finish it!”
+
+Montague heard later of a well-known Society leader who was totally
+incapacitated that winter, from too much bridge at Newport; and she was
+passing the winter at Hot Springs and Palm Beach—and playing bridge
+there. They played it even in sanitariums, to which they had been
+driven by nervous breakdown. It was an occupation so exhausting to the
+physique of women that physicians came to know the symptoms of it, and
+before they diagnosed a case, they would ask, “Do you play bridge?” It
+had destroyed the last remnants of the Sabbath—it was a universal
+custom to have card-parties on that day.
+
+It was a very expensive game, as they played it in Society; one might
+easily win or lose several thousand dollars in an evening, and there
+were many who could not afford this. If one did not play, he would be
+dropped from the lists of those invited; and when one entered a game,
+etiquette required him to stay in until it was finished. So one heard
+of young girls who had pawned their family plate, or who had sold their
+honour, to pay their bills at the game; and all Society knew of one
+youth who had robbed his hostess of her jewels and pawned them, and
+then taken her the tickets—telling her that her guests had robbed him.
+There were women received in the best Society, who lived as
+adventuresses pure and simple, upon their skill at the game; hostesses
+would invite rich guests and fleece them. Montague never forgot the
+sense of amazement and dismay with which he listened while first Mrs.
+Winnie and then his brother warned him that he must avoid playing with
+a certain aristocratic dame whom he met in this most aristocratic
+household—because she was such a notorious cheater!
+
+“My dear fellow,” laughed his brother, when he protested, “we have a
+phrase ‘to cheat at cards like a woman.’” And then Oliver went on to
+tell him of his own first experience at cards in Society, when he had
+played poker with several charming young débutantes; they would call
+their hands and take the money without showing their cards, and he had
+been too gallant to ask to see them. But later he learned that this was
+a regular practice, and so he never played poker with women. And Oliver
+pointed out one of these girls to his brother—sitting, as beautiful as
+a picture and as cold as marble, with a half-smoked cigarette on the
+edge of the table, and whisky and soda and glasses of cracked ice
+beside her. Later on, as he chanced to be reading a newspaper, his
+brother leaned over his shoulder and pointed out another of the
+symptoms of the craze—an advertisement headed, “Your luck will change.”
+It gave notice that at Rosenstein’s Parlours, just off Fifth Avenue,
+one might borrow money upon expensive gowns and furs!
+
+All during the ten days of this house-party, Mrs. Winnie devoted
+herself to seeing that Montague had a good time; Mrs. Winnie sat beside
+him at table—he found that somehow a convention had been established
+which assigned him to Mrs. Winnie as a matter of course. Nobody said
+anything to him about it, but knowing how relentlessly the affairs of
+other people were probed and analyzed, he began to feel exceedingly
+uncomfortable.
+
+There came a time when he felt quite smothered by Mrs. Winnie; and
+immediately after lunch one day he broke away and went for a long walk
+by himself. This was the occasion of his meeting with an adventure.
+
+An inch or two of snow had fallen, and lay gleaming in the sunlight.
+The air was keen, and he drank deep draughts of it, and went striding
+away over the hills for an hour or so. There was a gale blowing, and as
+he came over the summits it would strike him, and he would see the
+river white with foam. And then down in the valleys again all would be
+still.
+
+Here, in a thickly wooded place, Montague’s attention was arrested
+suddenly by a peculiar sound, a heavy thud, which seemed to shake the
+earth. It suggested a distant explosion, and he stopped for a moment
+and then went on, gazing ahead. He passed a turn, and then he saw a
+great tree which had fallen directly across the road.
+
+He went on, thinking that this was what he had heard. But as he came
+nearer, he saw his mistake. Beyond the tree lay something else, and he
+began to run toward it. It was two wheels of an automobile, sticking up
+into the air.
+
+He sprang upon the tree-trunk, and in one glance he saw the whole
+story. A big touring-car had swept round the sharp turn, and swerved to
+avoid the unexpected obstruction, and so turned a somersault into the
+ditch.
+
+Montague gave a thrill of horror, for there was the form of a man
+pinned beneath the body of the car. He sprang toward it, but a second
+glance made him stop—he saw that blood had gushed from the man’s mouth
+and soaked the snow all about. His chest was visibly crushed flat, and
+his eyes were dreadful, half-started from their sockets.
+
+For a moment Montague stood staring, as if turned to stone. Then from
+the other side of the car came a moan, and he ran toward the sound. A
+second man lay in the ditch, moving feebly. Montague sprang to help
+him.
+
+The man wore a heavy bearskin coat. Montague lifted him, and saw that
+he was a very elderly person, with a cut across his forehead, and a
+face as white as chalk. The other helped him to a position with his
+back against the bank, and he opened his eyes and groaned.
+
+Montague knelt beside him, watching his breathing. He had a sense of
+utter helplessness—there was nothing he could think of to do, save to
+unbutton the man’s coat and keep wiping the blood from his face.
+
+“Some whisky,” the stranger moaned. Montague answered that he had none;
+but the other replied that there was some in the car.
+
+The slope of the bank was such that Montague could crawl under, and
+find the compartment with the bottle in it. The old man drank some, and
+a little colour came back to his face. As the other watched him, it
+came to him that this face was familiar; but he could not place it.
+
+“How many were there with you?” Montague asked; and the man answered,
+“Only one.”
+
+Montague went over and made certain that the other man—who was
+obviously the chauffeur—was dead. Then he hurried down the road, and
+dragged some brush out into the middle of it, where it could be seen
+from a distance by any other automobile that came along; after which he
+went back to the stranger, and bound his handkerchief about his
+forehead to stop the bleeding from the cut.
+
+The old man’s lips were tightly set, as if he were suffering great
+pain. “I’m done for!” he moaned, again and again.
+
+“Where are you hurt?” Montague asked.
+
+“I don’t know,” he gasped. “But it’s finished me! I know it—it’s the
+last straw.”
+
+Then he closed his eyes and lay back. “Can’t you get a doctor?” he
+asked.
+
+“There are no houses very near,” said Montague. “But I can run—”
+
+“No, no!” the other interrupted, anxiously. “Don’t leave me! Some one
+will come.—Oh, that fool of a chauffeur—why couldn’t he go slow when I
+told him? That’s always the way with them—they’re always trying to show
+off.”
+
+“The man is dead,” said Montague, quietly.
+
+The other started upon his elbow. “Dead!” he gasped.
+
+“Yes,” said Montague. “He’s under the car.”
+
+The old man’s eyes had started wild with fright; and he caught Montague
+by the arm. “_Dead!_” he said. “O my God—and it might have been me!”
+
+There was a moment’s pause. The stranger caught his breath, and
+whispered again: “I’m done for! I can’t stand it! it’s too much!”
+
+Montague had noticed when he lifted the man that he was very frail and
+slight of build. Now he could feel that the hand that held his arm was
+trembling violently. It occurred to him that perhaps the man was not
+really hurt, but that his nerves had been upset by the shock.
+
+And he felt certain of this a moment later, when the stranger suddenly
+leaned forward, clutching him with redoubled intensity, and staring at
+him with wide, horror-stricken eyes.
+
+“Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?” he panted. “Do you
+know what it means to be afraid of death?”
+
+Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed on—“No, no! You can’t! you
+can’t! I don’t believe any man knows it as I do! Think of it—for ten
+years I’ve never known a minute when I wasn’t afraid of death! It
+follows me around—it won’t let me be! It leaps out at me in places,
+like this! And when I escape it, I can hear it laughing at me—for it
+knows I can’t get away!”
+
+The old man caught his breath with a choking sob. He was clinging to
+Montague like a frightened child, and staring with a wild, hunted look
+upon his face. Montague sat transfixed.
+
+“Yes,” the other rushed on, “that’s the truth, as God hears me! And
+it’s the first time I’ve ever spoken it in my life! I have to hide
+it—because men would laugh at me—they pretend they’re not afraid! But I
+lie awake all night, and it’s like a fiend that sits by my bedside! I
+lie and listen to my own heart—I feel it beating, and I think how weak
+it is, and what thin walls it has, and what a wretched, helpless thing
+it is to have your life depend on that!—You don’t know what that is, I
+suppose.”
+
+Montague shook his head.
+
+“You’re young, you see,” said the other. “You have health—everybody has
+health, except me! And everybody hates me—I haven’t got a friend in the
+world!”
+
+Montague was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this outburst. He
+tried to stop it, for he felt almost indecent in listening—it was not
+fair to take a man off his guard like this. But the stranger could not
+be stopped—he was completely unstrung, and his voice grew louder and
+louder.
+
+“It’s every word of it true,” he exclaimed wildly. “And I can’t stand
+it any more. I can’t stand anything any more. I was young and strong
+once—I could take care of myself; and I said: I’ll make money, I’ll be
+master of other men! But I was a fool—I forgot my health. And now all
+the money on earth can’t do me any good! I’d give ten million dollars
+to-day for a body like any other man’s—and this—this is what I have!”
+
+He struck his hands against his bosom. “Look at it!” he cried,
+hysterically. “This is what I’ve got to live in! It won’t digest any
+food, and I can’t keep it warm—there’s nothing right with it! How would
+you like to lie awake at night and say to yourself that your teeth were
+decaying and you couldn’t help it—your hair was falling out, and nobody
+could stop it? You’re old and worn out—falling to pieces; and everybody
+hates you—everybody’s waiting for you to die, so that they can get you
+out of the way. The doctors come, and they’re all humbugs! They shake
+their heads and use long words—they know they can’t do you any good,
+but they want their big fees! And all they do is to frighten you worse,
+and make you sicker than ever!”
+
+There was nothing that Montague could do save to sit and listen to this
+outburst of wretchedness. His attempts to soothe the old man only had
+the effect of exciting him more.
+
+“Why does it all have to fall on me?” he moaned. “I want to be like
+other people—I want to live! And instead, I’m like a man with a pack of
+hungry wolves prowling round him—that’s what it’s like! It’s like
+Nature—hungry and cruel and savage! You think you know what life is; it
+seems so beautiful and gentle and pleasant—that’s when you’re on top!
+But now I’m down, and I _know_ what it is—it’s a thing like a
+nightmare, that reaches out for you to clutch you and crush you! And
+you can’t get away from it—you’re helpless as a rat in a corner—you’re
+damned—you’re _damned!_” The miserable man’s voice broke in a cry of
+despair, and he sank down in a heap in front of Montague, shaking and
+sobbing. The other was trembling slightly, and stricken with awe.
+
+There was a long silence, and then the stranger lifted his tear-stained
+face, and Montague helped to support him. “Have a little more of the
+whisky,” said he.
+
+“No,” the other answered feebly, “I’d better not.”
+
+“—My doctors won’t let me have whisky,” he added, after a while.
+“That’s my liver. I’ve so many don’ts, you know, that it takes a
+note-book to keep track of them. And all of them together do me no
+good! Think of it—I have to live on graham crackers and milk—actually,
+not a thing has passed my lips for two years but graham crackers and
+milk.”
+
+And then suddenly, with a start, it came to Montague where he had seen
+this wrinkled old face before. It was Laura Hegan’s uncle, whom the
+Major had pointed out to him in the dining-room of the Millionaires’
+Club! Old Henry S. Grimes, who was really only sixty, but looked
+eighty; and who owned slum tenements, and evicted more people in a
+month than could be crowded into the club-house!
+
+Montague gave no sign, but sat holding the man in his arms. A little
+trickle of blood came from under the handkerchief and ran down his
+cheek; Montague felt him tremble as he touched this with his ringer.
+
+“Is it much of a cut?” he asked.
+
+“Not much,” said Montague; “two or three stitches, perhaps.”
+
+“Send for my family physician,” the other added. “If I should faint, or
+anything, you’ll find his name in my card-case. What’s that?”
+
+There was the sound of voices down the road. “Hello!” Montague shouted;
+and a moment later two men in automobile costume came running toward
+him. They stopped, staring in dismay at the sight which confronted
+them.
+
+At Montague’s suggestion they made haste to find a log by means of
+which they lifted the auto sufficiently to drag out the body of the
+chauffeur. Montague saw that it was quite cold.
+
+He went back to old Grimes. “Where do you wish to go?” he asked.
+
+The other hesitated. “I was bound for the Harrisons’—” he said.
+
+“The Leslie Harrisons?” asked Montague. (They were people he had met at
+the Devons’.)
+
+The other noticed his look of recognition. “Do you know them?” he
+asked.
+
+“I do,” said Montague.
+
+“It isn’t far,” said the old man. “Perhaps I had best go there.”—And
+then he hesitated for a moment; and catching Montague by the arm, and
+pulling him toward him, whispered, “Tell me—you—you won’t tell—”
+
+Montague, comprehending what he meant, answered, “It will be between
+us.” At the same time he felt a new thrill of revulsion for this most
+miserable old creature.
+
+They lifted him into the car; and because they delayed long enough to
+lay a blanket over the body of the chauffeur, he asked peevishly why
+they did not start. During the ten or fifteen minutes’ trip he sat
+clinging to Montague, shuddering with fright every time they rounded a
+turn in the road.
+
+They reached the Harrisons’ place; and the footman who opened the door
+was startled out of his studied impassivity by the sight of a big
+bundle of bearskin in Montague’s arms. “Send for Mrs. Harrison,” said
+Montague, and laid the bundle upon a divan in the hall. “Get a doctor
+as quickly as you can,” he added to a second attendant.
+
+Mrs. Harrison came. “It’s Mr. Grimes,” said Montague; and then he heard
+a frightened exclamation, and turned and saw Laura Hegan, in a walking
+costume, fresh from the cold outside.
+
+“What is it?” she cried. And he told her, as quickly as he could, and
+she ran to help the old man. Montague stood by, and later carried him
+upstairs, and waited below until the doctor came.
+
+It was only when he set out for home again that he found time to think
+about Laura Hegan, and how beautiful she had looked in her furs. He
+wondered if it would always be his fate to meet her under circumstances
+which left her no time to be aware of his own existence.
+
+At home he told about his adventure, and found himself quite a hero for
+the rest of the day. He was obliged to give interviews to several
+newspaper reporters, and to refuse to let one of them take his picture.
+Every one at the Devons’ seemed to know old Harry Grimes, and Montague
+thought to himself that if the comments of this particular group of
+people were a fair sample, the poor wretch was right in saying that he
+had not a friend in the world.
+
+When he came downstairs the next morning, he found elaborate accounts
+of the accident in the papers, and learned that Grimes had nothing
+worse than a scalp wound and a severe shock. Even so, he felt it was
+incumbent upon him to pay a visit of inquiry, and rode over shortly
+before lunch.
+
+Laura Hegan came down to see him, wearing a morning gown of white. She
+confirmed the good news of the papers, and said that her uncle was
+resting quietly. (She did not say that his physician had come
+post-haste, with two nurses, and taken up his residence in the house,
+and that the poor old millionaire was denied even his graham crackers
+and milk). Instead she said that he had mentioned Montague’s kindness
+particularly, and asked her to thank him. Montague was cynical enough
+to doubt this.
+
+It was the first time that he had ever had any occasion to talk with
+Miss Hegan. He noticed her gentle and caressing voice, with the least
+touch of the South in it; and he was glad to find that it was possible
+for her to talk without breaking the spell of her serene and noble
+beauty. Montague stayed as long as he had any right to stay.
+
+And all the way as he rode home he was thinking about Laura Hegan. Here
+for the first time was a woman whom he felt he should like to know; a
+woman with reserve and dignity, and some ideas in her life. And it was
+impossible for him to know her—because she was rich!
+
+There was no dodging this fact—Montague did not even try. He had met
+women with fortunes already, and he knew how they felt about
+themselves, and how the rest of the world felt about them. They might
+wish in their hearts to be something else besides the keepers of a
+treasure-chest, but their wishes were futile; the money went with them,
+and they had to defend it against all comers. Montague recalled one
+heiress after another—débutantes, some of them, exquisite and delicate
+as butterflies—but under the surface as hard as chain-armour. All their
+lives they had been trained to think of themselves as representing
+money, and of every one who came near them as adventurers seeking
+money. In every word they uttered, in every glance and motion, one
+might read this meaning. And then he thought of Laura Hegan, with the
+fortune she would inherit; and he pictured what her life must be—the
+toadies and parasites and flatterers who would lay siege to her—the
+scheming mammas and the affectionate sisters and cousins who would plot
+to gain her confidence! For a man who was poor, and who meant to keep
+his self-respect, was there any possible conclusion except that she was
+entirely unknowable to him?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Montague came back to the city, and dug into his books again; while
+Alice gave her spare hours to watching the progress of the new gown in
+which she was to uphold the honour of the family at Mrs. Devon’s
+opening ball. The great event was due in the next week and Society was
+as much excited about it as a family of children before Christmas. All
+whom Montague met were invited and all were going unless they happened
+to be in mourning. Their gossip was all of the disappointed ones, and
+their bitterness and heartburning.
+
+Mrs. Devon’s mansion was thrown open early on the eventful evening, but
+few would come until midnight. It was the fashion to attend the Opera
+first, and previous to that half a dozen people would give big dinners.
+He was a fortunate person who did not hear from his liver after this
+occasion; for at one o’clock came Mrs. Devon’s massive supper, and then
+again at four o’clock another supper. To prepare these repasts a dozen
+extra chefs had been imported into the Devon establishment for a
+week—for it was part of the great lady’s pride to permit no outside
+caterer to prepare anything for her guests.
+
+Montague had never been able to get over his wonder at the social
+phenomenon known as Mrs. Devon. He came and took his chances in the
+jostling throngs; and except that he got into casual conversation with
+one of the numerous detectives whom he took for a guest he came off
+fairly well. But all the time that he was being passed about and
+introduced and danced with, he was looking about him and wondering. The
+grand staircase and the hall and parlours had been turned into tropical
+gardens, with palms and trailing vines, and azaleas and roses, and
+great vases of scarlet poinsettia, with hundreds of lights glowing
+through them. (It was said that this ball had exhausted the flower
+supply of the country as far south as Atlanta.) And then in the
+reception room one came upon the little old lady, standing’ beneath a
+bower of orchids. She was clad in a robe of royal purple trimmed with
+silver, and girdled about with an armour-plate of gems. If one might
+credit the papers, the diamonds that were worn at one of these balls
+were valued at twenty million dollars.
+
+The stranger was quite overwhelmed by all the splendour. There was a
+cotillion danced by two hundred gorgeously clad women and their
+partners—a scene so gay that one could only think of it as happening in
+a fairy legend, or some old romance of knighthood. Four sets of favours
+were given during this function, and jewels and objects of art were
+showered forth as if from a magician’s wand. Mrs. Devon herself soon
+disappeared, but the riot of music and merry-making went on until near
+morning, and during all this time the halls and rooms of the great
+mansion were so crowded that one could scarcely move about.
+
+Then one went home, and realized that all this splendour, and the human
+effort which it represented, had been for nothing but a memory! Nor
+would he get the full meaning of it if he failed to realize that it was
+simply one of thousands—a pattern which every one there would strive to
+follow in some function of his own. It was a signal bell, which told
+the world that the “season” was open. It loosed the floodgates of
+extravagance, and the torrent of dissipation poured forth. From then on
+there would be a continuous round of gaieties; one might have three
+banquets every single night—for a dinner and two suppers was now the
+custom, at entertainments! And filling the rest of one’s day were
+receptions and teas and musicales—a person might take his choice among
+a score of opportunities, and never leave the circle he met at Mrs.
+Devon’s. Nor was this counting the tens of thousands of aspirants and
+imitators all over the city; nor in a host of other cities, each with
+thousands of women who had nothing to do save to ape the ways of the
+Metropolis. The mind could not realize the volume of this deluge of
+destruction—it was a thing which stunned the senses, and thundered in
+one’s ears like Niagara.
+
+The meaning of it all did not stop with the people who poured it forth;
+its effects were to be traced through the whole country. There were
+hordes of tradesmen and manufacturers who supplied what Society bought,
+and whose study it was to induce people to buy as much as possible. And
+so they devised what were called “fashions”—little eccentricities of
+cut and material, which made everything go out of date quickly. There
+had once been two seasons, but now there were four; and through window
+displays and millions of advertisements the public was lured into the
+trap. The “yellow” journals would give whole pages to describing “What
+the 400 are wearing”; there were magazines with many millions of
+readers, which existed for nothing save to propagate these ideas. And
+everywhere, in all classes of Society, men and women were starving
+their minds and hearts, and straining their energies to follow this
+phantom of fashion; the masses were kept poor because of it, and the
+youth and hope of the world was betrayed by it. In country villages
+poor farmers’ wives were trimming their bonnets over to be “stylish”;
+and servant-girls in the cities were wearing imitation sealskins, and
+shop-clerks and sempstresses selling themselves into brothels for the
+sake of ribbons and gilt jewellery.
+
+It was the instinct of decoration, perverted by the money-lust. In the
+Metropolis the sole test of excellence was money, and the possession of
+money was the proof of power; and every natural desire of men and women
+had been tainted by this influence. The love of beauty, the impulse to
+hospitality, the joys of music and dancing and love—all these things
+had become simply means to the demonstration of money-power! The men
+were busy making more money—but their idle women had nothing in life
+save this mad race in display. So it had come about that the woman who
+could consume wealth most conspicuously—who was the most effective
+instrument for the destroying of the labour and the lives of other
+people—this was the woman who was most applauded and most noticed.
+
+The most appalling fact about Society was this utter blind materialism.
+Such expectations as Montague had brought with him had been derived
+from the literature of Europe; in a _grand monde_ such as this, he
+expected to meet diplomats and statesmen, scientists and explorers,
+philosophers and poets and painters. But one never heard anything about
+such people in Society. It was a mark of eccentricity to be interested
+in intellectual affairs, and one might go about for weeks and not meet
+a person with an idea. When these people read, it was a sugar-candy
+novel, and when they went to the play, it was a musical comedy. The one
+single intellectual product which it could point to as its own, was a
+rancid scandal-sheet, used mainly as a means of blackmail. Now and then
+some aspiring young matron of the “élite” would try to set up a _salon_
+after the fashion of the continent, and would gather a few feeble wits
+about her for a time. But for the most part the intellectual workers of
+the city held themselves severely aloof; and Society was left a little
+clique of people whose fortunes had become historic in a decade or two,
+and who got together in each other’s palaces and gorged themselves, and
+gambled and gossiped about each other, and wove about their
+personalities a veil of awful and exclusive majesty.
+
+Montague found himself thinking that perhaps it was not they who were
+to blame. It was not they who had set up wealth as the end and goal of
+things—it was the whole community, of which they were a part. It was
+not their fault that they had been left with power and nothing to use
+it for; it was not their fault that their sons and daughters found
+themselves stranded in the world, deprived of all necessity, and of the
+possibility of doing anything useful.
+
+The most pitiful aspect of the whole thing to Montague was this “second
+generation” who were coming upon the scene, with their lives all
+poisoned in advance. No wrong which they could do to the world would
+ever equal the wrong which the world had done them, in permitting them
+to have money which they had not earned. They were cut off for ever
+from reality, and from the possibility of understanding life; they had
+big, healthy bodies, and they craved experience—and they had absolutely
+nothing to do. That was the real meaning of all this orgy of
+dissipation—this “social whirl” as it was called; it was the frantic
+chase of some new thrill, some excitement that would stir the senses of
+people who had nothing in the world to interest them. That was why they
+were building palaces, and flinging largesses of banquets and balls,
+and tearing about the country in automobiles, and travelling over the
+earth in steam yachts and private trains.
+
+And first and last, the lesson of their efforts was, that the chase was
+futile; the jaded nerves would not thrill. The most conspicuous fact
+about Society was its unutterable and agonizing boredom; of its great
+solemn functions the shop-girl would read with greedy envy, but the
+women who attended them would be half asleep behind their jewelled
+fans. It was typified to Montague by Mrs. Billy Alden’s yachting party
+on the Nile; yawning in the face of the Sphinx, and playing bridge
+beneath the shadow of the pyramids—and counting the crocodiles and
+proposing to jump in by way of “changing the pain”!
+
+People attended these ceaseless rounds of entertainments, simply
+because they dreaded to be left alone. They wandered from place to
+place, following like a herd of sheep whatever leader would inaugurate
+a new diversion. One could have filled a volume with the list of their
+“fads.” There were new ones every week—if Society did not invent them,
+the yellow journals invented them. There was a woman who had her teeth
+filled with diamonds; and another who was driving a pair of zebras. One
+heard of monkey dinners and pyjama dinners at Newport, of horseback
+dinners and vegetable dances in New York. One heard of fashion-albums
+and autograph-fans and talking crows and rare orchids and reindeer
+meat; of bracelets for men and ankle rings for women; of “vanity-boxes”
+at ten and twenty thousand dollars each; of weird and repulsive pets,
+chameleons and lizards and king-snakes—there was one young woman who
+wore a cat-snake as a necklace. One would take to slumming and another
+to sniffing brandy through the nose; one had a table-cover made of
+woven roses, and another was wearing perfumed flannel at sixteen
+dollars a yard; one had inaugurated ice-skating in August, and another
+had started a class for the study of Plato. Some were giving tennis
+tournaments in bathing-suits, and playing leap-frog after dinner;
+others had got dispensations from the Pope, so that they might have
+private chapels and confessors; and yet others were giving “progressive
+dinners,” moving from one restaurant to another—a cocktail and
+blue-points at Sherry’s, a soup and Madeira at Delmonico’s, some
+terrapin with amontillado at the Waldorf—and so on.
+
+One of the consequences of the furious pace was that people’s health
+broke down very quickly; and there were all sorts of bizarre ways of
+restoring it. One person would be eating nothing but spinach, and
+another would be living on grass. One would chew a mouthful of soup
+thirty-two times; another would eat every two hours, and another only
+once a week. Some went out in the early morning and walked bare-footed
+in the grass, and others went hopping about the floor on their hands
+and knees to take off fat. There were “rest cures” and “water cures,”
+“new thought” and “metaphysical healing” and “Christian Science”; there
+was an automatic horse, which one might ride indoors, with a register
+showing the distance travelled. Montague met one man who had an
+electric machine, which cost thirty thousand dollars, and which took
+hold of his arms and feet and exercised him while he waited. He met a
+woman who told him she was riding an electric camel!
+
+Everywhere one went there were new people, spending their money in new
+and incredible ways. Here was a man who had bought a chapel and turned
+it into a theatre, and hired professional actors, and persuaded his
+friends to come and see him act Shakespeare. Here was a woman who
+costumed herself after figures in famous paintings, with arrangements
+of roses and cherry leaves, and wreaths of ivy and laurel—and with
+costumes for her pet dogs to match! Here was a man who paid six dollars
+a day for a carnation four inches across; and a girl who wore a hat
+trimmed with fresh morning-glories, and a ball costume with swarms of
+real butterflies tied with silk threads; and another with a hat made of
+woven silver, with ostrich plumes forty inches long made entirely of
+silver films. Here was a man who hired a military company to drill all
+day long to prepare a floor for dancing; and another who put up a
+building at a cost of thirty thousand dollars to give a débutante dance
+for his daughter, and then had it torn down the day after. Here was a
+man who bred rattlesnakes and turned them loose by thousands, and had
+driven everybody away from the North Carolina estate of one of the
+Wallings. Here was a man who was building himself a yacht with a model
+dairy and bakery on board, and a French laundry and a brass band. Here
+was a million-dollar racing-yacht with auto-boats on it and a platoon
+of marksmen, and some Chinese laundrymen, and two physicians for its
+half-insane occupant. Here was a man who had bought a Rhine castle for
+three-quarters of a million, and spent as much in restoring it, and
+filled it with servants dressed in fourteenth-century costumes. Here
+was a five-million-dollar art collection hidden away where nobody ever
+saw it!
+
+One saw the meaning of this madness most clearly in the young men of
+Society. Some were killing themselves and other people in automobile
+races at a hundred and twenty miles an hour. Some went in for
+auto-boats, mere shells of things, shaped like a knife-blade, that tore
+through the water at forty miles an hour. Some would hire professional
+pugilists to knock them out; others would get up dog-fights and
+bear-fights, and boxing matches with kangaroos. Montague was taken to
+the home of one young man who had given his life to hunting wild game
+in every corner of the globe, and would travel round the world for a
+new species to add to his museum of trophies. He had heard that Baron
+Rothschild had offered a thousand pounds for a “bongo,” a huge
+grass-eating animal, which no white man had ever seen; and he had taken
+a year’s trip into the interior, with a train of a hundred and thirty
+natives, and had brought out the heads of forty different species,
+including a bongo—which the Baron did not get! He met another who had
+helped to organize a balloon club, and two twenty-four-hour trips in
+the clouds. (This, by the way, was the latest sport—at Tuxedo they had
+races between balloons and automobiles; and Montague met one young lady
+who boasted that she had been up five times.) There was another young
+millionaire who sat and patiently taught Sunday School, in the presence
+of a host of reporters; there was another who set up a chain of
+newspapers all over the country and made war upon his class. There were
+others who went in for settlement work and Russian revolutionists—there
+were even some who called themselves Socialists! Montague thought that
+this was the strangest fad of all; and when he met one of these young
+men at an afternoon tea, he gazed at him with wonder and
+perplexity—thinking of the man he had heard ranting on the
+street-corner.
+
+This was the “second generation.” Appalling as it was to think of,
+there was a _third_ growing up, and getting ready to take the stage.
+And with wealth accumulating faster than ever, who could guess what
+they might do? There were still in Society a few men and women who had
+earned their money, and had some idea of the toil and suffering that it
+stood for; but when the third generation had taken possession, these
+would all be dead or forgotten, and there would no longer be any link
+to connect them with reality!
+
+In the light of this thought one was moved to watch the children of the
+rich. Some of these had inherited scores of millions of dollars while
+they were still in the cradle; now and then one of them would be
+presented with a million-dollar house for a birthday gift. When such a
+baby was born, the newspapers would give pages to describing its
+_layette_, with baby dresses at a hundred dollars each, and lace
+handkerchiefs at five dollars, and dressing-sets with tiny gold brushes
+and powder-boxes; one might see a picture of the precious object in a
+“Moses basket,” covered with rare and wonderful Valenciennes lace.
+
+This child would grow up in an atmosphere of luxury and
+self-indulgence; it would be bullying the servants at the age of six,
+and talking scandal and smoking cigarettes at twelve. It would be
+petted and admired and stared at, and paraded about in state, dressed
+up like a French doll; it would drink in snobbery and hatefulness with
+the very air it breathed. One might meet in these great houses little
+tots not yet in their teens whose talk was all of the cost of things,
+and of the inferiority of their neighbours. There was nothing in the
+world too good for them.—They had little miniature automobiles to ride
+about the country in, and blooded Arabian ponies, and doll-houses in
+real Louis Seize, with jewelled rugs and miniature electric lights. At
+Mrs. Caroline Smythe’s, Montague was introduced to a pale and
+anaemic-looking youth of thirteen, who dined in solemn state alone when
+the rest of the family was away, and insisted upon having all the
+footmen in attendance; and his unfortunate aunt brought a storm about
+her ears by forbidding the butler to take champagne upstairs into the
+nursery before lunch.
+
+A little remark stayed in Montague’s mind as expressing the attitude of
+Society toward such matters. Major Venable had chanced to remark
+jestingly that children were coming to understand so much nowadays that
+it was necessary for the ladies to be careful. To which Mrs. Vivie
+Patton answered, with a sudden access of seriousness: “I don’t know—do
+you find that children have any morals? Mine haven’t.”
+
+And then the fascinating Mrs. Vivie went on to tell the truth about her
+own children. They were natural-born savages, and that was all there
+was to it. They did as they pleased, and no one could stop them. The
+Major replied that nowadays all the world was doing as it pleased, and
+no one seemed to be able to stop it; and with that jest the
+conversation was turned to other matters. But Montague sat in silence,
+thinking about it—wondering what would happen to the world when it had
+fallen under the sway of this generation of spoiled children, and had
+adopted altogether the religion of doing as one pleased.
+
+In the beginning people had simply done as they pleased spontaneously,
+and without thinking about it; but now, Montague discovered, the custom
+had spread to such an extent that it was developing a philosophy. There
+was springing up a new cult, whose devotees were planning to make over
+the world upon the plan of doing as one pleased. Because its members
+were wealthy, and able to command the talent of the world, the cult was
+developing an art, with a highly perfected technique, and a literature
+which was subtle and exquisite and alluring. Europe had had such a
+literature for a century, and England for a generation or two. And now
+America was having it, too!
+
+Montague had an amusing insight into this one day, when Mrs. Vivie
+invited him to one of her “artistic evenings.” Mrs. Vivie was in touch
+with a special set which went in for intellectual things, and included
+some amateur Bohemians and men of “genius.” “Don’t you come if you’ll
+be shocked,” she had said to him—“for Strathcona will be there.”
+
+Montague deemed himself able to stand a good deal by this time. He
+went, and found Mrs. Vivie and her Count (Mr. Vivie had apparently not
+been invited) and also the young poet of Diabolism, whose work was just
+then the talk of the town. He was a tall, slender youth with a white
+face and melancholy black eyes, and black locks falling in cascades
+about his ears; he sat in an Oriental corner, with a manuscript copied
+in tiny handwriting upon delicately scented “art paper,” and tied with
+passionate purple ribbons. A young girl clad in white sat by his side
+and held a candle, while he read from this manuscript his unprinted
+(because unprintable) verses.
+
+And between the readings the young poet talked. He talked about himself
+and his work—apparently that was what he had come to talk about. His
+words flowed like a swift stream, limpid, sparkling, incessant; leaping
+from place to place—here, there, quick as the play of light upon the
+water. Montague laboured to follow the speaker’s ideas, until he found
+his mind in a whirl and gave it up. Afterward, when he thought it over,
+he laughed at himself; for Strathcona’s ideas were not serious things,
+having relationship to truth—they were epigrams put together to dazzle
+the hearer, studies in paradox, with as much relation to life as
+fireworks. He took the sum-total of the moral experience of the human
+race, and turned it upside down and jumbled it about, and used it as
+bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. And the hearers would gasp, and
+whisper, “Diabolical!”
+
+The motto of this “school” of poets was that there was neither good nor
+evil, but that all things were “interesting.” After listening to
+Strathcona for half an hour, one felt like hiding his head, and denying
+that he had ever thought of having any virtue; in a world where all
+things were uncertain, it was presumptuous even to pretend to know what
+virtue was. One could only be what one was; and did not that mean that
+one must do as one pleased?
+
+You could feel a shudder run through the company at his audacity. And
+the worst of it was that you could not dismiss it with a laugh; for the
+boy was really a poet—he had fire and passion, the gift of melodious
+ecstacy. He was only twenty, and in his brief meteor flight he had run
+the gamut of all experience; he had familiarized himself with all human
+achievement—past, present, and future. There was nothing any one could
+mention that he did not perfectly comprehend: the raptures of the
+saints, the consecration of the martyrs—yes, he had known them;
+likewise he had touched the depths of depravity, he had been lost in
+the innermost passages of the caverns of hell. And all this had been
+interesting—in its time; now he was sighing for new worlds of
+experience—say for unrequited love, which should drive him to madness.
+
+It was at this point that Montague dropped out of the race, and took to
+studying from the outside the mechanism of this young poet’s
+conversation. Strathcona flouted the idea of a moral sense; but in
+reality he was quite dependent upon it—his recipe for making epigrams
+was to take what other people’s moral sense made them respect, and
+identify it with something which their moral sense made them abhor.
+Thus, for instance, the tale which he told about one of the members of
+his set, who was a relative of a bishop. The great man had occasion to
+rebuke him for his profligate ways, declaring in the course of his
+lecture that he was living off the reputation of his father; to which
+the boy made the crushing rejoinder: “It may be bad to live off the
+reputation of one’s father, but it’s better than living off the
+reputation of God.”—This was very subtle and it was necessary to ponder
+it. God was dead; and the worthy bishop did not know it! But let him
+take a new God, who had no reputation, and go out into the world and
+make a living out of him!
+
+Then Strathcona discussed literature. He paid his tribute to the
+“Fleurs de Mal” and the “Songs before Sunrise”; but most, he said, he
+owed to “the divine Oscar.” This English poet of many poses and some
+vices the law had seized and flung into jail; and since the law is a
+thing so brutal and wicked that whoever is touched by it is made
+thereby a martyr and a hero, there had grown up quite a cult about the
+memory of “Oscar.” All up-to-date poets imitated his style and his
+attitude to life; and so the most revolting of vices had the cloak of
+romance flung about them—were given long Greek and Latin names, and
+discussed with parade of learning as revivals of Hellenic ideals. The
+young men in Strathcona’s set referred to each other as their “lovers”;
+and if one showed any perplexity over this, he was regarded, not with
+contempt—for it was not aesthetic to feel contempt—but with a slight
+lifting of the eyebrows, intended to annihilate.
+
+One must not forget, of course, that these young people were poets, and
+to that extent were protected from their own doctrines. They were
+interested, not in life, but in making pretty verses about life; there
+were some among them who lived as cheerful ascetics in garret rooms,
+and gave melodious expression to devilish emotions. But, on the other
+hand, for every poet, there were thousands who were not poets, but
+people to whom life was real. And these lived out the creed, and
+wrecked their lives; and with the aid of the poet’s magic, the glamour
+of melody and the fire divine, they wrecked the lives with which they
+came into contact. The new generation of boys and girls were deriving
+their spiritual sustenance from the poetry of Baudelaire and Wilde; and
+rushing with the hot impulsiveness of youth into the dreadful traps
+which the traders in vice prepared for them. One’s heart bled to see
+them, pink-cheeked and bright-eyed, pursuing the hem of the Muse’s robe
+in brothels and dens of infamy!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+The social mill ground on for another month. Montague withdrew himself
+as much as his brother would let him; but Alice, was on the go all
+night and half the day. Oliver had sold his racing automobile to a
+friend—he was a man of family now, he said, and his wild days were
+over. He had got, instead, a limousine car for Alice; though she
+declared she had no need of it—if ever she was going to any place,
+Charlie Carter always begged her to use his. Charlie’s siege was as
+persistent as ever, as Montague noticed with annoyance.
+
+The great law case was going forward. After weeks of study and
+investigation, Montague felt that he had the matter well in hand; and
+he had taken Mr. Hasbrook’s memoranda as a basis for a new work of his
+own, much more substantial. Bit by bit; as he dug into the subject, he
+had discovered a state of affairs in the Fidelity Company, and, indeed,
+in the whole insurance business and its allied realms of banking and
+finance, which shocked him profoundly. It was impossible for him to
+imagine how such conditions could exist and remain unknown to the
+public—more especially as every one in Wall Street with whom he talked
+seemed to know about them and to take them for granted.
+
+His client’s papers had provided him with references to the books;
+Montague had taken this dry material and made of it a protest which had
+the breath of life in it. It was a thing at which he toiled with deadly
+earnestness; it was not merely a struggle of one man to get a few
+thousand dollars, it was an appeal in behalf of millions of helpless
+people whose trust had been betrayed. It was the first step in a long
+campaign, which the young lawyer meant should force a great evil into
+the light of day.
+
+He went over his bill of complaint with Mr. Hasbrook, and he was glad
+to see that the work he had done made its impression upon him. In fact,
+his client was a little afraid that some of his arguments might be too
+radical in tone—from the strictly legal point of view, he made haste to
+explain. But Montague reassured him upon this point.
+
+And then came the day when the great ship was ready for launching. The
+news must have spread quickly, for a few hours after the papers in the
+suit had been filed, Montague received a call from a newspaper
+reporter, who told him of the excitement in financial circles, where
+the thing had fallen like a bomb. Montague explained the purpose of the
+suit, and gave the reporter a number of facts which he felt certain
+would attract attention to the matter. When he picked up the paper the
+next morning, however, he was surprised to find that only a few lines
+had been given to the case, and that his interview had been replaced by
+one with an unnamed official of the Fidelity, to the effect that the
+attack upon the company was obviously for black-mailing purposes.
+
+That was the only ripple which Montague’s work produced upon the
+surface of the pool; but there was a great commotion among the fish at
+the bottom, about which he was soon to learn.
+
+That evening, while he was hard at work in his study, he received a
+telephone call from his brother. “I’m coming round to see you,” said
+Oliver. “Wait for me.”
+
+“All right,” said the other, and added, “I thought you were dining at
+the Wallings’.”
+
+“I’m there now,” was the answer. “I’m leaving.”
+
+“What is the matter?” Montague asked.
+
+“There’s hell to pay,” was the reply—and then silence.
+
+When Oliver appeared, a few minutes later, he did not even stop to set
+down his hat, but exclaimed, “Allan, what in heaven’s name have you
+been doing?”
+
+“What do you mean?” asked the other.
+
+“Why, that suit!”
+
+“What about it?”
+
+“Good God, man!” cried Oliver. “Do you mean that you really don’t know
+what you’ve done?”
+
+Montague was staring at him. “I’m afraid I don’t,” said he.
+
+“Why, you’re turning the world upside down!” exclaimed the other.
+“Everybody you know is crazy about it.”
+
+“Everybody I know!” echoed Montague. “What have they to do with it?”
+
+“Why, you’ve stabbed them in the back!” half shouted Oliver. “I could
+hardly believe my ears when they told me. Robbie Walling is simply
+wild—I never had such a time in my life.”
+
+“I don’t understand yet,” said Montague, more and more amazed. “What
+has he to do with it?”
+
+“Why, man,” cried Oliver, “his brother’s a director in the Fidelity!
+And his own interests—and all the other companies! You’ve struck at the
+whole insurance business!”
+
+Montague caught his breath. “Oh, I see!” he said.
+
+“How could you think of such a thing?” cried the other, wildly. “You
+promised to consult me about things—”
+
+“I told you when I took this case,” put in Montague, quickly.
+
+“I know,” said his brother. “But you didn’t explain—and what did I know
+about it? I thought I could leave it to your common sense not to mix up
+in a thing like this.”
+
+“I’m very sorry,” said Montague, gravely. “I had no idea of any such
+result.”
+
+“That’s what I told Robbie,” said Oliver. “Good God, what a time I
+had!”
+
+He took his hat and coat and laid them on the bed, and sat down and
+began to tell about it. “I made him realize the disadvantage you were
+under,” he said, “being a stranger and not knowing the ground. I
+believe he had an idea that you tried to get his confidence on purpose
+to attack him. It was Mrs. Robbie, I guess—you know her fortune is all
+in that quarter.”
+
+Oliver wiped the perspiration from his forehead. “My!” he said.—“And
+fancy what old Wyman must be saying about this! And what a time poor
+Betty must be having! And then Freddie Vandam—the air will be blue for
+half a mile round his place! I must send him a wire and explain that it
+was a mistake, and that we’re getting out of it.”
+
+And he got up, to suit the action to the word. But half-way to the desk
+he heard his brother say, “Wait.”
+
+He turned, and saw Montague, quite pale. “I suppose by ‘getting out of
+it,’” said the latter, “you mean dropping the case.”
+
+“Of course,” was the answer.
+
+“Well, then,” he continued, very gravely,—“I can see that it’s going to
+be hard, and I’m sorry. But you might as well understand me at the very
+beginning—I will never drop this case.”
+
+Oliver’s jaw fell limp. “Allan!” he gasped.
+
+There was a silence; and then the storm broke. Oliver knew his brother
+well enough to realize just how thoroughly he meant what he said; and
+so he got the full force of the shock all at once. He raved and swore
+and wrung his hands, and declaimed at his brother, saying that he had
+betrayed him, that he was ruining him—dumping himself and the whole
+family into the ditch. They would be jeered at and insulted—they would
+be blacklisted and thrown out of Society. Alice’s career would be cut
+short—every door would be closed to her. His own career would die
+before it was born; he would never get into the clubs—he would be a
+pariah—he would be bankrupted and penniless. Again and again Oliver
+went over the situation, naming person after person who would be
+outraged, and describing what that person would do; there were the
+Wallings and the Venables and the Havens, the Vandams and the Todds and
+the Wymans—they were all one regiment, and Montague had flung a bomb
+into the centre of them!
+
+It was very terrible to him to see his brother’s rage and despair; but
+he had seen his way clear through this matter, and he knew that there
+was no turning back for him. “It is painful to learn that all one’s
+acquaintances are thieves,” he said. “But that does not change my
+opinion of stealing.”
+
+“But my God!” cried Oliver; “did you come to New York to preach
+sermons?”
+
+To which the other answered, “I came to practise law. And the lawyer
+who will not fight injustice is a traitor to his profession.”
+
+Oliver threw up his hands in despair. What could one say to a sentiment
+such as that?
+
+—But then again he came to the charge, pointing out to his brother the
+position in which he had placed himself with the Wallings. He had
+accepted their hospitality; they had taken him and Alice in, and done
+everything in the world for them—things for which no money could ever
+repay them. And now he had struck them!
+
+But the only effect of that was to make Montague regret that he had
+ever had anything to do with the Wallings. If they expected to use
+their friendship to tie his hands in such a matter, they were people he
+would have left alone.
+
+“But do you realize that it’s not merely yourself you’re ruining?”
+cried Oliver. “Do you know what you’re doing to Alice?”
+
+“That is harder yet for me,” the other replied. “But I am sure that
+Alice would not ask me to stop.”
+
+Montague was firmly set in his own mind; but it seemed to be quite
+impossible for his brother to realize that this was the case. He would
+give up; but then, going back into his own mind, and facing the thought
+of this person and that, and the impossibility of the situation which
+would arise, he would return to the attack with new anguish in his
+voice. He implored and scolded, and even wept; and then he would get
+himself together again, and come and sit in front of his brother and
+try to reason with him.
+
+And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale
+and nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his
+brother unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had come
+to see it. It was a city ruled by mighty forces—money-forces; great
+families and fortunes, which had held their sway for generations, and
+regarded the place, with all its swarming millions, as their
+birthright. They possessed it utterly—they held it in the hollow of
+their hands. Railroads and telegraphs and telephones—banks and
+insurance and trust companies—all these they owned; and the political
+machines and the legislatures, the courts and the newspapers, the
+churches and the colleges. And their rule was for plunder; all the
+streams of profit ran into their coffers. The stranger who came to
+their city succeeded as he helped them in their purposes, and failed if
+they could not use him. A great editor or bishop was a man who taught
+their doctrines; a great statesman was a man who made the laws for
+them; a great lawyer was one who helped them to outwit the public. Any
+man who dared to oppose them, they would cast out and trample on, they
+would slander and ridicule and ruin.
+
+And Oliver came down to particulars—he named these powerful men, one
+after one, and showed what they could do. If his brother would only be
+a man of the world, and see the thing! Look at all the successful
+lawyers! Oliver named them, one after one—shrewd devisers of
+corporation trickery, with incomes of hundreds of thousands a year. He
+could not name the men who had refused to play the game—for no one had
+ever heard of them. But it was so evident what would happen in this
+case! His friends would cast him off; his own client would get his
+price—whatever it was—and then leave him in the lurch, and laugh at
+him! “If you can’t make up your mind to play the game,” cried Oliver,
+frantically, “at least you can give it up! There are plenty of other
+ways of getting a living—if you’ll let me, I’ll take care of you
+myself, rather than have you disgrace me. Tell me—will you do that?
+Will you quit altogether?”
+
+And Montague suddenly leaped to his feet, and brought his fist down
+upon the desk with a bang. “No!” he cried; “by God, no!”
+
+“Let me make you understand me once for all,” he rushed on. “You’ve
+shown me New York as you see it. I don’t believe it’s the truth—I don’t
+believe it for one single moment! But let me tell you this, I shall
+stay here and find out—and if it is true, it won’t stop me! I shall
+stay here and defy those people! I shall stay and fight them till the
+day I die! They may ruin me,—I’ll go and live in a garret if I have
+to,—but as sure as there’s a God that made me, I’ll never stop till
+I’ve opened the eyes of the people to what they’re doing!”
+
+Montague towered over his brother, white-hot and terrible. Oliver
+shrank from him—he never had seen such a burst of wrath from him
+before. “Do you understand me now?” Montague cried; and he answered, in
+a despairing voice, “Yes, yes.”
+
+“I see it’s all up,” he added weakly. “You and I can’t pull together.”
+
+“No,” exclaimed the other, passionately, “we can’t. And we might as
+well give up trying. You have chosen to be a time-server and a
+lick-spittle, and I don’t choose it! Do you think I’ve learned nothing
+in the time I’ve been here? Why, man, you used to be daring and
+clever—and now you never draw a breath without wondering if these rich
+snobs will like the way you do it! And you want Alice to sell herself
+to them—you want me to sell my career to them!”
+
+There was a long pause. Oliver had turned very pale. And then suddenly
+his brother caught himself together, and said: “I’m sorry. I didn’t
+mean to quarrel, but you’ve goaded me too much. I’m grateful for what
+you have tried to do for me, and I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.
+But I can’t go on with this game. I’ll quit, and you can disown me to
+your friends—tell them that I’ve run amuck, and to forget they ever
+knew me. They’ll hardly blame you for it—they know you too well for
+that. And as for Alice, I’ll talk it out with her to-morrow, and let
+her decide for herself—if she wants to be a Society queen, she can put
+herself in your hands, and I’ll get out of her way. On the other hand,
+if she approves of what I’m doing, why we’ll both quit, and you won’t
+have to bother with either of us.”
+
+That was the basis upon which they parted for the night; but like most
+resolutions taken at white heat, it was not followed literally. It was
+very hard for Montague to have to confront Alice with such a choice;
+and as for Oliver, when he went home and thought it over, he began to
+discover gleams of hope. He might make it clear to every one that he
+was not responsible for his brother’s business vagaries, and take his
+chances upon that basis. After all, there were wheels within wheels in
+Society; and if the Robbie Wallings chose to break with him—why, they
+had plenty of enemies. There might even be interests which would be
+benefited by Allan’s course, and would take him up.
+
+Montague had resolved to write and break every engagement which he had
+made, and to sever his connection with Society at one stroke. But the
+next day his brother came again, with compromises and new
+protestations. There was no use going to the other extreme: he, Oliver,
+would have it out with the Wallings, and they might all go on their way
+as if nothing had happened.
+
+So Montague made his début in the rôle of knight-errant. He went with
+many qualms and misgivings, uncertain how each new person would take
+it. The next evening he was promised for a theatre-party with Siegfried
+Harvey; and they had supper in a private room at Delmonico’s, and there
+came Mrs. Winnie, resplendent as an apple tree in early April—and
+murmuring with bated breath, “Oh, you dreadful man, what have you been
+doing?”
+
+“Have I been poaching on _your_ preserves?” he asked promptly.
+
+“No, not mine,” she said, “but—” and then she hesitated.
+
+“On Mr. Duval’s?” he asked.
+
+“No,” she said, “not his—but everybody else’s! He was telling me about
+it to-day—there’s a most dreadful uproar. He wanted me to try to find
+out what you were up to, and who was behind it.”
+
+Montague listened, wonderingly. Did Mrs. Winnie mean to imply that her
+husband had asked her to try to worm his business secrets out of him?
+That was what she seemed to imply. “I told him I never talked business
+with my friends,” she said. “He can ask you himself, if he chooses. But
+what _does_ it all mean, anyhow?”
+
+Montague smiled at the naïve inconsistency.
+
+“It means nothing,” said he, “except that I am trying to get justice
+for a client.”
+
+“But can you afford to make so many powerful enemies?” she asked.
+
+“I’ve taken my chances on that,” he replied.
+
+Mrs. Winnie answered nothing, but looked at him with wondering
+admiration in her eyes. “You arc different from the men about you,” she
+remarked, after a while—and her tone gave Montague to understand that
+there was one person who meant to stand by him.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie Duval was not all Society. Montague was amused to
+notice with what suddenness the stream of invitations slacked up; it
+was necessary for Alice to give her calling list many revisions.
+Freddie Vandam had promised to invite them to his place on Long Island,
+and of course that invitation would never come; likewise they would
+never again see the palace of the Lester Todds, upon the Jersey
+mountain-top.
+
+Oliver put in the next few days in calling upon people to explain his
+embarrassing situation. He washed his hands of his brother’s affairs,
+he said; and his friends might do the same, if they saw fit. With the
+Robbie Wallings he had a stormy half hour, about which he thought it
+best to say little to the rest of the family. Robbie did not break with
+him utterly, because of their Wall Street Alliance; but Mrs. Robbie’s
+feeling was so bitter, he said, that it would be best if Alice saw
+nothing of her for a while. He had a long talk with Alice, and
+explained the situation. The girl was utterly dumbfounded, for she was
+deeply grateful to Mrs. Robbie, and fond of her as well; and she could
+not believe that a friend could be so cruelly unjust to her.
+
+The upshot of the whole situation was a very painful episode. A few
+days later Alice met Mrs. Robbie at a reception; and she took the lady
+aside, and tried to tell her how distressed and helpless she was. And
+the result was that Mrs. Robbie flew into a passion and railed at her,
+declaring in the presence of several people that she had sponged upon
+her and abused her hospitality! And so poor Alice came home, weeping
+and half hysterical.
+
+All of which, of course, was like oil upon a fire; the heavens were
+lighted up with the conflagration. The next development was a paragraph
+in Society’s scandal-sheet—telling with infinite gusto how a certain
+ultra-fashionable matron had taken up a family of stranded waifs from a
+far State, and introduced them into the best circles, and even gone so
+far as to give a magnificent dance in their honour; and how the
+discovery had been made that the head of the family had been secretly
+preparing an attack upon their business interests; and of the tearing
+of hair and gnashing of teeth which had followed—and the violent
+quarrel in a public place. The paragraph concluded with the prediction
+that the strangers would find themselves the centre of a merry social
+war.
+
+Oliver was the first to show them this paper. But lest by any chance
+they should miss it, half a dozen unknown friends were good enough to
+mail them copies, carefully marked.—And then came Reggie Mann, who as
+free-lance and gossip-gatherer sat on the fence and watched the fun;
+Reggie wore a thin veil of sympathy over his naked glee, and brought
+them the latest reports from all portions of the battle-ground. Thus
+they were able to know exactly what everybody was saying about them—who
+was amused and who was outraged, and who proposed to drop them and who
+to take them up.
+
+Montague listened for a while, but then he got tired of it, and went
+for a walk to escape it—but only to run into another trap. It was dark,
+and he was strolling down the Avenue, when out of a brilliantly lighted
+jewellery shop came Mrs. Billy Alden to her carriage. And she hailed
+him with an exclamation.
+
+“You man,” she cried, “what have you been doing?”
+
+He tried to laugh it off and escape, but she took him by the arm,
+commanding, “Get in here and tell me about it.”
+
+So he found himself moving with the slow stream of vehicles on the
+Avenue, and with Mrs. Billy gazing at him quizzically and asking him if
+he did not feel like a hippopotamus in a frog-pond.
+
+He replied to her raillery by asking her under which flag she stood.
+But there was little need to ask that, for anyone who was fighting a
+Walling became _ipso facto_ a friend of Mrs. Billy’s. She told Montague
+that if he felt his social position was imperilled, all he had to do
+was to come to her. She would gird on her armour and take the field.
+
+“But tell me how you came to do it,” she said.
+
+He answered that there was very little to tell. He had taken up a case
+which was obviously just, but having no idea what a storm it would
+raise.
+
+Then he noticed that his companion was looking at him sharply. “Do you
+really mean that’s all there is to it?” she asked.
+
+“Of course I do,” said he, perplexed.
+
+“Do you know,” was her unexpected response, “I hardly know what to make
+of you. I’m afraid to trust you, on account of your brother.”
+
+Montague was embarrassed. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said.
+
+“Everybody thinks there’s some trickery in that suit,” she answered.
+
+“Oh,” said Montague, “I see. Well, they will find out. If it will help
+you any to know it, I’ve been having no end of scenes with my brother.”
+
+“I’ll believe you,” said Mrs. Billy, genially. “But it seems strange
+that a man could have been so blind to a situation! I feel quite
+ashamed because I didn’t help you myself!”
+
+The carriage had stopped at Mrs. Billy’s home, and she asked him to
+dinner. “There’ll be nobody but my brother,” she said,—“we’re resting
+this evening. And I can make up to you for my negligence!”
+
+Montague had no engagement, and so he went in, and saw Mrs. Billy’s
+mansion, which was decorated in imitation of a Doge’s palace, and met
+Mr. “Davy” Alden, a mild-mannered little gentleman who obeyed orders
+promptly. They had a comfortable dinner of half-a-dozen courses, and
+then retired to the drawing-room, where Mrs. Billy sank into a huge
+easy chair, with a decanter of whisky and some cracked ice in readiness
+beside it. Then from a tray she selected a thick black cigar, and
+placidly bit off the end and lighted it, and then settled back at her
+ease, and proceeded to tell Montague about New York, and about the
+great families who ruled it, and where and how they had got their
+money, and who were their allies and who their enemies, and what
+particular skeletons were hidden in each of their closets.
+
+It was worth coming a long way to listen to Mrs. Billy tête-à-tête; her
+thoughts were vigorous, and her imagery was picturesque. She spoke of
+old Dan Waterman, and described him as a wild boar rooting chestnuts.
+He was all right, she said, if you didn’t come under his tree. And
+Montague asked, “Which is his tree?” and she answered, “Any one he
+happens to be under at the time.”
+
+And then she came to the Wallings. Mrs. Billy had been in on the inside
+of that family, and there was nothing she didn’t know about it; and she
+brought the members up, one by one, and dissected them, and exhibited
+them for Montague’s benefit. They were typical _bourgeois_ people, she
+said. They were burghers. They had never shown the least capacity for
+refinement—they ate and drank, and jostled other people out of the way.
+The old ones had been boors, and the new ones were cads.
+
+And Mrs. Billy sat and puffed at her cigar. “Do you know the history of
+the family?” she asked. “The founder was a rough old ferryman. He
+fought his rivals so well that in the end he owned all the boats; and
+then some one discovered the idea of buying legislatures and building
+railroads, and he went into that. It was a time when they simply
+grabbed things—if you ever look into it, you’ll find they’re making
+fortunes to-day out of privileges that the old man simply sat down on
+and held. There’s a bridge at Albany, for instance, to which they
+haven’t the slightest right; my brother knows about it—they’ve given
+themselves a contract with their railroad by which they’re paid for
+every passenger, and their profit every year is greater than the cost
+of the bridge. The son was the head of the family when I came in; and I
+found that he had it all arranged to leave thirty million dollars to
+one of his sons, and only ten million to my husband. I set to work to
+change that, I can tell you. I used to go around to see him, and
+scratch his back and tickle him and make him feel good. Of course the
+family went wild—my, how they hated me! They set old Ellis to work to
+keep me off—have you met Judge Ellis?”
+
+“I have,” said Montague.
+
+“Well, there’s a pussy-footed old hypocrite for you,” said Mrs. Billy.
+“In those days he was Walling’s business lackey—used to pass the money
+to the legislators and keep the wheels of the machine greased. One of
+the first things I said to the old man was that I didn’t ask him to
+entertain my butler, and he mustn’t ask me to entertain his valet—and
+so I forbid Ellis to enter my house. And when I found that he was
+trying to get between the old man and me, I flew into a rage and boxed
+his ears and chased him out of the room!”
+
+Mrs. Billy paused, and laughed heartily over the recollection. “Of
+course that tickled the old man to death,” she continued. “The Wallings
+never could make out how I managed to get round him as I did; but it
+was simply because I was honest with him. They’d come snivelling round,
+pretending they were anxious about his health; while I wanted his
+money, and I told him so.”
+
+The valiant lady turned to the decanter. “Have some Scotch?” she asked,
+and poured some for herself, and then went on with her story. “When I
+first came to New York,” she said, “the rich people’s houses were all
+alike—all dreary brownstone fronts, sandwiched in on one or two city
+lots. I vowed that I would have a house with some room all around
+it—and that was the beginning of those palaces that all New York walks
+by and stares at. You can hardly believe it now—those houses were a
+scandal! But the sensation tickled the old man. I remember one day we
+walked up the Avenue to see how they were coming on; and he pointed
+with his big stick to the second floor, and asked, ‘What’s that?’ I
+answered, ‘It’s a safe I’m building into the house.’ (That was a new
+thing, too, in those days.)—‘I’m going to keep my money in that,’ I
+said. ‘Bah!’ he growled, ‘when you’re done with this house, you won’t
+have any money left.’—‘I’m planning to make you fill it for me,’ I
+answered; and do you know, he chuckled all the way home over it!”
+
+Mrs. Billy sat laughing softly to herself. “We had great old battles in
+those days,” she said. “Among other things, I had to put the Wallings
+into Society. They were sneaking round on the outside when I
+came—licking people’s boots and expecting to be kicked. I said to
+myself, I’ll put an end to that—we’ll have a show-down! So I gave a
+ball that made the whole country sit up and gasp—it wouldn’t be noticed
+particularly nowadays, but then people had never dreamed of anything so
+gorgeous. And I made out a list of all the people I wanted to know in
+New York, and I said to myself: ‘If you come, you’re a friend, and if
+you don’t come, you’re an enemy.’ And they all came, let me tell you!
+And there was never any question about the Wallings being in Society
+after that.”
+
+Mrs. Billy halted; and Montague remarked, with a smile, that doubtless
+she was sorry now that she had done it.
+
+“Oh, no,” she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. “I find that all
+I have to do is to be patient—I hate people, and think I’d like to
+poison them, but if I only wait long enough, something happens to them
+much worse than I ever dreamed of. You’ll be revenged on the Robbies
+some day.”
+
+“I don’t want any revenge,” Montague answered. “I’ve no quarrel with
+them—I simply wish I hadn’t accepted their hospitality. I didn’t know
+they were such little people. It seems hard to believe it.”
+
+Mrs. Billy laughed cynically. “What could you expect?” she said. “They
+know there’s nothing to them but their money. When that’s gone, they’re
+gone—they could never make any more.”
+
+The lady gave a chuckle, and added: “Those words make me think of
+Davy’s experience when he wanted to go to Congress! Tell him about it,
+Davy.”
+
+But Mr. Alden did not warm to the subject; he left the tale to his
+sister.
+
+“He was a Democrat, you know,” said she, “and he went to the boss and
+told him he’d like to go to Congress. The answer was that it would cost
+him forty thousand dollars, and he kicked at the price. Others didn’t
+have to put up such sums, he said—why should he? And the old man
+growled at him, ‘The rest have other things to give. One can deliver
+the letter-carriers, another is paid for by a corporation. But what can
+you do? What is there to you but your money?’—So Davy paid the
+money—didn’t you, Davy?” And Davy grinned sheepishly.
+
+“Even so,” she went on, “he came off better than poor Devon. They got
+fifty thousand out of him, and sold him out, and he never got to
+Congress after all! That was just before he concluded that America
+wasn’t a fit place for a gentleman to live in.”
+
+And so Mrs. Billy got started on the Devons! And after that came the
+Havens and the Wymans and the Todds—it was midnight before she got
+through with them all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+
+The newspapers said nothing more about the Hasbrook suit; but in
+financial circles Montague had attained considerable notoriety because
+of it. And this was the means of bringing him a number of new cases.
+
+But alas, there were no more fifty-thousand-dollar clients! The first
+caller was a destitute widow with a deed which would have entitled her
+to the greater part of a large city in Pennsylvania—only unfortunately
+the deed was about eighty years old. And then there was a poor old man
+who had been hurt in a street-car accident and had been tricked into
+signing away his rights; and an indignant citizen who proposed to bring
+a hundred suits against the traction trust for transfers refused. All
+were contingency cases, with the chances of success exceedingly remote.
+And Montague noticed that the people had come to him as a last resort,
+having apparently heard of him as a man of altruistic temper.
+
+There was one case which interested him particularly, because it seemed
+to fit in so ominously with the grim prognosis of his brother. He
+received a call from an elderly gentleman, of very evident refinement
+and dignity of manner, who proceeded to unfold to him a most amazing
+story. Five or six years ago he had invented a storage-battery, which
+was the most efficient known. He had organised a company with three
+million dollars’ capital to manufacture it, himself taking a third
+interest for his patents, and becoming president of the company. Not
+long afterward had come a proposal from a group of men who wished to
+organize a company to manufacture automobiles; they proposed to form an
+alliance which would give them the exclusive use of the battery. But
+these men were not people with whom the inventor cared to deal—they
+were traction and gas magnates widely known for their unscrupulous
+methods. And so he had declined their offer, and set to work instead to
+organize an automobile company himself. He had just got under way when
+he discovered that his rivals had set to work to take his invention
+away from him. A friend who owned another third share in his company
+had hypothecated his stock to help form the new company; and now came a
+call from the bank for more collateral, and he was obliged to sell out.
+And at the next stockholders’ meeting it developed that their rivals
+had bought it, and likewise more stock in the open market; and they
+proceeded to take possession of the company, ousting the former
+president—and then making a contract with their automobile company to
+furnish the storage-battery at a price which left no profit for the
+manufacturers! And so for two years the inventor had not received a
+dollar of dividends upon his million dollars’ worth of paper; and to
+cap the climax, the company had refused to sell the battery to his
+automobile company, and so that had gone into bankruptcy, and his
+friend was ruined also!
+
+Montague went into the case very carefully, and found that the story
+was true. What interested him particularly in it was the fact that he
+had met a couple of these financial highwaymen in social life; he had
+come to know the son and heir of one of them quite well, at Siegfried
+Harvey’s. This gilded youth was engaged to be married in a very few
+days, and the papers had it that the father-in-law had presented the
+bride with a cheque for a million dollars. Montague could not but
+wonder if it was the million that had been taken from his client!
+
+There was to be a “bachelor dinner” at the Millionaires’ on the night
+before the wedding, to which he and Oliver had been invited. As he was
+thinking of taking up his case, he went to his brother, saying that he
+wished to decline; but Oliver had been getting back his courage day by
+day, and declared that it was more important than ever now that he
+should hold his ground, and face his enemies—for Alice’s sake, if not
+for his own. And so Montague went to the dinner, and saw deeper yet
+into the history of the stolen millions.
+
+It was a very beautiful affair, in the beginning. There was a large
+private dining-room, elaborately decorated, with a string orchestra
+concealed in a bower of plants. But there were cocktails even on the
+side-board at the doorway; and by the time the guests had got to the
+coffee, every one was hilariously drunk. After each toast they would
+hurl their glasses over their shoulders. The purpose of a “bachelor
+dinner,” it appeared, was a farewell to the old days and the boon
+companions; so there were sentimental and comic songs which had been
+composed for the occasion, and were received with whirlwinds of
+laughter.
+
+By listening closely and reading between the lines, one might get quite
+a history of the young host’s adventurous career. There was a house up
+on the West Side; and there was a yacht, with, orgies in every part of
+the world. There was the summer night in Newport harbour, when some one
+had hit upon the dazzling scheme of freezing twenty-dollar gold pieces
+in tiny blocks of ice, to be dropped down the girls’ backs! And there
+was a banquet in a studio in New York, when a huge pie had been brought
+on, from which a half-nude girl had emerged, with a flock of canary
+birds about her! Then there was a damsel who had been wont to dance
+upon the tops of supper tables, clad in diaphanous costume; and who had
+got drunk after a theatre-party, and set out to smash up a Broadway
+restaurant. There was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a
+speciality of this diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
+champagne.—Apparently there were numberless places in the city where
+such orgies were carried on continually; there were private clubs, and
+artists’ “studios”—there were several allusions to a high tower, which
+Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters, however, were explained
+to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on his right, and who seemed to
+stay sober, no matter how much he drank. Incidentally he gravely
+advised Montague to meet one of the young host’s mistresses, who was a
+“stunning” girl, and was in the market.
+
+Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of wrestling-bouts;
+the young men stripped off their clothing and tore the table to pieces,
+and piled it out of the way in a corner, smashing most of the crockery
+in the process. Between the matches, champagne would be opened by
+knocking off the heads of the bottles; and this went on until four
+o’clock in the morning, when many of the guests were lying in heaps
+upon the floor.
+
+Montague rode home in a cab with the elderly gentleman who had sat next
+to him; and on the way he asked if such affairs as this were common.
+And his companion, who was a “steel man” from the West, replied by
+telling him of some which he had witnessed at home. At Siegfried
+Harvey’s theatre-party Montague had seen a popular actress in a musical
+comedy, which was then the most successful play running in New York.
+The house was sold out weeks ahead, and after the matinée you might
+observe the street in front of the stage-entrance blocked by people
+waiting to see the woman come out. She was lithe and supple, like a
+panther, and wore close-fitting gowns to reveal her form. It seemed
+that her play must have been built with one purpose in mind, to see how
+much lewdness could be put upon a stage without interference by the
+police.—And now his companion told him how this woman had been invited
+to sing at a banquet given by the magnates of a mighty Trust, and had
+gone after midnight to the most exclusive club in the town, and sung
+her popular ditty, “Won’t you come and play with me?” The merry
+magnates had taken the invitation literally—with the result that the
+actress had escaped from the room with half her clothing torn off her.
+And a little while later an official of this trust had wished to get
+rid of his wife and marry a chorus-girl; and when public clamour had
+forced the directors to ask him to resign, he had replied by
+threatening to tell about this banquet!
+
+The next day—or rather, to be precise, that same morning—Montague and
+Alice attended the gorgeous wedding. It was declared by the newspapers
+to be the most “important” social event of the week; and it took half a
+dozen policemen to hold back the crowds which filled the street. The
+ceremony took place at St. Cecilia’s, with the stately bishop
+officiating, in his purple and scarlet robes. Inside the doors were all
+the elect, exquisitely groomed and gowned, and such a medley of
+delicious perfumes as not all the vales in Arcady could equal. The
+groom had been polished and scrubbed, and looked very handsome, though
+somewhat pale; and Montague could not but smile as he observed the best
+man, looking so very solemn, and recollected the drunken wrestler of a
+few hours before, staggering about in a pale blue undershirt ripped up
+the back.
+
+The Montagues knew by this time whom they were to avoid. They were
+graciously taken under the wing of Mrs. Eldridge Devon—whose real
+estate was not affected by insurance suits; and the next morning they
+had the satisfaction of seeing their names in the list of those
+present—and even a couple of lines about Alice’s costume. (Alice was
+always referred to as “Miss Montague”; it was very pleasant to be _the_
+“Miss Montague,” and to think of all the other would-be Miss Montagues
+in the city, who were thereby haughtily rebuked!) In the “yellow”
+papers there were also accounts of the trousseau of the bride, and of
+the wonderful gifts which she had received, and of the long honeymoon
+which she was to spend in the Mediterranean upon her husband’s yacht.
+Montague found himself wondering if the ghosts of its former occupants
+would not haunt her, and whether she would have been as happy, had she
+known as much as he knew.
+
+He found food for a good deal of thought in the memory of this banquet.
+Among the things which he had gathered from the songs was a hint that
+Oliver, also, had some secrets, which he had not seen fit to tell his
+brother. The keeping of young girls was apparently one of the
+established customs of the “little brothers of the rich”—and, for that
+matter, of many of the big brothers, also.
+
+A little later Montague had a curious glimpse into the life of this
+“half-world.” He had occasion one evening to call up a certain
+financier whom he had come to know quite well—a man of family and a
+member of the church. There were some important papers to be signed and
+sent off by a steamer; and the great man’s secretary said that he would
+try to find him. A minute or two later he called up Montague and asked
+him if he would be good enough to go to an address uptown. It was a
+house not far from Riverside Drive; and Montague went there and found
+his acquaintance, with several other prominent men of affairs whom he
+knew, conversing in a drawing-room with one of the most charming ladies
+he had ever met. She was exquisite to look at, and one of the few
+people in New York whom he had found worth listening to. He spent such
+an enjoyable evening, that when he was leaving, he remarked to the lady
+that he would like his cousin Alice to meet her; and then he noticed
+that she flushed slightly, and was embarrassed. Later on he learned to
+his dismay that the charming and beautiful lady did not go into
+Society.
+
+Nor was this at all rare; on the contrary, if one took the trouble to
+make inquiries, he would find that such establishments were everywhere
+taken for granted. Montague talked about it with Major Venable; and out
+of his gossip storehouse the old gentleman drew forth a string of
+anecdotes that made one’s hair stand on end. There was one all-powerful
+magnate, who had a passion for the wife of a great physician; and he
+had given a million dollars or so to build a hospital, and had provided
+that it should be the finest in the world, and that this physician
+should go abroad for three years to study the institutions of Europe!
+No conventions counted with this old man—if he saw a woman whom he
+wanted, he would ask for her; and women in Society felt that it was an
+honour to be his mistress. Not long after this a man who voiced the
+anguish of a mighty nation was turned out of several hotels in New York
+because he was not married according to the laws of South Dakota; but
+this other man would take a woman to any hotel in the city, and no one
+would dare oppose him!
+
+And there was another, a great traction king, who kept mistresses in
+Chicago and Paris and London, as well as in New York; he had one just
+around the corner from his palatial home, and had an underground
+passage leading to it. And the Major told with glee how he had shown
+this to a friend, and the latter had remarked, “I’m too stout to get
+through there.”—“I know it,” replied the other, “else I shouldn’t have
+told you!”
+
+And so it went. One of the richest men in New York was a sexual
+degenerate, with half a dozen women on his hands all the time; he would
+send them cheques, and they would use these to blackmail him. This
+man’s young wife had been shut up in a closet for twenty-four hours by
+her mother to compel her to marry him.—And then there was the charming
+tale of how he had gone away upon a mission of state, and had written
+long messages full of tender protestations, and given them to a
+newspaper correspondent to cable home “to his wife.” The correspondent
+had thought it such a touching example of conjugal devotion that he
+told about it at a dinner-party when he came back; and he was struck by
+the sudden silence that fell. “The messages had been sent to a code
+address!” chuckled the Major. “And every one at the table knew who had
+got them!”
+
+A few days after this, Montague received a telephone message from
+Siegfried Harvey, who said that he wanted to see him about a matter of
+business. He asked him to lunch at the Noonday Club; and Montague
+went—though not without a qualm. For it was in the Fidelity Building,
+the enemy’s bailiwick: a magnificent structure with halls of white
+marble, and a lavish display of bronze. It occurred to Montague that
+somewhere in this structure people were at work preparing an answer to
+his charges; he wondered what they were saying.
+
+The two had lunch, talking meanwhile about the coming events in
+Society, and about politics and wars; and when the coffee was served
+and they were alone in the room, Harvey settled his big frame back in
+his chair, and began:—
+
+“In the first place,” he said, “I must explain that I’ve something to
+say that is devilish hard to get into. I’m so much afraid of your
+jumping to a wrong conclusion in the middle of it—I’d like you to agree
+to listen for a minute or two before you think at all.”
+
+“All right,” said Montague, with a smile. “Fire away.”
+
+And at once the other became grave. “You’ve taken a case against this
+company,” he said. “And Ollie has talked enough to me to make me
+understand that you’ve done a plucky thing, and that you must be
+everlastingly sick of hearing from cowardly people who want you to drop
+it. I’d be very sorry to be classed with them, for even a moment; and
+you must understand at the outset that I haven’t a particle of interest
+in the company, and that it wouldn’t matter to me if I had. I don’t try
+to use my friends in business, and I don’t let money count with me in
+my social life. I made up my mind to take the risk of speaking to you
+about this case, simply because I happen to know one or two things
+about it that I thought you didn’t know. And if that’s so, you are at a
+great disadvantage; but in any case, please understand that I have no
+motive but friendship, and so if I am butting in, excuse me.”
+
+When Siegfried Harvey talked, he looked straight at one with his clear
+blue eyes, and there was no doubting his honesty. “I am very much
+obliged to you,” said Montague. “Pray tell me what you have to say.”
+
+“All right,” said the other. “It can be done very quickly. You have
+taken a case which involves a great many sacrifices upon your part. And
+I wondered if it had ever occurred to you to ask whether you might not
+be taken advantage of?”
+
+“How do you mean?” asked Montague.
+
+“Do you know the people who are behind you?” inquired the other. “Do
+you know them well enough to be sure what are their motives in the
+case?”
+
+Montague hesitated, and thought. “No,” he said, “I couldn’t say that I
+do.”
+
+“Then it’s just as I thought,” replied Harvey. “I’ve been watching
+you—you are an honest man, and you’re putting yourself to no end of
+trouble from the best of motives. And unless I’m mistaken, you’re being
+used by men who are not honest, and whom you wouldn’t work with if you
+knew their purposes.”
+
+“What purposes could they have?”
+
+“There are several possibilities. In the first place, it might be a
+‘strike’ suit—somebody who is hoping to be bought off for a big price.
+That is what nearly every one thinks is the case. But I don’t; I think
+it’s more likely some one within the company who is trying to put the
+administration in a hole.”
+
+“Who could that be?” exclaimed Montague, amazed.
+
+“I don’t know that. I’m not familiar enough with the situation in the
+Fidelity—it’s changing all the time. I simply know that there are
+factions struggling for the control of it, and hating each other
+furiously, and ready to do anything in the world to cripple each other.
+You know that their forty millions of surplus gives an enormous power;
+I’d rather be able to swing forty millions in the Street than to have
+ten millions in my own right. And so the giants are fighting for the
+control of those companies; and you can’t tell who’s in and who’s
+out—you can never know the real meaning of anything that happens in the
+struggle. All that you can be sure of is that the game is crooked from
+end to end, and that nothing that happens in it is what it pretends to
+be.”
+
+Montague listened, half dazed, and feeling as if the ground he stood on
+were caving beneath his feet.
+
+“What do you know about those who brought you this case?” asked his
+companion, suddenly.
+
+“Not much,” he said weakly.
+
+Harvey hesitated a moment. “Understand me, please,” he said. “I’ve no
+wish to pry into your affairs, and if you don’t care to say any more,
+I’ll understand it perfectly. But I’ve heard it said that the man who
+started the thing was Ellis.”
+
+Montague, in his turn, hesitated; then he said, “That is
+correct—between you and me.”
+
+“Very good,” said Harvey, “and that is what made me suspicious. Do you
+know anything about Ellis?”
+
+“I didn’t,” said the other. “I’ve heard a little since.”
+
+“I can fancy so,” said Harvey. “And I can tell you that Ellis is mixed
+up in life-insurance matters in all sorts of dubious ways. It seems to
+me that you have reason to be most careful where you follow him.”
+
+Montague sat with his hands clenched and his brows knitted. His
+friend’s talk had been like a flash of lightning; it revealed huge
+menacing forms in the darkness about him. All the structure of his
+hopes seemed to be tottering; his case, that he had worked so hard
+over—his fifty thousand dollars that he had been so proud of! Could it
+be that he had been tricked, and had made a fool of himself?
+
+“How in the world am I to know?” he cried.
+
+“That is more than I can tell,” said his friend. “And for that matter,
+I’m not sure that you could do anything now. All that I could do was to
+warn you what sort of ground you were treading on, so that you could
+watch out for yourself in future.”
+
+Montague thanked him heartily for that service; and then he went back
+to his office, and spent the rest of the day pondering the matter.
+
+What he had heard had made a vast change in things. Before it
+everything had seemed simple; and now nothing was clear. He was
+overwhelmed with a sense of the utter futility of his efforts; he was
+trying to build a house upon quicksands. There was nowhere a solid spot
+upon which he could set his foot. There was nowhere any truth—there
+were only contending powers who used the phrases of truth for their own
+purposes! And now he saw himself as the world saw him,—a party to a
+piece of trickery,—a knave like all the rest. He felt that he had been
+tripped up at the first step in his career.
+
+The conclusion of the whole matter was that he took an afternoon train
+for Albany; and the next morning he talked the matter out with the
+Judge. Montague had realized the need of going slowly, for, after all,
+he had no definite ground for suspicion; and so, very tactfully and
+cautiously he explained, that it had come to his ears that many people
+believed there were interested parties behind the suit of Mr. Hasbrook;
+and that this had made him uncomfortable, as he knew nothing whatever
+about his client. He had come to ask the Judge’s advice in the matter.
+
+No one could have taken the thing more graciously than did the great
+man; he was all kindness and tact. In the first place, he said, he had
+warned him in advance that enemies would attack him and slander him,
+and that all kinds of subtle means would be used to influence him. And
+he must understand that these rumours were part of such a campaign; it
+made no difference how good a friend had brought them to him—how could
+he know who had brought them to that friend?
+
+The Judge ventured to hope that nothing that anyone might say could
+influence him to believe that he, the Judge, would have advised him to
+do anything improper.
+
+“No,” said Montague, “but can you assure me that there are no
+interested parties behind Mr. Hasbrook?”
+
+“Interested parties?” asked the other.
+
+“I mean people connected with the Fidelity or other insurance
+companies.”
+
+“Why, no,” said the Judge; “I certainly couldn’t assure you of that.”
+
+Montague looked surprised. “You mean you don’t know?”
+
+“I mean,” was the answer, “that I wouldn’t feel at liberty to tell,
+even if I did know.”
+
+And Montague stared at him; he had not been prepared for this
+frankness.
+
+“It never occurred to me,” the other continued, “that that was a matter
+which could make any difference to you.”
+
+“Why—” began Montague.
+
+“Pray understand me, Mr. Montague,” said the Judge. “It seemed to me
+that this was obviously a just case, and it seemed so to you. And the
+only other matter that I thought you had a right to be assured of was
+that it was seriously meant. Of that I felt assured. It did not seem to
+me of any importance that there might be interested individuals behind
+Mr. Hasbrook. Let us suppose, for instance, that there were some
+parties who had been offended by the administration of the Fidelity,
+and were anxious to punish it. Could a lawyer be justified in refusing
+to take a just case, simply because he knew of such private motives?
+Or, let us assume an extreme case—a factional fight within the company,
+as you say has been suggested to you. Well, that would be a case of
+thieves falling out; and is there any reason why the public should not
+reap the advantage of such a situation? The men inside the company are
+the ones who would know first what is going on; and if you saw a chance
+to use such an advantage in a just fight—would you not do it?”
+
+So the Judge went on, gracious and plausible—and so subtly and
+exquisitely corrupting! Underneath his smoothly flowing sentences
+Montague could feel the presence of one fundamental thought; it was
+unuttered and even unhinted, but it pervaded the Judge’s discourse as a
+mood pervades a melody. The young lawyer had got a big fee, and he had
+a nice easy case; and as a man of the world, he could not really wish
+to pry into it too closely. He had heard gossip, and felt that his
+reputation required him to be disturbed; but he had come, simply to be
+smoothed down the back and made at ease, and enabled to keep his fee
+without losing his good opinion of himself.
+
+Montague quit, because he concluded that it was not worth while to try
+to make himself understood. After all, he was in the case now, and
+there was nothing to be gained by a breach. Two things he felt that he
+had made certain by the interview—first, that his client was a “dummy,”
+and that it was really a case of thieves falling out; and second, that
+he had no guarantee that he might not be left in the lurch at any
+moment—except the touching confidence of the Judge in some parties
+unknown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+Montague came home with his mind made up that there was nothing he
+could do except to be more careful next time. For this mistake he would
+have to pay the price.
+
+He had still to learn what the full price was. The day after his return
+there came a caller—Mr. John C. Burton, read his card. He proved to be
+a canvassing agent for the company which published the scandal-sheet of
+Society. They were preparing a _de luxe_ account of the prominent
+families of New York; a very sumptuous affair, with a highly exclusive
+set of subscribers, at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per set.
+Would Mr. Montague by any chance care to have his family included?
+
+And Mr. Montague explained politely that he was a comparative stranger
+in New York, and would not belong properly in such a volume. But the
+agent was not satisfied with this. There might be reasons for his
+subscribing, even so; there might be special cases; Mr. Montague, as a
+stranger, might not realize the important nature of the offer; after he
+had consulted his friends, he might change his mind—and so on. As
+Montague listened to this series of broad hints, and took in the
+meaning of them, the colour mounted, to his cheeks—until at last he
+rose abruptly and bid the man good afternoon.
+
+But then as he sat alone, his anger died away, and there was left only
+discomfort and uneasiness. And three or four days later he bought
+another issue of the paper, and sure enough, there was a new paragraph!
+
+He stood on the street-corner reading it. The social war was raging
+hotly, it said; and added that Mrs. de Graffenried was threatening to
+take up the cause of the strangers. Then it went on to picture a
+certain exquisite young man of fashion who was rushing about among his
+friends to apologize for his brother’s indiscretions. Also, it said,
+there was a brilliant social queen, wife of a great banker, who had
+taken up the cudgels.—And then came three sentences more, which made
+the blood leap like flame into Montague’s cheeks:
+
+“There have not been lacking comments upon her suspicious ardour. It
+has been noticed that since the advent of the romantic-looking
+Southerner, this restless lady’s interest in the Babists and the trance
+mediums has waned; and now Society is watching for the dénouement of a
+most interesting situation.”
+
+To Montague these words came like a blow in the face. He went on down
+the street, half dazed. It seemed to him the blackest shame that New
+York had yet shown him. He clenched his fists as he walked, whispering
+to himself, “The scoundrels!”
+
+He realized instantly that he was helpless. Down home one would have
+thrashed the editor of such a paper; but here he was in the wolves’ own
+country, and he could do nothing. He went back to his office, and sat
+down at the desk.
+
+“My dear Mrs. Winnie,” he wrote. “I have just read the enclosed
+paragraph, and I cannot tell you how profoundly pained I am that your
+kindness to us should have made you the victim of such an outrage. I am
+quite helpless in the matter, except to enable you to avoid any further
+annoyance. Please believe me when I say that we shall all of us
+understand perfectly if you think that we had best not meet again at
+present; and that this will make no difference whatever in our
+feelings.”
+
+This letter Montague sent by a messenger; and then he went home.
+Perhaps ten minutes after he arrived, the telephone bell rang—and there
+was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+“Your note has come,” she said. “Have you an engagement this evening?”
+
+“No,” he answered.
+
+“Well,” she said, “will you come to dinner?”
+
+“Mrs. Winnie—” he protested.
+
+“Please come,” she said. “Please!”
+
+“I hate to have you—” he began.
+
+“I wish you to come!” she said, a third time.
+
+So he answered, “Very well.”
+
+He went; and when he entered the house, the butler led him to the
+elevator, saying, “Mrs. Duval says will you please come upstairs, sir.”
+And there Mrs. Winnie met him, with flushed cheeks and eager
+countenance.
+
+She was even lovelier than usual, in a soft cream-coloured gown, and a
+crimson rose in her bosom. “I’m all alone to-night,” she said, “so
+we’ll dine in my apartments. We’d be lost in that big room downstairs.”
+
+She led him into her drawing-room, where great armfuls of new roses
+scattered their perfume. There was a table set for two, and two big
+chairs before the fire which blazed in the hearth. Montague noticed
+that her hand trembled a little, as she motioned him to one of them; he
+could read her excitement in her whole aspect. She was flinging down
+the gauntlet to her enemies!
+
+“Let us eat first and talk afterward,” she said, hurriedly. “We’ll be
+happy for a while, anyway.”
+
+And she went on to be happy, in her nervous and eager way. She talked
+about the new opera which was to be given, and about Mrs. de
+Graffenried’s new entertainment, and about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden’s
+ball; also about the hospital for crippled children which she wanted to
+build, and about Mrs. Vivie Patton’s rumoured divorce. And, meantime,
+the sphinx-like attendants moved here and there, and the dinner came
+and went. They took their coffee in the big chairs by the fire; and the
+table was swept clear, and the servants vanished, closing the doors
+behind them.
+
+Then Montague set his cup aside, and sat gazing sombrely into the fire.
+And Mrs. Winnie watched him. There was a long silence.
+
+Suddenly he heard her voice. “Do you find it so easy to give up our
+friendship?” she asked.
+
+“I didn’t think about it’s being easy or hard,” he answered. “I simply
+thought of protecting you.”
+
+“And do you think that my friends are nothing to me?” she demanded.
+“Have I so very many as that?” And she clenched her hands with a sudden
+passionate gesture. “Do you think that I will let those wretches
+frighten me into doing what they want? I’ll not give in to them—not for
+anything that Lelia can do!”
+
+A look of perplexity crossed Montague’s face. “Lelia?” he asked.
+
+“Mrs. Robbie Walling!” she cried. “Don’t you suppose that she is
+responsible for that paragraph?”
+
+Montague started.
+
+“That’s the way they fight their battles!” cried Mrs. Winnie. “They pay
+money to those scoundrels to be protected. And then they send nasty
+gossip about people they wish to injure.”
+
+“You don’t mean that!” exclaimed the man.
+
+“Of course I do,” cried she. “I know that it’s true! I know that Robbie
+Walling paid fifteen thousand dollars for some trumpery volumes that
+they got out! And how do you suppose the paper gets its gossip?”
+
+“I didn’t know,” said Montague. “But I never dreamed—”
+
+“Why,” exclaimed Mrs. Winnie, “their mail is full of blue and gold
+monogram stationery! I’ve known guests to sit down and write gossip
+about their hostesses in their own homes. Oh, you’ve no idea of
+people’s vileness!”
+
+“I had some idea,” said Montague, after a pause.—“That was why I wished
+to protect you.”
+
+“I don’t wish to be protected!” she cried, vehemently. “I’ll not give
+them the satisfaction. They wish to make me give you up, and I’ll not
+do it, for anything they can say!”
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, gazing into the fire. “When I read
+that paragraph,” he said slowly. “I could not bear to think of the
+unhappiness it might cause you. I thought of how much it might disturb
+your husband—”
+
+“My husband!” echoed Mrs. Winnie.
+
+There was a hard tone in her voice, as she went on. “He will fix it up
+with them,” she said,—“that’s his way. There will be nothing more
+published, you can feel sure of that.”
+
+Montague sat in silence. That was not the reply he had expected, and it
+rather disconcerted him.
+
+“If that were all—” he said, with hesitation. “But I could not know. I
+thought that the paragraph might disturb him for another reason—that it
+might be a cause of unhappiness between you and him—”
+
+There was a pause. “You don’t understand,” said Mrs. Winnie, at last.
+
+Without turning his head he could see her hands, as they lay upon her
+knees. She was moving them nervously. “You don’t understand,” she
+repeated.
+
+When she began to’ speak again, it was in a low, trembling voice. “I
+must tell you,” she said; “I have felt sure that you did not know.”
+
+There was another pause. She hesitated, and her hands trembled; then
+suddenly she hurried on.—“I wanted you to know. I do not love my
+husband. I am not bound to him. He has nothing to say in my affairs.”
+
+Montague sat rigid, turned to stone. He was half dazed by the words. He
+could feel Mrs. Winnie’s gaze fixed upon him; and he could feel the hot
+flush that spread over her throat and cheeks.
+
+“It—it was not fair for you not to know,” she whispered. And her voice
+died away, and there was again a silence. Montague was dumb.
+
+“Why don’t you say something?” she panted, at last; and he caught the
+note of anguish in her voice. Then he turned and stared at her, and saw
+her tightly clenched hands, and the quivering of her lips.
+
+He was shocked quite beyond speech. And he saw her bosom heaving
+quickly, and saw the tears start into her eyes. Suddenly she sank down,
+and covered her face with her hands and broke into frantic sobbing.
+
+“Mrs. Winnie!” he cried; and started to his feet.
+
+Her outburst continued. He saw that she was shuddering violently. “Then
+you don’t love me!” she wailed.
+
+He stood trembling and utterly bewildered. “I’m so sorry!” he
+whispered. “Oh, Mrs. Winnie—I had no idea—”
+
+“I know it! I know it!” she cried. “It’s my fault! I was a fool! I knew
+it all the time. But I hoped—I thought you might, if you knew—”
+
+And then again her tears choked her; she was convulsed with pain and
+grief.
+
+Montague stood watching her, helpless with distress. She caught hold of
+the arm of the chair, convulsively, and he put his hand upon hers.
+
+“Mrs. Winnie—” he began.
+
+But she jerked her hand away and hid it. “No, no!” she cried, in
+terror. “Don’t touch me!”
+
+And suddenly she looked up at him, stretching out her arms. “Don’t you
+understand that I love you?” she exclaimed. “You despise me for it, I
+know—but I can’t help it. I will tell you, even so! It’s the only
+satisfaction I can have. I have always loved you! And I thought—I
+thought it was only that you didn’t understand. I was ready to brave
+all the world—I didn’t care who knew it, or what anybody said. I
+thought we could be happy—I thought I could be free at last. Oh, you’ve
+no idea how unhappy I am—and how lonely—and how I longed to escape! And
+I believed that you—that you might—”
+
+And then the tears gushed into Mrs. Winnie’s eyes again, and her voice
+became the voice of a little child.
+
+“Don’t you think that you might come to love me?” she wailed.
+
+Her voice shook Montague, so that he trembled to the depths of him. But
+his face only became the more grave.
+
+“You despise me because I told you!” she exclaimed.
+
+“No, no, Mrs. Winnie,” he said. “I could not possibly do that—”
+
+“Then—then why—” she whispered.—“Would it be so hard to love me?”
+
+“It would be very easy,” he said, “but I dare not let myself.”
+
+She looked at him piteously. “You are so cold—so merciless!” she cried.
+
+He answered nothing, and she sat trembling. “Have you ever loved a
+woman?” she asked.
+
+There was a long pause. He sat in the chair again. “Listen, Mrs.
+Winnie”—he began at last.
+
+“Don’t call me that!” she exclaimed. “Call me Evelyn—please.”
+
+“Very well,” he said—“Evelyn. I did not intend to make you unhappy—if I
+had had any idea, I should never have seen you again. I will tell
+you—what I have never told anybody before. Then you will understand.”
+
+He sat for a few moments, in a sombre reverie.
+
+“Once,” he said, “when I was young, I loved a woman—a quadroon girl.
+That was in New Orleans; it is a custom we have there. They have a
+world of their own, and we take care of them, and of the children; and
+every one knows about it. I was very young, only about eighteen; and
+she was even younger. But I found out then what women are, and what
+love means to them. I saw how they could suffer. And then she died in
+childbirth—the child died, too.”
+
+Montague’s voice was very low; and Mrs. Winnie sat with her hands
+clasped, and her eyes riveted upon his face. “I saw her die,” he said.
+“And that was all. I have never forgotten it. I made up my mind then
+that I had done wrong; and that never again while I lived would I offer
+my love to a woman, unless I could devote all my life to her. So you
+see, I am afraid of love. I do not wish to suffer so much, or to make
+others suffer. And when anyone speaks to me as you did, it brings it
+all back to me—it makes me shrink up and wither.”
+
+He paused, and the other caught her breath.
+
+“Understand me,” she said, her voice trembling. “I would not ask any
+pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay—I am not
+afraid to suffer.”
+
+“I do not wish you to suffer,” he said. “I do not wish to take
+advantage of any woman.”
+
+“But I have nothing in the world that I value!” she cried. “I would go
+away—I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I have no
+ties—no duties—”
+
+He interrupted her. “You have your husband—” he said.
+
+And she cried out in sudden fury—“My husband!”
+
+“Has no one ever told you about my husband?” she asked, after a pause.
+
+“No one,” he said.
+
+“Well, ask them!” she exclaimed. “Meantime, take my word for it—I owe
+nothing to my husband.”
+
+Montague sat staring into the fire. “But consider my own case,” he
+said. “_I_ have duties—my mother and my cousin—”
+
+“Oh, don’t say any more!” cried the woman, with a break in her voice.
+“Say that you don’t love me—that is all there is to say! And you will
+never respect me again! I have been a fool—I have ruined everything! I
+have flung away your friendship, that I might have kept!”
+
+“No,” he said.
+
+But she rushed on, vehemently—“At least, I have been honest—give me
+credit for that! That is how all my troubles come—I say what is in my
+mind, and I pay the price for my blunders. It is not as if I were cold
+and calculating—so don’t despise me altogether.”
+
+“I couldn’t despise you,” said Montague. “I am simply pained, because I
+have made you unhappy. And I did not mean to.”
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat staring ahead of her in a sombre reverie. “Don’t think
+any more about it,” she said, bitterly. “I will get over it. I am not
+worth troubling about. Don’t you suppose I know how you feel about this
+world that I live in? And I’m part of it—I beat my wings, and try to
+get out, but I can’t. I’m in it, and I’ll stay in till I die; I might
+as well give up. I thought that I could steal a little joy—you have no
+idea how hungry I am for a little joy! You have no idea how lonely I
+am! And how empty my life is! You talk about your fear of making me
+unhappy; it’s a grim jest—but I’ll give you permission, if you can!
+I’ll ask nothing—no promises, no sacrifices! I’ll take all the risks,
+and pay all the penalties!”
+
+She smiled through her tears, a sardonic smile. He was watching her,
+and she turned again, and their eyes met; again he saw the blood mount
+from her throat to her cheeks. At the same time came the old stirring
+of the wild beasts within him. He knew that the less time he spent in
+sympathizing with Mrs. Winnie, the better for both of them.
+
+He had started to rise, and words of farewell were on his lips; when
+suddenly there came a knock upon the door.
+
+Mrs. Winnie sprang to her feet. “Who is that?” she cried.
+
+And the door opened, and Mr. Duval entered.
+
+“Good evening,” he said pleasantly, and came toward her.
+
+Mrs. Winnie flushed angrily, and stared at him. “Why do you come here
+unannounced?” she cried.
+
+“I apologize,” he said—“but I found this in my mail—”
+
+And Montague, in the act of rising to greet him, saw that he had the
+offensive clipping in his hand. Then he saw Duval give a start, and
+realized that the man had not been aware of his presence in the room.
+
+Duval gazed from Montague to his wife, and noticed for the first time
+her tears, and her agitation. “I beg pardon,” he said. “I am evidently
+trespassing.”
+
+“You most certainly are,” responded Mrs. Winnie.
+
+He made a move to withdraw; but before he could take a step, she had
+brushed past him and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
+
+And Duval stared after her, and then he stared at Montague, and
+laughed. “Well! well! well!” he said.
+
+Then, checking his amusement, he added, “Good evening, sir.”
+
+“Good evening,” said Montague.
+
+He was trembling slightly, and Duval noticed it; he smiled genially.
+“This is the sort of material out of which scenes are made,” said he.
+“But I beg you not to be embarrassed—we won’t have any scenes.”
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that.
+
+“I owe Evelyn an apology,” the other continued. “It was entirely an
+accident—this clipping, you see. I do not intrude, as a rule. You may
+make yourself at home in future.”
+
+Montague flushed scarlet at the words.
+
+“Mr. Duval,” he said, “I have to assure you that you are mistaken—”
+
+The other stared at him. “Oh, come, come!” he said, laughing. “Let us
+talk as men of the world.”
+
+“I say that you are mistaken,” said Montague again.
+
+The other shrugged his shoulders. “Very well,” he said genially. “As
+you please. I simply wish to make matters clear to you, that’s all. I
+wish you joy with Evelyn. I say nothing about her—you love her. Suffice
+it that I’ve had her, and I’m tired of her; the field is yours. But
+keep her out of mischief, and don’t let her make a fool of herself in
+public, if you can help it. And don’t let her spend too much money—she
+costs me a million a year already.—Good evening, Mr. Montague.”
+
+And he went out. Montague, who stood like a statue, could hear him
+chuckling all the way down the hall.
+
+At last Montague himself started to leave. But he heard Mrs. Winnie
+coming back, and he waited for her. She came in and shut the door, and
+turned toward him.
+
+“What did he say?” she asked.
+
+“He—was very pleasant,” said Montague.
+
+And she smiled grimly. “I went out on purpose,” she said. “I wanted you
+to see him—to see what sort of a man he is, and how much ‘duty’ I owe
+him! You saw, I guess.”
+
+“Yes, I saw,” said he.
+
+Then again he started to go. But she took him by the arm. “Come and
+talk to me,” she said. “Please!”
+
+And she led him back to the fire. “Listen,” she said. “He will not come
+here again. He is going away to-night—I thought he had gone already.
+And he does not return for a month or two. There will be no one to
+disturb us again.”
+
+She came close to him and gazed up into his face. She had wiped her
+tears away, and her happy look had come back to her; she was lovelier
+than ever.
+
+“I took you by surprise,” she said, smiling. “You didn’t know what to
+make of it. And I was ashamed—I thought you would hate me. But I’m not
+going to be unhappy any more—I don’t care at all. I’m glad that I
+spoke!”
+
+And Mrs. Winnie put up her hands and took him by the lapels of his
+coat. “I know that you love me,” she said; “I saw it in your eyes just
+now, before he came in: It is simply that you won’t let yourself go.
+You have so many doubts and so many fears. But you will see that I am
+right; you will learn to love me. You won’t be able to help it—I shall
+be so kind and good! Only don’t go away—”
+
+Mrs. Winnie was so close to him that her breath touched his cheek.
+“Promise me, dear,” she whispered—“promise me that you won’t stop
+seeing me—that you will learn to love me. I can’t do without you!”
+
+Montague was trembling in every nerve; he felt like a man caught in a
+net. Mrs. Winnie had had everything she ever wanted in her life; and
+now she wanted him! It was impossible for her to face any other
+thought.
+
+“Listen,” he began gently.
+
+But she saw the look of resistance in his eyes, and she cried “No
+no—don’t! I cannot do without you! Think! I love you! What more can I
+say to you? I cannot believe that you don’t care for me—you _have_ been
+fond of me—I have seen it in your face. Yet you’re afraid of me—why?
+Look at me—am I not beautiful to look at! And is a woman’s love such a
+little thing—can you fling it away and trample upon it so easily? Why
+do you wish to go? Don’t you understand—no one knows we are here—no one
+cares! You can come here whenever you wish—this is my place—mine! And
+no one will think anything about it. They all do it. There is nothing
+to be afraid of!”
+
+She put her arms about him, and clung to him so that he could feel the
+beating of her heart upon his bosom. “Oh, don’t leave me here alone
+to-night!” she cried.
+
+To Montague it was like the ringing of an alarm-bell deep within his
+soul. “I must go,” he said.
+
+She flung back her head and stared at him, and he saw the terror and
+anguish in her eyes. “No, no!” she cried, “don’t say that to me! I
+can’t bear it—oh, see what I have done! Look at me! Have mercy on me!”
+
+“Mrs. Winnie,” he said, “you must have mercy on _me!_”
+
+But he only felt her clasp him more tightly. He took her by the wrists,
+and with quiet force he broke her hold upon him; her hands fell to her
+sides, and she stared at him, aghast.
+
+“I must go,” he said, again.
+
+And he started toward the door. She followed him dumbly with her eyes.
+
+“Good-bye,” he said. He knew that there was no use of any more words;
+his sympathy had been like oil upon flames. He saw her move, and as he
+opened the door, she flung herself down in a chair and burst into
+frantic weeping. He shut the door softly and went away.
+
+He found his way down the stairs, and got his hat and coat, and went
+out, unseen by anyone. He walked down the Avenue—and there suddenly was
+the giant bulk of St. Cecilia’s lifting itself into the sky. He stopped
+and looked at it—it seemed a great tumultuous surge of emotion. And for
+the first time in his life it seemed to him that he understood why men
+had put together that towering heap of stone!
+
+Then he went on home.
+
+He found Alice dressing for a ball, and Oliver waiting for her. He went
+to his room, and took off his coat; and Oliver came up to him, and with
+a sudden gesture reached over to his shoulder, and held up a trophy.
+
+He drew it out carefully, and measured the length of it, smiling
+mischievously in the meanwhile. Then he held it up to the light, to see
+the colour of it.
+
+“A black one!” he cried. “Coal black!” And he looked at his brother,
+with a merry twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, Allan!” he chuckled.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+
+It was about a week from the beginning of Lent, when there would be a
+lull in the city’s gaieties, and Society would shift the scene of its
+activities to the country clubs, and to California and Hot Springs and
+Palm Beach. Mrs. Caroline Smythe invited Alice to join her in an
+expedition to the last-named place; but Montague interposed, because he
+saw that Alice had been made pale and nervous by three months of
+night-and-day festivities. Also, a trip to Florida would necessitate
+ten or fifteen thousand dollars’ worth of new clothes; and these would
+not do for the summer, it appeared—they would be faded and _passé_ by
+that time.
+
+So Alice settled back to rest; but she was too popular to be let
+alone—a few days later came another invitation, this time from General
+Prentice and his family. They were planning a railroad trip—to be gone
+for a month; they would have a private train, and twenty five people in
+the party, and would take in California and Mexico—“swinging round the
+circle,” as it was called. Alice was wild to go, and Montague gave his
+consent. Afterward he learned to his dismay that Charlie Carter was one
+of those invited, and he would have liked to have Alice withdraw; but
+she did not wish to, and he could not make up his mind to insist.
+
+These train trips were the very latest diversion of the well-to-do; a
+year ago no one had heard of them, and now fifty parties were leaving
+New York every month. You might see a dozen of such hotel-trains at
+once at Palm Beach; there were some people who lived on board all the
+time, having special tracks built for them in pleasant locations
+wherever they stopped. One man had built a huge automobile railroad
+car, shaped like a ram, and having accommodation for sixty people. The
+Prentice train had four cars, one of them a “library car,” finished in
+St. Iago mahogany, and provided with a pipe-organ. Also there were
+bath-rooms and a barber-shop, and a baggage car with two autos on board
+for exploring purposes.
+
+Since the episode of Mrs. Winnie, Oliver had apparently concluded that
+his brother was one of the initiated. Not long afterward he permitted
+him to a glimpse into that side of his life which had been hinted at in
+the songs at the bachelors’ dinner.
+
+Oliver had planned to take Betty Wyman to the theatre; but Betty’s
+grandfather had come home from the West unexpectedly, and so Oliver
+came round and took his brother instead.
+
+“I was going to play a joke on her,” he said. “We’ll go to see one of
+my old flames.”
+
+It was a translation of a French farce, in which the marital
+infidelities of two young couples were the occasion of many mishaps.
+One of the characters was a waiting-maid, who was in love with a
+handsome young soldier, and was pursued by the husband of one of the
+couples. It was a minor part, but the young Jewish girl who played it
+had so many pretty graces and such a merry laugh that she made it quite
+conspicuous. When the act was over, Oliver asked him whose acting he
+liked best, and he named her.
+
+“Come and be introduced to her,” Oliver said.
+
+He opened a door near their box. “How do you do, Mr. Wilson,” he said,
+nodding to a man in evening dress, who stood near by. Then he turned
+toward the dressing-rooms, and went down a corridor, and knocked upon
+one of the doors. A voice called, “Come in,” and he opened the door;
+and there was a tiny room, with odds and ends of clothing scattered
+about, and the girl, clad in corsets and underskirt, sitting before a
+mirror. “Hello, Rosalie,” said he.
+
+And she dropped her powder-puff, and sprang up with a cry—“Ollie!” ‘In
+a moment more she had her arms about his neck.
+
+“Oh, you wretched man,” she cried. “Why don’t you come to see me any
+more? Didn’t you get my letters?”
+
+“I got some,” said he. “But I’ve been busy. This is my brother, Mr.
+Allan Montague.”
+
+The other nodded to Montague, and said, “How do you do?”—but without
+letting go of Oliver. “Why don’t you come to see me?” she exclaimed.
+
+“There, there, now!” said Oliver, laughing good-naturedly. “I brought
+my brother along so that you’d have to behave yourself.”
+
+“I don’t care about your brother!” exclaimed the girl, without even
+giving him another glance. Then she held Oliver at arm’s length, and
+gazed into his face. “How can you be so cruel to me?” she asked.
+
+“I told you I was busy,” said he, cheerfully. “And I gave you fair
+warning, didn’t I? How’s Toodles?”
+
+“Oh, Toodles is in raptures,” said Rosalie. “She’s got a new fellow.”
+And then, her manner changing to one of merriment, she added: “Oh,
+Ollie! He gave her a diamond brooch! And she looks like a
+countess—she’s hoping for a chance to wear it in a part!”
+
+“You’ve seen Toodles,” said Oliver, to his brother “She’s in ‘The
+Kaliph of Kamskatka’”.
+
+“They’re going on the road next week,” said Rosalie. “And then I’ll be
+all alone.” She added, in a pleading voice: “Do, Ollie, be a good boy
+and take us out to-night. Think how long it’s been since I’ve seen you!
+Why, I’ve been so good I don’t know myself in the looking-glass.
+Please, Ollie!”
+
+“All right,” said he, “maybe I will.”
+
+“I’m not going to let you get away from me,” she cried. “I’ll come
+right over the footlights after you!”
+
+“You’d better get dressed,” said Oliver. “You’ll be late.”
+
+He pushed aside a tray with some glasses on it, and seated himself upon
+a trunk; and Montague stood in a corner and watched Rosalie, while she
+powdered and painted herself, and put on an airy summer dress, and
+poured out a flood of gossip about “Toodles” and “Flossie” and “Grace”
+and some others. A few minutes later came a stentorian voice in the
+hallway: “Second act!” There were more embraces, and then Ollie brushed
+the powder from his coat, and went away laughing.
+
+Montague stood for a few moments in the wings, watching the
+scene-shifters putting the final touches to the new set, and the
+various characters taking their positions. Then they went out to their
+seats. “Isn’t she a jewel?” asked Oliver.
+
+“She’s very pretty,” the other admitted.
+
+“She came right out of the slums,” said Oliver—“over on Rivington
+Street. That don’t happen very often.”
+
+“How did you come to know her?” asked his brother.
+
+“Oh, I picked her out. She was in a chorus, then. I got her first
+speaking part.”
+
+“Did you?” said the other, in surprise. “How did you do that?”
+
+“Oh, a little money,” was the reply. “Money will do most anything. And
+I was in love with her—that’s how I got her.”
+
+Montague said nothing, but sat in thought.
+
+“We’ll take her out to supper and make her happy,” added Oliver, as the
+curtain started up. “She’s lonesome, I guess. You see, I promised Betty
+I’d reform.”
+
+All through that scene and the next one Rosalie acted for them; she was
+so full of _verve_ and merriment that there was quite a stir in the
+audience, and she got several rounds of applause. Then, when the play
+was over, she extricated herself from the arms of the handsome young
+soldier, and fled to her dressing-room, and when Oliver and Montague
+arrived, she was half ready for the street.
+
+They went up Broadway, and from a group of people coming out of another
+stage-entrance a young girl came to join them—an airy little creature
+with the face of a doll-baby, and a big hat with a purple feather on
+top. This was “Toodles”—otherwise known as Helen Gwynne; and she took
+Montague’s arm, and they fell in behind Oliver and his companion.
+
+Montague wondered what one said to a chorus-girl on the way to supper.
+Afterward his brother told him that Toodles had been the wife of a
+real-estate agent in a little town in Oklahoma, and had run away from
+respectability and boredom with a travelling theatrical company. Now
+she was tripping her part in the musical comedy which Montague had seen
+at Mrs. Lane’s; and incidentally swearing devotion to a handsome young
+“wine-agent.” She confided to Montague that she hoped the latter might
+see her that evening—he needed to be made jealous.
+
+“The Great White Way” was the name which people had given to this part
+of Broadway; and at the head of it stood a huge hotel with flaming
+lights, and gorgeous marble and bronze, and famous paintings upon the
+walls and ceilings inside. At this hour every one of its many
+dining-rooms was thronged with supper-parties, and the place rang with
+laughter and the rattle of dishes, and the strains of several
+orchestras which toiled heroically in the midst of the uproar. Here
+they found a table, and while Oliver was ordering frozen poached eggs
+and quails in aspic, Montague sat and gazed about him at the revelry,
+and listened to the prattle of the little ex-sempstress from Rivington
+Street.
+
+His brother had “got her,” he said, by buying a speaking part in a play
+for her; and Montague recalled the orgies of which he had heard at the
+bachelors’ dinner, and divined that here he was at the source of the
+stream from which they were fed. At the table next to them was a young
+Hebrew, whom Toodles pointed out as the son and heir of a great
+clothing manufacturer. He was “keeping” several girls, said she; and
+the queenly creature who was his vis-a-vis was one of the chorus in
+“The Maids of Mandalay.” And a little way farther down the room was a
+boy with the face of an angel and the air of a prince of the blood—he
+had inherited a million and run away from school, and was making a name
+for himself in the Tenderloin. The pretty little girl all in green who
+was with him was Violet Pane, who was the artist’s model in a new play
+that had made a hit. She had had a full-page picture of herself in the
+Sunday supplement of the “sporting paper” which was read here—so
+Rosalie remarked.
+
+“Why don’t you ever do that for me?” she added, to Oliver.
+
+“Perhaps I will,” said he, with a laugh. “What does it cost?”
+
+And when he learned that the honour could be purchased for only fifteen
+hundred dollars, he said, “I’ll do it, if you’ll be good.” And from
+that time on the last trace of worriment vanished from the face and the
+conversation of Rosalie.
+
+As the champagne cocktails disappeared, she and Oliver became
+confidential. Then Montague turned to Toodles, to learn more about how
+the “second generation” was preying upon the women of the stage.
+
+“A chorus-girl got from ten to twenty dollars a week,” said Toodles;
+and that was hardly enough to pay for her clothes. Her work was very
+uncertain—she would spend weeks at rehearsal, and then if the play
+failed, she would get nothing. It was a dog’s life; and the keys of
+freedom and opportunity were in the keeping of rich men, who haunted
+the theatres and laid siege to the girls. They would send in notes to
+them, or fling bouquets to them, with cards, or perhaps money, hidden
+in them. There were millionaire artists and bohemians who kept a
+standing order for seats in the front rows at opening performances;
+they had accounts with florists and liverymen and confectioners, and
+gave _carte blanche_ to scores of girls who lent themselves to their
+purposes. Sometimes they were in league with the managers, and a girl
+who held back would find her chances imperilled; sometimes these men
+would even finance shows to give a chance to some favourite.
+
+Afterward Toodles turned to listen to Oliver and his companion; and
+Montague sat back and gazed about the room. Next to him was a long
+table with a dozen, people at it; and he watched the buckets of
+champagne and the endless succession of fantastic-looking dishes of
+food, and the revellers, with their flushed faces and feverish eyes and
+loud laughter. Above all the tumult was the voice of the orchestra,
+calling, calling, like the storm wind upon the mountains; the music was
+wild and chaotic, and produced an indescribable sense of pain and
+confusion. When one realized that this same thing was going on in
+thousands of places in this district it seemed that here was a flood of
+dissipation that out-rivalled even that of Society.
+
+It was said that the hotels of New York, placed end to end, would reach
+all the way to London; and they took care of a couple of hundred
+thousand people a day—a horde which had come from all over the world in
+search of pleasure and excitement. There were sight-seers and “country
+customers” from forty-five states; ranchers from Texas, and lumber
+kings from Maine, and mining men from Nevada. At home they had
+reputations, and perhaps families to consider; but once plunged into
+the whirlpool of the Tenderloin, they were hidden from all the world.
+They came with their pockets full of money; and hotels and restaurants,
+gambling-places and pool-rooms and brothels—all were lying in wait for
+them! So eager had the competition become that there was a tailoring
+establishment and a bank that were never closed the year round, except
+on Sunday.
+
+Everywhere about one’s feet the nets of vice were spread. The head
+waiter in one’s hotel was a “steerer” for a “dive,” and the house
+detective was “touting” for a gambling-place. The handsome woman who
+smiled at one in “Peacock Alley” was a “madame”; the pleasant-faced
+young man who spoke to one at the bar was on the look-out for customers
+for a brokerage-house next door. Three times in a single day in another
+of these great caravanserais Montague was offered “short change”; and
+so his eyes were opened to a new kind of plundering. He was struck by
+the number of attendants in livery who swarmed about him, and to whom
+he gave tips for their services. He did not notice that the boys in the
+wash-rooms and coat-rooms could not speak a word of English; he could
+not know that they were searched every night, and had everything taken
+from them, and that the Greek who hired them had paid fifteen thousand
+dollars a year to the hotel for the privilege.
+
+So far had the specialization in evil proceeded that there were places
+of prostitution which did a telephone-business exclusively, and would
+send a woman in a cab to any address; and there were high-class
+assignation-houses, which furnished exquisite apartments and the
+services of maids and valets. And in this world of vice the modern
+doctrine of the equality of the sexes was fully recognized; there were
+gambling-houses and pool-rooms and opium-joints for women, and
+drinking-places which catered especially for them. In the “orange room”
+of one of the big hotels, you might see rich women of every rank and
+type, fingering the dainty leather-bound and gold-embossed wine cards.
+In this room alone were sold over ten thousand drinks every day; and
+the hotel paid a rental of a million a year to the Devon estate. Not
+far away the Devons also owned negro-dives, where, in the early hours
+of the morning, you might see richly-gowned white women drinking.
+
+In this seething caldron of graft there were many strange ways of
+making money, and many strange and incredible types of human beings to
+be met. Once, in “Society,” Montague had pointed out to him a woman who
+had been a “tattooed lady” in a circus; there was another who had been
+a confederate of gamblers upon the ocean steamships, and another who
+had washed dishes in a mining-camp. There was one of these great hotels
+whose proprietor had been a successful burglar; and a department-store
+whose owner had begun life as a “fence.” In any crowd of these
+revellers you might have such strange creatures pointed out to you; a
+multimillionaire who sold rotten jam to the people; another who had
+invented opium soothing-syrup for babies; a convivial old gentleman who
+disbursed the “yellow dog fund” of several railroads; a handsome
+chauffeur who had run away with an heiress. ‘Once a great scientist had
+invented a new kind of underwear, and had endeavoured to make it a gift
+to humanity; and here was a man who had seized upon it and made
+millions out of it! Here was a “trance medium,” who had got a fortune
+out of an imbecile old manufacturer; here was a great newspaper
+proprietor, who published advertisements of assignations at a dollar a
+line; here was a cigar manufacturer, whose smug face was upon every
+billboard—he had begun as a tin manufacturer, and to avoid the duty, he
+had had his raw material cast in the form of statues, and brought them
+in as works of art!
+
+And terrible and vile as were the sources from which the fortunes had
+been derived, they were no viler nor more terrible than the purposes
+for which they had been spent. Mrs. Vivie Patton had hinted to Montague
+of a “Decameron Club,” whose members gathered in each others’ homes and
+vied in the telling of obscene stories; Strathcona had told him about
+another set of exquisite ladies and gentlemen who gave elaborate
+entertainments, in which they dressed in the costumes of bygone
+periods, and imitated famous characters in history, and the vices and
+orgies of courts and camps. One heard of “Cleopatra nights” on board of
+yachts at Newport. There was a certain Wall Street “plunger,” who had
+begun life as a mining man in the West; and when his customers came in
+town, he would hire a trolley-car, and take a load of champagne and
+half a dozen prostitutes, and spend the night careering about the
+country. This man was now quartered in one of the great hotels in New
+York; and in his apartments he would have prize fights and chicken
+fights; and bloodthirsty exhibitions called “purring matches,” in which
+men tried to bark each other’s shins; or perhaps a “battle royal,” with
+a diamond scarf-pin dangling from the ceiling, and half a dozen negroes
+in a free-for-all fight for the prize.
+
+No picture of the ways of the Metropolis would be complete which did
+not force upon the reluctant reader some realization of the extent to
+which new and hideous incitements to vice were spreading. To say that
+among the leisured classes such practices were raging like a pestilence
+would be no exaggeration. Ten years ago they were regarded with
+aversion by even the professionally vicious; but now the commonest
+prostitute accepted them as part of her fate. And there was no height
+to which they had not reached—ministers of state were enslaved by them;
+great fortunes and public events were controlled by them. In Washington
+there had been an ambassador whose natural daughter taught them in the
+houses of the great, until the scandal forced the minister’s recall.
+Some of these practices were terrible in their effects, completely
+wrecking the victim in a short time; and physicians who studied their
+symptoms would be horrified to see them appearing in the homes of their
+friends.
+
+And from New York, the centre of the wealth and culture of the country,
+these vices spread to every corner of it. Theatrical companies and
+travelling salesmen carried them; visiting merchants and sightseers
+acquired them. Pack-pedlers sold vile pictures and books—the
+manufacturing or importing of which was now quite an industry; one
+might read catalogues printed abroad in English, the contents of which
+would make one’s flesh creep. There were cheap weeklies, costing ten
+cents a year, which were thrust into area-windows for servant-girls;
+there were yellow-covered French novels of unbelievable depravity for
+the mistress of the house. It was a curious commentary upon the morals
+of Society that upon the trains running to a certain suburban community
+frequented by the ultra-fashionable, the newsboys did a thriving
+business in such literature; and when the pastor of the fashionable
+church eloped with a Society girl, the bishop publicly laid the blame
+to the morals of his parishioners!
+
+The theory was that there were two worlds, and that they were kept
+rigidly separate. There were two sets of women; one to be toyed with
+and flung aside, and the other to be protected and esteemed. Such
+things as prostitutes and kept women might exist, but people of
+refinement did not talk about them, and were not concerned with them.
+But Montague was familiar with the saying, that if you follow the chain
+of the slave, you will find the other end about the wrist of the
+master; and he discovered that the Tenderloin was wreaking its
+vengeance upon Fifth Avenue. It was not merely that the men of wealth
+were carrying to their wives and children the diseases of vice; they
+were carrying also the manners and the ideals.
+
+Montague had been amazed by the things he had found in New York
+Society; the smoking and drinking and gambling of women, their hard and
+cynical views of life, their continual telling of coarse stories. And
+here, in this under-world, he had come upon the fountain head of the
+corruption. It was something which came to him in a sudden flash of
+intuition;—the barriers between the two worlds were breaking down!
+
+He could picture the process in a hundred different forms. There was
+Betty Wyman. His brother had meant to take her to the theatre, to let
+her see Rosalie, by way of a joke! So, of course, Betty knew of his
+escapades, and of those of his set; she and her girl friends were
+whispering and jesting about them. Here sat Oliver, smiling and
+cynical, toying with Rosalie as a cat might toy with a mouse; and
+to-morrow he would be with Betty—and could anyone doubt any longer
+whence Betty had derived her attitude towards life? And the habits of
+mind that Oliver had taught her as a girl she would not forget as a
+wife; he might be anxious to keep her to himself, but there would be
+others whose interest was different.
+
+And Montague recalled other things that he had seen or heard in
+Society, that he could put his finger upon, as having come out of this
+under-world. The more he thought of the explanation, the more it seemed
+to explain. This “Society,” which had perplexed him—now he could
+describe it: its manners and ideals of life were those which he would
+have expected to find in the “fast” side of stage life.
+
+It was, of course, the women who made Society, and gave it its tone;
+and the women of Society were actresses. They were actresses in their
+love of notoriety and display; in their taste in clothes and jewels,
+their fondness for cigarettes and champagne. They made up like
+actresses; they talked and thought like actresses. The only obvious
+difference was that the women of the stage were carefully selected—were
+at least up to a certain standard of physical excellence; whereas the
+women of Society were not selected at all, and some were lean, and some
+were stout, and some were painfully homely.
+
+Montague recalled cases where the two sets had met as at some of the
+private entertainments. It was getting to be the fashion to hobnob with
+the stage people on such occasions; and he recalled how naturally the
+younger people took to this. Only the older women held aloof; looking
+down upon the women of the stage from an ineffable height, as belonging
+to a lower caste—because they were obliged to work for their livings.
+But it seemed to Montague, as he sat and talked with this poor
+chorus-girl, who had sold herself for a little pleasure, that it was
+easier to pardon her than the woman who had been born to luxury, and
+scorned those who produced her wealth.
+
+But most of all, one’s sympathies went out to a person who was not to
+be met in either of these sets; to the girl who had not sold herself,
+but was struggling for a living in the midst of this ravening
+corruption. There were thousands of self-respecting women, even on the
+stage; Toodles herself had been among them, she told Montague. “I kept
+straight for a long time,” she said, laughing cheerfully—“and on ten
+dollars a week! I used to go out on the road, and then they paid me
+sixteen; and think of trying to live on one-night stands—to board
+yourself and stop at hotels and dress for the theatre—on sixteen a
+week, and no job half the year! And all that time—do you know Cyril
+Chambers, the famous church painter?”
+
+“I’ve heard of him,” said Montague.
+
+“Well, I was with a show here on Broadway the next winter; and every
+night for six months he sent me a bunch of orchids that couldn’t have
+cost less than seventy-five dollars! And he told me he’d open accounts
+for me in all the stores I chose, if I’d spend the next summer in
+Europe with him. He said I could take my mother or my sister with
+me—and I was so green in those days, I thought that must mean he didn’t
+intend anything wrong!”
+
+Toodles smiled at the memory. “Did you go?” asked the man.
+
+“No,” she answered. “I stayed here with a roof-garden show that failed.
+And I went to my old manager for a job, and he said to me, ‘I can only
+pay you ten a week. But why are you so foolish?’ ‘How do you mean?’ I
+asked; and he answered, ‘Why don’t you get a rich sweetheart? Then I
+could pay you sixty.’ That’s what a girl hears on the stage!”
+
+“I don’t understand,” said Montague, perplexed. “Did he mean he could
+get money out of the man?”
+
+“Not directly,” said Toodles; “but tickets—and advertising. Why, men
+will hire front-row seats for a whole season, if they’re interested in
+a girl in the show. And they’ll take all their friends to see her, and
+she’ll be talked about—she’ll be somebody, instead of just nobody, as I
+was.”
+
+“Then it actually helps her on the stage!” said Montague.
+
+“Helps her!” exclaimed Toodles. “My God! I’ve known a girl who’d been
+abroad with a tip-top swell—and had the gowns and the jewels to prove
+it—to come home and get into the front row of a chorus at a hundred
+dollars a week.”
+
+Toodles was cheerful and all unaware; and that only made the tragedy of
+it all one shade more black to Montague. He sat lost in sombre reverie,
+forgetting his companions, and the blare and glare of the place.
+
+In the centre of this dining-room was a great cone-shaped stand,
+containing a display of food; and as they strolled out, Montague
+stopped to look at it. There were platters garnished with flowers and
+herbs, and containing roast turkeys and baked hams, jellied meats and
+game in aspic, puddings and tarts and frosted cakes—every kind of
+food-fantasticality imaginable. One might have spent an hour in
+studying it, and from top to bottom he would have found nothing simple,
+nothing natural. The turkeys had paper curls and rosettes stuck over
+them; the hams were covered with a white gelatine, the devilled crabs
+with a yellow mayonnaise—and all painted over in pink and green and
+black with landscapes and marine views—with “ships and shoes and
+sealing-wax and cabbages and kings.” The jellied meats and the puddings
+were in the shape of fruits and flowers; and there were elaborate works
+of art in pink and white confectionery—a barn-yard, for instance, with
+horses and cows, and a pump, and a dairymaid—and one or two alligators.
+
+And all this was changed every day! Each morning you might see a
+procession of a score of waiters bearing aloft a new supply. Montague
+remembered Betty Wyman’s remark at their first interview, apropos of
+the whipped cream made into little curleques; how his brother had said,
+“If Allan were here, he’d be thinking about the man who fixed that
+cream, and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading
+‘The Simple Life’!”
+
+He thought of that now; he stood here and gazed, and wondered about all
+the slaves of the lamp who served in this huge temple of luxury. He
+looked at the waiters—pale, hollow-chested, harried-looking men: he
+imagined the hordes of servants of yet lower kinds, who never emerged
+into the light of day; the men who washed the dishes, the men who
+carried the garbage, the men who shovelled the coal into the furnaces,
+and made the heat and light and power. Pent up in dim cellars, many
+stories under ground, and bound for ever to the service of
+sensuality—how terrible must be their fate, how unimaginable their
+corruption! And they were foreigners; they had come here seeking
+liberty. And the masters of the new country had seized them and pent
+them here!
+
+From this as a starting-point his thought went on, to the hordes of
+toilers in every part of the world, whose fate it was to create the
+things which these blind revellers destroyed; the women and children in
+countless mills and sweatshops, who spun the cloth, and cut and sewed
+it; the girls who made the artificial flowers, who rolled the
+cigarettes, who gathered the grapes from the vines; the miners who dug
+the coal and the precious metals out of the earth; the men who watched
+in ten thousand signal-towers and engines, who fought the elements from
+the decks of ten thousand ships—to bring all these things here to be
+destroyed. Step by step, as the flood of extravagance rose, and the
+energies of the men were turned to the creation of futility and
+corruption—so, step by step, increased the misery and degradation of
+all these slaves of Mammon. And who could imagine what they would think
+about it—if ever they came to think?
+
+And then, in a sudden flash, there came back to Montague that speech he
+had heard upon the street-corner, the first evening he had been in New
+York! He could hear again the pounding of the elevated trains, and the
+shrill voice of the orator; he could see his haggard and hungry face,
+and the dense crowd gazing up at him. And there came to him the words
+of Major Thorne:
+
+“It means another civil war!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+Alice had been gone for a couple of weeks, and the day was drawing near
+when the Hasbrook case came up for trial. The Saturday before that
+being the date of the Mi-carême dance of the Long Island Hunt Club,
+Siegfried Harvey was to have a house-party for the week-end, and
+Montague accepted his invitation. He had been working hard, putting the
+finishing touches to his brief, and he thought that a rest would be
+good for him.
+
+He and his brother went down upon Friday afternoon, and the first
+person he met was Betty Wyman, whom he had not seen for quite a while.
+Betty had much to say, and said it. As Montague had not been seen with
+Mrs. Winnie since the episode in her house, people had begun to notice
+the break, and there was no end of gossip; and Mistress Betty wanted to
+know all about it, and how things stood between them.
+
+But he would not tell her, and so she saucily refused to tell him what
+she had heard. All the while they talked she was eyeing him
+quizzically, and it was evident that she took the worst for granted;
+also that he had become a much more interesting person to her because
+of it. Montague had the strangest sensations when he was talking with
+Betty Wyman; she was delicious and appealing, almost irresistible; and
+yet her views of life were so old! “I told you you wouldn’t do for a
+tame cat!” she said to him.
+
+Then she went on to talk to him about his case, and to tease him about
+the disturbance he had made.
+
+“You know,” she said, “Ollie and I were in terror—we thought that
+grandfather would be furious, and that we’d be ruined. But somehow, it
+didn’t work out that way. Don’t you say anything about it, but I’ve had
+a sort of a fancy that he must be on your side of the fence.”
+
+“I’d be glad to know it,” said Montague, with a laugh—“I’ve been trying
+for a long time to find out who is on my side of the fence.”
+
+“He was talking about it the other day,” said Betty, “and I heard him
+tell a man that he’d read your argument, and thought it was good.”
+
+“I’m glad to hear that,” said Montague.
+
+“So was I,” replied she. “And I said to him afterward, ‘I suppose you
+don’t know that Allan Montague is my Ollie’s brother.’ And he did you
+the honour to say that he hadn’t supposed any member of Ollie’s family
+could have as much sense!”
+
+Betty was staying with an aunt near by, and she went back before
+dinner. In the automobile which came for her was old Wyman himself, on
+his way home from the city; and as a snowstorm had begun, he came in
+and stood by the fire while his car was exchanged for a closed one from
+Harvey’s stables. Montague did not meet him, but stood and watched him
+from the shadows—a mite of a man, with a keen and eager face, full of
+wrinkles. It was hard to realize that this little body held one of the
+great driving minds of the country. He was an intensely nervous and
+irritable man, bitter and implacable—by all odds the most hated and
+feared man in Wall Street. He was swift, imperious, savage as a hornet.
+“Directors at meetings that I attend vote first and discuss afterward,”
+was one of his sayings that Montague had heard quoted. Watching him
+here by the fireside, rubbing his hands and chatting pleasantly,
+Montague had a sudden sense of being behind the scenes, of being
+admitted to a privilege denied to ordinary mortals—the beholding of
+royalty in everyday attire!
+
+After dinner that evening Montague had a chat in the smoking-room with
+his host; and he brought up the subject of the Hasbrook case, and told
+about his trip to Washington, and his interview with Judge Ellis.
+
+Harvey also had something to communicate. “I had a talk with Freddie
+Vandam about it,” said he.
+
+“What did he say?” asked Montague.
+
+“Well,” replied the other, with a laugh, “he’s indignant, needless to
+say. You know, Freddie was brought up by his father to regard the
+Fidelity as his property, in a way. He always refers to it as ‘my
+company.’ And he’s very high and mighty about it—it’s a personal
+affront if anyone attacks it. But it was evident to me that he doesn’t
+know who’s behind this case.”
+
+“Did he know about Ellis?” asked Montague.
+
+“Yes,” said the other, “he had found out that much. It was he who told
+me that originally. He says that Ellis has been sponging off the
+company for years—he has a big salary that he never earns, and has
+borrowed something like a quarter of a million dollars on worthless
+securities.”
+
+Montague gave a gasp.
+
+“Yes,” laughed Harvey. “But after all, that’s a little matter. The
+trouble with Freddie Vandam is that that sort of thing is all he sees;
+and so he’ll never be able to make out the mystery. He knows that this
+clique or that in the company is plotting to get some advantage, or to
+use him for their purposes—but he never realizes how the big men are
+pulling the wires behind the scenes. Some day they’ll throw him
+overboard altogether, and then he’ll realize how they’ve played with
+him. That’s what this Hasbrook case means, you know—they simply want to
+frighten him with a threat of getting the company’s affairs into the
+courts and the newspapers.”
+
+Montague sat for a while in deep thought.
+
+“What would you think would be Wyman’s relation to the matter?” he
+asked, at last.
+
+“I wouldn’t know,” said Harvey. “He’s supposed to be Freddie’s
+backer—but what can you tell in such a tangle?”
+
+“It is certainly a mess,” said Montague.
+
+“There’s no bottom to it,” said the other. “Absolutely—it would take
+your breath away! Just listen to what Vandam told me to-day!”
+
+And then Harvey named one of the directors of the Fidelity who was well
+known as a philanthropist. Having heard that the wife of one of his
+junior partners had met with an accident in childbirth, and that the
+doctor had told her husband that if she ever had another child, she
+would die, this man had asked, “Why don’t you have her life insured?”
+The other replied that he had tried, and the companies had refused her.
+“I’ll fix it for you,” said he; and so they put in another application,
+and the director came to Freddie Vandam and had the policy put through
+“by executive order.” Seven months later the woman died, and the
+Fidelity had paid her husband in full—a hundred thousand or two!
+
+“That’s what’s going on in the insurance world!” said Siegfried Harvey.
+
+And that was the story which Montague took with him to add to his
+enjoyment of the festivities at the country club. It was a very
+gorgeous affair; but perhaps the sombreness of his thoughts was to
+blame; the flowers and music and beautiful gowns failed entirely in
+their appeal, and he saw only the gluttony and drunkenness—more of it
+than ever before, it seemed to him.
+
+Then, too, he had an unpleasant experience. He met Laura Hegan; and
+presuming upon her cordial reception of his visit, he went up and spoke
+to her pleasantly. And she greeted him with frigid politeness; she was
+so brief in her remarks and turned away so abruptly as almost to snub
+him. He went away quite bewildered. But later on he recalled the gossip
+about himself and Mrs. Winnie, and he guessed that that was the
+explanation of Miss Hegar’s action.
+
+The episode threw a shadow over his whole visit. On Sunday he went out
+into the country and tramped through a snowstorm by himself, filled
+with a sense of disgust for all the past, and of foreboding for the
+future. He hated this money-world, in which all that was worst in human
+beings was brought to the surface; he hated it, and wished that he had
+never set foot within its bounds. It was only by tramping until he was
+too tired to feel anything that he was able to master himself.
+
+And then, toward dark, he came back, and found a telegram which had
+been forwarded from New York.
+
+“Meet me at the Penna depot, Jersey City, at nine to-night. Alice.”
+
+This message, of course, drove all other thoughts from his mind. He had
+no time even to tell Oliver about it—he had to jump into an automobile
+and rush to catch the next train for the city. And all through the
+long, cold ride in ferry-boats and cabs he pondered this mystery.
+Alice’s party had not been expected for two weeks yet; and only two
+days before there had come a letter from Los Angeles, saying that they
+would probably be a week over time. And here she was home again!
+
+He found there was an express from the West due at the hour named;
+apparently, therefore, Alice had not come in the Prentice’s train at
+all. The express was half an hour late, and so he paced up and down the
+platform, controlling his impatience as best he could. And finally the
+long train pulled in, and he saw Alice coming down the platform. She
+was alone!
+
+“What does it mean?” were the first words he said to her.
+
+“It’s a long story,” she answered. “I wanted to come home.”;
+
+“You mean you’ve come all the way from the coast by yourself!” he
+gasped.
+
+“Yes,” she said, “all the way.”
+
+“What in the world—” he began.
+
+“I can’t tell you here, Allan,” she said. “Wait till we get to some
+quiet place.”
+
+“But,” he persisted. “The Prentice? They let you come home alone?”
+
+“They didn’t know it,” she said. “I ran away.”
+
+He was more bewildered than ever. But as he started to ask more
+questions, she laid a hand upon his arm. “Please wait, Allan,” she
+said. “It upsets me to talk about it. It was Charlie Carter.”
+
+And so the light broke. He caught his breath and gasped, “Oh!”
+
+He said not another word until they had crossed the ferry and settled
+themselves in a cab, and started. “Now,” he said, “tell me.”
+
+Alice began. “I was very much upset,” she said. “But you must
+understand, Allan, that I’ve had nearly a week to think it over, and I
+don’t mind it now. So I want you please not to get excited about it; it
+wasn’t poor Charlie’s fault—he can’t help himself. It was my mistake. I
+ought to have taken your advice and had nothing to do with him.”
+
+“Go on,” said he; and Alice told her story.
+
+The party had gone sight-seeing, and she had had a headache and had
+stayed in the car. And Charlie Carter had come and begun making love to
+her. “He had asked me to marry him already—that was at the beginning of
+the trip,” she said. “And I told him no. After that he would never let
+me alone. And this time he went on in a terrible way—he flung himself
+down on his knees, and wept, and said he couldn’t live without me. And
+nothing I could say did any good. At last he—he caught hold of me—and
+he wouldn’t let me go. I was furious with him, and frightened. I had to
+threaten to call for help before he would stop. And so—you see how it
+was.”
+
+“I see,” said Montague, gravely. “Go on.”
+
+“Well, after that I made up my mind that I couldn’t stay anywhere where
+I had to see him. And I knew he would never go away without a scene. If
+I had asked Mrs. Prentice to send him away, there would have been a
+scandal, and it would have spoiled everybody’s trip. So I went out, and
+found there was a train for the East in a little while, and I packed up
+my things, and left a note for Mrs. Prentice. I told her a story—I said
+I’d had a telegram that your mother was ill, and that I didn’t want to
+spoil their good time, and had gone by myself. That was the best thing
+I could think of. I wasn’t afraid to travel, so long as I was sure that
+Charlie couldn’t catch up with me.”
+
+Montague said nothing; he sat with his hands gripped tightly.
+
+“It seemed like a desperate thing to do,” said Alice, nervously. “But
+you see, I was upset and unhappy. I didn’t seem to like the party any
+more—I wanted to be home. Do you understand?”
+
+“Yes,” said Montague, “I understand. And I’m glad you are here.”
+
+They reached home, and Montague called up Harvey’s and told his brother
+what had happened. He could hear Oliver gasp with astonishment. “That’s
+a pretty how-do-you-do!” he said, when he had got his breath back; and
+then he added, with a laugh, “I suppose that settles poor Charlie’s
+chances.”
+
+“I’m glad you’ve come to that conclusion,” said the other, as he hung
+up the receiver.
+
+This episode gave Montague quite a shock. But he had little time to
+think about it—the next morning at eleven o’clock his case was to come
+up for trial, and so all his thoughts were called away. This case had
+been the one real interest of his life for the last three months; it
+was his purpose, the thing for the sake of which he endured everything
+else that repelled him. And he had trained himself as an athlete for a
+great race; he was in form, and ready for the effort of his life. He
+went down town that morning with every fibre of him, body and mind,
+alert and eager; and he went into his office, and in his mail was a
+letter from Mr. Hasbrook. He opened it hastily and read a message,
+brief and direct and decisive as a sword-thrust:
+
+“I beg to inform you that I have received a satisfactory proposition
+from the Fidelity Company. I have settled with them, and wish to
+withdraw the suit. Thanking you for your services, I remain,
+sincerely.”
+
+To Montague the thing came like a thunderbolt. He sat utterly
+dumbfounded—his hands went limp, and the letter fell upon the desk in
+front of him.
+
+And at last, when he did move, he picked up the telephone, and told his
+secretary to call up Mr. Hasbrook. Then he sat waiting; and when the
+bell rang, picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Mr. Hasbrook’s
+voice, and to demand an explanation. But he heard, instead, the voice
+of his own secretary: “Central says the number’s been discontinued,
+sir.”
+
+And he hung up the receiver, and sat motionless again. The dummy had
+disappeared!
+
+To Montague this incident meant a change in the prospect of his whole
+life. It was the collapse of all his hopes. He had nothing more to work
+for, nothing more to think about; the bottom had fallen out of his
+career!
+
+He was burning with a sense of outrage. He had been tricked and made a
+fool of; he had been used and flung aside. And now there was nothing he
+could do—he was utterly helpless. What affected him most was his sense
+of the overwhelming magnitude of the powers which had made him their
+puppet; of the utter futility of the efforts that he or any other man
+could make against them. They were like elemental, cosmic forces; they
+held all the world in their grip, and a common man was as much at their
+mercy as a bit of chaff in a tempest.
+
+All day long he sat in his office, brooding and nursing his wrath. He
+had moods when he wished to drop everything, to shake the dust of the
+city from his feet, and go back home and recollect what it was to be a
+gentleman. And then again he had fighting moods, when he wished to
+devote all his life to punishing the men who had made use of him. He
+would get hold of some other policy-holder in the Fidelity, one whom he
+could trust; he would take the case without pay, and carry it through
+to the end! He would force the newspapers to talk about it—he would
+force the people to heed what he said!
+
+And then, toward evening, he went home, bitter and sore. And there was
+his brother sitting in his study, waiting for him.
+
+“Hello,” he said, and took off his coat, preparing his mind for one
+more ignominy—the telling of his misfortune to Oliver, and listening to
+his inevitable, “I told you so.”
+
+But Oliver himself had something to communicate something that would
+not bear keeping. He broke out at once—“Tell me, Allan! What in the
+world has happened between you and Mrs. Winnie?”
+
+“What do you mean?” asked Montague, sharply.
+
+“Why,” said Oliver, “everybody is talking about some kind of a
+quarrel.”
+
+“There has been no quarrel,” said Montague.
+
+“Well, what is it, then?”
+
+“It’s nothing.”
+
+“It must be something!” exclaimed Oliver. “What do all the stories
+mean?”
+
+“What stories?”
+
+“About you two. I met Mrs. Vivie Patton just now, and she swore me to
+secrecy, and told me that Mrs. Winnie had told some one that you had
+made love to her so outrageously that she had to ask you to leave the
+house.”
+
+Montague shrunk as from a blow. “Oh!” he gasped.
+
+“That’s what she said,” said he.
+
+“It’s a lie!” he cried.
+
+“That’s what I told Mrs. Vivie,” said the other; “it doesn’t sound like
+you—”
+
+Montague had flushed scarlet. “I don’t mean that!” he cried. “I mean
+that Mrs. Winnie never said any such thing.”
+
+“Oh,” said Oliver, and he shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe not,” he
+added. “But I know she’s furious with you about something—everybody’s
+talking about it. She tells people that she’ll never speak to you
+again. And what I want to know is, why is it that you have to do things
+to make enemies of everybody you know?”
+
+Montague said nothing; he was trembling with anger.
+
+“What in the world did you do to her?” began the other. “Can’t you
+trust me—”
+
+And suddenly Montague sprang to his feet. “Oh, Oliver,” he exclaimed,
+“let me alone! Go away!”
+
+And he went into the next room and slammed the door, and began pacing
+back and forth like a caged animal.
+
+It was a lie! It was a lie! Mrs. Winnie had never said such a thing! He
+would never believe it—it was a nasty piece of backstairs gossip!
+
+But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did it matter Whether
+it was true or not—whether anything was true or not? What did it matter
+if anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome things that everybody
+else said they had done? It was what everybody was saying! It was what
+everybody believed—what everybody was interested in! It was the measure
+of a whole society—their ideals and their standards! It was the way
+they spent their time, repeating nasty scandals about each other;
+living in an atmosphere of suspicion and cynicism, with endless
+whispering and leering, and gossip of lew intrigue.
+
+A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him, away—rage against
+the world into which he had come, and against himself for the part he
+had played in it. Everything seemed to have come to a head at once; and
+he hated everything—hated the people he had met, and the things they
+did, and the things they had tempted him to do. He hated the way he had
+got his money, and the way he had spent it. He hated the idleness and
+wastefulness, the drunkenness and debauchery, the meanness and the
+snobbishness.
+
+And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of the room where Oliver
+still sat. And he stood in the doorway, exclaiming, “Oliver, I’m done
+with it!”
+
+Oliver stared at him. “What do you mean?” he asked.
+
+“I mean,” cried his brother, “that I’ve had all I can stand of
+‘Society!’ And I’m going to quit. You can go on—but I don’t intend to
+take another step with you! I’ve had enough—and I think Alice has had
+enough, also. We’ll take ourselves off your hands—we’ll get out!”
+
+“What are you going to do?” gasped Oliver.
+
+“I’m going to give up these expensive apartments—give them up
+to-morrow, when our week is up. And I’m going to stop squandering money
+for things I don’t want. I’m going to stop accepting invitations, and
+meeting people I don’t like and don’t want to know. I’ve tried your
+game—I’ve tried it hard, and I don’t like it; and I’m going to get out
+before it’s too late. I’m going to find some decent and simple place to
+live in; and I’m going down town to find out if there isn’t some way in
+New York for a man to earn an honest living!”
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
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+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+<title>The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair</title>
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+<pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Metropolis
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Release Date: July 14, 2002 [EBook #5421]
+[Most recently updated: June 1, 2020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="cover" />
+</div>
+
+<h1>The Metropolis</h1>
+
+<h2>by Upton Sinclair</h2>
+
+<h4>FIRST PUBLISHED 1908
+
+<br/>
+
+PRINTED BY OFFSET IN GREAT BRITAIN</h4>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2>Contents</h2>
+
+<table summary="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto">
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap15">CHAPTER XV.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap19">CHAPTER XIX.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap20">CHAPTER XX.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td> <a href="#chap21">CHAPTER XXI.</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Return at ten-thirty,&rdquo; the General said to his chauffeur, and then
+they entered the corridor of the hotel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little with
+anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The quiet uptown hotel
+would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he was from the country; but, he
+did not see the marble columns and the gilded carvings-he was thinking of the
+men he was to meet. It seemed too much to crowd into one day-first the vision
+of the whirling, seething city, the centre of all his hopes of the future; and
+then, at night, this meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories of
+everything that he held precious in the past.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were groups of men in faded uniforms standing about in the corridors.
+General Prentice bowed here and there as they retired and took the elevator to
+the reception-rooms. In the doorway they passed a stout little man with stubby
+white moustaches, and the General stopped, exclaiming, &ldquo;Hello,
+Major!&rdquo; Then he added: &ldquo;Let me introduce Mr. Allan Montague.
+Montague, this is Major Thorne.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A look of sudden interest flashed across the Major&rsquo;s face. &ldquo;General
+Montague&rsquo;s son?&rdquo; he cried. And then he seized the other&rsquo;s
+hand in both of his, exclaiming, &ldquo;My boy! my boy! I&rsquo;m glad to see
+you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now Montague was no boy&mdash;he was a man of thirty, and rather sedate in his
+appearance and manner; there was enough in his six feet one to have made two of
+the round and rubicund little Major. And yet it seemed to him quite proper that
+the other should address him so. He was back in his boyhood to-night&mdash;he
+was a boy whenever anyone mentioned the name of Major Thorne.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps you have heard your father speak of me?&rdquo; asked the Major,
+eagerly; and Montague answered, &ldquo;A thousand times.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was tempted to add that the vision that rose before him was of a stout
+gentleman hanging in a grape-vine, while a whole battery of artillery made him
+their target.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Perhaps it was irreverent, but that was what Montague had always thought of,
+ever since he had first laughed over the tale his father told. It had happened
+one January afternoon in the Wilderness, during the terrible battle of
+Chancellorsville, when Montague&rsquo;s father had been a rising young
+staff-officer, and it had fallen to his lot to carry to Major Thorne what was
+surely the most terrifying order that ever a cavalry officer received. It was
+in the crisis of the conflict, when the Army of the Potomac was reeling before
+the onslaught of Stonewall Jackson&rsquo;s columns. There was no one to stop
+them-and yet they must be stopped, for the whole right wing of the army was
+going. So that cavalry regiment had charged full tilt through the thickets, and
+into a solid wall of infantry and artillery. The crash of their volley was
+blinding&mdash;and horses were fairly shot to fragments; and the Major&rsquo;s
+horse, with its lower jaw torn off, had plunged madly away and left its rider
+hanging in the aforementioned grape-vine. After he had kicked himself loose, it
+was to find himself in an arena where pain-maddened horses and frenzied men
+raced about amid a rain of minie-balls and canister. And in this inferno the
+gallant Major had captured a horse, and rallied the remains of his shattered
+command, and held the line until help came-and then helped to hold it, all
+through the afternoon and the twilight and the night, against charge after
+charge.&mdash;And now to stand and gaze at this stout and red-nosed little
+personage, and realize that these mighty deeds had been his!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, even while Montague was returning his hand-clasp and telling him of his
+pleasure, the Major&rsquo;s eye caught some one across the room, and he called
+eagerly, &ldquo;Colonel Anderson! Colonel Anderson!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And this was the heroic Jack Anderson! &ldquo;Parson&rdquo; Anderson, the men
+had called him, because he always prayed before everything he did. Prayers at
+each mess,&mdash;a prayer-meeting in the evening,&mdash;and then rumour said
+the Colonel prayed on while his men slept. With his battery of artillery
+trained to perfection under three years of divine guidance, the gallant Colonel
+had stood in the line of battle at Cold Harbour&mdash;name of frightful
+memory!&mdash;and when the enemy had swarmed out of their intrenchments and
+swept back the whole line just beyond him, his battery had stood like a cape in
+a storm-beaten ocean, attacked on two sides at once; and for the half-hour that
+elapsed before infantry support came up, the Colonel had ridden slowly up and
+down his line, repeating in calm and godly accents, &ldquo;Give &rsquo;em hell,
+boys&mdash;give &rsquo;em hell!&rdquo;&mdash;The Colonel&rsquo;s hand trembled
+now as he held it out, and his voice was shrill and cracked as he told what
+pleasure it gave him to meet General Montague&rsquo;s son.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why have we never seen you before?&rdquo; asked Major Thorne. Montague
+replied that he had spent all his life in Mississippi&mdash;his father having
+married a Southern woman after the war. Once every year the General had come to
+New York to attend the reunion of the Loyal Legion of the State; but some one
+had had to stay at home with his mother, Montague explained.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were perhaps a hundred men in the room, and he was passed about from
+group to group. Many of them had known his father intimately. It seemed almost
+uncanny to him to meet them in the body; to find them old and feeble,
+white-haired and wrinkled. As they lived in the chambers of his memory, they
+were in their mighty youth&mdash;heroes, transfigured and radiant, not subject
+to the power of time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Life on the big plantation had been a lonely one, especially for a
+Southern-born man who had fought in the Union army. General Montague had been a
+person of quiet tastes, and his greatest pleasure had been to sit with his two
+boys on his knees and &ldquo;fight his battles o&rsquo;er again.&rdquo; He had
+collected all the literature of the corps which he had commanded&mdash;a whole
+library of it, in which Allan had learned to find his way as soon as he could
+read. He had literally been brought up on the war&mdash;for hours he would lie
+buried in some big illustrated history, until people came and called him away.
+He studied maps of campaigns and battle-fields, until they became alive with
+human passion and struggle; he knew the Army of the Potomac by brigade and
+division, with the names of commanders, and their faces, and their
+ways&mdash;until they lived and spoke, and the bare roll of their names had
+power to thrill him.&mdash;And now here were the men themselves, and all these
+scenes and memories crowding upon him in tumultuous throngs. No wonder that he
+was a little dazed, and could hardly find words to answer when he was spoken
+to.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But then came an incident which called him suddenly back to the world of the
+present. &ldquo;There is Judge Ellis,&rdquo; said the General.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Judge Ellis! The fame of his wit and eloquence had reached even far
+Mississippi&mdash;was there any remotest corner of America where men had not
+heard of the silver tongue of Judge Ellis? &ldquo;Cultivate him!&rdquo;
+Montague&rsquo;s brother Oliver had laughed, when it was mentioned that the
+Judge would be present&mdash;&ldquo;Cultivate him&mdash;he may be
+useful.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was not difficult to cultivate one who was as gracious as Judge Ellis. He
+stood in the doorway, a smooth, perfectly groomed gentleman, conspicuous in the
+uniformed assembly by his evening dress. The Judge was stout and jovial, and
+cultivated Dundreary whiskers and a beaming smile. &ldquo;General
+Montague&rsquo;s son!&rdquo; he exclaimed, as he pressed the young man&rsquo;s
+hands. &ldquo;Why, why&mdash;I&rsquo;m surprised! Why have we never seen you
+before?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague explained that he had only been in New York about six hours.
+&ldquo;Oh, I see,&rdquo; said the Judge. &ldquo;And shall you remain
+long?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have come to stay,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, well!&rdquo; said the other, cordially. &ldquo;Then we may see
+more of you. Are you going into business?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am a lawyer,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;I expect to practise.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Judge&rsquo;s quick glance had been taking the measure of the tall,
+handsome man before him, with his raven-black hair and grave features.
+&ldquo;You must give us a chance to try your mettle,&rdquo; he said; and then,
+as others approached to meet him, and he was forced to pass on, he laid a
+caressing hand on Montague&rsquo;s arm, whispering, with a sly smile, &ldquo;I
+mean it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague felt his heart beat a little faster. He had not welcomed his
+brother&rsquo;s suggestion&mdash;there was nothing of the sycophant in him; but
+he meant to work and to succeed, and he knew what the favour of a man like
+Judge Ellis would mean to him. For the Judge was the idol of New York&rsquo;s
+business and political aristocracy, and the doorways of fortune yielded at his
+touch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were rows of chairs in one of the rooms, and here two or three hundred
+men were gathered. There were stands of battle-flags in the corners, each one
+of them a scroll of tragic history, to one like Montague, who understood. His
+eye roamed over them while the secretary was reading minutes of meetings and
+other routine announcements. Then he began to study the assemblage. There were
+men with one arm and men with one leg&mdash;one tottering old soldier ninety
+years of age, stone blind, and led about by his friends. The Loyal Legion was
+an officers&rsquo; organization, and to that extent aristocratic; but worldly
+success counted for nothing in it&mdash;some of its members were struggling to
+exist on their pensions, and were as much thought of as a man like General
+Prentice, who was president of one of the city&rsquo;s largest banks, and a
+rich man, even in New York&rsquo;s understanding of that term.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The presiding officer introduced &ldquo;Colonel Robert Selden, who will read
+the paper of the evening: &lsquo;Recollections of Spottsylvania.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+Montague started at the name&mdash;for &ldquo;Bob&rdquo; Selden had been one of
+his father&rsquo;s messmates, and had fought all through the Peninsula Campaign
+at his side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was a tall, hawk-faced man with a grey imperial. The room was still as he
+arose, and after adjusting his glasses, he began to read his story. He recalled
+the situation of the Army of the Potomac in the spring of 1864; for three years
+it had marched and fought, stumbling through defeat after defeat, a mighty
+weapon, lacking only a man who could wield it. Now at last the man had
+come&mdash;one who would put them into the battle and give them a chance to
+fight. So they had marched into the Wilderness, and there Lee struck them, and
+for three days they groped in a blind thicket, fighting hand to hand, amid
+suffocating smoke. The Colonel read in a quiet, unassuming voice; but one could
+see that he had hold of his hearers by the light that crossed their features
+when he told of the army&rsquo;s recoil from the shock, and of the wild joy
+that ran through the ranks when they took up their march to the left, and
+realized that this time they were not going back.&mdash;So they came to the
+twelve days&rsquo; grapple of the Spottsylvania Campaign.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was still the Wilderness thicket; the enemy&rsquo;s intrenchments,
+covering about eight miles, lay in the shape of a dome, and at the cupola of it
+were breastworks of heavy timbers banked with earth, and with a ditch and a
+tangle of trees in front. The place was the keystone of the Confederate arch,
+and the name of it was &ldquo;the Angle&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Bloody
+Angle!&rdquo; Montague heard the man who sat next to him draw in his breath, as
+if a spasm of pain had shot through him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At dawn two brigades had charged and captured the place. The enemy returned to
+the attack, and for twenty hours thereafter the two armies fought, hurling
+regiment after regiment and brigade after brigade into the trenches. There was
+a pouring rain, and the smoke hung black about them; they could only see the
+flashes of the guns, and the faces of the enemy, here and there.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Colonel described the approach of his regiment. They lay down for a moment
+in a swamp, and the minie-balls sang like swarming bees, and split the blades
+of the grass above them. Then they charged, over ground that ran with human
+blood. In the trenches the bodies of dead and dying men lay three deep, and
+were trampled out of sight in the mud by the feet of those who fought. They
+would crouch behind the works, lifting their guns high over their heads, and
+firing into the throngs on the other side; again and again men sprang upon the
+breastworks and fired their muskets, and then fell dead. They dragged up
+cannon, one after another, and blew holes through the logs, and raked
+the&rsquo; ground with charges of canister.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+While the Colonel read, still in his calm, matter-of-fact voice, you might see
+men leaning forward in their chairs, hands clenched, teeth set. They knew! They
+knew! Had there ever before been a time in history when breastworks had been
+charged by artillery? Twenty-four men in the crew of one gun, and only two
+unhurt! One iron sponge-bucket with thirty-nine bullet holes shot through it!
+And then blasts of canister sweeping the trenches, and blowing scores of living
+and dead men to fragments! And into this hell of slaughter new regiments
+charging, in lines four deep! And squad after squad of the enemy striving to
+surrender, and shot to pieces by their own comrades as they clambered over the
+blood-soaked walls! And heavy timbers in the defences shot to splinters! Huge
+oak trees&mdash;one of them twenty-four inches in diameter&mdash;crashing down
+upon the combatants, gnawed through by rifle-bullets! Since the world began had
+men ever fought like that?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then the Colonel told of his own wound in the shoulder, and how, toward dusk,
+he had crawled away; and how he became lost, and strayed into the enemy&rsquo;s
+line, and was thrust into a batch of prisoners and marched to the rear. And
+then of the night that he spent beside a hospital camp in the Wilderness, where
+hundreds of wounded and dying men lay about on the rain-soaked ground, moaning,
+screaming, praying to be killed. Again the prisoners were moved, having been
+ordered to march to the railroad; and on the way the Colonel went blind from
+suffering and exhaustion, and staggered and fell in the road. You could have
+heard a pin drop in the room, in the pause between sentences in his story, as
+he told how the guard argued with him to persuade him to go on. It was their
+duty to kill him if he refused, but they could not bring themselves to do it.
+In the end they left the job to one, and he stood and cursed the officer,
+trying to get up his courage; and finally fired his gun into the air, and went
+off and left him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he told how an old negro had found him, and how he lay delirious; and how,
+at last, the army marched his way. He ended his narrative the simple sentence:
+&ldquo;It was not until the siege of Petersburg that I was able to rejoin my
+Command.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a murmur of applause; and then silence. Suddenly, from somewhere in
+the room, came the sound of singing&mdash;&ldquo;Mine eyes have seen the glory
+of the coming of the Lord!&rdquo; The old battle-hymn seemed to strike the very
+mood of the meeting; the whole throng took it up, and they sang it, stanza by
+stanza. It was rolling forth like a mighty organ-chant as they came to the
+fervid closing:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+&ldquo;He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;<br/>
+He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat;<br/>
+Oh! be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet,&mdash;<br/>
+    Our God is marching on!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a pause again; and the presiding officer rose and said that, owing to
+the presence of a distinguished guest, they would forego one of their rules,
+and invite Judge Ellis to say a few words. The Judge came forward, and bowed
+his acknowledgment of their welcome. Then, perhaps feeling a need of relief
+after the sombre recital, the Judge took occasion to apologize for his own
+temerity in addressing a roomful of warriors; and somehow he managed to make
+that remind him of a story of an army mule, a very amusing story; and that
+reminded him of another story, until, when he stopped and sat down, every one
+in the room broke into delighted applause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went in to dinner. Montague sat by General Prentice, and he, in turn, by
+the Judge; the latter was reminded of more stories during the dinner, and kept
+every one near him laughing. Finally Montague was moved to tell a story
+himself&mdash;about an old negro down home, who passed himself off for an
+Indian. The Judge was so good as to consider this an immensely funny story, and
+asked permission to tell it himself. Several times after that he leaned over
+and spoke to Montague, who felt a slight twinge of guilt as he recalled his
+brother&rsquo;s cynical advice, &ldquo;Cultivate him!&rdquo; The Judge was so
+willing to be cultivated, however, that it gave one&rsquo;s conscience little
+chance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went back to the meeting-room again; chairs were shifted, and little
+groups formed, and cigars and pipes brought out. They moved the precious
+battle-flags forward, and some one produced a bugle and a couple of drums; then
+the walls of the place shook, as the whole company burst forth:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+&ldquo;Bring the good old bugle, boys! we&rsquo;ll sing another song&mdash;<br/>
+Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along&mdash;<br/>
+Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong,&mdash;<br/>
+    While we were marching through Georgia!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was wonderful to witness the fervour with which they went through this
+rollicking chant&mdash;whose spirit we miss because we hear it too often. They
+were not skilled musicians&mdash;they could only sing loud; but the fire leaped
+into their eyes, and they swayed with the rhythm, and sang! Montague found
+himself watching the old blind soldier, who sat beating his foot in time, upon
+his face the look of one who sees visions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then he noticed another man, a little, red-faced Irishman, one of the
+drummers. The very spirit of the drum seemed to have entered into
+him&mdash;into his hands and his feet, his eyes and his head, and his round
+little body. He played a long roll between the verses, and it seemed as if he
+must surely be swept away upon the wings of it. Catching Montague&rsquo;s eye,
+he nodded and smiled; and after that, every once in a while their eyes would
+meet and exchange a greeting. They sang &ldquo;The Loyal Legioner&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;The Army Bean&rdquo; and &ldquo;John Brown&rsquo;s Body&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching&rdquo;; all the while the
+drum rattled and thundered, and the little drummer laughed and sang, the very
+incarnation of the care-free spirit of the soldier!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They stopped for a while, and the little man came over and was introduced.
+Lieutenant O&rsquo;Day was his name; and after he had left, General Prentice
+leaned over to Montague and told him a story. &ldquo;That little man,&rdquo; he
+said, &ldquo;began as a drummer-boy in my regiment, and went all through the
+war in my brigade; and two years ago I met him on the street one cold winter
+night, as thin as I am, and shivering in a summer overcoat. I took him to
+dinner with me and watched him eat, and I made up my mind there was something
+wrong. I made him take me home, and do you know, the man was starving! He had a
+little tobacco shop, and he&rsquo;d got into trouble&mdash;the trust had taken
+away his trade. And he had a sick wife, and a daughter clerking at six dollars
+a week!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The General went on to tell of his struggle to induce the little man to accept
+his aid&mdash;to accept a loan of a few hundreds of dollars from Prentice, the
+banker! &ldquo;I never had anything hurt me so in all my life,&rdquo; he said.
+&ldquo;Finally I took him into the bank&mdash;and now you can see he has enough
+to eat!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They began to sing again, and Montague sat and thought over the story. It
+seemed to him typical of the thing that made this meeting beautiful to
+him&mdash;of the spirit of brotherhood and service that reigned
+here.&mdash;They sang &ldquo;We are tenting to-night on the old camp
+ground&rdquo;; they sang &ldquo;Benny Havens, Oh!&rdquo; and &ldquo;A Soldier
+No More&rdquo;; they sang other songs of tenderness and sorrow, and men felt a
+trembling in their voices and a mist stealing over their eyes. Upon Montague a
+spell was falling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Over these men and their story there hung a mystery&mdash;a presence of wonder,
+that discloses itself but rarely to mortals, and only to those who have dreamed
+and dared. They had not found it easy to do their duty; they had had their
+wives and children, their homes and friends and familiar places; and all these
+they had left to serve the Republic. They had taught themselves a new way of
+life&mdash;they had forged themselves into an iron sword of war. They had
+marched and fought in dust and heat, in pouring rains and driving, icy blasts;
+they had become men grim and terrible in spirit-men with limbs of steel, who
+could march or ride for days and nights, who could lie down and sleep upon the
+ground in rain-storms and winter snows, who were ready to leap at a word and
+seize their muskets and rush into the cannon&rsquo;s mouth. They had learned to
+stare into the face of death, to meet its fiery eyes; to march and eat and
+sleep, to laugh and play and sing, in its presence&mdash;to carry their life in
+their hands, and toss it about as a juggler tosses a ball. And this for
+Freedom: for the star-crowned goddess with the flaming eyes, who trod upon the
+mountain-tops and called to them in the shock and fury of the battle; whose
+trailing robes they followed through the dust and cannon-smoke; for a glimpse
+of whose shining face they had kept the long night vigils and charged upon the
+guns in the morning; for a touch of whose shimmering robe they had wasted in
+prison pens, where famine and loathsome pestilence and raving madness stalked
+about in the broad daylight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And now this army of deliverance, with its waving banners and its prancing
+horses and its rumbling cannon, had marched into the shadow-world. The very
+ground that it had trod was sacred; and one who fingered the dusty volumes
+which held the record of its deeds would feel a strange awe come upon him, and
+thrill with a sudden fear of life&mdash;that was so fleeting and so little to
+be understood. There were boyhood memories in Montague&rsquo;s mind, of hours
+of consecration, when the vision had descended upon him, and he had sat with
+face hidden in his hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was for the Republic that these men had suffered; for him and his
+children&mdash;that a government of the people, by the people, for the people,
+might not perish from the earth. And with the organ-music of the Gettysburg
+Address echoing within him, the boy laid his soul upon the altar of his
+country. They had done so much for him&mdash;and now, was there anything that
+he could do? A dozen years had passed since then, and still he knew that deep
+within him&mdash;deeper than all other purposes, than all thoughts of wealth
+and fame and power&mdash;was the purpose that the men who had died for the
+Republic should find him worthy of their trust.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The singing had stopped, and Judge Ellis was standing before him. The Judge was
+about to go, and in his caressing voice he said that he would hope to see
+Montague again. Then, seeing that General Prentice was also standing up,
+Montague threw off the spell that had gripped him, and shook hands with the
+little drummer, and with Selden and Anderson and all the others of his dream
+people. A few minutes later he found himself outside the hotel, drinking deep
+draughts of the cold November air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Major Thorne had come out with them; and learning that the General&rsquo;s
+route lay uptown, he offered to walk with Montague to his hotel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They set out, and then Montague told the Major about the figure in the
+grape-vine, and the Major laughed and told how it had felt. There had been more
+adventures, it seemed; while he was hunting a horse he had come upon two mules
+loaded with ammunition and entangled with their harness about a tree; he had
+rushed up to seize them&mdash;when a solid shot had struck the tree and
+exploded the ammunition and blown the mules to fragments. And then there was
+the story of the charge late in the night, which had recovered the lost ground,
+and kept Stonewall Jackson busy up to the very hour of his tragic death. And
+there was the story of Andersonville, and the escape from prison. Montague
+could have walked the streets all night, exchanging these war-time
+reminiscences with the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Absorbed in their talk, they came to an avenue given up to the poorer class of
+people; with elevated trains rattling by overhead, and rows of little shops
+along it. Montague noticed a dense crowd on one of the corners, and asked what
+it meant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Some sort of a meeting,&rdquo; said the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They came nearer, and saw a torch, with a man standing near it, above the heads
+of the crowd.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It looks like a political meeting,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;but it
+can&rsquo;t be, now&mdash;just after election.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Probably it&rsquo;s a Socialist,&rdquo; said the Major.
+&ldquo;They&rsquo;re at it all the time.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They crossed the avenue, and then they could see plainly. The man was lean and
+hungry-looking, and he had long arms, which he waved with prodigious violence.
+He was in a frenzy of excitement, pacing this way and that, and leaning over
+the throng packed about him. Because of a passing train the two could not hear
+a sound.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A Socialist!&rdquo; exclaimed Montague, wonderingly. &ldquo;What do they
+want?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;They want to overthrow
+the government.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The train passed, and then the man&rsquo;s words came to them: &ldquo;They
+force you to build palaces, and then they put you into tenements! They force
+you to spin fine raiment, and then they dress you in rags! They force you to
+build jails, and then they lock you up in them! They force you to make guns,
+and then they shoot you with them! They own the political parties, and they
+name the candidates, and trick you into voting for them&mdash;and they call it
+the law! They herd you into armies and send you to shoot your
+brothers&mdash;and they call it order! They take a piece of coloured rag and
+call it the flag and teach you to let yourself be shot&mdash;and they call it
+<i>patriotism!</i> First, last, and all the time, you do the work and they get
+the benefit&mdash;they, the masters and owners, and
+you&mdash;fools&mdash;fools&mdash;<i>fools!</i>&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The man&rsquo;s voice had mounted to a scream, and he flung his hands into the
+air and broke into jeering laughter. Then came another train, and Montague
+could not hear him; but he could see that he was rushing on in the torrent of
+his denunciation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague stood rooted to the spot; he was shocked to the depths of his
+being&mdash;he could scarcely contain himself as he stood there. He longed to
+spring forward to beard the man where he stood, to shout him down, to rebuke
+him before the crowd.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major must have seen his agitation, for he took his arm and led him back
+from the throng, saying: &ldquo;Come! We can&rsquo;t help it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But&mdash;but&mdash;,&rdquo; he protested, &ldquo;the police ought to
+arrest him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They do sometimes,&rdquo; said the Major, &ldquo;but it doesn&rsquo;t do
+any good.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They walked on, and the sounds of the shrill voice died away. &ldquo;Tell
+me,&rdquo; said Montague, in a low voice, &ldquo;does that go on very
+often?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Around the corner from where I live,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;it
+goes on every Saturday night.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And do the people listen?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Sometimes they can&rsquo;t keep the street clear,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And again they walked in silence. At last Montague asked, &ldquo;What does it
+mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;Perhaps another civil war,&rdquo; said
+he.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Allan Montague&rsquo;s father had died about five years before. A couple of
+years later his younger brother, Oliver, had announced his intention of seeking
+a career in New York. He had no profession, and no definite plans; but his
+father&rsquo;s friends were men of influence and wealth, and the doors were
+open to him. So he had turned his share of the estate into cash and departed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver was a gay and pleasure-loving boy, with all the material of a prodigal
+son in him; his brother had more than half expected to see him come back in a
+year or two with empty pockets. But New York had seemed to agree with Oliver.
+He never told what he was doing&mdash;what he wrote was simply that he was
+managing to keep the wolf from the door. But his letters hinted at expensive
+ways of life; and at Christmas time, and at Cousin Alice&rsquo;s birthday, he
+would send home presents which made the family stare.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had always thought of himself as a country lawyer and planter. But two
+months ago a fire had swept away the family mansion, and then on top of that
+had come an offer for the land; and with Oliver telegraphing several times a
+day in his eagerness, they had taken the sudden resolution to settle up their
+affairs and move to New York.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were Montague and his mother, and Cousin Alice, who was nineteen, and old
+&ldquo;Mammy Lucy,&rdquo; Mrs. Montague&rsquo;s servant. Oliver had met them at
+Jersey City, radiant with happiness. He looked just as much of a boy as ever,
+and just as beautiful; excepting that he was a little paler, New York had not
+changed him at all. There was a man in uniform from the hotel to take charge of
+their baggage, and a big red touring-car for them; and now they were snugly
+settled in their apartments, with the younger brother on duty as counsellor and
+guide.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had come to begin life all over again. He had brought his money, and
+he expected to invest it, and to live upon the income until he had begun to
+earn something. He had worked hard at his profession, and he meant to work in
+New York, and to win his way in the end. He knew almost nothing about the
+city&mdash;he faced it with the wide-open eyes of a child.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One began to learn quickly, he found. It was like being swept into a maelstrom:
+first the hurrying throngs on the ferry-boat, and then the cabmen and the
+newsboys shouting, and the cars with clanging gongs; then the swift motor,
+gliding between trucks and carriages and around corners where big policemen
+shepherded the scurrying populace; and then Fifth Avenue, with its rows of
+shops and towering hotels; and at last a sudden swing round a corner&mdash;and
+their home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have picked a quiet family place for you,&rdquo; Oliver had said, and
+that had greatly pleased his brother. But he had stared in dismay when he
+entered this latest &ldquo;apartment hotel&rdquo;&mdash;which catered for two
+or three hundred of the most exclusive of the city&rsquo;s
+aristocracy&mdash;and noted its great arcade, with massive doors of bronze, and
+its entrance-hall, trimmed with Caen stone and Italian marble, and roofed with
+a vaulted ceiling painted by modern masters. Men in livery bore their wraps and
+bowed the way before them; a great bronze elevator shot them to the proper
+floor; and they went to their rooms down a corridor walled with blood-red
+marble and paved with carpet soft as a cushion. Here were six rooms of palatial
+size, with carpets, drapery, and furniture of a splendour quite appalling to
+Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As soon as the man who bore their wraps had left the room, he turned upon his
+brother.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oliver,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;how much are we paying for all
+this?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver smiled. &ldquo;You are not paying anything, old man,&rdquo; he replied.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;re to be my guests for a month or two, until you get your
+bearings.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s very good of you,&rdquo; said the other;
+&ldquo;&mdash;we&rsquo;ll talk about it later. But meantime, tell me what the
+apartment costs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Montague encountered his first full charge of New York dynamite.
+&ldquo;Six hundred dollars a week,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He started as if his brother had struck him. &ldquo;Six hundred dollars a
+week!&rdquo; he gasped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other, quietly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was fully a minute before he could find his breath. &ldquo;Brother,&rdquo;
+he exclaimed, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re mad!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is a very good bargain,&rdquo; smiled the other; &ldquo;I have some
+influence with them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Again there was a pause, while Montague groped for words. &ldquo;Oliver,&rdquo;
+he exclaimed, &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe you! How could you think that we
+could pay such a price?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it,&rdquo; said Oliver; &ldquo;I told you I
+expected to pay it myself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But how could we let you pay it for us?&rdquo; cried the other.
+&ldquo;Can you fancy that <i>I</i> will ever earn enough to pay such a
+price?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course you will,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be foolish,
+Allan&mdash;you&rsquo;ll find it&rsquo;s easy enough to make money in New York.
+Leave it to me, and wait awhile.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the other was not to be put off. He sat down on the embroidered silk
+bedspread, and demanded abruptly, &ldquo;What do you expect my income to be a
+year?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; laughed Oliver; &ldquo;nobody
+takes the time to add up his income. You&rsquo;ll make what you need, and
+something over for good measure. This one thing you&rsquo;ll know for
+certain&mdash;the more you spend, the more you&rsquo;ll be able to make.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then, seeing that the sober look was not to be expelled from his
+brother&rsquo;s face, Oliver seated himself and crossed his legs, and proceeded
+to set forth the paradoxical philosophy of extravagance. His brother had come
+into a city of millionaires. There was a certain group of
+people&mdash;&ldquo;the right set,&rdquo; was Oliver&rsquo;s term for
+them&mdash;and among them he would find that money was as free as air. So far
+as his career was concerned, he would find that there was nothing in all New
+York so costly as economy. If he did not live like a gentleman, he would find
+himself excluded from the circle of the elect&mdash;and how he would manage to
+exist then was a problem too difficult for his brother to face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so, as quickly as he could, he was to bring himself to a state of mind
+where things did not surprise him; where he did what others did and paid what
+others paid, and did it serenely, as if he had done it all his life. He would
+soon find his place; meantime all he had to do was to put himself into his
+brother&rsquo;s charge. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll find in time that I have the
+strings in my hands,&rdquo; the latter added. &ldquo;Just take life easy, and
+let me introduce you to the right people.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All of which sounded very attractive. &ldquo;But are you sure,&rdquo; asked
+Montague, &ldquo;that you understand what I&rsquo;m here for? I don&rsquo;t
+want to get into the Four Hundred, you know&mdash;I want to practise
+law.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In the first place,&rdquo; replied Oliver, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t talk about
+the Four Hundred&mdash;it&rsquo;s vulgar and silly; there&rsquo;s no such
+thing. In the next place, you&rsquo;re going to live in New York, and you want
+to know the right people. If you know them, you can practise law, or practise
+billiards, or practise anything else that you fancy. If you don&rsquo;t know
+them, you might as well go practise in Dahomey, for all you can accomplish. You
+might come on here and start in for yourself, and in twenty years you
+wouldn&rsquo;t get as far as you can get in two weeks, if you&rsquo;ll let me
+attend to it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was nearly five years his brother&rsquo;s senior, and at home had
+taken a semi-paternal attitude toward him. Now, however, the situation seemed
+to have reversed itself. With a slight smile of amusement, he subsided, and
+proceeded to put himself into the attitude of a docile student of the mysteries
+of the Metropolis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They agreed that they would say nothing about these matters to the others. Mrs.
+Montague was half blind, and would lead her placid, indoor existence with old
+Mammy Lucy. As for Alice, she was a woman, and would not trouble herself with
+economics; if fairy godmothers chose to shower gifts upon her, she would take
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alice was built to live in a palace, anyway, Oliver said. He had cried out with
+delight when he first saw her. She had been sixteen when he left, and tall and
+thin; now she was nineteen, and with the pale tints of the dawn in her hair and
+face. In the auto, Oliver had turned and, stared at her, and pronounced the
+cryptic judgment, &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll go!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Just now she was wandering about the rooms, exclaiming with wonder. Everything
+here was so quiet and so harmonious that at first one&rsquo;s suspicions were
+lulled. It was simplicity, but of a strange and perplexing
+kind&mdash;simplicity elaborately studied. It was luxury, but grown assured of
+itself, and gazing down upon itself with aristocratic disdain. And after a
+while this began to penetrate the vulgarest mind, and to fill it with awe; one
+cannot remain long in an apartment which is trimmed and furnished in rarest
+Circassian walnut, and &ldquo;papered&rdquo; with hand-embroidered silk cloth,
+without feeling some excitement&mdash;even though there be no one to mention
+that the furniture has cost eight thousand dollars per room, and that the wall
+covering has been imported from Paris at a cost of seventy dollars per yard.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague also betook himself to gazing about. He noted the great double
+windows, with sashes of bronze; the bronze fire-proof doors; the bronze
+electric candles and chandeliers, from which the room was flooded with a soft
+radiance at the touch of a button; the &ldquo;duchesse&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;marquise&rdquo; chairs, with upholstery matching the walls; the huge
+leather &ldquo;slumber-couch,&rdquo; with adjustable lamp at its head. When one
+opened the door of the dressing-room closet, it was automatically filled with
+light; there was an adjustable three-sided mirror, at which one could study his
+own figure from every side. There was a little bronze box near the bed, in
+which one might set his shoes, and with a locked door opening out into the
+hall, so that the floor-porter could get them without disturbing one. Each of
+the bath-rooms was the size of an ordinary man&rsquo;s parlour, with floor and
+walls of snow-white marble, and a door composed of an imported plate-glass
+mirror. There was a great porcelain tub, with glass handles upon the wall by
+which you could help yourself out of it, and a shower-bath with linen duck
+curtains, which were changed every day; and a marble slab upon which you might
+lie to be rubbed by the masseur who would come at the touch of a button.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was no end to the miracles of this establishment, as Montague found in
+the course of time. There was no chance that the antique bronze clock on the
+mantel might go wrong, for it was electrically controlled from the office. You
+did not open the window and let in the dust, for the room was automatically
+ventilated, and you turned a switch marked &ldquo;hot&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;cold.&rdquo; The office would furnish you a guide who would show you the
+establishment; and you might see your bread being kneaded by electricity, upon
+an opal glass table, and your eggs being tested by electric light; you might
+peer into huge refrigerators, ventilated by electric fans, and in which each
+tiny lamb chop reposed in a separate holder. Upon your own floor was a pantry,
+provided with hot and cold storage-rooms and an air-tight dumb-waiter; you
+might have your own private linen and crockery and plate, and your own family
+butler, if you wished. Your children, however, would not be permitted in the
+building, even though you were dying&mdash;this was a small concession which
+you made to a host who had invested a million dollars and a half in furniture
+alone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few minutes later the telephone bell rang, and Oliver answered it and said,
+&ldquo;Send him up.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the tailor,&rdquo; he remarked, as he hung up the receiver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Whose tailor?&rdquo; asked his brother.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yours,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do I have to have some new clothes?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You haven&rsquo;t any clothes at present,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was standing in front of the &ldquo;costumer,&rdquo; as the elaborate
+mirror was termed. He looked himself over, and then he looked at his brother.
+Oliver&rsquo;s clothing was a little like the Circassian walnut; at first you
+thought that it was simple, and even a trifle careless&mdash;it was only by
+degrees you realized that it was original and distinguished, and very
+expensive.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t your New York friends make allowance for the fact that I am
+fresh from the country?&rdquo; asked Montague, quizzically.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They might,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;I know a hundred who would lend
+me money, if I asked them. But I don&rsquo;t ask them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then how soon shall I be able to appear?&rdquo; asked Montague, with
+visions of himself locked up in the room for a week or two.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are to have three suits to-morrow morning,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+&ldquo;Genet has promised.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Suits made to order?&rdquo; gasped the other, in perplexity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He never heard of any other sort of suits,&rdquo; said Oliver, with
+grave rebuke in his voice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+M. Genet had the presence of a Russian grand duke, and the manner of a court
+chamberlain. He brought a subordinate to take Montague&rsquo;s measure, while
+he himself studied his colour-scheme. Montague gathered from the conversation
+that he was going to a house-party in the country the next morning, and that he
+would need a dress-suit, a hunting-suit, and a &ldquo;morning coat.&rdquo; The
+rest might wait until his return. The two discussed him and his various
+&ldquo;points&rdquo; as they might have discussed a horse; he possessed
+distinction, he learned, and a great deal could be done with him&mdash;with a
+little skill he might be made into a personality. His French was not in
+training, but he managed to make out that it was M. Genet&rsquo;s opinion that
+the husbands of New York would tremble when he made his appearance among them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the tailor had left, Alice came in, with her face shining from a cold
+bathing. &ldquo;Here you are decking yourselves out!&rdquo; she cried.
+&ldquo;And what about me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your problem is harder,&rdquo; said Oliver, with a laugh; &ldquo;but you
+begin this afternoon. Reggie Mann is going to take you with him, and get you
+some dresses.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What!&rdquo; gasped Alice. &ldquo;Get me some dresses! A man?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Reggie Mann advises half the
+women in New York about their clothes.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who is he? A tailor?&rdquo; asked the girl.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver was sitting on the edge of the canapé, swinging one leg over the other;
+and he stopped abruptly and stared, and then sank back, laughing softly to
+himself. &ldquo;Oh, dear me!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Poor Reggie!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, realizing that he would have to begin at the beginning, he proceeded to
+explain that Reggie Mann was a cotillion leader, the idol of the feminine side
+of society. He was the special pet and protégé of the great Mrs. de
+Graffenried, of whom they had surely heard&mdash;Mrs. de Graffenried, who was
+acknowledged to be the mistress of society at Newport, and was destined some
+day to be mistress in New York. Reggie and Oliver were &ldquo;thick,&rdquo; and
+he had stayed in town on purpose to attend to her attiring&mdash;having seen
+her picture, and vowed that he would make a work of art out of her. And then
+Mrs. Robbie Walling would give her a dance; and all the world would come to
+fall at her feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You and I are going out to &lsquo;Black Forest,&rsquo; the
+Wallings&rsquo; shooting-lodge, to-morrow,&rdquo; Oliver added to his brother.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll meet Mrs. Robbie there. You&rsquo;ve heard of the Wallings,
+I hope.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not that ignorant.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re to motor down.
+I&rsquo;m going to take you in my racing-car, so you&rsquo;ll have an
+experience. We&rsquo;ll start early.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be ready,&rdquo; said Montague; and when his brother replied
+that he would be at the door at eleven, he made another amused note as to the
+habits of New Yorkers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The price which he paid at the hotel included the services of a valet or a maid
+for each of them, and so when their baggage arrived they had nothing to do.
+They went to lunch in one of the main dining-rooms of the hotel, a room with
+towering columns of dark-green marble and a maze of palms and flowers. Oliver
+did the ordering; his brother noticed that the simple meal cost them about
+fifteen dollars, and he wondered if they were to eat at that rate all the time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Montague mentioned the fact that before leaving home he had received a
+telegram from General Prentice, asking him to go with him that evening to the
+meeting of the Loyal Legion. Montague wondered, half amused, if his brother
+would deem his old clothing fit for such a function. But Oliver replied that it
+would not matter what he wore there; he would not meet anyone who counted,
+except Prentice himself. The General and his family were prominent in society,
+it appeared, and were to be cultivated. But Oliver shrewdly forbore to
+elaborate upon this, knowing that his brother would be certain to talk about
+old times, which would be the surest possible method of lodging himself in the
+good graces of General Prentice.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+After luncheon came Reggie Mann, dapper and exquisite, with slender little
+figure and mincing gait, and the delicate hands and soft voice of a woman. He
+was dressed for the afternoon parade, and wore a wonderful scarlet orchid in
+his buttonhole. Montague&rsquo;s hand he shook at his shoulder&rsquo;s height;
+but when Alice came in he did not shake hands with her. Instead, he stood and
+gazed, and gazed again, and lifting his hands a little with excess of emotion,
+exclaimed, &ldquo;Oh, perfect! perfect!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And Ollie, I told you so!&rdquo; he added, eagerly. &ldquo;She is tall
+enough to wear satin! She shall have the pale blue Empire gown&mdash;she shall
+have the pale blue Empire gown if I have to pay for it myself! And oh, what
+times we shall have with that hair! And the figure&mdash;Réval will simply go
+wild!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Reggie prattled on, with his airy grace; he took her hand and studied it,
+and then turned her about to survey her figure, while Alice blushed and strove
+to laugh to hide her embarrassment. &ldquo;My dear Miss Montague,&rdquo; he
+exclaimed, &ldquo;I bring all Gotham and lay it at your feet! Ollie, your
+battle is won! Won without firing a shot! I know the very man for her&mdash;his
+father is dying, and he will have four millions in Transcontinental alone. And
+he is as handsome as Antinous and as fascinating as Don Juan! <i>Allons!</i> we
+may as well begin with the trousseau this afternoon!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Oliver was not rooming with them; he had his own quarters at the club, which he
+did not wish to leave. But the next morning, about twenty minutes after the
+hour he had named, he was at the door, and Montague went down.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver&rsquo;s car was an imported French racer. It had only two seats, open in
+front, with a rumble behind for the mechanic. It was long and low and rakish, a
+most wicked-looking object; whenever it stopped on the street a crowd gathered
+to stare at it. Oliver was clad in a black bearskin coat, covering his feet,
+and with cap and gloves to match; he wore goggles, pushed up over his forehead.
+A similar costume lay ready in his brother&rsquo;s seat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The suits of clothing had come, and were borne in his grips by his valet.
+&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t carry them with us,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll have to take them down by train.&rdquo; And while his
+brother was buttoning up the coat, he gave the address; then Montague clambered
+in, and after a quick glance over his shoulder, Oliver pressed a lever and
+threw over the steering-wheel, and they whirled about and sped down the street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sometimes, at home in Mississippi, one would meet automobiling parties,
+generally to the damage of one&rsquo;s harness and temper. But until the day
+before, when he had stepped off the ferry, Montague had never ridden in a
+motor-car. Riding in this one was like travelling in a dream&mdash;it slid
+along without a sound, or the slightest trace of vibration; it shot forward, it
+darted to right or to left, it slowed up, it stopped, as if of its own
+will&mdash;the driver seemed to do nothing. Such things as car tracks had no
+effect upon it at all, and serious defects in the pavement caused only the
+faintest swelling motion; it was only when it leaped ahead like a living thing
+that one felt the power of it, by the pressure upon his back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went at what seemed to Montague a breakneck pace through the city streets,
+dodging among trucks and carriages, grazing cars, whirling round corners,
+taking the wildest of chances. Oliver seemed always to know what the other
+fellow would do; but the thought that he might do something different kept his
+companion&rsquo;s heart pounding in a painful way. Once the latter cried out as
+a man leapt for his life; Oliver laughed, and said, without turning his head,
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get used to it by and by.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went down Fourth Avenue and turned into the Bowery. Elevated trains
+pounded overhead, and a maze of gin-shops, dime-museums, cheap lodging-houses,
+and clothing-stores sped past them. Once or twice Oliver&rsquo;s hawk-like
+glance detected a blue uniform ahead, and then they slowed down to a decorous
+pace, and the other got a chance to observe the miserable population of the
+neighbourhood. It was a cold November day, and an &ldquo;out of work&rdquo;
+time, and wretched outcast men walked with shoulders drawn forward and hands in
+their pockets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where in the world are we going?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To Long Island,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a beastly
+ride&mdash;this part of it&mdash;but it&rsquo;s the only way. Some day
+we&rsquo;ll have an overhead speedway of our own, and we won&rsquo;t have to
+drive through this mess.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They turned off at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, and found the
+street closed for repairs. They had to make a détour of a block, and they
+turned with a vicious sweep and plunged into the very heart of the tenement
+district. Narrow, filthy streets, with huge, cañon-like blocks of buildings,
+covered with rusty iron fire-escapes and decorated with soap-boxes and pails
+and laundry and babies; narrow stoops, crowded with playing children;
+grocery-shops, clothing-shops, saloons; and a maze of placards and signs in
+English and German and Yiddish. Through the throngs Oliver drove, his brows
+knitted with impatience and his horn honking angrily. &ldquo;Take it
+easy,&rdquo;&mdash;protested Montague; but the other answered,
+&ldquo;Bah!&rdquo; Children screamed and darted out of the way, and men and
+women started back, scowling and muttering; when a blockade of wagons and
+push-carts forced them to stop, the children gathered about and jeered, and a
+group of hoodlums loafing by a saloon flung ribaldry at them; but Oliver never
+turned his eyes from the road ahead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And at last they were out on the bridge. &ldquo;Slow vehicles keep to the
+right,&rdquo; ran the sign, and so there was a lane for them to the left. They
+sped up the slope, the cold air beating upon them like a hurricane. Far below
+lay the river, with tugs and ferry-boats ploughing the wind-beaten grey water,
+and a city spread out on either bank&mdash;a wilderness of roofs, with chimneys
+sticking up and white jets of steam spouting everywhere. Then they sped down
+the farther slope, and into Brooklyn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was an asphalted avenue, lined with little residences. There was block
+upon block of them, mile after mile of them&mdash;Montague had never, seen so
+many houses in his life before, and nearly all poured out of the same mould.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many other automobiles were speeding out by this avenue, and they raced with
+one another. The one which was passed the most frequently got the dust and
+smell; and so the universal rule was that when you were behind you watched for
+a clear track, and then put on speed, and went to the front; but then just when
+you had struck a comfortable pace, there was a whirring and a puffing at your
+left, and your rival came stealing past you. If you were ugly, you put on speed
+yourself, and forced him to fall back, or to run the risk of trouble with
+vehicles coming the other way. For Oliver there seemed to be but one
+rule,&mdash;pass everything.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They came to the great Ocean Driveway. Here were many automobiles, nearly all
+going one way, and nearly all racing. There were two which stuck to Oliver and
+would not be left behind&mdash;one, two, three&mdash;one, two, three&mdash;they
+passed and repassed. Their dust was blinding, and the continual odour was
+sickening; and so Oliver set his lips tight, and the little dial on the
+indicator began to creep ahead, and they whirled away down the drive.
+&ldquo;Catch us this time!&rdquo; he muttered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few seconds later Oliver gave a sudden exclamation, as a policeman, concealed
+behind a bush at the roadside, sprang out and hailed them. The policeman had a
+motor-cycle, and Oliver shouted to the mechanic, &ldquo;Pull the cord!&rdquo;
+His brother turned, alarmed and perplexed, and saw the man reach down to the
+floor of the car. He saw the policeman leap upon the cycle and start to follow.
+Then he lost sight of him in the clouds of dust.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For perhaps five minutes they tore on, tense and silent, at a pace that
+Montague had never equalled in an express train. Vehicles coming the other way
+would leap into sight, charging straight at them, it seemed, and shooting past
+a hand&rsquo;s breadth away. Montague had just about made up his mind that one
+such ride would last him for a lifetime, when he noticed that they were
+slacking up. &ldquo;You can let go the cord,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll never catch us now.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What <i>is</i> the cord?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tied to the tag with our number on, in back. It swings it up
+so it can&rsquo;t be seen.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were turning off into a country road, and Montague sank back and laughed
+till the tears ran down his cheeks. &ldquo;Is that a common trick?&rdquo; he
+asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Quite,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Mrs. Robbie has a trough of mud in
+their garage, and her driver sprinkles the tag every time before she goes out.
+You have to do something, you know, or you&rsquo;d be taken up all the
+time.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you ever been arrested?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve only been in court once,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been stopped a dozen times.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did they do the other times&mdash;warn you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Warn me?&rdquo; laughed Oliver. &ldquo;What they did was to get in with
+me and ride a block or two, out of sight of the crowd; and then I slipped them
+a ten-dollar bill and they got out.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To which Montague responded, &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They turned into a broad macadamized road, and here were more autos, and more
+dust, and more racing. Now and then they crossed a trolley or a railroad track,
+and here was always a warning sign; but Oliver must have had some occult way of
+knowing that the track was clear, for he never seemed to slow up. Now and then
+they came to villages, and did reduce speed; but from the pace at which they
+went through, the villagers could not have suspected it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then came another adventure. The road was in repair, and was very bad, and
+they were picking their way, when suddenly a young man who had been walking on
+a side path stepped out before them, and drew a red handkerchief from his
+pocket, and faced them, waving it. Oliver muttered an oath.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; cried his brother.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;re arrested!&rdquo; he exclaimed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What!&rdquo; gasped the other. &ldquo;Why, we were not going at
+all.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said Oliver; &ldquo;but they&rsquo;ve got us all the
+same.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He must have made up his mind at one glance that the case was hopeless, for he
+made no attempt to put on speed, but let the young man step aboard as they
+reached him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; Oliver demanded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have been sent out by the Automobile Association,&rdquo; said the
+stranger, &ldquo;to warn you that they have a trap set in the next town. So
+watch out.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Oliver gave a gasp, and said, &ldquo;Oh! Thank you!&rdquo; The young man
+stepped off, and they went ahead, and he lay back in his seat and shook with
+laughter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is that common?&rdquo; his brother asked, between laughs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It happened to me once before,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;d
+forgotten it completely.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They proceeded very slowly; and when they came to the outskirts of the village
+they went at a funereal pace, while the car throbbed in protest. In front of a
+country store they saw a group of loungers watching them, and Oliver said,
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s the first part of the trap. They have a telephone, and
+somewhere beyond is a man with another telephone, and beyond that a man to
+stretch a rope across the road.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What would they do with you?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Haul you up before a justice of the peace, and fine you anywhere from
+fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars. It&rsquo;s regular highway
+robbery&mdash;there are some places that boast of never levying taxes; they get
+all their money out of us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver pulled out his watch. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be late to lunch,
+thanks to these delays,&rdquo; he said. He added that they were to meet at the
+&ldquo;Hawk&rsquo;s Nest,&rdquo; which he said was an &ldquo;automobile
+joint.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Outside of the town they &ldquo;hit it up&rdquo; again; and half an hour later
+they came to a huge sign, &ldquo;To the Hawk&rsquo;s Nest,&rdquo; and turned
+off. They ran up a hill, and came suddenly out of a pine-forest into view of a
+hostelry, perched upon the edge of a bluff overlooking the Sound. There was a
+broad yard in front, in which automobiles wheeled and sputtered, and a long
+shed that was lined with them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Half a dozen attendants ran to meet them as they drew up at the steps. They all
+knew Oliver, and two fell to brushing his coat, and one got his cap, while the
+mechanic took the car to the shed. Oliver had a tip for each of them; one of
+the things that Montague observed was that in New York you had to carry a
+pocketful of change, and scatter it about wherever you went. They tipped the
+man who carried their coats and the boy who opened the door. In the washrooms
+they tipped the boys who filled the basins for them and those who gave them a
+second brushing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The piazzas of the inn were crowded with automobiling parties, in all sorts of
+strange costumes. It seemed to Montague that most of them were flashy
+people&mdash;the men had red faces and the women had loud voices; he saw one in
+a sky-blue coat with bright scarlet facing. It occurred to him that if these
+women had not worn such large hats, they would not have needed quite such a
+supply of the bright-coloured veiling which they wound over the hats and tied
+under their chins, or left to float about in the breeze.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dining-room seemed to have been built in sections, rambling about on the
+summit of the cliff. The side of it facing the water was all glass, and could
+be taken down. The ceiling was a maze of streamers and Japanese lanterns, and
+here and there were orange-trees and palms and artificial streams and
+fountains. Every table was crowded, it seemed; one was half-deafened by the
+clatter of plates, the voices and laughter, and the uproar of a negro orchestra
+of banjos, mandolins, and guitars. Negro waiters flew here and there, and a
+huge, stout head-waiter, who was pirouetting and strutting, suddenly espied
+Oliver, and made for him with smiles of welcome.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, sir&mdash;just come in, sir,&rdquo; he said, and led the way down
+the room, to where, in a corner, a table had been set for sixteen or eighteen
+people. There was a shout, &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s Ollie!&rdquo;&mdash;and a
+pounding of glasses and a chorus of welcome&mdash;&ldquo;Hello, Ollie!
+You&rsquo;re late, Ollie! What&rsquo;s the matter&mdash;car broke down?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the party, about half were men and half women. Montague braced himself for
+the painful ordeal of being introduced to sixteen people in succession, but
+this was considerately spared him. He shook hands with Robbie Walling, a tall
+and rather hollow-chested young man, with slight yellow moustaches; and with
+Mrs. Robbie, who bade him welcome, and presented him with the freedom of the
+company.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he found himself seated between two young ladies, with a waiter leaning
+over him to take his order for the drinks. He said, a little hesitatingly, that
+he would like some whisky, as he was about frozen, upon which the girl on his
+right, remarked, &ldquo;You&rsquo;d better try a champagne
+cocktail&mdash;you&rsquo;ll get your results quicker.&rdquo; She added, to the
+waiter, &ldquo;Bring a couple of them, and be quick about it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You had a cold ride, no doubt, in that low car,&rdquo; she went on, to
+Montague. &ldquo;What made you late?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We had some delays,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;Once we thought we were
+arrested.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Arrested!&rdquo; she exclaimed; and others took up the word, crying,
+&ldquo;Oh, Ollie! tell us about it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver told the tale, and meantime his brother had a chance to look about him.
+All of the party were young&mdash;he judged that he was the oldest person
+there. They were not of the flashily dressed sort, but no one would have had to
+look twice to know that there was money in the crowd. They had had their first
+round of drinks, and started in to enjoy themselves. They were all intimates,
+calling each other by their first names. Montague noticed that these names
+always ended in &ldquo;ie,&rdquo;&mdash;there was Robbie and Freddie and Auggie
+and Clarrie and Bertie and Chappie; if their names could not be made to end
+properly, they had nicknames instead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ollie&rdquo; told how they had distanced the policeman; and Clarrie
+Mason (one of the younger sons of the once mighty railroad king) told of a
+similar feat which his car had performed. And then the young lady who sat
+beside him told how a fat Irish woman had skipped out of their way as they
+rounded a corner, and stood and cursed them from the vantage-point of the
+sidewalk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The waiter came with the liquor, and Montague thanked his neighbour, Miss
+Price. Anabel Price was her name, and they called her &ldquo;Billy&rdquo;; she
+was a tall and splendidly formed creature, and he learned in due time that she
+was a famous athlete. She must have divined that he would feel a little lost in
+this crowd of intimates, and set to work to make him feel at home&mdash;an
+attempt in which she was not altogether successful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were bound for a shooting-lodge, and so she asked him if he were fond of
+shooting. He replied that he was; in answer to a further question he said that
+he had hunted chiefly deer and wild turkey. &ldquo;Ah, then you are a real
+hunter!&rdquo; said Miss Price. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;ll scorn our
+way.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you do?&rdquo; he inquired.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Wait and you&rsquo;ll see,&rdquo; replied she; and added, casually,
+&ldquo;When you get to be pally with us, you&rsquo;ll conclude we don&rsquo;t
+furnish.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s jaw dropped just a little. He recovered himself, however, and
+said that he presumed so, or that he trusted not; afterward, when he had made
+inquiries and found out what he should have said, he had completely forgotten
+what he <i>had</i> said.&mdash;Down in a hotel in Natchez there was an old
+head-waiter, to whom Montague had once appealed to seat him next to a friend.
+At the next meal, learning that the request had been granted, he said to the
+old man, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid you have shown me partiality&rdquo;; to which
+the reply came, &ldquo;I always tries to show it as much as I kin.&rdquo;
+Montague always thought of this whenever he recalled his first encounter with
+&ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Price.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The young lady on the other side of him now remarked that Robbie was ordering
+another &ldquo;topsy-turvy lunch.&rdquo; He inquired what sort of a lunch that
+was; she told him that Robbie called it a &ldquo;digestion exercise.&rdquo;
+That was the only remark that Miss de Millo addressed to him during the meal
+(Miss Gladys de Mille, the banker&rsquo;s daughter, known as &ldquo;Baby&rdquo;
+to her intimates). She was a stout and round-faced girl, who devoted herself
+strictly to the business of lunching; and Montague noticed at the end that she
+was breathing rather hard, and that her big round eyes seemed bigger than ever.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Conversation was general about the table, but it was not easy conversation to
+follow. It consisted mostly of what is known as &ldquo;joshing,&rdquo; and
+involved acquaintance with intimate details of personalities and past events.
+Also, there was a great deal of slang used, which kept a stranger&rsquo;s wits
+on the jump. However, Montague concluded that all his deficiencies were made up
+for by his brother, whose sallies were the cause of the loudest laughter. Just
+now he seemed to the other more like the Oliver he had known of old&mdash;for
+Montague had already noted a change in him. At home there had never been any
+end to his gaiety and fun, and it was hard to get him to take anything
+seriously; but now he kept all his jokes for company, and when he was alone he
+was in deadly earnest. Apparently he was working hard over his pleasures.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague could understand how this was possible. Some one, for instance, had
+worked hard over the ordering of the lunch&mdash;to secure the maximum of
+explosive effect. It began with ice-cream, moulded in fancy shapes and then
+buried in white of egg and baked brown. Then there was a turtle soup, thick and
+green and greasy; and then&mdash;horror of horrors&mdash;a great steaming
+plum-pudding. It was served in a strange phenomenon of a platter, with six
+long, silver legs; and the waiter set it in front of Robbie Walling and lifted
+the cover with a sweeping gesture&mdash;and then removed it and served it
+himself. Montague had about made up his mind that this was the end, and begun
+to fill up on bread-and-butter, when there appeared cold asparagus, served in
+individual silver holders resembling andirons. Then&mdash;appetite now being
+sufficiently whetted&mdash;there came quail, in piping hot little
+casseroles&mdash;; and then half a grape-fruit set in a block of ice and filled
+with wine; and then little squab ducklings, bursting fat, and an artichoke; and
+then a <i>café parfait</i>; and then&mdash;as if to crown the
+audacity&mdash;huge thick slices of roast beef! Montague had given up long
+ago&mdash;he could keep no track of the deluge of food which poured forth. And
+between all the courses there were wines of precious brands, tumbled
+helter-skelter,&mdash;sherry and port, champagne and claret and liqueur.
+Montague watched poor &ldquo;Baby&rdquo; de Mille out of the corner of his eye,
+and pitied her; for it was evident that she could not resist the impulse to eat
+whatever was put before her, and she was visibly suffering. He wondered whether
+he might not manage to divert her by conversation, but he lacked the courage to
+make the attempt.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The meal was over at four o&rsquo;clock. By that time most of the other parties
+were far on their way to New York, and the inn was deserted. They possessed
+themselves of their belongings, and one by one their cars whirled away toward
+&ldquo;Black Forest.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had been told that it was a &ldquo;shooting-lodge.&rdquo; He had a
+vision of some kind of a rustic shack, and wondered dimly how so many people
+would be stowed away. When they turned off the main road, and his brother
+remarked, &ldquo;Here we are,&rdquo; he was surprised to see a rather large
+building of granite, with an archway spanning the road. He was still more
+surprised when they whizzed through and went on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where are we going?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To &lsquo;Black Forest,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And what was that we passed?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That was the gate-keeper&rsquo;s lodge,&rdquo; was Oliver&rsquo;s reply.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p>
+They ran for about three miles upon a broad macadamized avenue, laid straight
+as an arrow&rsquo;s flight through the forest; and then the sound of the sea
+came to them, and before them was a mighty granite pile, looming grim in the
+twilight, with a draw-bridge and moat, and four great castellated towers.
+&ldquo;Black Forest&rdquo; was built in imitation of a famous old fortress in
+Provence&mdash;only the fortress had forty small rooms, and its modern
+prototype had seventy large ones, and now every window was blazing with lights.
+A man does not let himself be caught twice in such a blunder; and having
+visited a &ldquo;shooting-lodge&rdquo; which had cost three-quarters of a
+million dollars and was set in a preserve of ten thousand acres, he was
+prepared for Adirondack &ldquo;camps&rdquo; which had cost half a million and
+Newport &ldquo;cottages&rdquo; which had cost a million or two.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Liveried servants took the car, and others opened the door and took their
+coats. The first thing they saw was a huge fireplace, a fireplace a dozen feet
+across, made of great boulders, and with whole sections of a pine tree blazing
+in it. Underfoot was polished hardwood, with skins of bear and buffalo. The
+firelight flickered upon shields and battle-axes and broad-swords, hung upon
+the oaken pillars; while between them were tapestries, picturing the Song of
+Roland and the battle of Roncesvalles. One followed the pillars of the great
+hall to the vaulted roof, whose glass was glowing blood-red in the western
+light. A broad stairway ascended to the second floor, which opened upon
+galleries about the hall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague went to the fire, and stood rubbing his hands before the grateful
+blaze. &ldquo;Scotch or Irish, sir?&rdquo; inquired a lackey, hovering at his
+side. He had scarcely given his order when the door opened and a second motor
+load of the party appeared, shivering and rushing for the fire. In a couple of
+minutes they were all assembled&mdash;and roaring with laughter over
+&ldquo;Baby&rdquo; de Mille&rsquo;s account of how her car had run over a
+dachshund. &ldquo;Oh, do you know,&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;he simply
+<i>popped!</i>&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Half a dozen attendants hovered about, and soon the tables in the hall were
+covered with trays containing decanters and siphons. By this means everybody in
+the party was soon warmed up, and then in groups they scattered to amuse
+themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a great hall for indoor tennis, and there were half a dozen
+squash-courts. Montague knew neither of these games, but he was interested in
+watching the water-polo in the swimming-tank, and in studying the appointments
+of this part of the building. The tank, with the walls and floor about it, were
+all of marble; there was a bronze gallery running about it, from which one
+might gaze into the green depths of the water. There were luxurious
+dressing-rooms for men and women, with hot and cold needle-baths, steam-rooms
+with rubbers in attendance and weighing and lifting machines, electric machines
+for producing &ldquo;violet rays,&rdquo; and electric air-blasts for the drying
+of the women&rsquo;s hair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He watched several games, in which men and women took part; and later on, when
+the tennis and other players appeared, he joined them in a plunge. Afterward,
+he entered one of the electric elevators and was escorted to his room, where he
+found his bag unpacked, and his evening attire laid out upon the bed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was about nine when the party went into the dining-room, which opened upon a
+granite terrace and loggia facing the sea. The room was finished in some rare
+black wood, the name of which he did not know; soft radiance suffused it, and
+the table was lighted by electric candles set in silver sconces, and veiled by
+silk shades. It gleamed with its load of crystal and silver, set off by
+scattered groups of orchids and ferns. The repast of the afternoon had been
+simply a lunch, it seemed&mdash;and now they had an elaborate dinner, prepared
+by Robbie Walling&rsquo;s famous ten-thousand-dollar chef. In contrast with the
+uproar of the inn was the cloistral stillness of this dining-room, where the
+impassive footmen seemed to move on padded slippers, and the courses appeared
+and vanished as if by magic. Montague did his best to accustom himself to the
+gowns of the women, which were cut lower than any he had ever seen in his life;
+but he hesitated every time he turned to speak to the young lady beside him,
+because he could look so deep down into her bosom, and it was difficult for him
+to realize that she did not mind it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The conversation was the same as before, except that it was a little more
+general, and louder in tone; for the guests had become more intimate, and as
+Robbie Walling&rsquo;s wines of priceless vintage poured forth, they became a
+little &ldquo;high.&rdquo; The young lady who sat on Montague&rsquo;s right was
+a Miss Vincent, a granddaughter of one of the sugar-kings; she was dark-skinned
+and slender, and had appeared at a recent lawn fête in the costume of an Indian
+maiden. The company amused itself by selecting an Indian name for her; all
+sorts of absurd ones were suggested, depending upon various intimate details of
+the young lady&rsquo;s personality and habits. Robbie caused a laugh by
+suggesting &ldquo;Little Dewdrop&rdquo;&mdash;it appeared that she had once
+been discovered writing a poem about a dewdrop; some one else suggested
+&ldquo;Little Raindrop,&rdquo; and then Ollie brought down the house by
+exclaiming, &ldquo;Little Raindrop in the Mud-puddle!&rdquo; A perfect gale of
+laughter swept over the company, and it must have been a minute before they
+could recover their composure; in order to appreciate the humour of the sally
+it was necessary to know that Miss Vincent had &ldquo;come a cropper&rdquo; at
+the last meet of the Long Island Hunt Club, and been extricated from a slough
+several feet deep.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was explained to Montague by the young lady on his left&mdash;the one
+whose half-dressed condition caused his embarrassment. She was only about
+twenty, with a wealth of golden hair and the bright, innocent face of a child;
+he had not yet learned her name, for every one called her &ldquo;Cherub.&rdquo;
+Not long after this she made a remark across the table to Baby de Mille, a
+strange jumble of syllables, which sounded like English, yet was not. Miss de
+Mille replied, and several joined in, until there was quite a conversation
+going on. &ldquo;Cherub&rdquo; explained to him that &ldquo;Baby&rdquo; had
+invented a secret language, made by transposing letters; and that Ollie and
+Bertie were crazy to guess the key to it, and could not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dinner lasted until late. The wine-glasses continued to be emptied, and to
+be magically filled again. The laughter was louder, and now and then there were
+snatches of singing; women lolled about in their chairs-one beautiful boy sat
+gazing dreamily across the table at Montague, now and then closing his eyes,
+and opening them more and more reluctantly. The attendants moved about,
+impassive and silent as ever; no one else seemed to be cognizant of their
+existence, but Montague could not help noticing them, and wondering what they
+thought of it all.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When at last the party broke up, it was because the bridge-players wished to
+get settled for the evening. The others gathered in front of the fireplace, and
+smoked and chatted. At home, when one planned a day&rsquo;s hunting, he went to
+bed early and rose before dawn; but here, it seemed, there was game a-plenty,
+and the hunters had nothing to consider save their own comfort.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cards were played in the vaulted &ldquo;gun-room.&rdquo; Montague strolled
+through it, and his eye ran down the wall, lined with glass cases and filled
+with every sort of firearm known to the hunter. He recalled, with a twinge of
+self-abasement, that he had suggested bringing his shotgun along!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He joined a group in one corner, and lounged in the shadows, and studied
+&ldquo;Billy&rdquo; Price, whose conversation had so mystified him.
+&ldquo;Billy,&rdquo; whose father was a banker, proved to be a devotee of
+horses; she was a veritable Amazon, the one passion of whose life was glory.
+Seeing her sitting in this group, smoking cigarettes, and drinking highballs,
+and listening impassively to risqué stories, one might easily draw base
+conclusions about Billy Price. But as a matter of fact she was made of marble;
+and the men, instead of falling in love with her, made her their confidante,
+and told her their troubles, and sought her sympathy and advice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some of this was explained to Montague by a young lady, who, as the evening
+wore on, came in and placed herself beside him. &ldquo;My name is Betty
+Wyman,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and you and I will have to be friends, because
+Ollie&rsquo;s my side partner.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had to meet her advances; so had not much time to speculate as to what
+the term &ldquo;side partner&rdquo; might be supposed to convey. Betty was a
+radiant little creature, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, made of some soft
+and filmy and complicated material; there was a crimson rose in her hair, and a
+living glow of crimson in her cheeks. She was bright and quick, like a
+butterfly, full of strange whims and impulses; mischievous lights gleamed in
+her eyes and mischievous smiles played about her adorable little cherry lips.
+Some strange perfume haunted the filmy dress, and completed the bewilderment of
+the intended victim.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have a letter of introduction to a Mr. Wyman in New York,&rdquo; said
+Montague. &ldquo;Perhaps he is a relative of yours.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is he a railroad president?&rdquo; asked she; and when he answered in
+the affirmative, &ldquo;Is he a railroad king?&rdquo; she whispered, in a
+mocking, awe-stricken voice, &ldquo;Is he rich&mdash;oh, rich as
+Solomon&mdash;and is he a terrible man, who eats people alive all the
+time?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague&mdash;&ldquo;that must be the one.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Betty, &ldquo;he has done me the honour to be my
+granddaddy; but don&rsquo;t you take any letter of introduction to him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; asked he, perplexed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Because he&rsquo;ll eat <i>you</i>,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;He
+hates Ollie.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Dear me,&rdquo; said the other; and the girl asked, &ldquo;Do you mean
+that the boy hasn&rsquo;t said a word about me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague&mdash;&ldquo;I suppose he left it for you to
+do.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Betty, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s like a fairy story. Do you
+ever read fairy stories? In this story there was a princess&mdash;oh, the most
+beautiful princess! Do you understand?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;She wore a red rose in her
+hair.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And then,&rdquo; said the girl, &ldquo;there was a young
+courtier&mdash;very handsome and gay; and they fell in love with each other.
+But the terrible old king&mdash;he wanted his daughter to wait a while, until
+he got through conquering his enemies, so that he might have time to pick out
+some prince or other, or maybe some ogre who was wasting his lands&mdash;do you
+follow me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perfectly,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;And then did the beautiful princess
+pine away?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Um&mdash;no,&rdquo; said Betty, pursing her lips. &ldquo;But she had to
+dance terribly hard to keep from thinking about herself.&rdquo; Then she
+laughed, and exclaimed, &ldquo;Dear me, we are getting poetical!&rdquo; And
+next, looking sober again, &ldquo;Do you know, I was half afraid to talk to
+you. Ollie tells me you&rsquo;re terribly serious. Are you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said Montague&mdash;but she broke in with a
+laugh, &ldquo;We were talking about you at dinner last night. They had some
+whipped cream done up in funny little curliques, and Ollie said, &lsquo;Now, if
+my brother Allan were here, he&rsquo;d be thinking about the man who fixed this
+cream, and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading &lsquo;The
+Simple Life.&rsquo; Is that true?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It involves a question of literary criticism&rdquo;&mdash;said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to talk about literature,&rdquo; exclaimed the other.
+In truth, she wanted nothing save to feel of his armour and find out if there
+were any weak spots through which he could be teased. Montague was to find in
+time that the adorable Miss Elizabeth was a very thorny species of
+rose&mdash;she was more like a gay-coloured wasp, of predatory temperament.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ollie says you want to go down town and work,&rdquo; she went on.
+&ldquo;I think you&rsquo;re awfully foolish. Isn&rsquo;t it much nicer to spend
+your time in an imitation castle like this?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but I haven&rsquo;t any castle.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You might get one,&rdquo; answered Betty. &ldquo;Stay around awhile and
+let us marry you to a nice girl. They will all throw themselves at your feet,
+you know, for you have such a delicious melting voice, and you look romantic
+and exciting.&rdquo; (Montague made a note to inquire whether it was customary
+in New York to talk about you so frankly to your face.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Miss Betty was surveying him quizzically meantime. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t
+know,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;On second thoughts, maybe you&rsquo;ll frighten
+the girls. Then it&rsquo;ll be the married women who&rsquo;ll fall in love with
+you. You&rsquo;ll have to watch out.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve already been told that by my tailor,&rdquo; said Montague,
+with a laugh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That would be a still quicker way of making your fortune,&rdquo; said
+she. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;d fit in the rôle of a tame
+cat.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A <i>what?</i>&rdquo; he exclaimed; and Miss Betty laughed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know what that is? Dear me&mdash;how charmingly naïve!
+But perhaps you&rsquo;d better get Ollie to explain for you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That brought the conversation to the subject of slang; and Montague, in a
+sudden burst of confidence, asked for an interpretation of Miss Price&rsquo;s
+cryptic utterance. &ldquo;She said&rdquo;&mdash;he repeated
+slowly&mdash;&ldquo;that when I got to be pally with her, I&rsquo;d conclude
+she didn&rsquo;t furnish.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, yes,&rdquo; said Miss Wyman. &ldquo;She just meant that when you
+knew her, you&rsquo;d be disappointed. You see, she picks up all the race-track
+slang&mdash;one can&rsquo;t help it, you know. And last year she took her coach
+over to England, and so she&rsquo;s got all the English slang. That makes it
+hard, even for us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Betty sailed in to entertain him with little sketches of other members
+of the party. A phenomenon that had struck Montague immediately was the
+extraordinary freedom with which everybody in New York discussed everybody
+else. As a matter of fact, one seldom discussed anything else; and it made not
+the least difference, though the person were one of your set,&mdash;though he
+ate your bread and salt, and you ate his,&mdash;still you would amuse yourself
+by pouring forth the most painful and humiliating and terrifying things about
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was poor Clarrie Mason: Clarrie, sitting in at bridge, with an expression
+of feverish eagerness upon his pale face. Clarrie always lost, and it
+positively broke his heart, though he had ten millions laid by on ice. Clarrie
+went about all day, bemoaning his brother, who had been kidnapped. Had Montague
+not heard about it? Well, the newspapers called it a marriage, but it was
+really a kidnapping. Poor Larry Mason was good-natured and weak in the knees,
+and he had been carried off by a terrible creature, three times as big as
+himself, and with a temper like&mdash;oh, there were no words for it! She had
+been an actress; and now she had carried Larry away in her talons, and was
+building a big castle to keep him in&mdash;for he had ten millions too, alas!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then there was Bertie Stuyvesant, beautiful and winning&mdash;the boy who
+had sat opposite Montague at dinner. Bertie&rsquo;s father had been a coal man,
+and nobody knew how many millions he had left. Bertie was gay; last week he had
+invited them to a brook-trout breakfast&mdash;in November&mdash;and that had
+been a lark! Somebody had told him that trout never really tasted good unless
+you caught them yourself, and Bertie had suddenly resolved to catch them for
+that breakfast. &ldquo;They have a big preserve up in the Adirondacks,&rdquo;
+said Betty; &ldquo;and Bertie ordered his private train, and he and Chappie de
+Peyster and some others started that night; they drove I don&rsquo;t know how
+many miles the next day, and caught a pile of trout&mdash;and we had them for
+breakfast the next morning! The best joke of all is that Chappie vows they were
+so full they couldn&rsquo;t fish, and that the trout were caught with nets!
+Poor Bertie&mdash;somebody&rsquo;ll have to separate him from that decanter
+now!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the hall there came loud laughter, with sounds of scuffling, and cries,
+&ldquo;Let me have it!&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s Baby de Mille,&rdquo;
+said Miss Wyman. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s always wanting to rough-house it. Robbie
+was mad the last time she was down here; she got to throwing sofa-cushions, and
+upset a vase.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t that supposed to be good form?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not at Robbie&rsquo;s,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;Have you had a chance to
+talk with Robbie yet? You&rsquo;ll like him&mdash;he&rsquo;s serious, like
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s he serious about?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;About spending his money,&rdquo; said Betty. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the
+only thing he has to be serious about.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Has he got so very much?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Thirty or forty millions,&rdquo; she replied; &ldquo;but then, you see,
+a lot of it&rsquo;s in the inner companies of his railroad system, and it pays
+him fabulously. And his wife has money, too&mdash;she was a Miss Mason, you
+know, her father&rsquo;s one of the steel crowd. We&rsquo;ve a saying that
+there are millionaires, and then multi-millionaires, and then Pittsburg
+millionaires. Anyhow, the two of them spend all their income in entertaining.
+It&rsquo;s Robbie&rsquo;s fad to play the perfect host&mdash;he likes to have
+lots of people round him. He does put up good times&mdash;only he&rsquo;s so
+very important about it, and he has so many ideas of what is proper! I guess
+most of his set would rather go to Mrs. Jack Warden&rsquo;s any day; I&rsquo;d
+be there to-night, if it hadn&rsquo;t been for Ollie.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s Mrs. Jack Warden?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you ever heard of her?&rdquo; said Betty. &ldquo;She used
+to be Mrs. van Ambridge, and then she got a divorce and married Warden, the big
+lumber man. She used to give &lsquo;boy and girl&rsquo; parties, in the English
+fashion; and when we went there we&rsquo;d do as we please&mdash;play tag all
+over the house, and have pillow-fights, and ransack the closets and get up
+masquerades! Mrs. Warden&rsquo;s as good-natured as an old cow. You&rsquo;ll
+meet her sometime&mdash;only don&rsquo;t you let her fool you with those soft
+eyes of hers. You&rsquo;ll find she doesn&rsquo;t mean it; it&rsquo;s just that
+she likes to have handsome men hanging round her.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At one o&rsquo;clock a few of Robbie&rsquo;s guests went to bed, Montague among
+them. He left two tables of bridge fiends sitting immobile, the women with
+flushed faces and feverish hands, and the men with cigarettes dangling from
+their lips. There were trays and decanters beside each card-table; and in the
+hall he passed three youths staggering about in each other&rsquo;s arms and
+feebly singing snatches of &ldquo;coon songs.&rdquo; Ollie and Betty had
+strolled away together to parts unknown.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had entered his name in the order-book to be called at nine
+o&rsquo;clock. The man who awakened him brought him coffee and cream upon a
+silver tray, and asked him if he would have anything stronger. He was
+privileged to have his breakfast in his room, if he wished; but he went
+downstairs, trying his best to feel natural in his elaborate hunting costume.
+No one else had appeared yet, but he found the traces of last night cleared
+away, and breakfast ready&mdash;served in English fashion, with urns of tea and
+coffee upon the buffet. The grave butler and his satellites were in attendance,
+ready to take his order for anything else under the sun that he fancied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague preferred to go for a stroll upon the terrace, and to watch the
+sunlight sparkling upon the sea. The morning was beautiful&mdash;everything
+about the place was so beautiful that he wondered how men and women could live
+here and not feel the spell of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Billy Price came down shortly afterward, clad in a khaki hunting suit, with
+knee kilts and button-pockets and gun-pads and Cossack cartridge-loops. She
+joined him in a stroll down the beach, and talked to him about the coming
+winter season, with its leading personalities and events,&mdash;the Horse Show,
+which opened next week, and the prospects for the opera, and Mrs. de
+Graffenried&rsquo;s opening entertainment. When they came back it was eleven
+o&rsquo;clock, and they found most of the guests assembled, nearly all of them
+looking a little pale and uncomfortable in the merciless morning light. As the
+two came in they observed Bertie Stuyvesant standing by the buffet, in the act
+of gulping down a tumbler of brandy. &ldquo;Bertie has taken up the &lsquo;no
+breakfast fad,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Billy with an ironical smile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then began the hunt. The equipment of &ldquo;Black Forest&rdquo; included a
+granite building, steam-heated and elaborately fitted, in which an English
+expert and his assistants raised imported pheasants&mdash;magnificent
+bronze-coloured birds with long, floating black tails. Just before the opening
+of the season they were dumped by thousands into the covers&mdash;fat, and
+almost tame enough to be fed by hand; and now came the &ldquo;hunters.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+First they drew lots, for they were to hunt in pairs, a man and a woman.
+Montague drew Miss Vincent&mdash;&ldquo;Little Raindrop in the
+Mud-puddle.&rdquo; Then Ollie, who was master of ceremonies, placed them in a
+long line, and gave them the direction; and at a signal they moved through the
+forest; Following each person were two attendants, to carry the extra guns and
+reload them; and out in front were men to beat the bushes and scare the birds
+into flight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now Montague&rsquo;s idea of hunting had been to steal through the bayou
+forests, and match his eyes against those of the wild turkey, and shoot off
+their heads with a rifle bullet. So, when one of these birds rose in front of
+him, he fired, and the bird dropped; and he could have done it for ever, he
+judged&mdash;only it was stupid slaughter, and it sickened him. However, if the
+creatures were not shot, they must inevitably perish in the winter snows; and
+he had heard that Robbie sent the game to the hospitals. Also, the score was
+being kept, and Miss Vincent, who was something of a shot herself, was watching
+him with eager excitement, being wild with desire to beat out Billy Price and
+Chappie de Peyster, who were the champion shots of the company. Baby de Mille,
+who was on his left, and who could not shoot at all, was blundering along,
+puffing for breath and eyeing him enviously; and the attendants at his back
+were trembling with delight and murmuring their applause. So he shot on, as
+long as the drive lasted, and again on their way back, over a new stretch of
+the country. Sometimes the birds would rise in pairs, and he would drop them
+both; and twice when a blundering flock took flight in his direction he seized
+a second gun and brought down a second pair. When the day&rsquo;s sport came to
+an end his score was fifteen better than his nearest competitor, and he and his
+partner had won the day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They crowded round to congratulate him; first his partner, and then his rivals,
+and his host and hostess. Montague found that he had suddenly become a person
+of consequence. Some who had previously taken no notice of him now became aware
+of his existence; proud society belles condescended to make conversation with
+him, and Clarrie Mason, who hated de Peyster, made note of a way to annoy him.
+As for Oliver, he was radiant with delight. &ldquo;When it came to horses and
+guns, I knew you&rsquo;d make good,&rdquo; he whispered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Leaving the game to be gathered up in carts, they made their way home, and
+there the two victors received their prizes. The man&rsquo;s consisted of a
+shaving set in a case of solid gold, set with diamonds. Montague was simply
+stunned, for the thing could not have cost less than one or two thousand
+dollars. He could not persuade himself that he had a right to accept of such
+hospitality, which he could never hope to return. He was to realize in time
+that Robbie lived for the pleasure of thus humiliating his fellow-men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After luncheon, the party came to an end. Some set out to return as they had
+come; and others, who had dinner engagements, went back with their host in his
+private car, leaving their autos to be returned by the chauffeurs. Montague and
+his brother were among these; and about dusk, when the swarms of working people
+were pouring out of the city, they crossed the ferry and took a cab to their
+hotel.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<p>
+They found their apartments looking as if they had been struck by a
+snowstorm&mdash;a storm of red and green and yellow, and all the colours that
+lie between. All day the wagons of fashionable milliners and costumiers had
+been stopping at the door, and their contents had found their way to
+Alice&rsquo;s room. The floors were ankle-deep in tissue paper and tape, and
+beds and couches and chairs were covered with boxes, in which lay wonderful
+symphonies of colour, half disclosed in their wrappings of gauze. In the midst
+of it all stood the girl, her eyes shining with excitement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, Allan!&rdquo; she cried, as they entered. &ldquo;How am I ever to
+thank you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not to thank me,&rdquo; Montague replied. &ldquo;This is
+all Oliver&rsquo;s doings.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oliver!&rdquo; exclaimed the girl, and turned to him. &ldquo;How in the
+world could you do it?&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;How will you ever get the money
+to pay for it all?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s my problem,&rdquo; said the man, laughing. &ldquo;All you
+have to think about is to look beautiful.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; was her reply, &ldquo;it won&rsquo;t be for
+lack of clothes. I never saw so many wonderful things in all my life as
+I&rsquo;ve seen to-day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s quite a show of them,&rdquo; admitted Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And Reggie Mann! It was so queer, Allan! I never went shopping with a
+man before. And he&rsquo;s so&mdash;so matter-of-fact. You know, he bought
+me&mdash;everything!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That was what he was told to do,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Did you like
+him?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s
+queer&mdash;I never met a man like that before. But he was awfully kind; and
+the people just turned their stores inside out for us&mdash;half a dozen people
+hurrying about to wait on you at once!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get used to such things,&rdquo; said Oliver; and then,
+stepping toward the bed, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s see what you got.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Most of the things haven&rsquo;t come,&rdquo; said Alice. &ldquo;The
+gowns all have to be fitted.&mdash;That one is for to-night,&rdquo; she added,
+as he lifted up a beautiful object made of rose-coloured chiffon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver studied it, and glanced once or twice at the girl. &ldquo;I guess you
+can carry it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What sort of a cloak are you to
+wear?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, the cloak!&rdquo; cried Alice. &ldquo;Oliver, I can&rsquo;t believe
+it&rsquo;s really to belong to me. I didn&rsquo;t know anyone but princesses
+wore such things.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cloak was in Mrs. Montague&rsquo;s room, and one of the maids brought it
+in. It was an opera-wrap of grey brocade, lined with unborn baby lamb&mdash;a
+thing of a gorgeousness that made Montague literally gasp for breath.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did you ever see anything like it in your life?&rdquo; cried Alice.
+&ldquo;And Oliver, is it true that I have to have gloves and shoes and
+stockings&mdash;and a hat&mdash;to match every gown?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course.&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;If you were doing things right,
+you ought to have a cloak to match each evening gown as well.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It seems incredible,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;Can it be right to
+spend so much money for things to wear?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Oliver was not discussing questions of ethics; he was examining sets of
+tinted <i>crêpe de chine lingerie</i>, and hand-woven hose of spun silk. There
+were boxes upon boxes, and bureau drawers and closet shelves already filled up
+with hand-embroidered and lace-trimmed creations&mdash;chemises and
+corset-covers, night-robes of &ldquo;handkerchief linen&rdquo; lawn, lace
+handkerchiefs and veils, corsets of French <i>coutil</i>, dressing-jackets of
+pale-coloured silks, and negligées of soft <i>batistes</i>, trimmed with
+Valenciennes lace, or even with fur.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You must have put in a full day,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I never looked at so many things in my life,&rdquo; said Alice.
+&ldquo;And Mr. Mann never stopped to ask the price of a thing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think to tell him to,&rdquo; said Oliver, laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then the girl went in to dress&mdash;and Oliver faced about to find his brother
+sitting and staring hard at him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Tell me!&rdquo; Montague exclaimed. &ldquo;In God&rsquo;s name, what is
+all this to cost?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said Oliver, impassively. &ldquo;I
+haven&rsquo;t seen the bills. It&rsquo;ll be fifteen or twenty thousand, I
+guess.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s hands clenched involuntarily, and he sat rigid. &ldquo;How
+long will it all last her?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;when she gets enough, it&rsquo;ll
+last her until spring, of course&mdash;unless she goes South during the
+winter.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How much is it going to take to dress her for a year?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I suppose thirty or forty thousand,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;I
+don&rsquo;t expect to keep count.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat in silence. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to shut her up and keep
+her at home, do you?&rdquo; inquired his brother, at last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you mean that other women spend that much on clothes?&rdquo; he
+demanded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; said Oliver, &ldquo;hundreds of them. Some spend fifty
+thousand&mdash;I know several who go over a hundred.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s monstrous!&rdquo; Montague exclaimed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Fiddlesticks!&rdquo; was the other&rsquo;s response. &ldquo;Why,
+thousands of people live by it&mdash;wouldn&rsquo;t know anything else to
+do.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing to that. &ldquo;Can you afford to have Alice compete with
+such women indefinitely?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have no idea of her doing it indefinitely,&rdquo; was Oliver&rsquo;s
+reply. &ldquo;I simply propose to give her a chance. When she&rsquo;s married,
+her bills will be paid by her husband.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;then this layout is just for her to be
+exhibited in.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You may say that,&rdquo; answered Oliver,&mdash;&ldquo;if you want to be
+foolish. You know perfectly well that parents who launch their daughters in
+Society don&rsquo;t figure on keeping up the pace all their lifetimes.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We hadn&rsquo;t thought of marrying Alice off,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To which his brother replied that the best physicians left all they could to
+nature. &ldquo;Suppose,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;that we just introduce her in
+the right set, and turn her loose and let her enjoy herself&mdash;and then
+cross the next bridge when we come to it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat with knitted brows, pondering. He was beginning to see a little
+daylight now. &ldquo;Oliver,&rdquo; he asked suddenly, &ldquo;are you sure the
+stakes in this game aren&rsquo;t too big?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Will you be able to stay in until the show-down? Until either Alice or
+myself begins to bring in some returns?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Never worry about that,&rdquo; said the other, with a laugh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But hadn&rsquo;t you better take me into your confidence?&rdquo;
+Montague persisted. &ldquo;How many weeks can you pay our rent in this place?
+Have you got the money to pay for all these clothes?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got it,&rdquo; laughed the other&mdash;&ldquo;but that
+doesn&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;m going to pay it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you have to pay your bills? Can we do all this upon
+credit?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver laughed again. &ldquo;You go at me like a prosecuting attorney,&rdquo;
+he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;ll have to inquire around and learn
+some respect for your brother.&rdquo; Then he added, seriously, &ldquo;You see,
+Allan, people like Reggie or myself are in position to bring a great deal of
+custom to tradespeople, and so they are willing to go out of their way to
+oblige us. And we have commissions of all sorts coming to us, so it&rsquo;s
+never any question of cash.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; exclaimed the other, opening his eyes, &ldquo;I see! Is
+<i>that</i> the way you make money?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the ways we save it,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;It
+comes to the same thing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do people know it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, of course. Why not?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;It sounds a little
+queer.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing of the kind,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Some of the best people
+in New York do it. Strangers come to the city, and they want to go to the right
+places, and they ask me, and I send them. Or take Robbie Walling, who keeps up
+five or six establishments, and spends several millions a year. He can&rsquo;t
+see to it all personally&mdash;if he did, he&rsquo;d never do anything else.
+Why shouldn&rsquo;t he ask a friend to attend to things for him? Or again, a
+new shop opens, and they want Mrs. Walling&rsquo;s trade for the sake of the
+advertising, and they offer her a discount and me a commission. Why
+shouldn&rsquo;t I get her to try them?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite intricate,&rdquo; commented the other. &ldquo;The
+stores have more than one price, then?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They have as many prices as they have customers,&rdquo; was the answer.
+&ldquo;Why shouldn&rsquo;t they? New York is full of raw rich people who value
+things by what they pay. And why shouldn&rsquo;t they pay high and be happy?
+That opera-cloak that Alice has&mdash;Réval promised it to me for two thousand,
+and I&rsquo;ll wager you she&rsquo;d charge some woman from Butte, Montana,
+thirty-five hundred for one just like it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague got up suddenly. &ldquo;Stop,&rdquo; he said, waving his hands.
+&ldquo;You take all the bloom off the butterfly&rsquo;s wings!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He asked where they were going that evening, and Oliver said that they were
+invited to an informal dinner-party at Mrs. Winnie Duval&rsquo;s. Mrs. Winnie
+was the young widow who had recently married the founder of the great
+banking-house of Duval and Co.&mdash;so Oliver explained; she was a chum of
+his, and they would meet an interesting set there. She was going to invite her
+cousin, Charlie Carter&mdash;she wanted him to meet Alice. &ldquo;Mrs.
+Winnie&rsquo;s always plotting to get Charlie to settle down,&rdquo; said
+Oliver, with a merry laugh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He telephoned for his man to bring over his clothes, and he and his brother
+dressed. Then Alice came in, looking like the goddess of the dawn in the
+gorgeous rose-coloured gown. The colour in her cheeks was even brighter than
+usual; for she was staggered to find how low the gown was cut, and was afraid
+she was committing a <i>faux pas</i>. &ldquo;Tell me about it,&rdquo; she
+stammered. &ldquo;Mammy Lucy says I&rsquo;m surely supposed to wear some lace,
+or a bouquet.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mammy Lucy isn&rsquo;t a Paris costumier,&rdquo; said Oliver, much
+amused. &ldquo;Dear me&mdash;wait until you have seen Mrs. Winnie!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie had kindly sent her limousine car for them, and it stood throbbing
+in front of the hotel-entrance, its acetylenes streaming far up the street.
+Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s home was on Fifth Avenue, fronting the park. It occupied
+half a block, and had cost two millions to build and furnish. It was known as
+the &ldquo;Snow Palace,&rdquo; being all of white marble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the curb a man in livery opened the door of the car, and in the vestibule
+another man in livery bowed the way. Lined up just inside the door was a corps
+of imposing personages, clad in scarlet waistcoats and velvet knee-breeches,
+with powdered wigs, and gold buttons, and gold buckles on their patent-leather
+pumps. These splendid creatures took their wraps, and then presented to
+Montague and Oliver a bouquet of flowers upon a silver salver, and upon another
+salver a tiny envelope bearing the name of their partner at this strictly
+&ldquo;informal&rdquo; dinner-party. Then the functionaries stood out of the
+way and permitted them to view the dazzling splendour of the entrance hall of
+the Snow Palace. There was a great marble staircase running up from the centre
+of the hall, with a carved marble gallery above, and a marble fireplace below.
+To decorate this mansion a real palace in the Punjab had been bought outright
+and plundered; there were mosaics of jade, and wonderful black marble, and rare
+woods, and strange and perplexing carvings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The head butler stood at the entrance to the salon, pronouncing their names;
+and just inside was Mrs. Winnie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague never forgot that first vision of her; she might have been a real
+princess out of the palace in the Punjab. She was a brunette, rich-coloured,
+full-throated and deep-bosomed, with scarlet lips, and black hair and eyes. She
+wore a court-gown of cloth of silver, with white kid shoes embroidered with
+jewelled flowers. All her life she had been collecting large turquoises, and
+these she had made into a tiara, and a neck ornament spreading over her chest,
+and a stomacher. Each of these stones was mounted with diamonds, and set upon a
+slender wire. So as she moved they quivered and shimmered, and the effect was
+dazzling, barbaric.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She must have seen that Montague was staggered, for she gave him a little extra
+pressure of the hand, and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so glad you came. Ollie has
+told me all about you.&rdquo; Her voice was soft and melting, not so forbidding
+as her garb.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague ran the gauntlet of the other guests: Charlie Carter, a beautiful,
+dark-haired boy, having the features of a Greek god, but a sallow and
+unpleasant complexion; Major &ldquo;Bob&rdquo; Venable, a stout little
+gentleman with a red face and a heavy jowl; Mrs. Frank Landis, a merry-eyed
+young widow with pink cheeks and auburn hair; Willie Davis, who had been a
+famous half-back, and was now junior partner in the banking-house; and two
+young married couples, whose names Montague missed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The name written on his card was Mrs. Alden. She came in just after him&mdash;a
+matron of about fifty, of vigorous aspect and ample figure, approaching what he
+had not yet learned to call <i>embonpoint</i>. She wore brocade, as became a
+grave dowager, and upon her ample bosom there lay an ornament the size of a
+man&rsquo;s hand, and made wholly out of blazing diamonds&mdash;the most
+imposing affair that Montague had ever laid eyes upon. She gave him her hand to
+shake, and made no attempt to disguise the fact that she was looking him over
+in the meantime.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Madam, dinner is served,&rdquo; said the stately butler; and the
+glittering procession moved into the dining-room&mdash;a huge state apartment,
+finished in some lustrous jet-black wood, and with great panel paintings
+illustrating the Romaunt de la Rose. The table was covered with a cloth of
+French embroidery, and gleaming with its load of crystal and gold plate. At
+either end there were huge candlesticks of solid gold, and in the centre a
+mound of orchids and lilies of the valley, matching in colour the shades of the
+candelabra and the daintily painted menu cards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You are fortunate in coming to New York late in life,&rdquo; Mrs. Alden
+was saying to him. &ldquo;Most of our young men are tired out before they have
+sense enough to enjoy anything. Take my advice and look about
+you&mdash;don&rsquo;t let that lively brother of yours set the pace for
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In front of Mrs. Alden there was a decanter of Scotch whisky. &ldquo;Will you
+have some?&rdquo; she asked, as she took it up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, I thank you,&rdquo; said he, and then wondered if perhaps he should
+not have said yes, as he watched the other select the largest of the half-dozen
+wine-glasses clustered at her place, and pour herself out a generous libation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you seen much of the city?&rdquo; she asked, as she tossed it
+off&mdash;without as much as a quiver of an eyelash.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;They have not given me much time. They took
+me off to the country&mdash;to the Robert Wallings&rsquo;.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said Mrs. Alden; and Montague, struggling to make
+conversation, inquired, &ldquo;Do you know Mr. Walling?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Quite well,&rdquo; said the other, placidly. &ldquo;I used to be a
+Walling myself, you know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said Montague, taken aback; and then added, &ldquo;Before you
+were married?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Mrs. Alden, more placidly than ever, &ldquo;before I was
+divorced.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a dead silence, and Montague sat gasping to catch his breath. Then
+suddenly he heard a faint subdued chuckle, which grew into open laughter; and
+he stole a glance at Mrs. Alden, and saw that her eyes were twinkling; and then
+he began to laugh himself. They laughed together, so merrily that others at the
+table began to look at them in perplexity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So the ice was broken between them; which filled Montague with a vast relief.
+But he was still dimly touched with awe&mdash;for he realized that this must be
+the great Mrs. Billy Alden, whose engagement to the Duke of London was now the
+topic of the whole country. And that huge diamond ornament must be part of Mrs.
+Alden&rsquo;s million-dollar outfit of jewellery!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great lady volunteered not to tell on him; and added generously that when
+he came to dinner with her she would post him concerning the company.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s awkward for a stranger, I can understand,&rdquo; said she;
+and continued, grimly: &ldquo;When people get divorces it sometimes means that
+they have quarrelled&mdash;and they don&rsquo;t always make it up afterward,
+either. And sometimes other people quarrel&mdash;almost as bitterly as if they
+had been married. Many a hostess has had her reputation ruined by not keeping
+track of such things.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Montague made the discovery that the great Mrs. Billy, though. forbidding of
+aspect, was good-natured when she chose to be, and with a pretty wit. She was a
+woman with a mind of her own&mdash;a hard-fighting character, who had
+marshalled those about her, and taken her place at the head of the column. She
+had always counted herself a personage enough to do exactly as she pleased;
+through the course of the dinner she would take up the decanter of Scotch, and
+make a pass to help Montague&mdash;and then, when he declined, pour out
+imperturbably what she wanted. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like your brother,&rdquo;
+she said to him, a little later. &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t last; but he tells me
+you&rsquo;re different, so maybe I will like you. Come and see me sometime, and
+let me tell you what not to do in New York.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Montague turned to talk with his hostess, who sat on his right.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you play bridge?&rdquo; asked Mrs. Winnie, in her softest and most
+gracious tone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My brother has given me a book to study from,&rdquo; he answered.
+&ldquo;But if he takes me about day and night, I don&rsquo;t know how I&rsquo;m
+to manage it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Come and let me teach you,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;I mean it,
+really,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve nothing to do&mdash;at least that
+I&rsquo;m not tired of. Only I don&rsquo;t believe you&rsquo;d take long to
+learn all that I know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you a successful player?&rdquo; he asked sympathetically.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe anyone wants me to learn,&rdquo; said Mrs.
+Winnie.&mdash;&ldquo;They&rsquo;d rather come and get my money. Isn&rsquo;t
+that true, Major?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Major Venable sat on her other hand, and he paused in the act of raising a
+spoonful of soup to his lips, and laughed, deep down in his throat&mdash;a
+queer little laugh that shook his fat cheeks and neck. &ldquo;I may say,&rdquo;
+he said, &ldquo;that I know several people to whom the <i>status quo</i> is
+satisfactory.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Including yourself,&rdquo; said the lady, with a little <i>moue</i>.
+&ldquo;The wretched man won sixteen hundred dollars from me last night; and he
+sat in his club window all afternoon, just to have the pleasure of laughing at
+me as I went by. I don&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;ll play at all
+to-night&mdash;I&rsquo;m going to make myself agreeable to Mr. Montague, and
+let you win from Virginia Landis for a change.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then the Major paused again in his attack upon the soup. &ldquo;My dear
+Mrs. Winnie,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I can live for much more than one day upon
+sixteen hundred dollars!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major was a famous club-man and <i>bon vivant</i>, as Montague learned
+later on. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an uncle of Mrs. Bobbie Walling&rsquo;s,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Alden, in his ear. &ldquo;And incidentally they hate each other like
+poison.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is so that I won&rsquo;t repeat my luckless question again?&rdquo;
+asked Montague, with a smile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, they meet,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t be
+supposed to know that. Won&rsquo;t you have any Scotch?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s thoughts were so much taken up with the people at this repast
+that he gave little thought to the food. He noticed with surprise that they had
+real spring lamb&mdash;it being the middle of November. But he could not know
+that the six-weeks-old creatures from which it had come had been raised in
+cotton-wool and fed on milk with a spoon&mdash;and had cost a dollar and a half
+a pound. A little later, however, there was placed before him a delicately
+browned sweetbread upon a platter of gold, and then suddenly he began to pay
+attention. Mrs. Winnie had a coat of arms; he had noticed it upon her auto, and
+again upon the great bronze gates of the Snow Palace, and again upon the
+liveries of her footmen, and yet again upon the decanter of Scotch. And
+now&mdash;incredible and appalling&mdash;he observed it branded upon the
+delicately browned sweetbread!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After that, who would not have watched? There were large dishes of rare fruits
+upon the table&mdash;fruits which had been packed in cotton wool and shipped in
+cold storage from every corner of the earth. There were peaches which had come
+from South Africa (they had cost ten dollars apiece). There were bunches of
+Hamburg grapes, dark purple and bursting fat, which had been grown in a
+hot-house, wrapped in paper bags. There were nectarines and plums, and
+pomegranates and persimmons from Japan, and later on, little dishes of plump
+strawberries-raised in pots. There were quail which had come from Egypt, and a
+wonderful thing called &ldquo;crab-flake à la Dewey,&rdquo; cooked in a
+chafing-dish, and served with mushrooms that had been grown in the tunnels of
+abandoned mines in Michigan. There was lettuce raised by electric light, and
+lima beans that had come from Porto Rico, and artichokes brought from France at
+a cost of one dollar each.&mdash;And all these extraordinary viands were washed
+down by eight or nine varieties of wines, from the cellar of a man who had made
+collecting them a fad for the last thirty years, who had a vineyard in France
+for the growing of his own champagne, and kept twenty thousand quarts of claret
+in storage all the time&mdash;and procured his Rhine wine from the cellar of
+the German Emperor, at a cost of twenty-five dollars a quart!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were twelve people at dinner, and afterward they made two tables for
+bridge, leaving Charlie Carter to talk to Alice, and Mrs. Winnie to devote
+herself to Montague, according to her promise. &ldquo;Everybody likes to see my
+house,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Would you?&rdquo; And she led the way from the
+dining-room into the great conservatory, which formed a central court extending
+to the roof of the building. She pressed a button, and a soft radiance streamed
+down from above, in the midst of which Mrs. Winnie stood, with her shimmering
+jewels a very goddess of the fire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The conservatory was a place in which he could have spent the evening; it was
+filled with the most extraordinary varieties of plants. &ldquo;They were
+gathered from all over the world,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, seeing that he was
+staring at them. &ldquo;My husband employed a connoisseur to hunt them out for
+him. He did it before we were married&mdash;he thought it would make me
+happy.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen feet in
+height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the touch of a button
+the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and one might see scores of rare
+and beautiful fish swimming about.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it fine!&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly,
+&ldquo;Do you know, I come here at night, sometimes when I can&rsquo;t sleep,
+and sit for hours and gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary
+forms&mdash;some of them have faces, and look like human beings! And I wonder
+what they think about, and if life seems as strange to them as it does to
+me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. &ldquo;These fish
+were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him Buzzie. Have you met
+him yet?&mdash;No, of course not. He&rsquo;s Charlie&rsquo;s brother, and he
+collects art things&mdash;the most unbelievable things. Once, a long time ago,
+he took a fad for goldfish&mdash;some goldfish are very rare and beautiful, you
+know&mdash;one can pay twenty-five and fifty dollars apiece for them. He got
+all the dealers had, and when he learned that there were some they
+couldn&rsquo;t get, he took a trip to Japan and China on purpose to get them.
+You know they raise them there, and some of them are sacred, and not allowed to
+be sold or taken out of the country. And he had all sorts of carved ivory
+receptacles for them, that he brought home with him&mdash;he had one beautiful
+marble basin about ten feet long, that had been stolen from the Emperor.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Over Montague&rsquo;s shoulder where he sat, there hung an orchid, a most
+curious creation, an explosion of scarlet flame. &ldquo;That is the
+<i>odonto-glossum</i>,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;Have you heard of
+it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Never,&rdquo; said the man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Dear me,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Such is fame!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is it supposed to be famous?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;There was a lot in the newspapers about
+it. You see Winton&mdash;that&rsquo;s my husband, you know&mdash;paid
+twenty-five thousand dollars to the man who created it; and that made a lot of
+foolish talk&mdash;people come from all over to look at it. I wanted to have
+it, because its shape is exactly like the coronet on my crest. Do you notice
+that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s curious.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud of my crest,&rdquo; continued Mrs. Winnie.
+&ldquo;Of course there are vulgar rich people who have them made to order, and
+make them ridiculous; but ours is a real one. It&rsquo;s my own&mdash;not my
+husband&rsquo;s; the Duvals are an old French family, but they&rsquo;re not
+noble. I was a Morris, you know, and our line runs back to the old French ducal
+house of Montmorenci. And last summer, when we were motoring, I hunted up one
+of their chateaux; and see! I brought over this.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie pointed to a suit of armour, placed in a passage leading to the
+billiard-room. &ldquo;I have had the lights fixed,&rdquo; she added. And she
+pressed a button, and all illumination vanished, save for a faint red glow just
+above the man in armour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t he look real?&rdquo; said she. (He had his visor down, and
+a battle-axe in his mailed hands.) &ldquo;I like to imagine that he may have
+been my twentieth great-grandfather. I come and sit here, and gaze at him and
+shiver. Think what a terrible time it must have been to live in&mdash;when men
+wore things like that! It couldn&rsquo;t be any worse to be a crab.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You seem to be fond of strange emotions,&rdquo; said Montague, laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Maybe I am,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I like everything that&rsquo;s
+old and romantic, and makes you forget this stupid society world.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She stood brooding for a moment or two, gazing at the figure. Then she asked,
+abruptly, &ldquo;Which do you like best, pictures or swimming?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; replied the man, laughing and perplexed, &ldquo;I like them
+both, at times.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I wondered which you&rsquo;d rather see first,&rdquo; explained his
+escort; &ldquo;the art gallery or the natatorium. I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;ll
+get tired before you&rsquo;ve seen every thing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Suppose we begin with the art-gallery,&rdquo; said he.
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not much to see in a swimming-pool.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ah, but ours is a very special one,&rdquo; said the
+lady.&mdash;&ldquo;And some day, if you&rsquo;ll be very good, and promise not
+to tell anyone, I&rsquo;ll let you see my own bath. Perhaps they&rsquo;ve told
+you, I have one in my own apartments, cut out of a block of the most wonderful
+green marble.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague showed the expected amount of astonishment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course that gave the dreadful newspapers another chance to
+gossip,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, plaintively. &ldquo;People found out what I
+had paid for it. One can&rsquo;t have anything beautiful without that question
+being asked.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then followed a silence, while Mrs. Winnie waited for him to ask it. As he
+forebore to do so, she added, &ldquo;It was fifty thousand dollars.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were moving towards the elevator, where a small boy in the wonderful
+livery of plush and scarlet stood at attention. &ldquo;Sometimes,&rdquo; she
+continued, &ldquo;it seems to me that it is wicked to pay such prices for
+things. Have you ever thought about it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Occasionally,&rdquo; Montague replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;it makes work for people; and I
+suppose they can&rsquo;t be better employed than in making beautiful things.
+But sometimes, when I think of all the poverty there is, I get unhappy. We have
+a winter place down South&mdash;one of those huge country-houses that look like
+exposition buildings, and have rooms for a hundred guests; and sometimes I go
+driving by myself, down to the mill towns, and go through them and talk to the
+children. I came to know some of them quite well&mdash;poor little
+wretches.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They stepped out of the elevator, and moved toward the art-gallery. &ldquo;It
+used to make me so unhappy,&rdquo; she went on. &ldquo;I tried to talk to my
+husband about it, but he wouldn&rsquo;t have it. &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t see why
+you can&rsquo;t be like other people,&rsquo; he said&mdash;he&rsquo;s always
+repeating that to me. And what could I say?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why not suggest that other people might be like you?&rdquo; said the
+man, laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t clever enough,&rdquo; said she,
+regretfully.&mdash;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very hard for a woman, you know&mdash;with
+no one to understand. Once I went down to a settlement, to see what that was
+like. Do you know anything about settlements?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing at all,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, they are people who go to live among the poor, and try to reform
+them. It takes a terrible lot of courage, I think. I give them money now and
+then, but I am never sure if it does any good. The trouble with poor people, it
+seems to me, is that there are so <i>many</i> of them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There are, indeed,&rdquo; said Montague, thinking of the vision he had
+seen from Oliver&rsquo;s racing-car.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie had seated herself upon a cushioned seat near the entrance to the
+darkened gallery. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t been there for some time,&rdquo; she
+continued. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve discovered something that I think appeals more to
+my temperament. I have rather a leaning toward the occult and the mystical,
+I&rsquo;m afraid. Did you ever hear of the Babists?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, that&rsquo;s a religious sect&mdash;from Persia, I think&mdash;and
+they are quite the rage. They are priests, you understand, and they give
+lectures, and teach you all about the immanence of the divine, and about
+reincarnation, and Karma, and all that. Do you believe any of those
+things?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say that I know about them,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is very beautiful and strange,&rdquo; added the other. &ldquo;It
+makes you realize what a perplexing thing life is. They teach you how the
+universe is all one, and the soul is the only reality, and so bodily things
+don&rsquo;t matter. If I were a Babist, I believe that I could be happy, even
+if I had to work in a cotton-mill.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Mrs. Winnie rose up suddenly. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d rather look at the
+pictures, I know,&rdquo; she said; and she pressed a button, and a soft
+radiance flooded the great vaulted gallery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;This is our chief pride in life,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;My
+husband&rsquo;s object has been to get one representative work of each of the
+great painters of the world. We got their masterpiece whenever we could. Over
+there in the corner are the old masters&mdash;don&rsquo;t you love to look at
+them?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague would have liked to look at them very much; but he felt that he would
+rather it were some time when he did not have Mrs. Winnie by his side. Mrs.
+Winnie must have had to show the gallery quite frequently; and now her mind was
+still upon the Persian transcendentalists.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That picture of the saint is a Botticelli,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And
+do you know, the orange-coloured robe always makes me think of the swami. That
+is my teacher, you know&mdash;Swami Babubanana. And he has the most beautiful
+delicate hands, and great big brown eyes, so soft and gentle&mdash;for all the
+world like those of the gazelles in our place down South!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Thus Mrs. Winnie, as she roamed from picture to picture, while the souls of the
+grave old masters looked down upon her in silence.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<p>
+Montague had now been officially pronounced complete by his tailor; and Réval
+had sent home the first of Alice&rsquo;s street gowns, elaborately plain, but
+fitting her conspicuously, and costing accordingly. So the next morning they
+were ready to be taken to call upon Mrs. Devon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of course Montague had heard of the Devons, but he was not sufficiently
+initiated to comprehend just what it meant to be asked to call. But when Oliver
+came in, a little before noon, and proceeded to examine his costume and to put
+him to rights, and insisted that Alice should have her hair done over, he began
+to realize that this was a special occasion. Oliver was in quite a state of
+excitement; and after they had left the hotel, and were driving up the Avenue,
+he explained to them that their future in Society depended upon the outcome of
+this visit. Calling upon Mrs. Devon, it seemed, was the American equivalent to
+being presented at court. For twenty-five years this grand lady had been the
+undisputed mistress of the Society of the metropolis; and if she liked them,
+they would be invited to her annual ball, which took place in January, and then
+for ever after their position would be assured. Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s ball was the
+one great event of the social year; about one thousand people were asked, while
+ten thousand disappointed ones gnashed their teeth in outer darkness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All of which threw Alice into a state of trepidation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Suppose we don&rsquo;t suit her!&rdquo; she said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To that the other replied that their way had been made smooth by Reggie Mann,
+who was one of Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s favourites.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A century and more ago the founder of the Devon line had come to America, and
+invested his savings in land on Manhattan Island. Other people had toiled and
+built a city there, and generation after generation of the Devons had sat by
+and collected the rents, until now their fortune amounted to four or five
+hundred millions of dollars. They were the richest old family in America, and
+the most famous; and in Mrs. Devon, the oldest member of the line, was centred
+all its social majesty and dominion. She lived a stately and formal life,
+precisely like a queen; no one ever saw her save upon her raised chair of
+state, and she wore her jewels even at breakfast. She was the arbiter of social
+destinies, and the breakwater against which the floods of new wealth beat in
+vain. Reggie Mann told wonderful tales about the contents of her enormous
+mail&mdash;about wives and daughters of mighty rich men who flung themselves at
+her feet and pleaded abjectly for her favour&mdash;who laid siege to her house
+for months, and intrigued and pulled wires to get near her, and even bought the
+favour of her servants! If Reggie might be believed, great financial wars had
+been fought, and the stock-markets of the world convulsed more than once,
+because of these social struggles; and women of wealth and beauty had offered
+to sell themselves for the privilege which was so freely granted to them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They came to the old family mansion and rang the bell, and the solemn butler
+ushered them past the grand staircase and into the front reception-room to
+wait. Perhaps five minutes later he came in and rolled back the doors, and they
+stood up, and beheld a withered old lady, nearly eighty years of age, bedecked
+with diamonds and seated upon a sort of throne. They approached, and Oliver
+introduced them, and the old lady held out a lifeless hand; and then they sat
+down.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Devon asked them a few questions as to how much of New York they had seen,
+and how they liked it, and whom they had met; but most of the time she simply
+looked them over, and left the making of conversation to Oliver. As for
+Montague, he sat, feeling perplexed and uncomfortable, and wondering, deep down
+in him, whether it could really be America in which this was happening.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You see,&rdquo; Oliver explained to them, when they were seated in their
+carriage again, &ldquo;her mind is failing, and it&rsquo;s really quite
+difficult for her to receive.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad I don&rsquo;t have to call on her more than once,&rdquo;
+was Alice&rsquo;s comment. &ldquo;When do we know the verdict?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;When you get a card marked &lsquo;Mrs. Devon at home,&rsquo;&rdquo; said
+Oliver. And he went on to tell them about the war which had shaken Society long
+ago, when the mighty dame had asserted her right to be &ldquo;Mrs.
+Devon,&rdquo; and the only &ldquo;Mrs. Devon.&rdquo; He told them also about
+her wonderful dinner-set of china, which had cost thirty thousand dollars, and
+was as fragile as a humming-bird&rsquo;s wing. Each piece bore her crest, and
+she had a china expert to attend to washing and packing it&mdash;no common hand
+was ever allowed to touch it. He told them, also, how Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s
+housekeeper had wrestled for so long, trying to teach the maids to arrange the
+furniture in the great reception-rooms precisely as the mistress ordered; until
+finally a complete set of photographs had been taken, so that the maids might
+do their work by chart.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Alice went back to the hotel, for Mrs. Robbie Walling was to call and take her
+home to lunch; and Montague and his brother strolled round to Reggie
+Mann&rsquo;s apartments, to report upon their visit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Reggie received them in a pair of pink silk pyjamas, decorated with ribbons and
+bows, and with silk-embroidered slippers, set with pearls&mdash;a present from
+a feminine adorer. Montague noticed, to his dismay, that the little man wore a
+gold bracelet upon one arm! He explained that he had led a cotillion the night
+before&mdash;or rather this morning; he had got home at five o&rsquo;clock. He
+looked quite white and tired, and there were the remains of a breakfast of
+brandy-and-soda on the table.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did you see the old girl?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;And how does she hold
+up?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I had the devil&rsquo;s own time getting you in,&rdquo; said the other.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting harder every day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll excuse me,&rdquo; Reggie added, &ldquo;if I get ready. I
+have an engagement.&rdquo; And he turned to his dressing-table, which was
+covered with an array of cosmetics and perfumes, and proceeded, in a
+matter-of-fact way, to paint his face. Meanwhile his valet was flitting
+silently here and there, getting ready his afternoon costume; and Montague, in
+spite of himself, followed the man with his eyes. A haberdasher&rsquo;s shop
+might have been kept going for quite a while upon the contents of
+Reggie&rsquo;s dressers. His clothing was kept in a room adjoining the
+dressing-room; Montague, who was near the door, could see the rosewood
+wardrobes, each devoted to a separate article of clothing-shirts, for instance,
+laid upon sliding racks, tier upon tier of them, of every material and colour.
+There was a closet fitted with shelves and equipped like a little shoe
+store&mdash;high shoes and low shoes, black ones, brown ones, and white ones,
+and each fitted over a last to keep its shape perfect. These shoes were all
+made to order according to Reggie&rsquo;s designs, and three or four times a
+year there was a cleaning out, and those which had gone out of fashion became
+the prey of his &ldquo;man.&rdquo; There was a safe in one closet, in which
+Reggie&rsquo;s jewellery was kept.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dressing-room was furnished like a lady&rsquo;s boudoir, the furniture
+upholstered with exquisite embroidered silk, and the bed hung with curtains of
+the same material. There was a huge bunch of roses on the centre-table, and the
+odour of roses hung heavy in the room.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valet stood at attention with a rack of neckties, from which Reggie
+critically selected one to match his shirt. &ldquo;Are you going to take Alice
+with you down to the Havens&rsquo;s?&rdquo; he was asking; and he added,
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll meet Vivie Patton down there&mdash;she&rsquo;s had another
+row at home.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t say so!&rdquo; exclaimed Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Frank waited up all night for her,
+and he wept and tore his hair and vowed he would kill the Count. Vivie told him
+to go to hell.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good God!&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Who told you that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The faithful Alphonse,&rdquo; said Reggie, nodding toward his valet.
+&ldquo;Her maid told him. And Frank vows he&rsquo;ll sue&mdash;I half expected
+to see it in the papers this morning.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I met Vivie on the street yesterday,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;She
+looked as chipper as ever.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Reggie shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;Have you seen this week&rsquo;s
+paper?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got another of Ysabel&rsquo;s
+suppressed poems in.&rdquo;&mdash;And then he turned toward Montague to explain
+that &ldquo;Ysabel&rdquo; was the pseudonym of a young débutante who had fallen
+under the spell of Baudelaire and Wilde, and had published a volume of poems of
+such furious eroticism that her parents were buying up stray copies at fabulous
+prices.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then the conversation turned to the Horse Show, and for quite a while they
+talked about who was going to wear what. Finally Oliver rose, saying that they
+would have to get a bite to eat before leaving for the Havens&rsquo;s.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll have a good time,&rdquo; said Reggie. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d have
+gone myself, only I promised to stay and help Mrs. de Graffenried design a
+dinner. So long!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Montague had heard nothing about the visit to the Havens&rsquo;s; but now, as
+they strolled down the Avenue, Oliver explained that they were to spend the
+weekend at Castle Havens. There was quite a party going up this Friday
+afternoon, and they would find one of the Havens&rsquo;s private cars waiting.
+They had nothing to do meantime, for their valets would attend to their
+packing, and Alice and her maid would meet them at the depot.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Castle Havens is one of the show places of the country,&rdquo; Oliver
+added. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see the real thing this time.&rdquo; And while they
+lunched, he went on to entertain his brother with particulars concerning the
+place and its owners. John had inherited the bulk of the enormous Havens
+fortune, and he posed as his father&rsquo;s successor in the Steel Trust. Some
+day some one of the big men would gobble him up; meantime he amused himself
+fussing over the petty details of administration. Mrs. Havens had taken a fancy
+to a rural life, and they had built this huge palace in the hills of
+Connecticut, and she wrote verses in which she pictured herself as a simple
+shepherdess&mdash;and all that sort of stuff. But no one minded that, because
+the place was grand, and there was always so much to do. They had forty or
+fifty polo ponies, for instance, and every spring the place was filled with
+polo men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the depot they caught sight of Charlie Carter, in his big red touring-car.
+&ldquo;Are you going to the Havens&rsquo;s?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Tell them
+we&rsquo;re going to pick up Chauncey on the way.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s Chauncey Venable, the Major&rsquo;s nephew,&rdquo; said
+Oliver, as they strolled to the train. &ldquo;Poor Chauncey&mdash;he&rsquo;s in
+exile!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, he daren&rsquo;t come into New York,&rdquo; said the other.
+&ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you read about it in the papers? He lost one or two
+hundred thousand the other night in a gambling place, and the district
+attorney&rsquo;s trying to catch him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Does he want to put him in jail?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Heavens, no!&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Put a Venable in jail? He wants
+him for a witness against the gambler; and poor Chauncey is flitting about the
+country hiding with his friends, and wailing because he&rsquo;ll miss the Horse
+Show.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They boarded the palatial private car, and were introduced to a number of other
+guests. Among them was Major Venable; and while Oliver buried himself in the
+new issue of the fantastic-covered society journal, which contained the poem of
+the erotic &ldquo;Ysabel,&rdquo; his brother chatted with the Major. The latter
+had taken quite a fancy to the big handsome stranger, to whom everything in the
+city was so new and interesting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Tell me what you thought of the Snow Palace,&rdquo; said he.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve an idea that Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s got quite a crush on you.
+You&rsquo;ll find her dangerous, my boy&mdash;she&rsquo;ll make you pay for
+your dinners before you get through!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the train was under way, the Major got himself surrounded with some
+apollinaris and Scotch, and then settled back to enjoy himself. &ldquo;Did you
+see the &lsquo;drunken kid&rsquo; at the ferry?&rdquo; he asked.
+&ldquo;(That&rsquo;s what our abstemious district attorney terms my precious
+young heir-apparent.) You&rsquo;ll meet him at the Castle&mdash;the Havens are
+good to him. They know how it feels, I guess; when John was a youngster his
+piratical uncle had to camp in Jersey for six months or so, to escape the
+strong arm of the law.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know about it?&rdquo; continued the Major, sipping at
+his beverage. &ldquo;<i>Sic transit gloria mundi!</i> That was when the great
+Captain Kidd Havens was piling up the millions which his survivors are spending
+with such charming <i>insouciance</i>. He was plundering a railroad, and the
+original progenitor of the Wallings tried to buy the control away from him, and
+Havens issued ten or twenty millions of new stock overnight, in the face of a
+court injunction, and got away with most of his money. It reads like opera
+bouffe, you know&mdash;they had a regular armed camp across the river for about
+six months&mdash;until Captain Kidd went up to Albany with half a million
+dollars&rsquo; worth of greenbacks in a satchel, and induced the legislature to
+legalize the proceedings. That was just after the war, you know, but I remember
+it as if it were yesterday. It seems strange to think that anyone
+shouldn&rsquo;t know about it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know about Havens in a general way,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;But I know in a particular way,
+because I&rsquo;ve carried some of that railroad&rsquo;s paper all these years,
+and it&rsquo;s never paid any dividends since. It has a tendency to interfere
+with my appreciation of John&rsquo;s lavish hospitality.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was reminded of the story of the Roman emperor who pointed out that
+money had no smell.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Maybe not,&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;But all the same, if you were
+superstitious, you might make out an argument from the Havens fortune. Take
+that poor girl who married the Count.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the Major went on to picture the dénouement of that famous international
+alliance, which, many years ago, had been the sensation of two continents. All
+Society had attended the gorgeous wedding, an archbishop had performed the
+ceremony, and the newspapers had devoted pages to describing the gowns and the
+jewels and the presents and all the rest of the magnificence. And the Count was
+a wretched little degenerate, who beat and kicked his wife, and flaunted his
+mistresses in her face, and wasted fourteen million dollars of her money in a
+couple of years. The mind could scarcely follow the orgies of this half-insane
+creature&mdash;he had spent two hundred thousand dollars on a banquet, and half
+as much again for a tortoise-shell wardrobe in which Louis the Sixteenth had
+kept his clothes! He had charged a diamond necklace to his wife, and taken two
+of the four rows of diamonds out of it before he presented it to her! He had
+paid a hundred thousand dollars a year to a jockey whom the Parisian populace
+admired, and a fortune for a palace in Verona, which he had promptly torn down,
+for the sake of a few painted ceilings. The Major told about one outdoor fête,
+which he had given upon a sudden whim: ten thousand Venetian lanterns, ten
+thousand metres of carpet; three thousand gilded chairs, and two or three
+hundred waiters in fancy costumes; two palaces built in a lake, with sea-horses
+and dolphins, and half a dozen orchestras, and several hundred
+chorus&mdash;girls from the Grand Opera! And in between adventures such as
+these, he bought a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, and made speeches and
+fought duels in defence of the Holy Catholic Church&mdash;and wrote articles
+for the yellow journals of America. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s the fate of my lost
+dividends!&rdquo; growled the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were several automobiles to meet the party at the depot, and they were
+whirled through a broad avenue up a valley, and past a little lake, and so to
+the gates of Castle Havens.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a tremendous building, a couple of hundred feet long. One entered into a
+main hall, perhaps fifty feet wide, with a great fireplace and staircase of
+marble and bronze, and furniture of gilded wood and crimson velvet, and a huge
+painting, covering three of the walls, representing the Conquest of Peru. Each
+of the rooms was furnished in the style of a different period&mdash;one Louis
+Quatorze, one Louis Quinze, one Marie Antoinette, and so on. There was a
+drawing-room and a regal music-room; a dining-room in the Georgian style, and a
+billiard-room, also in the English fashion, with high wainscoting and open
+beams in the ceiling; and a library, and a morning-room and conservatory.
+Upstairs in the main suite of rooms was a royal bedstead, which alone was
+rumoured to have cost twenty-five thousand dollars; and you might have some
+idea of the magnificence of things when you learned that underneath the gilding
+of the furniture was the rare and precious Circassian walnut.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this was beautiful. But what brought the guests to Castle Havens was the
+casino, so the Major had remarked. It was really a private athletic
+club&mdash;with tan-bark hippodrome, having a ring the size of that in Madison
+Square Garden, and a skylight roof, and thirty or forty arc-lights for night
+events. There were bowling-alleys, billiard and lounging-rooms, hand-ball,
+tennis and racket-courts, a completely equipped gymnasium, a shooting-gallery,
+and a swimming-pool with Turkish and Russian baths. In this casino alone there
+were rooms for forty guests.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such was Castle Havens; it had cost three or four millions of dollars, and
+within the twelve-foot wall which surrounded its grounds lived two world-weary
+people who dreaded nothing so much as to be alone. There were always guests,
+and on special occasions there might be three or four score. They went whirling
+about the country in their autos; they rode and drove; they played games,
+outdoor and indoor, or gambled, or lounged and chatted, or wandered about at
+their own sweet will. Coming to one of these places was not different from
+staying at a great hotel, save that the company was selected, and instead of
+paying a bill, you gave twenty or thirty dollars to the servants when you left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a great palace of pleasure, in which beautiful and graceful men and
+women played together in all sorts of beautiful and graceful ways. In the
+evenings great logs blazed in the fireplace in the hall, and there might be an
+informal dance&mdash;there was always music at hand. Now and then there would
+be a stately ball, with rich gowns and flashing jewels, and the grounds ablaze
+with lights, and a full orchestra, and special trains from the city. Or a whole
+theatrical company would be brought down to give an entertainment in the
+theatre; or a minstrel show, or a troupe of acrobats, or a menagerie of trained
+animals. Or perhaps there would be a great pianist, or a palmist, or a trance
+medium. Anyone at all would be welcome who could bring a new thrill&mdash;it
+mattered nothing at all, though the price might be several hundred dollars a
+minute.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague shook hands with his host and hostess, and with a number of others;
+among them Billy Price who forthwith challenged him, and carried him off to the
+shooting-gallery. Here he took a rifle, and proceeded to satisfy her as to his
+skill. This brought him to the notice of Siegfried Harvey, who was a famous
+cross-country rider and &ldquo;polo-man.&rdquo; Harvey&rsquo;s father owned a
+score of copper-mines, and had named him after a race-horse; he was a big
+broad-shouldered fellow, a favourite of every one; and next morning, when he
+found that Montague sat a horse like one who was born to it, he invited him to
+come out to his place on Long Island, and see some of the fox-hunting.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, after he had dressed for dinner, Montague came downstairs, and found
+Betty Wyman, shining like Aurora in an orange-coloured cloud. She introduced
+him to Mrs. Vivie Patton, who was tall and slender and fascinating, and had
+told her husband to go to hell. Mrs. Vivie had black eyes that snapped and
+sparkled, and she was a geyser of animation in a perpetual condition of
+eruption. Montague wondered if she would have talked with him so gaily had she
+known what he knew about her domestic entanglements.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The company moved into the dining-room, where there was served another of those
+elaborate and enormously expensive meals which he concluded he was fated to eat
+for the rest of his life. Only, instead of Mrs. Billy Alden with her Scotch,
+there was Mrs. Vivie, who drank champagne in terrifying quantities; and
+afterward there was the inevitable grouping of the bridge fiends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Among the guests there was a long-haired and wild-looking foreign personage,
+who was the &ldquo;lion&rdquo; of the evening, and sat with half a dozen
+admiring women about him. Now he was escorted to the music-room, and revealed
+the fact that he was a violin virtuoso. He played what was called &ldquo;salon
+music&rdquo;&mdash;music written especially for ladies and gentlemen to listen
+to after dinner; and also a strange contrivance called a <i>concerto</i>, put
+together to enable the player to exhibit within a brief space the utmost
+possible variety of finger gymnastics. To learn to perform these feats one had
+to devote his whole lifetime to practising them, just like any circus acrobat;
+and so his mind became atrophied, and a naïve and elemental vanity was all that
+was left to him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the company, who
+chattered and laughed all through the performance. Afterward, he strolled into
+the billiard-room, where Billy Price and Chauncey Venable were having an
+exciting bout; and from there to the smoking-room, where the stout little Major
+had gotten a group of young bloods about him to play &ldquo;Klondike.&rdquo;
+This was a game of deadly hazards, which they played without limit; the players
+themselves were silent and impassive, but the spectators who gathered about
+were tense with excitement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty in his
+auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens&rsquo;s jumping
+horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday, and there was an
+atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this prospect; Mrs. Caroline
+Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled about with him and told him all about
+this Show, and the people who would take part in it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed him the
+grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended in laying them out;
+but after all, the figures were nothing compared with an actual view. There
+were hills and slopes, and endless vistas of green lawns and gardens, dotted
+with the gleaming white of marble staircases and fountains and statuary. There
+was a great Italian walk, leading by successive esplanades to an electric
+fountain with a basin sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble
+horses. There were sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of
+France, and Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and other
+treasures of art.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a perfectly
+equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy; a polo-field, and an
+enclosed riding-ring for the children; and dog-kennels and pigeon-houses,
+greenhouses and deer-parks&mdash;one was prepared for bear-pits and a
+menagerie. Finally, on their way back, they passed the casino, where musical
+chimes pealed out the quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower
+from which the sounds had come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The more he gazed, the more he found to gaze at. The roof of this building had
+many gables, in the Queen Anne style; and from the midst of them shot up the
+tower, which was octagonal and solid, suggestive of the Normans. It was
+decorated with Christmas-wreaths in white stucco, and a few miscellaneous
+ornaments like the gilded tassels one sees upon plush curtains. Overtopping all
+of this was the dome of a Turkish mosque. Rising out of the dome was something
+that looked like a dove-cot; and out of this rose the slender white steeple of
+a Methodist country church. On top of that was a statue of Diana.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What are you looking at?&rdquo; asked the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; said Montague, as he moved on. &ldquo;Has there ever
+been any insanity in the Havens family?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied the other, puzzled. &ldquo;They say
+the old man never could sleep at night, and used to wander about alone in the
+park. I suppose he had things on his conscience.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They strolled away; and the Major&rsquo;s flood-gates of gossip were opened.
+There was an old merchant in New York, who had been Havens&rsquo;s private
+secretary. And Havens was always in terror of assassination, and so whenever
+they travelled abroad he and the secretary exchanged places. &ldquo;The old man
+is big and imposing,&rdquo; said the Major, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s funny to hear
+him tell how he used to receive the visitors and be stared at by the crowds,
+while Havens, who was little and insignificant, would pretend to make himself
+useful. And then one day a wild-looking creature came into the Havens office,
+and began tearing the wrappings off some package that shone like
+metal&mdash;and quick as a flash he and Havens flung themselves down on the
+floor upon their faces. Then, as nothing happened, they looked up, and saw the
+puzzled stranger gazing over the railing at them. He had a patent churn, made
+of copper, which he wanted Havens to market for him!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Montague could have wished that this party might last for a week or two,
+instead of only two days. He was interested in the life, and in those who lived
+it; all whom he met were people prominent in the social world, and some in the
+business world as well, and one could not have asked a better chance to study
+them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was taking his time and feeling his way slowly. But all the time that
+he was playing and gossiping he never lost from mind his real purpose, which
+was to find a place for himself in the world of affairs; and he watched for
+people from whose conversation he could get a view of this aspect of things. So
+he was interested when Mrs. Smythe remarked that among his fellow-guests was
+Vandam, an official of one of the great life-insurance companies.
+&ldquo;Freddie&rdquo; Vandam, as the lady called him, was a man of might in the
+financial world; and Montague said to himself that in meeting him he would
+really be accomplishing something. Crack shots and polo-players and
+four-in-hand experts were all very well, but he had his living to earn, and he
+feared that the problem was going to prove complicated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So he was glad when chance brought him and young Vandam together, and Siegfried
+Harvey introduced them. And then Montague got the biggest shock which New York
+had given him yet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was not what Freddie Vandam said; doubtless he had a right to be interested
+in the Horse Show, since he was to exhibit many fine horses, and he had no
+reason to feel called upon to talk about anything more serious to a stranger at
+a house party. But it was the manner of the man, his whole personality. For
+Freddie was a man of fashion, with all the exaggerated and farcical mannerisms
+of the dandy of the comic papers. He wore a conspicuous and foppish costume,
+and posed with a little cane; he cultivated a waving pompadour, and his silky
+moustache and beard were carefully trimmed to points, and kept sharp by his
+active fingers. His conversation was full of French phrases and French
+opinions; he had been reared abroad, and had a whole-souled contempt for all
+things American&mdash;even dictating his business letters in French, and
+leaving it for his stenographer to translate them. His shirts were embroidered
+with violets and perfumed with violets&mdash;and there were bunches of violets
+at his horses&rsquo; heads, so that he might get the odour as he drove!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a cruel saying about Freddie Vandam&mdash;that if only he had had a
+little more brains, he would have been half-witted. And Montague sat, and
+watched his mannerisms and listened to his inanities, with his mind in a state
+of bewilderment and dismay. When at last he got up and walked away, it was with
+a new sense of the complicated nature of the problem that confronted him. Who
+was there that could give him the key to this mystery&mdash;who could interpret
+to him a world in which a man such as this was in control of four or five
+hundred millions of trust funds?
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+It was quite futile to attempt to induce anyone to talk about serious matters
+just now&mdash;for the coming week all Society belonged to the horse. The
+parties which went to church on Sunday morning talked about horses on the way,
+and the crowds that gathered in front of the church door to watch them descend
+from their automobiles, and to get &ldquo;points&rdquo; on their conspicuous
+costumes&mdash;these would read about horses all afternoon in the Sunday
+papers, and about the gowns which the women would wear at the show.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some of the party went up on Sunday evening; Montague went with the rest on
+Monday morning, and had lunch with Mrs. Robbie Walling and Oliver and Alice.
+They had arrayed him in a frock coat and silk hat and fancy
+&ldquo;spats&rdquo;; and they took him and sat him in the front row of
+Robbie&rsquo;s box.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a great tan-bark arena, in which the horses performed; and then a
+railing, and a broad promenade for the spectators; and then, raised a few feet
+above, the boxes in which sat all Society. For the Horse Show had now become a
+great social function. Last year a visiting foreign prince had seen fit to
+attend it, and this year &ldquo;everybody&rdquo; would come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was rapidly getting used to things; he observed with a smile how easy
+it was to take for granted embroidered bed and table linen, and mural
+paintings, and private cars, and gold plate. At first it had seemed to him
+strange to be waited upon by a white woman, and by a white man quite
+unthinkable; but he was becoming accustomed to having silent and expressionless
+lackeys everywhere about him, attending to his slightest want. So he presumed
+that if he waited long enough, he might even get used to horses which had their
+tails cut off to stumps, and their manes to rows of bristles, and which had
+been taught to lift their feet in strange and eccentric ways, and were driven
+with burred bits in their mouths to torture them and make them step lively.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were road-horses, coach-horses, saddle-horses and hunters, polo-ponies,
+stud-horses&mdash;every kind of horse that is used for pleasure, over a hundred
+different &ldquo;classes&rdquo; of them. They were put through their paces
+about the ring, and there was a committee which judged them, and awarded blue
+and red ribbons. Apparently their highly artificial kind of excellence was a
+real thing to the people who took part in the show; for the spectators thrilled
+with excitement, and applauded the popular victors. There was a whole set of
+conventions which were generally understood&mdash;there was even a new
+language. You were told that these &ldquo;turnouts&rdquo; were
+&ldquo;nobby&rdquo; and &ldquo;natty&rdquo;; they were &ldquo;swagger&rdquo;
+and &ldquo;smart&rdquo; and &ldquo;swell.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+However, the horse was really a small part of this show; before one had sat out
+an afternoon he realized that the function was in reality a show of Society.
+For six or seven hours during the day the broad promenade would be so packed
+with human beings that one moved about with difficulty; and this throng gazed
+towards the ring almost never&mdash;it stared up into the boxes. All the year
+round the discontented millions of the middle classes read of the doings of the
+&ldquo;smart set&rdquo;; and here they had a chance to come and see
+them&mdash;alive, and real, and dressed in their showiest costumes. Here was
+all the <i>grand monde</i>, in numbered boxes, and with their names upon the
+programmes, so that one could get them straight. Ten thousand people from other
+cities had come to New York on purpose to get a look. Women who lived in
+boarding-houses and made their own clothes, had come to get hints; all the
+dressmakers in town were present for the same purpose.. Society reporters had
+come, with notebooks in hand; and next morning the imitators of Society all
+over the United States would read about it, in such fashion as this:
+&ldquo;Mrs. Chauncey Venable was becomingly gowned in mauve cloth, made with an
+Eton jacket trimmed with silk braid, and opening over a chemisette of lace. Her
+hat was of the same colour, draped with a great quantity of mauve and orange
+tulle, and surmounted with birds of paradise to match. Her furs were silver
+fox.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most intelligent of the great metropolitan dailies would print columns of
+this sort of material; and as for the &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; journals, they would
+have discussions of the costumes by &ldquo;experts,&rdquo; and half a page of
+pictures of the most conspicuous of the box-holders. While Montague sat talking
+with Mrs. Walling, half a dozen cameras were snapped at them; and once a young
+man with a sketch-book placed himself in front of them and went placidly to
+work.&mdash;Concerning such things the society dame had three different sets of
+emotions: first, the one which she showed in public, that of bored and
+contemptuous indifference; second, the one which she expressed to her friends,
+that of outraged but helpless indignation; and third, the one which she really
+felt, that of triumphant exultation over her rivals, whose pictures were not
+published and whose costumes were not described.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a great dress parade of society women. One who wished to play a proper
+part in it would spend at least ten thousand dollars upon her costumes for the
+week. It was necessary to have a different gown for the afternoon and evening
+of each day; and some, who were adepts at quick changes and were proud of it,
+would wear three or four a day, and so need a couple of dozen gowns for the
+show. And of course there had to be hats and shoes and gloves to match. There
+would be robes of priceless fur hung carelessly over the balcony to make a
+setting; and in the evening there would be pyrotechnical displays of jewels.
+Mrs. Virginia Landis wore a pair of simple pearl earrings, which she told the
+reporters had cost twenty thousand dollars; and there were two women who
+displayed four hundred thousand dollars&rsquo; worth of diamonds&mdash;and each
+of them had hired a detective to hover about in the crowd and keep watch over
+her!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor must one suppose, because the horse was an inconspicuous part of the show,
+that he was therefore an inexpensive part. One man was to be seen here driving
+a four-in-hand of black stallions which had cost forty thousand; there were
+other men who drove only one horse, and had paid forty thousand for that. Half
+a million was a moderate estimate of the cost of the &ldquo;string&rdquo; which
+some would exhibit. And of course these horses were useless, save for show
+purposes, and to breed other horses like them. Many of them never went out of
+their stables except for exercise upon a track; and the cumbrous and enormously
+expensive coaches were never by any possibility used elsewhere&mdash;when they
+were taken from place to place they seldom went upon their own wheels.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And there were people here who made their chief occupation in life the winning
+of blue ribbons at these shows. They kept great country estates especially for
+the horses, and had private indoor exhibition rings. Robbie Walling and
+Chauncey Venable were both such people; in the summer of next year another of
+the Wallings took a string across the water to teach the horse-show game to
+Society in London. He took twenty or thirty horses, under the charge of an
+expert manager and a dozen assistants; he sent sixteen different kinds of
+carriages, and two great coaches, and a ton of harness and other stuff. It
+required one whole deck of a steamer, and the expedition enabled him to get rid
+of six hundred thousand dollars.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All through the day, of course, Robbie was down in the ring with his trainers
+and his competitors, and Montague sat and kept his wife company. There was a
+steady stream of visitors, who came to congratulate her upon their successes,
+and to commiserate with Mrs. Chauncey Venable over the sufferings of the
+unhappy victim of a notoriety-seeking district attorney.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was just one drawback to the Horse Show, as Montague gathered from the
+conversation that went on among the callers: it was public, and there was no
+way to prevent undesirable people from taking part. There were, it appeared,
+hordes of rich people in New York who were not in Society, and of whose
+existence Society was haughtily unaware; but these people might enter horses
+and win prizes, and even rent a box and exhibit their clothes. And they might
+induce the reporters to mention them&mdash;and of course the ignorant populace
+did not know the difference, and stared at them just as hard as at Mrs. Robbie
+or Mrs. Winnie. And so for a whole blissful week these people had all the
+sensations of being in Society! &ldquo;It won&rsquo;t be very long before that
+will kill the Horse Show,&rdquo; said Mrs. Vivie Patton, with a snap of her
+black eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was Miss Yvette Simpkins, for instance; Society frothed at the mouth when
+her name was mentioned. Miss Yvette was the niece of a stock-broker who was
+wealthy, and she thought that she was in Society, and the foolish public
+thought so, too. Miss Yvette made a speciality of newspaper publicity; you were
+always seeing her picture, with some new &ldquo;Worth creation,&rdquo; and the
+picture would be labelled &ldquo;Miss Yvette Simpkins, the best-dressed woman
+in New York,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Miss Yvette Simpkins, who is known as the best
+woman whip in Society.&rdquo; It was said that Miss Yvette, who was short and
+stout, and had a rosy German face, had paid five thousand dollars at one clip
+for photographs of herself in a new wardrobe; and her pictures were sent to the
+newspapers in bundles of a dozen at a time. Miss Yvette possessed over a
+million dollars&rsquo; worth of diamonds&mdash;the finest in the country,
+according to the newspapers; she had spent a hundred and twenty-six thousand
+dollars this year upon her clothes, and she gave long interviews, in which she
+set forth the fact that a woman nowadays could not really be well dressed upon
+less than a hundred thousand a year. It was Miss Yvette&rsquo;s boast that she
+had never ridden in a street-car in her life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague always had a soft spot in his heart for the unfortunate Miss Yvette,
+who laboured so hard to be a guiding light; for it chanced to be while she was
+in the ring, exhibiting her skill in driving tandem, that he met with a fateful
+encounter. Afterward, when he came to look back upon these early days, it
+seemed strange to him that he should have gone about this place, so careless
+and unsuspecting, while the fates were weaving strange destinies about him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was on Tuesday afternoon, and he sat in the box of Mrs. Venable, a
+sister-in-law of the Major. The Major, who was a care-free bachelor, was there
+himself, and also Betty Wyman, who was making sprightly comments on the
+passers-by; and there strolled into the box Chappie de Peyster, accompanied by
+a young lady.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So many people had stopped and been introduced and then passed on, that
+Montague merely glanced at her once. He noticed that she was tall and graceful,
+and caught her name, Miss Hegan.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The turnouts in the ring consisted of one horse harnessed in front of another;
+and Montague was wondering what conceivable motive could induce a human being
+to hitch and drive horses in that fashion. The conversation turned upon Miss
+Yvette, who was in the ring; and Betty remarked upon the airy grace with which
+she wielded the long whip she carried. &ldquo;Did you see what the paper said
+about her this morning?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;&lsquo;Miss Simpkins was
+exquisitely clad in purple velvet,&rsquo; and so on! She looked for all the
+world like the Venus at the Hippodrome!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why isn&rsquo;t she in Society?&rdquo; asked Montague, curiously.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She!&rdquo; exclaimed Betty. &ldquo;Why, she&rsquo;s a travesty!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a moment&rsquo;s pause, preceding a remark by their young lady
+visitor. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve an idea,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;that the real
+reason she never got into Society was that she was fond of her old
+father.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague gave a short glance at the speaker, who was gazing fixedly into
+the ring. He heard the Major chuckle, and he thought that he heard Betty Wyman
+give a little sniff. A few moments later the young lady arose, and with some
+remark to Mrs. Venable about how well her costume became her, she passed on out
+of the box.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who is that?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That,&rdquo; the Major answered, &ldquo;that&rsquo;s Laura
+Hegan&mdash;Jim Hegan&rsquo;s daughter.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; said Montague, and caught his breath. Jim
+Hegan&mdash;Napoleon of finance&mdash;czar of a gigantic system of railroads,
+and the power behind the political thrones of many states.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;His only daughter, too,&rdquo; the Major added. &ldquo;Gad, what a juicy
+morsel for somebody!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, she&rsquo;ll make him pay for all he gets, whoever he is!&rdquo;
+retorted Betty, vindictively.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t like her?&rdquo; inquired Montague; and Betty replied
+promptly, &ldquo;I do not!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Her daddy and Betty&rsquo;s granddaddy are always at swords&rsquo;
+points,&rdquo; put in Major Venable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have nothing to do with my granddaddy&rsquo;s quarrels,&rdquo; said
+the young lady. &ldquo;I have troubles enough of my own.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter with Miss Hegan?&rdquo; asked Montague, laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She&rsquo;s an idea she&rsquo;s too good for the world she lives
+in,&rdquo; said Betty. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re with her, you feel as you will
+before the judgment throne.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling,&rdquo; put in the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it,&rdquo;
+went on the girl. &ldquo;All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my
+life is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to say what
+they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them or not.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mostly not,&rdquo; said the Major, grimly; and added, &ldquo;Anyway,
+she&rsquo;s beautiful.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer
+something more comfortable.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?&rdquo; asked
+Mrs. Venable. &ldquo;Is he a candidate?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Maybe his debts are troubling him again,&rdquo; said Mistress Betty.
+&ldquo;He must be in a desperate plight.&mdash;Did you hear how Jack Audubon
+proposed to her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did Jack propose?&rdquo; exclaimed the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course he did,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;His brother told
+me.&rdquo; Then, for Montague&rsquo;s benefit, she explained, &ldquo;Jack
+Audubon is the Major&rsquo;s nephew, and he&rsquo;s a bookworm, and spends all
+his time collecting scarabs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did he say to her?&rdquo; asked the Major, highly amused.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said Betty, &ldquo;he told her he knew she didn&rsquo;t love
+him; but also she knew that he didn&rsquo;t care anything about her money, and
+she might like to marry him so that other men would let her alone.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Gad!&rdquo; cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. &ldquo;A
+masterpiece!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Does she have so many suitors?&rdquo; asked Montague; and the Major
+replied, &ldquo;My dear boy&mdash;she&rsquo;ll have a hundred million dollars
+some day!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went for a stroll
+with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss Hegan&rsquo;s remark.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What she said is perfectly true,&rdquo; replied the Major; &ldquo;only
+it riled Betty. There&rsquo;s many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who
+has stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter with old Simpkins?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Just a queer boy,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;He has a big pile, and
+his one joy in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he who makes her
+ridiculous&mdash;he has a regular press agent for her, a chap he loads up with
+jewellery and cheques whenever he gets her picture into the papers.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major paused a moment to greet some acquaintance, and then resumed the
+conversation. Apparently he could gossip in this intimate fashion about any
+person whom you named. Old Simpkins had been very poor as a boy, it appeared,
+and he had never got over the memory of it. Miss Yvette spent fifty thousand at
+a clip for Paris gowns; but every day her old uncle would save up the lumps of
+sugar which came with the expensive lunch he had brought to his office. And
+when he had several pounds he would send them home by messenger!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This conversation gave Montague a new sense of the complicatedness of the world
+into which he had come. Miss Simpkins was &ldquo;impossible&rdquo;; and yet
+there was&mdash;for instance&mdash;that Mrs. Landis whom he had met at Mrs.
+Winnie Duval&rsquo;s. He had met her several times at the show; and he heard
+the Major and his sister-in-law chuckling over a paragraph in the society
+journal, to the effect that Mrs. Virginia van Rensselaer Landis had just
+returned from a successful hunting-trip in the far West. He did not see the
+humour of this, at least not until they had told him of another paragraph which
+had appeared some time before: stating that Mrs. Landis had gone to acquire
+residence in South Dakota, taking with her thirty-five trunks and a poodle; and
+that &ldquo;Leanie&rdquo; Hopkins, the handsome young stock-broker, had taken a
+six months&rsquo; vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And yet Mrs. Landis was &ldquo;in&rdquo; Society! And moreover, she spent
+nearly as much upon her clothes as Miss Yvette, and the clothes were quite as
+conspicuous; and if the papers did not print pages about them, it was not
+because Mrs. Landis was not perfectly willing. She was painted and made up
+quite as frankly as any chorus-girl on the stage. She laughed a great deal, and
+in a high key, and she and her friends told stories which made Montague wish to
+move out of the way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Landis had for some reason taken a fancy to Alice, and invited her home to
+lunch with her twice during the show. And after they had got home in the
+evening, the girl sat upon the bed in her fur-trimmed wrapper, and told
+Montague and his mother and Mammy Lucy all about her visit.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that woman has a thing to do or to think about in
+the world except to wear clothes!&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Why, she has
+adjustable mirrors on ball-bearings, so that she can see every part of her
+skirts! And she gets all her gowns from Paris, four times a year&mdash;she says
+there are four seasons now, instead of two! I thought that my new clothes
+amounted to something, but my goodness, when I saw hers!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Alice went on to describe the unpacking of fourteen trunks, which had just
+come up from the custom-house that day. Mrs. Virginia&rsquo;s
+<i>coutourière</i> had her photograph and her colouring (represented in actual
+paints) and a figure made up from exact measurements; and so every one of the
+garments would fit her perfectly. Each one came stuffed with tissue paper and
+held in place by a lattice-work of tape; and attached to each gown was a piece
+of the fabric, from which her shoemaker would make shoes or slippers. There
+were street-costumes and opera-wraps, <i>robes de chambre</i> and tea-gowns,
+reception-dresses, and wonderful ball and dinner gowns. Most of these latter
+were to be embroidered with jewellery before they were worn, and imitation
+jewels were sewn on, to show how the real ones were to be placed. These
+garments were made of real lace or Parisian embroidery, and the prices paid for
+them were almost impossible to credit. Some of them were made of lace so filmy
+that the women who made them had to sit in damp cellars, because the sunlight
+would dry the fine threads and they would break; a single yard of the lace
+represented forty days of labour. There was a pastel &ldquo;<i>batiste de
+soie</i>&rdquo; Pompadour robe, embroidered with cream silk flowers, which had
+cost one thousand dollars. There was a hat to go with it, which had cost a
+hundred and twenty-five, and shoes of grey antelope-skin, buckled with
+mother-of-pearl, which had cost forty. There was a gorgeous and intricate
+ball-dress of pale green chiffon satin, with orchids embroidered in oxidized
+silver, and a long court train, studded with diamonds&mdash;and this had cost
+six thousand dollars without the jewels! And there was an auto-coat which had
+cost three thousand; and an opera-wrap made in Leipsic, of white unborn baby
+lamb, lined with ermine, which had cost twelve thousand&mdash;with a thousand
+additional for a hat to match! Mrs. Landis thought nothing of paying
+thirty-five dollars for a lace handkerchief, or sixty dollars for a pair of
+spun silk hose, or two hundred dollars for a pearl and gold-handled parasol
+trimmed with cascades of chiffon, and made, like her hats, one for each gown.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And she insists that these things are worth the money,&rdquo; said
+Alice. &ldquo;She says it&rsquo;s not only the material in them, but the ideas.
+Each costume is a study, like a picture. &lsquo;I pay for the creative genius
+of the artist,&rsquo; she said to me&mdash;&lsquo;for his ability to catch my
+ideas and apply them to my personality&mdash;my complexion and hair and eyes.
+Sometimes I design my own costumes, and so I know what hard work it
+is!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Landis came from one of New York&rsquo;s oldest families, and she was
+wealthy in her own right; she had a palace on Fifth Avenue, and now that she
+had turned her husband out, she had nothing at all to put in it except her
+clothes. Alice told about the places in which she kept them&mdash;it was like a
+museum! There was a gown-room, made dust-proof, of polished hardwood, and with
+tier upon tier of long poles running across, and padded skirt-supporters
+hanging from them. Everywhere there was order and system&mdash;each skirt was
+numbered, and in a chiffonier-drawer of the same number you would find the
+waist&mdash;and so on with hats and stockings and gloves and shoes and
+parasols. There was a row of closets, having shelves piled up with dainty
+lace-trimmed and beribboned <i>lingerie;</i> there were two closets full of
+hats and three of shoes. &ldquo;When she went West,&rdquo; said Alice,
+&ldquo;one of her maids counted, and found that she had over four hundred
+pairs! And she actually has a cabinet with a card-catalogue to keep track of
+them. And all the shelves are lined with perfumed silk sachets, and she has
+tiny sachets sewed in every skirt and waist; and she has her own private
+perfume&mdash;she gave me some. She calls it <i>Cœur de Jeannette</i>, and she
+says she designed it herself, and had it patented!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Alice went on to describe the maid&rsquo;s work-room, which was also
+of polished hardwood, and dust-proof, and had a balcony for brushing clothes,
+and wires upon which to hang them, and hot and cold water, and a big
+ironing-table and an electric stove. &ldquo;But there can&rsquo;t be much work
+to do,&rdquo; laughed the girl, &ldquo;for she never wears a gown more than two
+or three times. Just think of paying several thousand dollars for a costume,
+and giving it to your poor relations after you have worn it only twice! And the
+worst of it is that Mrs. Landis says it&rsquo;s all nothing unusual;
+you&rsquo;ll find such arrangements in every home of people who are socially
+prominent. She says there are women who boast of never appearing twice in the
+same gown, and there&rsquo;s one dreadful personage in Boston who wears each
+costume once, and then has it solemnly cremated by her butler!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is wicked to do such things,&rdquo; put in old Mrs. Montague, when
+she had heard this tale through. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see how people can get
+any pleasure out of it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I said,&rdquo; replied Alice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To whom did you say that?&rdquo; asked Montague. &ldquo;To Mrs.
+Landis?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Alice, &ldquo;to a cousin of hers. I was downstairs
+waiting for her, and this girl came in. And we got to talking about it, and I
+said that I didn&rsquo;t think I could ever get used to such things.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did she say?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She answered me strangely,&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s
+tall, and very stately, and I was a little bit afraid of her. She said,
+&lsquo;You&rsquo;ll get used to it. Everybody you know will be doing it, and if
+you try to do differently they&rsquo;ll take offence; and you won&rsquo;t have
+the courage to do without friends. You&rsquo;ll be meaning every day to stop,
+but you never will, and you&rsquo;ll go on until you die.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did you say to that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; answered Alice. &ldquo;Just then Mrs. Landis came in,
+and Miss Hegan went away.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Miss Hegan?&rdquo; echoed Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s her name&mdash;Laura
+Hegan. Have you met her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The Horse Show was held in Madison Square Garden, a building occupying a whole
+city block. It seemed to Montague that during the four days he attended he was
+introduced to enough people to fill it to the doors. Each one of the exquisite
+ladies and gentlemen extended to him a delicately gloved hand, and remarked
+what perfect weather they were having, and asked him how long he had been in
+New York, and what he thought of it. Then they would talk about the horses, and
+about the people who were present, and what they had on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He saw little of his brother, who was squiring the Walling ladies most of the
+time; and Alice, too, was generally separated from him and taken care of by
+others. Yet he was never alone&mdash;there was always some young matron ready
+to lead him to her carriage and whisk him away to lunch or dinner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many times he wondered why people should be so kind to him, a stranger, and one
+who could do nothing for them in return. Mrs. Billy Alden undertook to explain
+it to him, one afternoon, as he sat in her box. There had to be some people to
+enjoy, it appeared, or there would be no fun in the game. &ldquo;Everything is
+new and strange to you,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;and you&rsquo;re delicious and
+refreshing; you make these women think perhaps they oughtn&rsquo;t to be so
+bored after all! Here&rsquo;s a woman who&rsquo;s bought a great painting;
+she&rsquo;s told that it&rsquo;s great, but she doesn&rsquo;t understand it
+herself&mdash;all she knows is that it cost her a hundred thousand dollars. And
+now you come along, and to you it&rsquo;s really a painting&mdash;and
+don&rsquo;t you see how gratifying that is to her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oliver is always telling me it&rsquo;s bad form to admire,&rdquo; said
+the man, laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes?&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Well, don&rsquo;t you let that
+brother of yours spoil you. There are more than enough of <i>blasé</i> people
+in town&mdash;you be yourself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He appreciated the compliment, but added, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid that when the
+novelty is worn off, people will be tired of me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll find your place,&rdquo; said Mrs. Alden&mdash;&ldquo;the
+people you like and who like you.&rdquo; And she went on to explain that here
+he was being passed about among a number of very different &ldquo;sets,&rdquo;
+with different people and different tastes. Society had become split up in that
+manner of late&mdash;each set being jealous and contemptuous of all the other
+sets. Because of the fact that they overlapped a little at the edges, it was
+possible for him to meet here a great many people who never met each other, and
+were even unaware of each other&rsquo;s existence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Mrs. Alden went on to set forth the difference between these
+&ldquo;sets&rdquo;; they ran from the most exclusive down to the most
+&ldquo;yellow,&rdquo; where they shaded off into the disreputable rich&mdash;of
+whom, it seemed, there were hordes in the city. These included
+&ldquo;sporting&rdquo; and theatrical and political people, some of whom were
+very rich indeed; and these sets in turn shaded off into the criminals and the
+<i>demi-monde</i>&mdash;who might also easily be rich. &ldquo;Some day,&rdquo;
+said Mrs. Alden &ldquo;you should get my brother to tell you about all these
+people. He&rsquo;s been in politics, you know, and he has a
+racing-stable.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Mrs. Alden told him about the subtle little differences in the conventions
+of these various sets of Society. There was the matter of women smoking, for
+instance. All women smoked, nowadays; but some would do it only in their own
+apartments, with their women friends; and some would retire to an
+out-of-the-way corner to do it; while others would smoke in their own
+dining-rooms, or wherever the men smoked. All agreed however, in never smoking
+&ldquo;in public&rdquo;&mdash;that is, where they would be seen by people not
+of their own set. Such, at any rate, had always been the rule, though a few
+daring ones were beginning to defy even that.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such rules were very rigid, but they were purely conventional, they had nothing
+to do with right or wrong: a fact which Mrs. Alden set forth with her usual
+incisiveness. A woman, married or unmarried, might travel with a man all over
+Europe, and every one might know that she did it, but it would make no
+difference, so long as she did not do it in America. There was one young matron
+whom Montague would meet, a raging beauty, who regularly got drunk at dinner
+parties, and had to be escorted to her carriage by the butler. She moved in the
+most exclusive circles, and every one treated it as a joke. Unpleasant things
+like this did not hurt a person unless they got &ldquo;out&rdquo;&mdash;that
+is, unless they became a scandal in the courts or the newspapers. Mrs. Alden
+herself had a cousin (whom she cordially hated) who had gotten a divorce from
+her husband and married her lover forthwith and had for this been ostracized by
+Society. Once when she came to some semi-public affair, fifty women had risen
+at once and left the room! She might have lived with her lover, both before and
+after the divorce, and every one might have known it, and no one would have
+cared; but the <i>convenances</i> declared that she should not marry him until
+a year had elapsed after the divorce.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One thing to which Mrs. Alden could testify, as a result of a lifetime&rsquo;s
+observation, was the rapid rate at which these conventions, even the most
+essential of them, were giving way, and being replaced by a general &ldquo;do
+as you please.&rdquo; Anyone could see that the power of women like Mrs. Devon,
+who represented the old régime, and were dignified and austere and exclusive,
+was yielding before the onslaught of new people, who were bizarre and fantastic
+and promiscuous and loud. And the younger sets cared no more about
+anyone&mdash;nor about anything under heaven, save to have a good time in their
+own harum-scarum ways. In the old days one always received a neatly-written or
+engraved invitation to dinner, worded in impersonal and formal style; but the
+other day Mrs. Alden had found a message which had been taken from the
+telephone: &ldquo;Please come to dinner, but don&rsquo;t come unless you can
+bring a man, or we&rsquo;ll be thirteen at the table.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And along with this went a perfectly incredible increase in luxury and
+extravagance. &ldquo;You are surprised at what you see here to-day,&rdquo; said
+she&mdash;&ldquo;but take my word for it, if you were to come back five years
+later, you&rsquo;d find all our present standards antiquated, and our present
+pace-makers sent to the rear. You&rsquo;d find new hotels and theatres opening,
+and food and clothing and furniture that cost twice as much as they cost now.
+Not so long ago a private car was a luxury; now it&rsquo;s as much a necessity
+as an opera-box or a private ball-room, and people who really count have
+private trains. I can remember when our girls wore pretty muslin gowns in
+summer, and sent them to wash; now they wear what they call <i>lingerie</i>
+gowns, dimity <i>en princesse</i>, with silk embroidery and real lace and
+ribbons, that cost a thousand dollars apiece and won&rsquo;t wash. Years ago
+when I gave a dinner, I invited a dozen friends, and my own chef cooked it and
+my own servants served it. Now I have to pay my steward ten thousand a year,
+and nothing that I have is good enough. I have to ask forty or fifty people,
+and I call in a caterer, and he brings everything of his own, and my servants
+go off and get drunk. You used to get a good dinner for ten dollars a plate,
+and fifteen was something special; but now you hear of dinners that cost a
+thousand a plate! And it&rsquo;s not enough to have beautiful flowers on the
+table&mdash;you have to have &lsquo;scenery&rsquo;; there must be a rural
+landscape for a background, and goldfish in the finger-bowls, and five thousand
+dollars&rsquo; worth of Florida orchids on the table, and floral favours of
+roses that cost a hundred and fifty dollars a dozen. I attended a dinner at the
+Waldorf last year that had cost fifty thousand dollars; and when I ask those
+people to see me, I have to give them as good as I got. The other day I paid a
+thousand dollars for a table-cloth!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why do you do it?&rdquo; asked Montague, abruptly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;God knows,&rdquo; said the other; &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t. I sometimes
+wonder myself. I guess it&rsquo;s because I&rsquo;ve nothing else to do.
+It&rsquo;s like the story they tell about my brother&mdash;he was losing money
+in a gambling-place in Saratoga, and some one said to him, &lsquo;Davy, why do
+you go there&mdash;don&rsquo;t you know the game is crooked?&rsquo; &lsquo;Of
+course it&rsquo;s crooked,&rsquo; said he, &lsquo;but, damn it, it&rsquo;s the
+only game in town!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The pressure is more than anyone can stand,&rdquo; said Mrs. Alden,
+after a moment&rsquo;s thought. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like trying to swim against a
+current. You have to float, and do what every one expects you to do&mdash;your
+children and your friends and your servants and your tradespeople. All the
+world is in a conspiracy against you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s appalling to me,&rdquo; said the man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;and there&rsquo;s never any end to
+it. You think you know it all, but you find you really know very little. Just
+think of the number of people there are trying to go the pace! They say there
+are seven thousand millionaires in this country, but I say there are twenty
+thousand in New York alone&mdash;or if they don&rsquo;t own a million,
+they&rsquo;re spending the income of it, which amounts to the same thing. You
+can figure that a man who pays ten thousand a year for rent is paying fifty
+thousand to live; and there&rsquo;s Fifth Avenue&mdash;two miles of it, if you
+count the uptown and downtown parts; and there&rsquo;s Madison Avenue, and half
+a dozen houses adjoining on every side street; and then there are the hotels
+and apartment houses, to say nothing of the West Side and Riverside Drive. And
+you meet these mobs of people in the shops and the hotels and the theatres, and
+they all want to be better dressed than you. I saw a woman here to-day that I
+never saw in my life before, and I heard her say she&rsquo;d paid two thousand
+dollars for a lace handkerchief; and it might have been true, for I&rsquo;ve
+been asked to pay ten thousand for a lace shawl at a bargain. It&rsquo;s a
+common enough thing to see a woman walking on Fifth Avenue with twenty or
+thirty thousand dollars&rsquo; worth of furs on her. Fifty thousand is often
+paid for a coat of sable, and I know of one that cost two hundred thousand. I
+know women who have a dozen sets of furs&mdash;ermine, chinchilla, black fox,
+baby lamb, and mink and sable; and I know a man whose chauffeur quit him
+because he wouldn&rsquo;t buy him a ten-thousand-dollar fur coat! And once
+people used to pack their furs away and take care of them; but now they wear
+them about the street, or at the sea-shore, and you can fairly see them fade.
+Or else their cut goes out of fashion, and so they have to have new
+ones!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All that was material for thought. It was all true&mdash;there was no question
+about that. It seemed to be the rule that whenever you questioned a tale of the
+extravagances of New York, you would hear the next day of something several
+times more startling. Montague was staggered at the idea of a
+two-hundred-thousand-dollar fur coat; and yet not long afterward there arrived
+in the city a titled Englishwoman, who owned a coat worth a million dollars,
+which hard-headed insurance companies had insured for half a million. It was
+made of the soft plumage of rare Hawaiian birds, and had taken twenty years to
+make; each feather was crescent-shaped, and there were wonderful designs in
+crimson and gold and black. Every day in the casual conversation of your
+acquaintances you heard of similar incredible things; a tiny antique Persian
+rug, which could be folded into an overcoat pocket, for ten thousand dollars; a
+set of five &ldquo;art fans,&rdquo; each blade painted by a famous artist and
+costing forty-three thousand dollars; a crystal cup for eighty thousand; an
+<i>edition de luxe</i> of the works of Dickens for a hundred thousand; a ruby,
+the size of a pigeon&rsquo;s egg, for three hundred thousand. In some of these
+great New York palaces there were fountains which cost a hundred dollars a
+minute to run; and in the harbour there were yachts which cost twenty thousand
+a month to keep in commission.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And that same day, as it chanced, he learned of a brand-new kind of
+squandering. He went home to lunch with Mrs. Winnie Duval, and there met Mrs.
+Caroline Smythe, with whom he had talked at Castle Havens. Mrs. Smythe, whose
+husband had been a well-known Wall Street plunger, was soft and mushy, and very
+gushing in manner; and she asked him to come home to dinner with her, adding,
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll introduce you to my babies.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From what Montague had so far seen, he judged that babies played a very small
+part in the lives of the women of Society; and so he was interested, and asked,
+&ldquo;How many have you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Only two, in town,&rdquo; said Mrs. Smythe. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just come
+up, you see.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How old are they?&rdquo; he inquired politely; and when the lady added,
+&ldquo;About two years,&rdquo; he asked, &ldquo;Won&rsquo;t they be in bed by
+dinner time?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh my, no!&rdquo; said Mrs. Smythe. &ldquo;The dear little lambs wait up
+for me. I always find them scratching at my chamber door and wagging their
+little tails.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Mrs. Winnie laughed merrily and said, &ldquo;Why do you fool him?&rdquo;
+and went on to inform Montague that Caroline&rsquo;s &ldquo;babies&rdquo; were
+<i>griffons Bruxelloises. Griffons</i> suggested to him vague ideas of dragons
+and unicorns and gargoyles; but he said nothing more, save to accept the
+invitation, and that evening he discovered that <i>griffons Bruxelloises</i>
+were tiny dogs, long-haired, yellow, and fluffy; and that for her two priceless
+treasures Mrs. Smythe had an expert nurse, to whom she paid a hundred dollars a
+month, and also a footman, and a special cuisine in which their complicated
+food was prepared. They had a regular dentist, and a physician, and gold plate
+to eat from. Mrs. Smythe also owned two long-haired St. Bernards of a very rare
+breed, and a fierce Great Dane, and a very fat Boston bull pup&mdash;the last
+having been trained to go for an airing all alone in her carriage, with a
+solemn coachman and footman to drive him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague, deftly keeping the conversation upon the subject of pets, learned
+that all this was quite common. Many women in Society artificially made
+themselves barren, because of the inconvenience incidental to pregnancy and
+motherhood; and instead they lavished their affections upon cats and dogs. Some
+of these animals had elaborate costumes, rivalling in expensiveness those of
+their step-mothers. They wore tiny boots, which cost eight dollars a
+pair&mdash;house boots, and street boots lacing up to the knees; they had
+house-coats, walking-coats, dusters, sweaters, coats lined with ermine, and
+automobile coats with head and chest-protectors and hoods and goggles&mdash;and
+each coat fitted with a pocket for its tiny handkerchief of fine linen or lace!
+And they had collars set with rubies and pearls and diamonds&mdash;one had a
+collar that cost ten thousand dollars! Sometimes there would be a coat to match
+every gown of the owner. There were dog nurseries and resting-rooms, in which
+they might be left temporarily; and manicure parlours for cats, with a
+physician in charge. When these pets died, there was an expensive cemetery in
+Brooklyn especially for their interment; and they would be duly embalmed and
+buried in plush-lined casket, and would have costly marble monuments. When one
+of Mrs. Smythe&rsquo;s best loved pugs had fallen ill of congestion of the
+liver, she had had tan-bark put upon the street in front of her house; and when
+in spite of this the dog died, she had sent out cards edged in black, inviting
+her friends to a &ldquo;memorial service.&rdquo; Also she showed Montague a
+number of books with very costly bindings, in which were demonstrated the
+unity, simplicity, and immortality of the souls of cats and dogs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Apparently the sentimental Mrs. Smythe was willing to talk about these pets all
+through dinner; and so was her aunt, a thin and angular spinster, who sat on
+Montague&rsquo;s other side. And he was willing to listen&mdash;he wanted to
+know it all. There were umbrellas for dogs, to be fastened over their backs in
+wet weather; there were manicure and toilet sets, and silver medicine-chests,
+and jewel-studded whips. There were sets of engraved visiting-cards; there were
+wheel-chairs in which invalid cats and dogs might be taken for an airing. There
+were shows for cats and dogs, with pedigrees and prizes, and nearly as great
+crowds as the Horse Show; Mrs. Smythe&rsquo;s St. Bernards were worth seven
+thousand dollars apiece, and there were bull-dogs worth twice that. There was a
+woman who had come all the way from the Pacific coast to have a specialist
+perform an operation upon the throat of her Yorkshire terrier! There was
+another who had built for her dog a tiny Queen Anne cottage, with rooms papered
+and carpeted and hung with lace curtains! Once a young man of fashion had come
+to the Waldorf and registered himself and &ldquo;Miss Elsie Cochrane&rdquo;;
+and when the clerk made the usual inquiries as to the relationship of the young
+lady, it transpired that Miss Elsie was a dog, arrayed in a prim little
+tea-gown, and requiring a room to herself. And then there was a tale of a cat
+which had inherited a life-pension from a forty-thousand-dollar estate; it had
+a two-floor apartment and several attendants, and sat at table and ate shrimps
+and Italian chestnuts, and had a velvet couch for naps, and a fur-lined basket
+for sleeping at night!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Four days of horses were enough for Montague, and on Friday morning, when
+Siegfried Harvey called him up and asked if he and Alice would come out to
+&ldquo;The Roost&rdquo; for the week-end, he accepted gladly. Charlie Carter
+was going, and volunteered to take them in his car; and so again they crossed
+the Williamsburg Bridge&mdash;&ldquo;the Jewish passover,&rdquo; as Charlie
+called it&mdash;and went out on Long Island.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was very anxious to get a &ldquo;line&rdquo; on Charlie Carter; for he
+had not been prepared for the startling promptness with which this young man
+had fallen at Alice&rsquo;s feet. It was so obvious, that everybody was smiling
+over it&mdash;he was with her every minute that he could arrange it, and he
+turned up at every place to which she was invited. Both Mrs. Winnie and Oliver
+were quite evidently complacent, but Montague was by no means the same. Charlie
+had struck him as a good-natured but rather weak youth, inclined to melancholy;
+he was never without a cigarette in his fingers, and there had been signs that
+he was not quite proof against the pitfalls which Society set about him in the
+shape of decanters and wine-cups: though in a world where the fragrance of
+spirits was never out of one&rsquo;s nostrils, and where people drank with such
+perplexing frequency, it was hard to know where to draw a line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You won&rsquo;t find my place like Havens&rsquo;s,&rdquo; Siegfried
+Harvey had said. &ldquo;It is real country.&rdquo; Montague found it the most
+attractive of all the homes he had seen so far. It was a big rambling house,
+all in rustic style, with great hewn logs outside, and rafters within, and a
+winding oak stairway, and any number of dens and cosy corners, and broad
+window-seats with mountains of pillows. Everything here was built for
+comfort&mdash;there was a billiard-room and a smoking-room, and a real library
+with readable books and great chairs in which one sank out of sight. There were
+log fires blazing everywhere, and pictures on the walls that told of sport, and
+no end of guns and antlers and trophies of all sorts. But you were not to
+suppose that all this elaborate rusticity would be any excuse for the absence
+of attendants in livery, and a chef who boasted the <i>cordon bleu</i>, and a
+dinner-table resplendent with crystal and silver and orchids and ferns. After
+all, though the host called it a &ldquo;small&rdquo; place, he had invited
+twenty guests, and he had a hunter in his stables for each one of them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the most wonderful thing about &ldquo;The Roost&rdquo; was the fact that,
+at a touch of a button, all the walls of the lower rooms vanished into the
+second story, and there was one huge, log-lighted room, with violins tuning up
+and calling to one&rsquo;s feet. They set a fast pace here&mdash;the dancing
+lasted until three o&rsquo;clock, and at dawn again they were dressed and
+mounted, and following the pink-coated grooms and the hounds across the
+frost-covered fields.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was half prepared for a tame fox, but this was spared him. There was a
+real game, it seemed; and soon the pack gave tongue, and away went the hunt. It
+was the wildest ride that Montague ever had taken&mdash;over ditches and
+streams and innumerable rail-fences, and through thick coverts and densely
+populated barnyards; but he was in at the death, and Alice was only a few yards
+behind, to the immense delight of the company. This seemed to Montague the
+first real life he had met, and he thought to himself that these full-blooded
+and high-spirited men and women made a &ldquo;set&rdquo; into which he would
+have been glad to fit&mdash;save only that he had to earn his living, and they
+did not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the afternoon there was more riding, and walks in the crisp November air;
+and indoors, bridge and rackets and ping-pong, and a fast and furious game of
+roulette, with the host as banker. &ldquo;Do I look much like a professional
+gambler?&rdquo; he asked of Montague; and when the other replied that he had
+not yet met any New York gamblers, young Harvey went on to tell how he had gone
+to buy this apparatus (the sale of which was forbidden by law) and had been
+asked by the dealer how &ldquo;strong&rdquo; he wanted it!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then in the evening there was more dancing, and on Sunday another hunt. That
+night a gambling mood seemed to seize the company&mdash;there were two bridge
+tables, and in another room the most reckless game of poker that Montague had
+ever sat in. It broke up at three in the morning, and one of the company wrote
+him a cheque for sixty-five hundred dollars; but even that could not entirely
+smooth his conscience, nor reconcile him to the fever that was in his blood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Most important to him, however, was the fact that during the game he at last
+got to know Charlie Carter. Charlie did not play, for the reason that he was
+drunk, and one of the company told him so and refused to play with him; which
+left poor Charlie nothing to do but get drunker. This he did, and came and hung
+over the shoulders of the players, and told the company all about himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was prepared to allow for the &ldquo;wild oats&rdquo; of a youngster
+with unlimited money, but never in his life had he heard or dreamed of anything
+like this boy. For half an hour he wandered about the table, and poured out a
+steady stream of obscenities; his mind was like a swamp, in which dwelt
+loathsome and hideous serpents which came to the surface at night and showed
+their flat heads and their slimy coils. In the heavens above or the earth
+beneath there was nothing sacred to him; there was nothing too revolting to be
+spewed out. And the company accepted the performance as an old story&mdash;the
+men would laugh, and push the boy away, and say, &ldquo;Oh, Charlie, go to the
+devil!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After it was all over, Montague took one of the company aside and asked him
+what it meant; to which the man replied: &ldquo;Good God! Do you mean that
+nobody has told you about Charlie Carter?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It appeared that Charlie was one of the &ldquo;gilded youths&rdquo; of the
+Tenderloin, whose exploits had been celebrated in the papers. And after the
+attendants had bundled him off to bed, several of the men gathered about the
+fire and sipped hot punch, and rehearsed for Montague&rsquo;s benefit some of
+his leading exploits.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Charlie was only twenty-three, it seemed; and when he was ten his father had
+died and left eight or ten millions in trust for him, in the care of a poor,
+foolish aunt whom he twisted about his finger. At the age of twelve he was a
+cigarette fiend, and had the run of the wine-cellar. When he went to a rich
+private school he took whole trunks full of cigarettes with him, and finally
+ran away to Europe, to acquire the learning of the brothels of Paris. And then
+he came home and struck the Tenderloin; and at three o&rsquo;clock one morning
+he walked through a plate-glass window, and so the newspapers took him up. That
+had suddenly opened a new vista in life for Charlie&mdash;he became a devotee
+of fame; everywhere he went he was followed by newspaper reporters and a
+staring crowd. He carried wads as big round as his arm, and gave away
+hundred-dollar tips to bootblacks, and lost forty thousand dollars in a game of
+poker. He gave a fête to the <i>demi-monde</i>, with a jewelled Christmas tree
+in midsummer, and fifty thousand dollars&rsquo; worth of splendour. But the
+greatest stroke of all was the announcement that he was going to build a
+submarine yacht and fill it with chorus-girls!&mdash;Now Charlie had sunk out
+of public attention, and his friends would not see him for days; he would be
+lying in a &ldquo;sporting house&rdquo; literally wallowing in champagne.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And all this, Montague realized, his brother must have known! And he had said
+not a word about it&mdash;because of the eight or ten millions which Charlie
+would have when he was twenty-five!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<p>
+In the morning they went home with others of the party by train. They could not
+wait for Charlie and his automobile, because Monday was the opening night of
+the Opera, and no one could miss that. Here Society would appear in its most
+gorgeous raiment, and, there would be a show of jewellery such as could be seen
+nowhere else in the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+General Prentice and his wife had opened their town-house, and had invited them
+to dinner and to share their box; and so at about half-past nine o&rsquo;clock
+Montague found himself seated in a great balcony of the shape of a horseshoe,
+with several hundred of the richest people in the city. There was another tier
+of boxes above, and three galleries above that, and a thousand or more people
+seated and standing below him. Upon the big stage there was an elaborate and
+showy play, the words of which were sung to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now Montague had never heard an opera, and he was fond of music. The second act
+had just begun when he came in, and all through it he sat quite spellbound,
+listening to the most ravishing strains that ever he had heard in his life. He
+scarcely noticed that Mrs. Prentice was spending her time studying the
+occupants of the other boxes through a jewelled lorgnette, or that Oliver was
+chattering to her daughter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But after the act was over, Oliver got him alone outside the box, and
+whispered, &ldquo;For God&rsquo;s sake, Allan, don&rsquo;t make a fool of
+yourself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, what&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What will people think,&rdquo; exclaimed Oliver, &ldquo;seeing you
+sitting there like a man in a dope dream?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; laughed the other, &ldquo;they&rsquo;ll think I&rsquo;m
+listening to the music.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To which Oliver responded, &ldquo;People don&rsquo;t come to the Opera to
+listen to the music.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This sounded like a joke, but it was not. To Society the Opera was a great
+state function, an exhibition of far more exclusiveness and magnificence than
+the Horse Show; and Society certainly had the right to say, for it owned the
+opera-house and ran it. The real music-lovers who came, either stood up in the
+back, or sat in the fifth gallery, close to the ceiling, where the air was foul
+and hot. How much Society cared about the play was sufficiently indicated by
+the fact that all of the operas were sung in foreign languages, and sung so
+carelessly that the few who understood the languages could make but little of
+the words. Once there was a world-poet who devoted his life to trying to make
+the Opera an art; and in the battle with Society he all but starved to death.
+Now, after half a century, his genius had triumphed, and Society consented to
+sit for hours in darkness and listen to the domestic disputes of German gods
+and goddesses. But what Society really cared for was a play with beautiful
+costumes and scenery and dancing, and pretty songs to which one could listen
+while one talked; the story must be elemental and passionate, so that one could
+understand it in pantomime&mdash;say the tragic love of a beautiful and
+noble-minded courtesan for a gallant young man of fashion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nearly every one who came to the Opera had a glass, by means of which he could
+bring each gorgeously-clad society dame close to him, and study her at leisure.
+There were said to be two hundred million dollars&rsquo; worth of diamonds in
+New York, and those that were not in the stores were very apt to be at this
+show; for here was where they could accomplish the purpose for which they
+existed&mdash;here was where all the world came to stare at them. There were
+nine prominent Society women, who among them displayed five million
+dollars&rsquo; worth of jewels. You would see stomachers which looked like a
+piece of a coat of mail, and were made wholly of blazing diamonds. You would
+see emeralds and rubies and diamonds and pearls made in tiaras&mdash;that is to
+say, imitation crowns and coronets&mdash;and exhibited with a stout and solemn
+dowager for a pediment. One of the Wallings had set this fashion, and now every
+one of importance wore them. One lady to whom Montague was introduced made a
+speciality of pearls&mdash;two black pearl ear-rings at forty thousand dollars,
+a string at three hundred thousand, a brooch of pink pearls at fifty thousand,
+and two necklaces at a quarter of a million each!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This incessant repetition of the prices of things came to seem very sordid; but
+Montague found that there was no getting away from it. The people in Society
+who paid these prices affected to be above all such considerations, to be
+interested only in the beauty and artistic excellence of the things themselves;
+but one found that they always talked about the prices which other people had
+paid, and that somehow other people always knew what they had paid. They took
+care also to see that the public and the newspapers knew what they had paid,
+and knew everything else that they were doing. At this Opera, for instance,
+there was a diagram of the boxes printed upon the programme, and a list of all
+the box-holders, so that anyone could tell who was who. You might see these
+great dames in their gorgeous robes coming from their carriages, with crowds
+staring at them and detectives hovering about. And the bosom of each would be
+throbbing with a wild and wonderful vision of the moment when she would enter
+her box, and the music would be forgotten, and all eyes would be turned upon
+her; and she would lay aside her wraps, and flash upon the staring throngs, a
+vision of dazzling splendour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some of these jewels were family treasures, well known to New York for
+generations; and in such cases it was becoming the fashion to leave the real
+jewels in the safe-deposit vault, and to wear imitation stones exactly like
+them. From homes where the jewels were kept, detectives were never absent, and
+in many cases there were detectives watching the detectives; and yet every once
+in a while the newspapers would be full of a sensational story of a robbery.
+Then the unfortunates who chanced to be suspected would be seized by the police
+and subjected to what was jocularly termed the &ldquo;third degree,&rdquo; and
+consisted of tortures as elaborate and cruel as any which the Spanish
+Inquisition had invented. The advertising value of this kind of thing was found
+to be so great that famous actresses also had costly jewels, and now and then
+would have them stolen.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+That night, when they had got home, Montague had a talk with his cousin about
+Charlie Carter. He discovered a peculiar situation. It seemed that Alice
+already knew that Charlie had been &ldquo;bad.&rdquo; He was sick and
+miserable; and her beauty and innocence had touched him and made him ashamed of
+himself, and he had hinted darkly at dreadful evils. Thus carefully veiled, and
+tinged with mystery and romance, Montague could understand how Charlie made an
+interesting and appealing figure. &ldquo;He says I&rsquo;m different from any
+girl he ever met,&rdquo; said Alice&mdash;a remark of such striking originality
+that her cousin could not keep back his smile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alice was not the least bit in love with him, and had no idea of being; and she
+said that she would accept no invitations, and never go alone with him; but she
+did not see how she could avoid him when she met him at other people&rsquo;s
+houses. And to this Montague had to assent.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+General Prentice had inquired kindly as to what Montague had seen in New York,
+and how he was getting along. He added that he had talked about him to Judge
+Ellis, and that when he was ready to get to work, the Judge would perhaps have
+some suggestions to make to him. He approved, however, of Montague&rsquo;s plan
+of getting his bearings first; and said that he would introduce him and put him
+up at a couple of the leading clubs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this remained in Montague&rsquo;s mind; but there was no use trying to
+think of it at the moment. Thanksgiving was at hand, and in countless country
+mansions there would be gaieties under way. Bertie Stuyvesant had planned an
+excursion to his Adirondack camp, and had invited a score or so of young
+people, including the Montagues. This would be a new feature of the
+city&rsquo;s life, worth knowing about.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their expedition began with a theatre-party. Bertie had engaged four boxes, and
+they met there, an hour or so after the performance had begun. This made no
+difference, however, for the play was like the opera-a number of songs and
+dances strung together, and with only plot enough to provide occasion for
+elaborate scenery and costumes. From the play they were carried to the Grand
+Central Station, and a little before midnight Bertie&rsquo;s private train set
+out on its journey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This train was a completely equipped hotel. There was a baggage compartment and
+a dining-car and kitchen; and a drawing-room and library-car; and a
+bedroom-car&mdash;not with berths, such as the ordinary sleeping-car provides,
+but with comfortable bedrooms, furnished in white mahogany, and provided with
+running water and electric light. All these cars were built of steel, and
+automatically ventilated: and they were furnished in the luxurious fashion of
+everything with which Bertie Stuyvesant had anything to do. In the library-car
+there were velvet carpets upon the floor, and furniture of South American
+mahogany, and paintings upon the walls over which great artists had laboured
+for years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Bertie&rsquo;s chef and servants were on board, and a supper was ready in the
+dining-car, which they ate while watching the Hudson by moonlight. And the next
+morning they reached their destination, a little station in the mountain
+wilderness. The train lay upon a switch, and so they had breakfast at their
+leisure, and then, bundled in furs, came out into the crisp pine-laden air of
+the woods. There was snow upon the ground, and eight big sleighs waiting; and
+for nearly three hours they drove in the frosty sunlight, through most
+beautiful mountain scenery. A good part of the drive was in Bertie&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;preserve,&rdquo; and the road was private, as big signs notified one
+every hundred yards or so.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So at last they reached a lake, winding like a snake among towering hills, and
+with a huge baronial castle standing out upon the rocky shore. This imitation
+fortress was the &ldquo;camp.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Bertie&rsquo;s father had built it, and visited it only half a dozen times in
+his life. Bertie himself had only been here twice, he said. The deer were so
+plentiful that in the winter they died in scores. Nevertheless there were
+thirty game-keepers to guard the ten thousand acres of forest, and prevent
+anyone&rsquo;s hunting in it. There were many such &ldquo;preserves&rdquo; in
+this Adirondack wilderness, so Montague was told; one man had a whole mountain
+fenced about with heavy iron railing, and had moose and elk and even wild boar
+inside. And as for the &ldquo;camps,&rdquo; there were so many that a new style
+of architecture had been developed here&mdash;to say nothing of those which
+followed old styles, like this imported Rhine castle. One of Bertie&rsquo;s
+crowd had a big Swiss chalet; and one of the Wallings had a Japanese palace to
+which he came every August&mdash;a house which had been built from plans drawn
+in Japan, and by labourers imported especially from Japan. It was full of
+Japanese ware&mdash;furniture, tapestry, and mosaics; and the guides remembered
+with wonder the strange silent, brown-skinned little men who had laboured for
+days at carving a bit of wood, and had built a tiny pagoda-like tea-house with
+more bits of wood in it than a man could count in a week.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had a luncheon of fresh venison and partridges and trout, and in the
+afternoon a hunt. The more active set out to track the deer in the snow; but
+most prepared to watch the lake-shore, while the game-keepers turned loose the
+dogs back in the hills. This &ldquo;hounding&rdquo; was against the law, but
+Bertie was his own law here&mdash;and at the worst there could simply be a
+small fine, imposed upon some of the keepers. They drove eight or ten deer to
+water; and as they fired as many as twenty shots at one deer, they had quite a
+lively time. Then at dusk they came back, in a fine glow of excitement, and
+spent the evening before the blazing logs, telling over their adventures.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The party spent two days and a half here, and on the last evening, which was
+Thanksgiving, they had a wild turkey which Bertie had shot the week before in
+Virginia, and were entertained by a minstrel show which had been brought up
+from New York the night before. The next afternoon they drove back to the
+train.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+In the morning, when they reached the city, Alice found a note from Mrs. Winnie
+Duval, begging her and Montague to come to lunch and attend a private lecture
+by the Swami Babubanana, who would tell them all about the previous states of
+their souls. They went&mdash;though not without a protest from old Mrs.
+Montague, who declared it was &ldquo;worse than Bob Ingersoll.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then, in the evening, came Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s opening
+entertainment, which was one of the great events of the social year. In the
+general rush of things Montague had not had a chance properly to realize it;
+but Reggie Mann and Mrs. de Graffenried had been working over it for weeks.
+When the Montagues arrived, they found the Riverside mansion&mdash;which was
+decorated in imitation of an Arabian palace&mdash;turned into a jungle of
+tropical plants.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had come early at Reggie&rsquo;s request, and he introduced them to Mrs.
+de Graffenried, a tall and angular lady with a leathern complexion painfully
+painted; Mrs. de Graffenried was about fifty years of age, but like all the
+women of Society she was made up for thirty. Just at present there were beads
+of perspiration upon her forehead; something had gone wrong at the last moment,
+and so Reggie would have no time to show them the favours, as he had intended.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About a hundred and fifty guests were invited to this entertainment. A supper
+was served at little tables in the great ball-room, and afterward the guests
+wandered about the house while the tables were whisked out of the way and the
+room turned into a play-house. A company from one of the Broadway theatres
+would be bundled into cabs at the end of the performance, and by midnight they
+would be ready to repeat the performance at Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s.
+Montague chanced to be near when this company arrived, and he observed that the
+guests had crowded up too close, and not left room enough for the actors. So
+the manager had placed them in a little ante-room, and when Mrs. de Graffenried
+observed this, she rushed at the man, and swore at him like a dragoon, and
+ordered the bewildered performers out into the main room.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But this was peering behind the scenes, and he was supposed to be watching the
+play. The entertainment was another &ldquo;musical comedy&rdquo; like the one
+he had seen a few nights before. On that occasion, however, Bertie
+Stuyvesant&rsquo;s sister had talked to him the whole time, while now he was
+let alone, and had a chance to watch the performance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was a very popular play; it had had a long run, and the papers told how
+its author had an income of a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year. And
+here was an audience of the most rich and influential people in the city; and
+they laughed and clapped, and made it clear that they were enjoying themselves
+heartily. And what sort of a play was it?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was called &ldquo;The Kaliph of Kamskatka.&rdquo; It had no shred of a plot;
+the Kaliph had seventeen wives, and there was an American drummer who wanted to
+sell him another&mdash;but then you did not need to remember this, for nothing
+came of it. There was nothing in the play which could be called a
+character&mdash;there was nothing which could be connected with any real
+emotion ever felt by human beings. Nor could one say that there was any
+incident&mdash;at least nothing happened because of anything else. Each event
+was a separate thing, like the spasmodic jerking in the face of an idiot. Of
+this sort of &ldquo;action&rdquo; there was any quantity&mdash;at an
+instant&rsquo;s notice every one on the stage would fall simultaneously into
+this condition of idiotic jerking. There was rushing about, shouting, laughing,
+exclaiming; the stage was in a continual uproar of excitement, which was
+without any reason or meaning. So it was impossible to think of the actors in
+their parts; one kept thinking of them as human beings&mdash;thinking of the
+awful tragedy of full-grown men and women being compelled by the pressure of
+hunger to dress up and paint themselves, and then come out in public and dance,
+stamp, leap about, wring their hands, make faces, and otherwise be
+&ldquo;lively.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The costumes were of two sorts: one fantastic, supposed to represent the East,
+and the other a kind of <i>reductio ad absurdum</i> of fashionable garb. The
+leading man wore a &ldquo;natty&rdquo; outing-suit, and strutted with a little
+cane; his stock-in-trade was a jaunty air, a kind of perpetual flourish, and a
+wink that suggested the cunning of a satyr. The leading lady changed her
+costume several times in each act; but it invariably contained the elements of
+bare arms and bosom and back, and a skirt which did not reach her knees, and
+bright-coloured silk stockings, and slippers with heels two inches high. Upon
+the least provocation she would execute a little pirouette, which would reveal
+the rest of her legs, surrounded by a mass of lace ruffles. It is the nature of
+the human mind to seek the end of things; if this woman had worn a suit of
+tights and nothing else, she would have been as uninteresting as an underwear
+advertisement in a magazine; but this incessant not-quite-revealing of herself
+exerted a subtle fascination. At frequent intervals the orchestra would start
+up a jerky little tune, and the two &ldquo;stars&rdquo; would begin to sing in
+nasal voices some words expressive of passion; then the man would take the
+woman about the waist and dance and swing her about and bend her backward and
+gaze into her eyes&mdash;actions all vaguely suggestive of the relationship of
+sex. At the end of the verse a chorus would come gliding on, clad in any sort
+of costume which admitted of colour and the display of legs; the painted women
+of this chorus were never still for an instant&mdash;if they were not actually
+dancing, they were wriggling their legs, and jerking their bodies from side to
+side, and nodding their heads, and in all other possible ways being
+&ldquo;lively.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But it was not the physical indecency of this show that struck Montague so much
+as its intellectual content. The dialogue of the piece was what is called
+&ldquo;smart&rdquo;; that is, it was full of a kind of innuendo which implied a
+secret understanding of evil between the actor and his audience&mdash;a sort of
+countersign which passed between them. After all, it would have been an error
+to say that there were no ideas in the play&mdash;there was one idea upon which
+all the interest of it was based; and Montague strove to analyze this idea and
+formulate it to himself. There are certain life principles&mdash;one might call
+them moral axioms&mdash;which are the result of the experience of countless
+ages of the human race, and upon the adherence to which the continuance of the
+race depends. And here was an audience by whom all these principles
+were&mdash;not questioned, nor yet disputed, nor yet denied&mdash;but to whom
+the denial was the axiom, something which it would be too banal to state
+flatly, but which it was elegant and witty to take for granted. In this
+audience there were elderly people, and married men and women, and young men
+and maidens; and a perfect gale of laughter swept through it at a story of a
+married woman whose lover had left her when he got married:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She must have been heartbroken,&rdquo; said the leading lady.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She was desperate,&rdquo; said the leading man, with a grin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did she do?&rdquo; asked the lady &ldquo;Go and shoot
+herself?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Worse than that,&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;She, went back to her
+husband and had a baby!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+But to complete your understanding of the significance of this play, you must
+bring yourself to realize that it was not merely a play, but a <i>kind</i> of a
+play; it had a name&mdash;a &ldquo;musical comedy&rdquo;&mdash;the meaning of
+which every one understood. Hundreds of such plays were written and produced,
+and &ldquo;dramatic critics&rdquo; went to see them and gravely discussed them,
+and many thousands of people made their livings by travelling over the country
+and playing them; stately theatres were built for them, and hundreds of
+thousands of people paid their money every night to see them. And all this no
+joke and no nightmare&mdash;but a thing that really existed. Men and women were
+doing these things&mdash;actual flesh-and-blood human beings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague wondered, in an awestricken sort of way, what kind of human being it
+could be who had flourished the cane and made the grimaces in that play. Later
+on, when he came to know the &ldquo;Tenderloin,&rdquo; he met this same actor,
+and he found that he had begun life as a little Irish &ldquo;mick&rdquo; who
+lived in a tenement, and whose mother stood at the head of the stairway and
+defended him with a rolling-pin against a policeman who was chasing him. He had
+discovered that he could make a living by his comical antics; but when he came
+home and told his mother that he had been offered twenty dollars a week by a
+show manager, she gave him a licking for lying to her. Now he was making three
+thousand dollars a week&mdash;more than the President of the United States and
+his Cabinet; but he was not happy, as he confided to Montague, because he did
+not know how to read, and this was a cause of perpetual humiliation. The secret
+desire of this little actor&rsquo;s heart was to play Shakespeare; he had
+&ldquo;Hamlet&rdquo; read to him, and pondered how to act it&mdash;all the time
+that he was flourishing his little cane and making his grimaces! He had chanced
+to be on the stage when a fire had broken out, and five or six hundred victims
+of greed were roasted to death. The actor had pleaded with the people to keep
+their seats, but all in vain; and all his life thereafter he went about with
+this vision of horror in his mind, and haunted by the passionate conviction
+that he had failed because of his lack of education&mdash;that if only he had
+been a man of culture, he would have been able to think of something to say to
+hold those terror-stricken people!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+At three o&rsquo;clock in the morning the performance came to an end, and then
+there were more refreshments; and Mrs. Vivie Patton came and sat by him, and
+they had a nice comfortable gossip. When Mrs. Vivie once got started at talking
+about people, her tongue ran on like a windmill.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was Reggie Mann, meandering about and simpering at people. Reggie was in
+his glory at Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s affairs. Reggie had arranged all
+this&mdash;he did the designing and the ordering, and contracted for the shows
+with the agents. You could bet that he had got his commission on them,
+too&mdash;though sometimes Mrs. de Graffenried got the shows to come for
+nothing, because of the advertising her name would bring. Commissions were
+Reggie&rsquo;s speciality&mdash;he had begun life as an auto agent. Montague
+didn&rsquo;t know what that was? An auto agent was a man who was for ever
+begging his friends to use a certain kind of car, so that he might make a
+living; and Reggie had made about thirty thousand a year in that way. He had
+come from Boston, where his reputation had been made by the fact that early one
+morning, as they were driving home from a celebration, he had dared a young
+society matron to take off her shoes and stockings, and get out and wade in the
+public fountain; and she had done it, and he had followed her. On the strength
+of the eclat of this he had been taken up by Mrs. Devon; and one day Mrs. Devon
+had worn a white gown, and asked him what he thought of it. &ldquo;It needs but
+one thing to make it perfect,&rdquo; said Reggie, and taking a red rose, he
+pinned it upon her corsage. The effect was magical; every one exclaimed with
+delight, and so Reggie&rsquo;s reputation as an authority upon dress was made
+for ever. Now he was Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s right-hand man, and they made
+up their pranks together. Once they had walked down the street in Newport with
+a big rag doll between them. And Reggie had given a dinner at which the guest
+of honour had been a monkey&mdash;surely Montague had heard of that, for it had
+been the sensation of the season. It was really the funniest thing imaginable;
+the monkey wore a suit of broad-cloth with collar and cuffs, and he shook hands
+with all the guests, and behaved himself exactly like a gentleman&mdash;except
+that he did not get drunk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Mrs. Vivie pointed out the great Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, who was
+sitting with one of her favourites, a grave, black-bearded gentleman who had
+leaped into fame by inheriting fifty million dollars. &ldquo;Mrs. R.-C.&rdquo;
+had taken him up, and ordered his engagement book for him, and he was solemnly
+playing the part of a social light. He had purchased an old New York mansion,
+upon the decoration of which three million dollars had been spent; and when he
+came down to business from Tuxedo, his private train waited all day for him
+with steam up. Mrs. Vivie told an amusing tale of a woman who had announced her
+engagement to him, and borrowed large sums of money upon the strength of it,
+before his denial came out. That had been a source of great delight to Mrs. de
+Graffenried, who was furiously jealous of &ldquo;Mrs. R. C.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the anecdotes that people told, Montague judged that Mrs. de Graffenried
+must be one of those new leaders of Society, who, as Mrs. Alden said, were
+inclined to the bizarre and fantastic. Mrs. de Graffenried spent half a million
+dollars every season to hold the position of leader of the Newport set, and you
+could always count upon her for new and striking ideas. Once she had given away
+as cotillion favours tiny globes with goldfish in them; again she had given a
+dance at which everybody got themselves up as different vegetables. She was
+fond of going about at Newport and inviting people haphazard to
+lunch&mdash;thirty or forty at a time&mdash;and then surprising them with a
+splendid banquet. Again she would give a big formal dinner, and perplex people
+by offering them something which they really cared to eat. &ldquo;You
+see,&rdquo; explained Mrs. Vivie, &ldquo;at these dinners we generally get
+thick green turtle soup, and omelettes with some sort of Florida water poured
+over them, and mushrooms cooked under glass, and real hand-made desserts; but
+Mrs. de Graffenried dares to have baked ham and sweet potatoes, or even real
+roast beef. You saw to-night that she had green corn; she must have arranged
+for that months ahead&mdash;we can never get it from Porto Rico until January.
+And you see this little dish of wild strawberries&mdash;they were probably
+transplanted and raised in a hothouse, and every single one wrapped separately
+before they were shipped.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All these labours had made Mrs. de Graffenried a tremendous power in the social
+world. She had a savage tongue, said Mrs. Vivie, and every one lived in terror
+of her; but once in a while she met her match. Once she had invited a comic
+opera star to sing for her guests, and all the men had crowded round this
+actress, and Mrs. de Graffenried had flown into a passion and tried to drive
+them away; and the actress, lolling back in her chair, and gazing up idly at
+Mrs. de Graffenried, had drawled, &ldquo;<i>Ten years older than
+God!</i>&rdquo; Poor Mrs. de Graffenried would carry that saying with her until
+she died.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Something reminiscent of this came under Montague&rsquo;s notice that same
+evening. At about four o&rsquo;clock Mrs. Vivie wished to go home, and asked
+him to find her escort, the Count St. Elmo de Champignon&mdash;the man, by the
+way, for whom her husband was gunning. Montague roamed all about the house, and
+finally went downstairs, where a room had been set apart for the theatrical
+company to partake of refreshments. Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s secretary was
+on guard at the door; but some of the boys had got into the room, and were
+drinking champagne and &ldquo;making dates&rdquo; with the chorus-girls. And
+here was Mrs. de Graffenried herself, pushing them bodily out of the room, a
+score and more of them&mdash;and among them Mrs. Vivie&rsquo;s Count!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Montague delivered his message, and then went upstairs to wait until his own
+party should be ready to leave. In the smoking-room were a number of men, also
+waiting; and among them he noticed Major Venable, in conversation with a man
+whom he did not know. &ldquo;Come over here,&rdquo; the Major called; and
+Montague obeyed, at the same time noticing the stranger.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was a tall, loose-jointed, powerfully built man, a small head and a very
+striking face: a grim mouth with drooping corners tightly set, and a hawk-like
+nose, and deep-set, peering eyes. &ldquo;Have you met Mr. Hegan?&rdquo; said
+the Major. &ldquo;Hegan, this is Mr. Allan Montague.&rdquo; Jim Hegan! Montague
+repressed a stare and took the chair which they offered him. &ldquo;Have a
+cigar,&rdquo; said Hegan, holding out his case.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mr. Montague has just come to New York,&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;He
+is a Southerner, too.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Indeed?&rdquo; said Hegan, and inquired what State he came from.
+Montague replied, and added, &ldquo;I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter
+last week, at the Horse Show.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That served to start a conversation; for Hegan came from Texas, and when he
+found that Montague knew about horses&mdash;real horses&mdash;he warmed to him.
+Then the Major&rsquo;s party called him away, and the other two were left to
+carry on the conversation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was very easy to chat with Hegan; and yet underneath, in the other&rsquo;s
+mind, there lurked a vague feeling of trepidation, as he realized that he was
+chatting with a hundred millions of dollars. Montague was new enough at the
+game to imagine that there ought to be something strange, some atmosphere of
+awe and mystery, about a man who was master of a dozen railroads and of the
+politics of half a dozen States. He was simple and very kindly in his manner, a
+plain man, interested in plain things. There was about him, as he talked, a
+trace of timidity, almost of apology, which Montague noticed and wondered at.
+It was only later, when he had time to think about it, that he realized that
+Hegan had begun as a farmer&rsquo;s boy in Texas, a &ldquo;poor white&rdquo;;
+and could it be that after all these years an instinct remained in him, so that
+whenever he met a gentleman of the old South he stood by with a little
+deference, seeming to beg pardon for his hundred millions of dollars?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And yet there was the power of the man. Even chatting about horses, you felt
+it; you felt that there was a part of him which did not chat, but which sat
+behind and watched. And strangest of all, Montague found himself fancying that
+behind the face that smiled was another face, that did not smile, but that was
+grim and set. It was a strange face, with its broad, sweeping eyebrows and its
+drooping mouth; it haunted Montague and made him feel ill at ease.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There came Laura Hegan, who greeted them in her stately way; and Mrs. Hegan,
+bustling and vivacious, costumed <i>en grande dame</i>. &ldquo;Come and see me
+some time,&rdquo; said the man. &ldquo;You won&rsquo;t be apt to meet me
+otherwise, for I don&rsquo;t go about much.&rdquo; And so they took their
+departure; and Montague sat alone and smoked and thought. The face still stayed
+with him; and now suddenly, in a burst of light, it came to him what it was:
+the face of a bird of prey&mdash;of the great wild, lonely eagle! You have seen
+it, perhaps, in a menagerie; sitting high up, submitting patiently, biding its
+time. But all the while the soul of the eagle is far away, ranging the wide
+spaces, ready for the lightning swoop, and the clutch with the cruel talons!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The next week was a busy one for the Montagues. The Robbie Wallings had come to
+town and opened their house, and the time drew near for the wonderful débutante
+dance at which Alice was to be formally presented to Society. And of course
+Alice must have a new dress for the occasion, and it must be absolutely the
+most beautiful dress ever known. In an idle moment her cousin figured out that
+it was to cost her about five dollars a minute to be entertained by the
+Wallings!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What it would cost the Wallings, one scarcely dared to think. Their ballroom
+would be turned into a flower-garden; and there would be a supper for a hundred
+guests, and still another supper after the dance, and costly favours for every
+figure. The purchasing of these latter had been entrusted to Oliver, and
+Montague heard with dismay what they were to cost. &ldquo;Robbie couldn&rsquo;t
+afford to do anything second-rate,&rdquo; was the younger brother&rsquo;s only
+reply to his exclamations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alice divided her time between the Wallings and her costumiers, and every
+evening she came home with a new tale of important developments. Alice was new
+at the game, and could afford to be excited; and Mrs. Robbie liked to see her
+bright face, and to smile indulgently at her eager inquiries. Mrs. Robbie
+herself had given her orders to her steward and her florist and her secretary,
+and went on her way and thought no more about it. That was the way of the great
+ladies&mdash;or, at any rate, it was their pose.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The town-house of the Robbies was a stately palace occupying a block upon Fifth
+Avenue&mdash;one of the half-dozen mansions of the Walling family which were
+among the show places of the city. It would take a catalogue to list the
+establishments maintained by the Wallings&mdash;there was an estate in North
+Carolina, and another in the Adirondacks, and others on Long Island and in New
+Jersey. Also there were several in Newport&mdash;one which was almost never
+occupied, and which Mrs. Billy Alden sarcastically described as &ldquo;a
+three-million-dollar castle on a desert.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague accompanied Alice once or twice, and had an opportunity to study Mrs.
+Robbie at home. There were thirty-eight servants in her establishment; it was a
+little state all in itself, with Mrs. Robbie as queen, and her housekeeper as
+prime minister, and under them as many different ranks and classes and castes
+as in a feudal principality. There had to be six separate dining-rooms for the
+various kinds of servants who scorned each other; there were servants&rsquo;
+servants and servants of servants&rsquo; servants. There were only three to
+whom the mistress was supposed to give orders&mdash;the butler, the steward,
+and the housekeeper; she did not even know the names of many of them, and they
+were changed so often, that, as she declared, she had to leave it to her
+detective to distinguish between employees and burglars.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Robbie was quite a young woman, but it pleased her to pose as a care-worn
+matron, weary of the responsibilities of her exalted station. The ignorant
+looked on and pictured her as living in the lap of ease, endowed with every
+opportunity: in reality the meanest kitchen-maid was freer&mdash;she was quite
+worn thin with the burdens that fell upon her. The huge machine was for ever
+threatening to fall to pieces, and required the wisdom of Solomon and the
+patience of Job to keep it running. One paid one&rsquo;s steward a fortune, and
+yet he robbed right and left, and quarrelled with the chef besides. The butler
+was suspected of getting drunk upon rare and costly vintages, and the new
+parlour-maid had turned out to be a Sunday reporter in disguise. The man who
+had come every day for ten years to wind the clocks of the establishment was
+dead, and the one who took care of the bric-à-brac was sick, and the
+housekeeper was in a panic over the prospect of having to train another.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And even suppose that you escaped from these things, the real problems of your
+life had still to be faced. It was not enough to keep alive; you had your
+career&mdash;your duties as a leader of Society. There was the daily mail, with
+all the pitiful letters from people begging money&mdash;actually in one single
+week there were demands for two million dollars. There were geniuses with
+patent incubators and stove-lifters, and every time you gave a ball you stirred
+up swarms of anarchists and cranks. And then there were the letters you really
+had to answer, and the calls that had to be paid. These latter were so many
+that people in the same neighbourhood had arranged to have the same day at
+home; thus, if you lived on Madison Avenue you had Thursday; but even then it
+took a whole afternoon to leave your cards. And then there were invitations to
+be sent and accepted; and one was always making mistakes and offending
+somebody&mdash;people would become mortal enemies overnight, and expect all the
+world to know it the next morning. And now there were so many divorces and
+remarryings, with consequent changing of names; and some men knew about their
+wives&rsquo; lovers and didn&rsquo;t care, and some did care, but didn&rsquo;t
+know&mdash;altogether it was like carrying a dozen chess games in your head.
+And then there was the hairdresser and the manicurist and the masseuse, and the
+tailor and the bootmaker and the jeweller; and then one absolutely had to
+glance through a newspaper, and to see one&rsquo;s children now and then.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this Mrs. Robbie explained at luncheon; it was the rich man&rsquo;s burden,
+about which common people had no conception whatever. A person with a lot of
+money was like a barrel of molasses&mdash;all the flies in the neighbourhood
+came buzzing about. It was perfectly incredible, the lengths to which people
+would go to get invited to your house; not only would they write and beg you,
+they might attack your business interests, and even bribe your friends. And on
+the other hand, when people thought you needed them, the time you had to get
+them to come! &ldquo;Fancy,&rdquo; said Mrs. Robbie, &ldquo;offering to give a
+dinner to an English countess, and having her try to charge you for
+coming!&rdquo; And incredible as it might seem, some people had actually
+yielded to her, and the disgusting creature had played the social celebrity for
+a whole season, and made quite a handsome income out of it. There seemed to be
+no limit to the abjectness of some of the tuft-hunters in Society.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was instructive to hear Mrs. Robbie denounce such evils; and yet&mdash;alas
+for human frailty&mdash;the next time that Montague called, the great lady was
+blazing with wrath over the tidings that a new foreign prince was coming to
+America, and that Mrs. Ridgely-Clieveden had stolen a march upon her and
+grabbed him. He was to be under her tutelage the entire time, and all the
+effulgence of his magnificence would be radiated upon that upstart house. Mrs.
+Robbie revenged herself by saying as many disagreeable things about Mrs.
+Ridgley-Clieveden as she could think of; winding up with the declaration that
+if she behaved with this prince as she had with the Russian grand duke, Mrs.
+Robbie Walling, for one, would cut her dead. And truly the details which Mrs.
+Robbie cited were calculated to suggest that her rival&rsquo;s hospitality was
+a reversion to the customs of primitive savagery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The above is a fair sample of the kind of conversation that one heard whenever
+one visited any of the Wallings. Perhaps, as Mrs. Robbie said, it may have been
+their millions that made necessary their attitude toward other people; certain
+it was, at any rate, that Montague found them all most disagreeable people to
+know. There was always some tempest in a teapot over the latest machinations of
+their enemies. And then there was the whole dead mass of people who sponged
+upon them and toadied to them; and finally the barbarian hordes outside the
+magic circle of their acquaintance&mdash;some specimens of whom came up every
+day for ridicule. They had big feet and false teeth; they ate mush and
+molasses; they wore ready-made ties; they said: &ldquo;Do you wish that I
+should do it?&rdquo; Their grandfathers had been butchers and pedlars and other
+abhorrent things. Montague tried his best to like the Wallings, because of what
+they were doing for Alice; but after he had sat at their lunch-table and
+listened to a conversation such as this, he found himself in need of fresh air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then he would begin to wonder about his own relation to these people. If
+they talked about every one else behind their backs, certainly they must talk
+about him behind his. And why did they go out of their way to make him at home,
+and why were they spending their money to launch Alice in Society? In the
+beginning he had assumed that they did it out of the goodness of their hearts;
+but now that he had looked into their hearts, he rejected the explanation. It
+was not their way to shower princely gifts upon strangers; in general, the
+attitude of all the Wallings toward a stranger was that of the London
+hooligan&mdash;&ldquo;&lsquo;Eave a &rsquo;arf a brick at &rsquo;im!&rdquo;
+They considered themselves especially appointed by Providence to protect
+Society from the vulgar newly rich who poured into the city, seeking for
+notoriety and recognition. They prided themselves upon this attitude&mdash;they
+called it their &ldquo;exclusiveness&rdquo;; and the exclusiveness of the
+younger generations of Wallings had become a kind of insanity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor could the reason be that Alice was beautiful and attractive. One could have
+imagined it if Mrs. Robbie had been like&mdash;say, Mrs. Winnie Duval. It was
+easy to think of Mrs. Winnie taking a fancy to a girl, and spending half her
+fortune upon her. But from a hundred little things that he had seen, Montague
+had come to realize that the Robbie Wallings, with all their wealth and power
+and grandeur, were actually quite stingy. While all the world saw them
+scattering fortunes in their pathway, in reality they were keeping track of
+every dollar. And Robbie himself was liable to panic fits of economy, in which
+he went to the most absurd excesses&mdash;Montague once heard him haggling over
+fifty cents with a cabman. Lavish hosts though they both were, it was the
+literal truth that they never spent money upon anyone but themselves&mdash;the
+end and aim of their every action was the power and prestige of the Robbie
+Wallings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They do it because they are friends of mine,&rdquo; said Oliver, and
+evidently wished that to satisfy his brother. But it only shifted the problem
+and set him to watching Robbie and Oliver, and trying to make out the basis of
+their relationship. There was a very grave question concerned in this. Oliver
+had come to New York comparatively poor, and now he was rich&mdash;or, at any
+rate, he lived like a rich man. And his brother, whose scent was growing keener
+with every day of his stay in New York, had about made up his mind that Oliver
+got his money from Robbie Walling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here, again, the problem would have been simple, if it had been another person
+than Robbie; Montague would have concluded that his brother was a
+&ldquo;hanger-on.&rdquo; There were many great families whose establishments
+were infested with such parasites. Siegfried Harvey, for instance, was a man
+who had always half a dozen young chaps hanging about him; good-looking and
+lively fellows, who hunted and played bridge, and amused the married women
+while their husbands were at work, and who, if ever they dropped a hint that
+they were hard up, might be reasonably certain of being offered a cheque. But
+if the Robbie Wallings were to write cheques, it must be for value received.
+And what could the value be?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ollie&rdquo; was rather a little god among the ultra-swagger; his taste
+was a kind of inspiration. And yet his brother noticed that in such questions
+he always deferred instantly to the Wallings; and surely the Wallings were not
+people to be persuaded that they needed anyone to guide them in matters of
+taste. Again, Ollie was the very devil of a wit, and people were heartily
+afraid of him; and Montague had noticed that he never by any chance made fun of
+Robbie&mdash;that the fetiches of the house of Walling were always treated with
+respect. So he had wondered if by any chance Robbie was maintaining his brother
+in princely state for the sake of his ability to make other people
+uncomfortable. But he realized that the Robbies, in their own view of it, could
+have no more need of wit than a battleship has need of popguns. Oliver&rsquo;s
+position, when they were about, was rather that of the man who hardly ever
+dared to be as clever as he might, because of the restless jealousy of his
+friend.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a mystery; and it made the elder brother very uncomfortable. Alice was
+young and guileless, and a pleasant person to patronize; but he was a man of
+the world, and it was his business to protect her. He had always paid his own
+way through life, and he was very loath to put himself under obligations to
+people like the Wallings, whom he did not like, and who, he felt instinctively,
+could not like him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But of course there was nothing he could do about it. The date for the great
+festivity was set; and the Wallings were affable and friendly, and Alice all
+a-tremble with excitement. The evening arrived, and with it came the enemies of
+the Wallings, dressed in their jewels and fine raiment. They had been asked
+because they were too important to be skipped, and they had come because the
+Wallings were too powerful to be ignored. They revenged themselves by consuming
+many courses of elaborate and costly viands; and they shook hands with Alice
+and beamed upon her, and then discussed her behind her back as if she were a
+French doll in a show-case. They decided unanimously that her elder cousin was
+a &ldquo;stick,&rdquo; and that the whole family were interlopers and shameless
+adventurers; but it was understood that since the Robbie Wallings had seen fit
+to take them up, it would be necessary to invite them about.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At any rate, that was the way it all seemed to Montague, who had been brooding.
+To Alice it was a splendid festivity, to which exquisite people came to take
+delight in each other&rsquo;s society. There were gorgeous costumes and
+sparkling gems; there was a symphony of perfumes, intoxicating the senses, and
+a golden flood of music streaming by; there were laughing voices and admiring
+glances, and handsome partners with whom one might dance through the portals of
+fairyland.&mdash;And then, next morning, there were accounts in all the
+newspapers, with descriptions of one&rsquo;s costume and then some of those
+present, and even the complete menus of the supper, to assist in preserving the
+memories of the wonderful occasion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Now they were really in Society. A reporter called to get Alice&rsquo;s photo
+for the Sunday supplement; and floods of invitations came&mdash;and with them
+all the cares and perplexities about which Mrs. Robbie had told. Some of these
+invitations had to be declined, and one must know whom it was safe to offend.
+Also, there was a long letter from a destitute widow, and a proposal from a
+foreign count. Mrs. Robbie&rsquo;s secretary had a list of many hundreds of
+these professional beggars and blackmailers.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Conspicuous at the dance was Mrs. Winnie, in a glorious electric-blue silk
+gown. And she shook her fan at Montague, exclaiming, &ldquo;You wretched
+man&mdash;you promised to come and see me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been out of town,&rdquo; Montague protested.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, come to dinner to-morrow night,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie.
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be some bridge fiends.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You forget I haven&rsquo;t learned to play,&rdquo; he objected.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, come anyhow,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll teach you.
+I&rsquo;m no player myself, and my husband will be there, and he&rsquo;s
+good-natured; and my brother Dan&mdash;he&rsquo;ll have to be whether he likes
+it or not.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Montague visited the Snow Palace again, and met Winton Duval, the
+banker,&mdash;a tall, military-looking man of about fifty, with a big grey
+moustache, and bushy eyebrows, and the head of a lion. His was one of the
+city&rsquo;s biggest banking-houses, and in alliance with powerful interests in
+the Street. At present he was going in for mines in Mexico and South America,
+and so he was very seldom at home. He was a man of most rigid habits&mdash;he
+would come back unexpectedly after a month&rsquo;s trip, and expect to find
+everything ready for him, both at home and in his office, as if he had just
+stepped round the corner. Montague observed that he took his menu-card and
+jotted down his comments upon each dish, and then sent it down to the chef.
+Other people&rsquo;s dinners he very seldom attended, and when his wife gave
+her entertainments, he invariably dined at the club.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He pleaded a business engagement for the evening; and as brother Dan did not
+appear, Montague did not learn any bridge. The other four guests settled down
+to the game, and Montague and Mrs. Winnie sat and chatted, basking before the
+fireplace in the great entrance-hall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you seen Charlie Carter?&rdquo; was the first question she asked
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not lately,&rdquo; he answered; &ldquo;I met him at
+Harvey&rsquo;s.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know that,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;They tell me he got drunk.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid he did,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Poor boy!&rdquo; exclaimed Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;And Alice saw him! He
+must be heartbroken!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing. &ldquo;You know,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;Charlie
+really means well. He has honestly an affectionate nature.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She paused; and Montague Said, vaguely, &ldquo;I suppose so.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t like him,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I can see that.
+And I suppose now Alice will have no use for him, either. And I had it all
+fixed up for her to reform him!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague smiled in spite of himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, I know,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t have been easy.
+But you&rsquo;ve no idea what a beautiful boy Charlie used to be, until all the
+women set to work to ruin him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can imagine it,&rdquo; said Montague; but he did not warm to the
+subject.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;re just like my husband,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, sadly.
+&ldquo;You have no use at all for anything that&rsquo;s weak or
+unfortunate.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a pause. &ldquo;And I suppose,&rdquo; she said finally,
+&ldquo;you&rsquo;ll be turning into a business man also&mdash;with no time for
+anybody or anything. Have you begun yet?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not yet,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still looking
+round.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t the least idea about business,&rdquo; she confessed.
+&ldquo;How does one begin at it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say I know that myself as yet,&rdquo; said Montague,
+laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Would you like to be a protégé of my husband&rsquo;s?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The proposition was rather sudden, but he answered, with a smile, &ldquo;I
+should have no objections. What would he do with me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that. But he can do whatever he wants down town. And
+he&rsquo;d show you how to make a lot of money if I asked him to.&rdquo; Then
+Mrs. Winnie added, quickly, &ldquo;I mean it&mdash;he could do it,
+really.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t the least doubt of it,&rdquo; responded Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And what&rsquo;s more,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;you don&rsquo;t want
+to be shy about taking advantage of the opportunities that come to you.
+You&rsquo;ll find you won&rsquo;t get along in New York unless you go right in
+and grab what you can. People will be quick enough to take advantage of
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They have all been very kind to me so far,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;But
+when I get ready for business, I&rsquo;ll harden my heart.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie sat lost in meditation. &ldquo;I think business is dreadful,&rdquo;
+she said. &ldquo;So much hard work and worry! Why can&rsquo;t men learn to get
+along without it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There are bills that have to be paid,&rdquo; Montague replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s our dreadfully extravagant way of life,&rdquo; exclaimed the
+other. &ldquo;Sometimes I wish I had never had any money in my life.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You would soon tire of it,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;You would miss this
+house.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I should not miss it a bit,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, promptly.
+&ldquo;That is really the truth&mdash;I don&rsquo;t care for this sort of thing
+at all. I&rsquo;d like to live simply, and without so many cares and
+responsibilities. And some day I&rsquo;m going to do it, too&mdash;I really am.
+I&rsquo;m going to get myself a little farm, away off somewhere in the country.
+And I&rsquo;m going there to live and raise chickens and vegetables, and have
+my own flower-gardens, that I can take care of myself. It will all be plain and
+simple&mdash;&rdquo; and then Mrs. Winnie stopped short, exclaiming, &ldquo;You
+are laughing at me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not at all!&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;But I couldn&rsquo;t help
+thinking about the newspaper reporters&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There you are!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;One can never have a beautiful
+dream, or try to do anything sensible&mdash;because of the newspaper
+reporters!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If Montague had been meeting Mrs. Winnie Duval for the first time, he would
+have been impressed by her yearnings for the simple life; he would have thought
+it an important sign of the times. But alas, he knew by this time that his
+charming hostess had more flummery about her than anybody else he had
+encountered&mdash;and all of her own devising! Mrs. Winnie smoked her own
+private brand of cigarettes, and when she offered them to you, there were the
+arms of the old ducal house of Montmorenci on the wrappers! And when you got a
+letter from Mrs. Winnie, you observed a three-cent stamp upon the
+envelope&mdash;for lavender was her colour, and two-cent stamps were an
+atrocious red! So one might feel certain that it Mrs. Winnie ever went in for
+chicken-raising, the chickens would be especially imported from China or
+Patagonia, and the chicken-coops would be precise replicas of those in the old
+Chateau de Montmorenci which she had visited in her automobile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Mrs. Winnie was beautiful, and quite entertaining to talk to, and so he was
+respectfully sympathetic while she told him about her pastoral intentions. And
+then she told him about Mrs. Caroline Smythe, who had called a meeting of her
+friends at one of the big hotels, and organized a society and founded the
+&ldquo;Bide-a-Wee Home&rdquo; for destitute cats. After that she switched off
+into psychic research&mdash;somebody had taken her to a seance, where grave
+college professors and ladies in spectacles sat round and waited for ghosts to
+materialize. It was Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s first experience at this, and she was
+as excited as a child who has just found the key to the jam-closet. &ldquo;I
+hardly knew whether to laugh or to be afraid,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;What
+would you think?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You may have the pleasure of giving me my first impressions of
+it,&rdquo; said Montague, with a laugh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;they had table-tipping&mdash;and it was
+the most uncanny thing to see the table go jumping about the room! And then
+there were raps&mdash;and one can&rsquo;t imagine how strange it was to see
+people who really believed they were getting messages from ghosts. It
+positively made my flesh creep. And then this woman&mdash;Madame
+Somebody-or-other&mdash;went into a trance&mdash;ugh! Afterward I talked with
+one of the men, and he told me about how his father had appeared to him in the
+night and told him he had just been drowned at sea. Have you ever heard of such
+a thing?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We have such a tradition in our family,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Every family seems to have,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;But, dear
+me, it made me so uncomfortable&mdash;I lay awake all night expecting to see my
+own father. He had the asthma, you know; and I kept fancying I heard him
+breathing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had risen and were strolling into the conservatory; and she glanced at the
+man in armour. &ldquo;I got to fancying that his ghost might come to see
+me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I shall attend any more
+séances. My husband was told that I promised them some money, and he was
+furious&mdash;he&rsquo;s afraid it&rsquo;ll get into the papers.&rdquo; And
+Montague shook with inward laughter, picturing what a time the aristocratic and
+stately old banker must have, trying to keep his wife out of the papers!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie turned on the lights in the fountain, and sat by the edge, gazing
+at her fish. Montague was half expecting her to inquire whether he thought that
+they had ghosts; but she spared him this, going off on another line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I asked Dr. Parry about it,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Have you met
+him?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Dr. Parry was the rector of St. Cecilia&rsquo;s, the fashionable Fifth Avenue
+church which most of Montague&rsquo;s acquaintances attended. &ldquo;I
+haven&rsquo;t been in the city over Sunday yet,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;But
+Alice has met him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You must go with me some time,&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;But about the
+ghosts&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did he say?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He seemed to be shy of them,&rdquo; laughed Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;He said
+it had a tendency to lead one into dangerous fields. But oh! I forgot&mdash;I
+asked my swami also, and it didn&rsquo;t startle him. They are used to ghosts;
+they believe that souls keep coming back to earth, you know. I think if it was
+his ghost, I wouldn&rsquo;t mind seeing it&mdash;for he has such beautiful
+eyes. He gave me a book of Hindu legends&mdash;and there was such a sweet story
+about a young princess who loved in vain, and died of grief; and her soul went
+into a tigress; and she came in the night-time where her lover lay sleeping by
+the firelight, and she carried him off into the ghost-world. It was a most
+creepy thing&mdash;I sat out here and read it, and I could imagine the terrible
+tigress lurking in the shadows, with its stripes shining in the firelight, and
+its green eyes gleaming. You know that poem&mdash;we used to read it in
+school&mdash;&lsquo;Tiger, tiger, burning bright!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was not very easy for Montague to imagine a tigress in Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s
+conservatory; unless, indeed, one were willing to take the proposition in a
+metaphorical sense. There are wild creatures which sleep in the heart of man,
+and which growl now and then, and stir their tawny limbs, and cause one to
+start and turn cold. Mrs. Winnie wore a dress of filmy softness, trimmed with
+red flowers which paled beside her own intenser colouring. She had a perfume of
+her own, with a strange exotic fragrance which touched the chorus of memory as
+only an odour can. She leaned towards him, speaking eagerly, with her soft
+white arms lying upon the basin&rsquo;s rim. So much loveliness could not be
+gazed at without pain; and a faint trembling passed through Montague, like a
+breeze across a pool. Perhaps it touched Mrs. Winnie also, for she fell
+suddenly silent, and her gaze wandered off into the darkness. For a minute or
+two there was stillness, save for the pulse of the fountain, and the heaving of
+her bosom keeping time with it.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+And then in the morning Oliver inquired, &ldquo;Where were you, last
+night?&rdquo; And when his brother answered, &ldquo;At Mrs.
+Winnie&rsquo;s,&rdquo; he smiled and said, &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; Then he added,
+gravely, &ldquo;Cultivate Mrs. Winnie&mdash;you can&rsquo;t do better at
+present.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Montague accepted his friend&rsquo;s invitation to share her pew at St.
+Cecilia&rsquo;s, and next Sunday morning he and Alice went, and found Mrs.
+Winnie with her cousin. Poor Charlie had evidently been scrubbed and shined,
+both physically and morally, and got ready to appeal for &ldquo;one more
+chance.&rdquo; While he shook hands with Alice, he was gazing at her with dumb
+and pleading eyes; he seemed to be profoundly grateful that she did not refuse
+to enter the pew with him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A most interesting place was St. Cecilia&rsquo;s. Church-going was another of
+the customs of men and women which Society had taken up, like the Opera, and
+made into a state function. Here was a magnificent temple, with carved marble
+and rare woods, and jewels gleaming decorously in a dim religious light. At the
+door of this edifice would halt the carriages of Society, and its wives and
+daughters would alight, rustling with new silk petticoats and starched and
+perfumed linen, each one a picture, exquisitely gowned and bonneted and gloved,
+and carrying a demure little prayer-book. Behind them followed the patient men,
+all in new frock-coats and shiny silk hats; the men of Society were always
+newly washed and shaved, newly groomed and gloved, but now they seemed to be
+more so&mdash;they were full of the atmosphere of Sunday. Alas for those
+unregenerate ones, the infidels and the heathen who scoff in outer darkness,
+and know not the delicious <i>feeling</i> of Sunday&mdash;the joy of being
+washed and starched and perfumed, and made to be clean and comfortable and
+good, after all the really dreadful wickedness of six days of fashionable
+life!&mdash;And afterward the parade upon the Avenue, with the congregations of
+several score additional churches, and such a show of stylish costumes that
+half the city came to see!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Amid this exquisite assemblage at St. Cecilia&rsquo;s, the revolutionary
+doctrines of the Christian religion produced neither perplexity nor alarm. The
+chance investigator might have listened in dismay to solemn pronouncements of
+everlasting damnation, to statements about rich men and the eyes of needles,
+and the lilies of the field which did not spin. But the congregation of St.
+Cecilia&rsquo;s understood that these things were to be taken in a quixotic
+sense; sharing the view of the French marquis that the Almighty would think
+twice before damning a gentleman like him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One had heard these phrases ever since childhood, and one accepted them as a
+matter of course. After all, these doctrines had come from the lips of a divine
+being, whom it would be presumptuous in a mere mortal to attempt to imitate.
+Such points one could but leave to those whose business it was to interpret
+them&mdash;the doctors and dignitaries of the church; and when one met them,
+one&rsquo;s heart was set at rest&mdash;for they were not iconoclasts and
+alarmists, but gentlemen of culture and tact. The bishop who presided in this
+metropolitan district was a stately personage, who moved in the best Society
+and belonged to the most exclusive clubs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The pews in St. Cecilia&rsquo;s were rented, and they were always in great
+demand; it was one of the customs of those who hung upon the fringe of Society
+to come every Sunday, and bow and smile, and hope against hope for some chance
+opening. The stranger who came was dependent upon hospitality; but there were
+soft-footed and tactful ushers, who would find one a seat, if one were a
+presentable person. The contingency of an unpresentable person seldom arose,
+for the proletariat did not swarm at the gates of St. Cecilia&rsquo;s. Out of
+its liberal income the church maintained a &ldquo;mission&rdquo; upon the East
+Side, where young curates wrestled with the natural depravity of the lower
+classes&mdash;meantime cultivating a soul-stirring tone, and waiting until they
+should be promoted to a real church. Society was becoming deferential to its
+religious guides, and would have been quite shocked at the idea that it exerted
+any pressure upon them; but the young curates were painfully aware of a process
+of unnatural selection, whereby those whose manner and cut of coat were not
+pleasing were left a long time in the slums.&mdash;On one occasion there had
+been an amusing blunder; a beautiful new church was built at Newport, and an
+eloquent young minister was installed, and all Society attended the opening
+service&mdash;and sat and listened in consternation to an arraignment of its
+own follies and vices! The next Sunday, needless to say, Society was not
+present; and within half a year the church was stranded, and had to be
+dismantled and sold!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had elaborate music at St. Cecilia&rsquo;s, so beautiful that Alice felt
+uncomfortable, and thought that it was perilously &ldquo;high.&rdquo; At this
+Mrs. Winnie laughed, offering to take her to an afternoon service around the
+corner, where they had a full orchestra, and a harp, and opera music, and
+incense and genuflexions and confessionals. There were people, it seemed, who
+like to thrill themselves by dallying with the wickedness of
+&ldquo;Romanism&rdquo;; somewhat as a small boy tries to see how near he can
+walk to the edge of a cliff. The &ldquo;father&rdquo; at this church had a
+jewelled robe with a train so many yards long, and which had cost some
+incredible number of thousands of dollars; and every now and then he marched in
+a stately procession through the aisles, so that all the spectators might have
+a good look at it. There was a fierce controversy about these things in the
+church, and libraries of pamphlets were written, and intrigues and social wars
+were fought over them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Montague and Alice did not attend this service&mdash;they had promised
+themselves the very plebeian diversion of a ride in the subway; for so far they
+had not seen this feature of the city. People who lived in Society saw Madison
+and Fifth Avenues, where their homes were, with the churches and hotels
+scattered along them; and the shopping district just below, and the theatre
+district at one side, and the park to the north. Unless one went automobiling,
+that was all of the city one need ever see. When visitors asked about the
+Aquarium, and the Stock Exchange, and the Museum of Art, and Tammany Hall, and
+Ellis Island, where the immigrants came, the old New Yorkers would look
+perplexed, and say: &ldquo;Dear me, do you really want to see those things?
+Why, I have been here all my life, and have never seen them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the hordes of sightseers there had been provided a special contrivance, a
+huge automobile omnibus which seated thirty or forty people, and went from the
+Battery to Harlem with a young man shouting through a megaphone a description
+of the sights. The irreverent had nicknamed this the &ldquo;yap-wagon&rdquo;;
+and declared that the company maintained a fake &ldquo;opium-joint&rdquo; in
+Chinatown, and a fake &ldquo;dive&rdquo; in the Bowery, and hired tough-looking
+individuals to sit and be stared at by credulous excursionists from Oklahoma
+and Kalamazoo. Of course it would never have done for people who had just been
+passed into Society to climb upon a &ldquo;yap-wagon&rdquo;; but they were
+permitted to get into the subway, and were whirled with a deafening clatter
+through a long tunnel of steel and stone. And then they got out and climbed a
+steep hill like any common mortals, and stood and gazed at Grant&rsquo;s tomb:
+a huge white marble edifice upon a point overlooking the Hudson.
+Architecturally it was not a beautiful structure&mdash;but one was consoled by
+reflecting that the hero himself would not have cared about that. It might have
+been described as a soap-box with a cheese-box on top of it; and these homely
+and familiar articles were perhaps not altogether out of keeping with the
+character of the humblest great man who ever lived.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The view up the river was magnificent, quite the finest which the city had to
+offer; but it was ruined by a hideous gas-tank, placed squarely in the middle
+of it. And this, again, was not inappropriate&mdash;it was typical of all the
+ways of the city. It was a city which had grown up by accident, with nobody to
+care about it or to help it; it was huge and ungainly, crude, uncomfortable,
+and grotesque. There was nowhere in it a beautiful sight upon which a man could
+rest his eyes, without having them tortured by something ugly near by. At the
+foot of the slope of the River Drive ran a hideous freight-railroad; and across
+the river the beautiful Palisades were being blown to pieces to make paving
+stone&mdash;and meantime were covered with advertisements of land-companies.
+And if there was a beautiful building, there, was sure to be a tobacco
+advertisement beside it; if there was a beautiful avenue, there were trucks and
+overworked horses toiling in the harness; if there was a beautiful park, it was
+filled with wretched, outcast men. Nowhere was any order or
+system&mdash;everything was struggling for itself, and jarring and clashing
+with everything else; and this broke the spell of power which the Titan city
+would otherwise have produced. It seemed like a monstrous heap of wasted
+energies; a mountain in perpetual labour, and producing an endless series of
+abortions. The men and women in it were wearing themselves out with toil; but
+there was a spell laid upon them, so that, struggle as they might, they
+accomplished nothing.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Coming out of the church, Montague had met Judge Ellis; and the Judge had said,
+&ldquo;I shall soon have something to talk over with you.&rdquo; So Montague
+gave him his address, and a day or two later came an invitation to lunch with
+him at his club.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Judge&rsquo;s club took up a Fifth Avenue block, and was stately and
+imposing. It had been formed in the stress of the Civil War days; lean and
+hungry heroes had come home from battle and gone into business, and those who
+had succeeded had settled down here to rest. To see them now, dozing in huge
+leather-cushioned arm-chairs, you would have had a hard time to guess that they
+had ever been lean and hungry heroes. They were diplomats and statesmen,
+bishops and lawyers, great merchants and financiers&mdash;the men who had made
+the city&rsquo;s ruling-class for a century. Everything here was decorous and
+grave, and the waiters stole about with noiseless feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague talked with the Judge about New York and what he had seen of it, and
+the people he had met; and about his father, and the war; and about the recent
+election and the business outlook. And meantime they ordered luncheon; and when
+they had got to the cigars, the Judge coughed and said, &ldquo;And now I have a
+matter of business to talk over with you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague settled himself to listen. &ldquo;I have a friend,&rdquo; the Judge
+explained&mdash;&ldquo;a very good friend, who has asked me to find him a
+lawyer to undertake an important case. I talked the matter over with General
+Prentice, and he agreed with me that it would be a good idea to lay the matter
+before you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am very much obliged to you,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The matter is a delicate one,&rdquo; continued the other. &ldquo;It has
+to do with life insurance. Are you familiar with the insurance business?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not at all.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I had supposed not,&rdquo; said the Judge. &ldquo;There are some
+conditions which are not generally known about, but which I may say, to put it
+mildly, are not altogether satisfactory. My friend is a large policy-holder in
+several companies, and he is not satisfied with the management of them. The
+delicacy of the situation, so far as I am concerned, is that the company with
+which he has the most fault to find is one in which I myself am a director. You
+understand?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perfectly,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;What company is it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The Fidelity,&rdquo; replied the other&mdash;and his companion thought
+in a flash of Freddie Vandam, whom he had met at Castle Havens! For the
+Fidelity was Freddie&rsquo;s company.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The first thing that I have to ask you,&rdquo; continued the Judge,
+&ldquo;is that, whether you care to take the case or not, you will consider my
+own intervention in the matter absolutely <i>entre nous</i>. My position is
+simply this: I have protested at the meetings of the directors of the company
+against what I consider an unwise policy&mdash;and my protests have been
+ignored. And when my friend asked me for advice, I gave it to him; but at the
+same time I am not in a position to be publicly quoted in connexion with the
+matter. You follow me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perfectly,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I will agree to what you
+ask.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very good. Now then, the condition is, in brief, this: the companies are
+accumulating an enormous surplus, which, under the law, belongs to the
+policy-holders; but the administrations of the various companies are
+withholding these dividends, for the sake of the banking-power which these
+accumulated funds afford to them and their associates. This is, as I hold, a
+very manifest injustice, and a most dangerous condition of affairs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I should say so!&rdquo; responded Montague. He was amazed at such a
+statement, coming from such a source. &ldquo;How could this continue?&rdquo; he
+asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It has continued for a long time,&rdquo; the Judge answered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But why is it not known?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is perfectly well known to every one in the insurance
+business,&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;The matter has never been taken up or
+published, simply because the interests involved have such enormous and widely
+extended power that no one has ever dared to attack them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat forward, with his eyes riveted upon the Judge. &ldquo;Go
+on,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The situation is simply this,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;My friend,
+Mr. Hasbrook, wishes to bring a suit against the Fidelity Company to compel it
+to pay to him his proper share of its surplus. He wishes the suit pressed, and
+followed to the court of last resort.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And do you mean to tell me,&rdquo; asked Montague, &ldquo;that you would
+have any difficulty to find a lawyer in New York to undertake such a
+case?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;not exactly that. There are lawyers in
+New York who would undertake anything. But to find a lawyer of standing who
+would take it, and withstand all the pressure that would be brought to bear
+upon him&mdash;that might take some time.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You astonish me, Judge.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Financial interests in this city are pretty closely tied together, Mr.
+Montague. Of course there are law firms which are identified with interests
+opposed to those who control the company. It would be very easy to get them to
+take the case, but you can see that in that event my friend would be accused of
+bringing the suit in their interest; whereas he wishes it to appear, as it
+really is, a suit of an independent person, seeking the rights of the vast body
+of the policy-holders. For that reason, he wished to find a lawyer who was
+identified with no interest of any sort, and who was free to give his undivided
+attention to the issue. So I thought of you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I will take the case,&rdquo; said Montague instantly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is my duty to warn you,&rdquo; said the Judge, gravely, &ldquo;that
+you will be taking a very serious step. You must be prepared to face powerful,
+and, I am afraid, unscrupulous enemies. You may find that you have made it
+impossible for other and very desirable clients to deal with you. You may find
+your business interests, if you have any, embarrassed&mdash;your credit
+impaired, and so on. You must be prepared to have your character assailed, and
+your motives impugned in the public press. You may find that social pressure
+will be brought to bear on you. So it is a step from which most young men who
+have their careers to make would shrink.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s face had turned a shade paler as he listened. &ldquo;I am
+assuming,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that the facts are as you have stated them to
+me&mdash;that an unjust condition exists.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You may assume that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very well.&rdquo; And Montague clenched his hand, and put it down upon
+the table. &ldquo;I will take the case,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For a few moments they sat in silence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I will arrange,&rdquo; said the Judge, at last, &ldquo;for you and Mr.
+Hasbrook to meet. I must explain to you, as a matter of fairness, that he is a
+rich man, and will be able to pay you for your services. He is asking a great
+deal of you, and he should expect to pay for it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat in thought. &ldquo;I have not really had time to get my bearings
+in New York,&rdquo; he said at last. &ldquo;I think I had best leave it to you
+to say what I should charge him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If I were in your position,&rdquo; the Judge answered, &ldquo;I think
+that I should ask a retaining-fee of fifty thousand dollars. I believe he will
+expect to pay at least that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague could scarcely repress a start. Fifty thousand dollars! The words made
+his head whirl round. But then, all of a sudden, he recalled his half-jesting
+resolve to play the game of business sternly. So he nodded his head gravely,
+and said, &ldquo;Very well; I am much obliged to you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After a pause, he added, &ldquo;I hope that I may prove able to handle the case
+to your friend&rsquo;s satisfaction.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your ability remains for you to prove,&rdquo; said the Judge. &ldquo;I
+have only been in position to assure him of your character.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He must understand, of course,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;that I am a
+stranger, and that it will take me a while to study the situation.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course he knows that. But you will find that Mr. Hasbrook knows a
+good deal about the law himself. And he has already had a lot of work done. You
+must understand that it is very easy to get legal <i>advice</i> about such a
+matter&mdash;what is sought is some one to take the conduct of the case.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Montague; and the Judge added, with a smile,
+&ldquo;Some one to get up on horseback, and draw the fire of the enemy!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then the great man was, as usual, reminded of a story; and then of more
+stories; until at last they rose from the table, and shook hands upon their
+bargain, and parted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Fifty thousand dollars! <i>Fifty thousand dollars!</i> It was all Montague
+could do to keep from exclaiming it aloud on the street. He could hardly
+believe that it was a reality&mdash;if it had been a less-known person than
+Judge Ellis, he would have suspected that some one must be playing a joke upon
+him. Fifty thousand dollars was more than many a lawyer made at home in a
+lifetime; and simply as a retaining-fee in one case! The problem of a living
+had weighed on his soul ever since the first day in the city, and now suddenly
+it was solved; all in a few minutes, the way had been swept clear before him.
+He walked home as if upon air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then there was the excitement of telling the family about it. He had an
+idea that his brother might be alarmed if he were told about the seriousness of
+the case; and so he simply said that the Judge had brought him a rich client,
+and that it was an insurance case. Oliver, who knew and cared nothing about
+law, asked no questions, and contented himself with saying, &ldquo;I told you
+how easy it was to make money in New York, if only you knew the right
+people!&rdquo; As for Alice, she had known all along that her cousin was a
+great man, and that clients would come to him as soon as he hung out his sign.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+His sign was not out yet, by the way; that was the next thing to be attended
+to. He must get himself an office at once, and some books, and begin to read up
+insurance law; and so, bright and early the next morning, he took the subway
+down town.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And here, for the first time, Montague saw the real New York. All the rest was
+mere shadow&mdash;the rest was where men slept and played, but here was where
+they fought out the battle of their lives. Here the fierce intensity of it
+smote him in the face&mdash;he saw the cruel waste and ruin of it, the wreckage
+of the blind, haphazard strife.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a city caught in a trap. It was pent in at one end of a narrow little
+island. It had been no one&rsquo;s business to foresee that it must some day
+outgrow this space; now men were digging a score of tunnels to set it free, but
+they had not begun these until the pressure had become unendurable, and now it
+had reached its climax. In the financial district, land had been sold for as
+much as four dollars a square inch. Huge blocks of buildings shot up to the sky
+in a few months&mdash;fifteen, twenty, twenty-five stories of them, and with
+half a dozen stories hewn out of the solid rock beneath; there was to be one
+building of forty-two stories, six hundred and fifty feet in height. And
+between them were narrow chasms of streets, where the hurrying crowds
+overflowed the sidewalks. Yet other streets were filled with trucks and heavy
+vehicles, with electric cars creeping slowly along, and little swirls and
+eddies of people darting across here and there.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These huge buildings were like beehives, swarming with life and activity, with
+scores of elevators shooting through them at bewildering speed. Everywhere was
+the atmosphere of rush; the spirit of it seized hold of one, and he began to
+hurry, even though he had no place to go. The man who walked slowly and looked
+about him was in the way&mdash;he was jostled here and there, and people eyed
+him with suspicion and annoyance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Elsewhere on the island men did the work of the city; here they did the work of
+the world. Each room in these endless mazes of buildings was a cell in a mighty
+brain; the telephone wires were nerves, and by the whole huge organism the
+thinking and willing of a continent were done. It was a noisy place to the
+physical ear; but to the ear of the mind it roared with the roaring of a
+thousand Niagaras. Here was the Stock Exchange, where the scales of trade were
+held before the eyes of the country. Here was the clearing-house, where
+hundreds of millions of dollars were exchanged every day. Here were the great
+banks, the reservoirs into which the streams of the country&rsquo;s wealth were
+poured. Here were the brains of the great railroad systems, of the telegraph
+and telephone systems, of mines and mills and factories. Here were the centres
+of the country&rsquo;s trade; in one place the shipping trade, in another the
+jewellery trade, the grocery trade, the leather trade. A little farther up town
+was the clothing district, where one might see the signs of more Hebrews than
+all Jerusalem had ever held; in yet other districts were the newspaper offices,
+and the centre of the magazine and book-publishing business of the whole
+country. One might climb to the top of one of the great
+&ldquo;sky-scrapers,&rdquo; and gaze down upon a wilderness of houses, with
+roofs as innumerable as tree-tops, and people looking like tiny insects below.
+Or one might go out into the harbour late upon a winter afternoon, and see it
+as a city of a million lights, rising like an incantation from the sea. Round
+about it was an unbroken ring of docks, with ferry-boats and tugs darting
+everywhere, and vessels which had come from every port in the world, emptying
+their cargoes into the huge maw of the Metropolis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And of all this, nothing had been planned! All lay just as it had fallen, and
+men bore the confusion and the waste as best they could. Here were huge steel
+vaults, in which lay many billions of dollars&rsquo; worth of securities, the
+control of the finances of the country; and a block or two in one direction
+were warehouses and gin-mills, and in another direction cheap lodging-houses
+and sweating-dens. And at a certain hour all this huge machine would come to a
+halt, and its millions of human units would make a blind rush for their homes.
+Then at the entrances to bridges and ferries and trams, would be seen sights of
+madness and terror; throngs of men and women swept hither and thither, pushing
+and struggling, shouting, cursing&mdash;fighting, now and then, in sudden panic
+fear. All decency was forgotten here&mdash;people would be mashed into cars
+like football players in a heap, and guards and policemen would jam the gates
+tight&mdash;or like as not be swept away themselves in the pushing, grunting,
+writhing mass of human beings. Women would faint and be trampled; men would
+come out with clothing torn to shreds, and sometimes with broken arms or ribs.
+And thinking people would gaze at the sight and shudder, wondering&mdash;how
+long a city could hold together, when the masses of its population were thus
+forced back, day after day, habitually, upon the elemental brute within them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this vast business district Montague would have felt utterly lost and
+helpless, if it had not been for that fifty thousand dollars, and the sense of
+mastery which it gave him. He sought out General Prentice, and under his
+guidance selected his suite of rooms, and got his furniture and books in
+readiness. And a day or two later, by appointment, came Mr. Hasbrook.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was a wiry, nervous little man, who did not impress one as much of a
+personality; but he had the insurance situation at his fingers&rsquo;
+ends&mdash;his grievance had evidently wrought upon him. Certainly, if half of
+what he alleged were true, it was time that the courts took hold of the affair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague spent the whole day in consultation, going over every aspect of the
+case, and laying out his course of procedure. And then, at the end, Mr.
+Hasbrook remarked that it would be necessary for them to make some financial
+arrangement. And the other set his teeth together, and took a tight grip upon
+himself, and said, &ldquo;Considering the importance of the case, and all the
+circumstances, I think I should have a retainer of fifty thousand
+dollars.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the little man never turned a hair! &ldquo;That will be perfectly
+satisfactory,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I will attend to it at once.&rdquo; And
+the other&rsquo;s heart gave a great leap.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And sure enough, the next morning&rsquo;s mail brought the money, in the shape
+of a cashier&rsquo;s cheque from one of the big banks. Montague deposited it to
+his own account, and felt that the city was his!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so he flung himself into the work. He went to his office every day, and he
+shut himself up in his own rooms in the evening. Mrs. Winnie was in despair
+because he would not come and learn bridge, and Mrs. Vivie Patton sought him in
+vain for a week-end party. He could not exactly say that while the others slept
+he was toiling upward in the night, for the others did not sleep in the night;
+but he could say that while they were feasting and dancing, he was delving into
+insurance law. Oliver argued in vain to make him realize that he could not live
+for ever upon one client; and that it was as important for a lawyer to be a
+social light as to win his first big case. Montague was so absorbed that he
+even failed to be thrilled when one morning he opened an invitation envelope,
+and read the fateful legend: &ldquo;Mrs. Devon requests the honour of your
+company&rdquo;&mdash;telling him that he had &ldquo;passed&rdquo; on that
+critical examination morning, and that he was definitely and irrevocably in
+Society!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Montague was now a capitalist, and therefore a keeper of the gates of
+opportunity. It seemed as though the seekers for admission must have had some
+occult way of finding it out; almost immediately they began to lay siege to
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About a week after his cheque arrived, Major Thorne, whom he had met the first
+evening at the Loyal Legion, called him up and asked to see him; and he came to
+Montague&rsquo;s room that evening, and after chatting awhile about old times,
+proceeded to unfold a business proposition. It seemed that the Major had a
+grandson, a young mechanical engineer, who had been labouring for a couple of
+years at a very important invention, a device for loading coal upon steamships
+and weighing it automatically in the process. It was a very complicated
+problem, needless to say, but it had been solved successfully, and patents had
+been applied for, and a working model constructed. But it had proved
+unexpectedly difficult to interest the officials of the great steamship
+companies in the device. There was no doubt about the practicability of the
+machine, or the economies it would effect; but the officials raised trivial
+objections, and caused delays, and offered prices that were ridiculously
+inadequate. So the young inventor had conceived the idea of organizing a
+company to manufacture the machines, and rent them upon a royalty. &ldquo;I
+didn&rsquo;t know whether you would have any money,&rdquo; said Major Thorne,
+&ldquo;&mdash;but I thought you might be in touch with others who could be got
+to look into the matter. There is a fortune in it for those who take it
+up.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was interested, and he looked over the plans and descriptions which
+his friend had brought, and said that he would see the working model, and talk
+the proposition over with others. And so the Major took his departure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first person Montague spoke to about it was Oliver, with whom he chanced to
+be lunching, at the latter&rsquo;s club. This was the &ldquo;All Night&rdquo;
+club, a meeting-place of fast young Society men and millionaire Bohemians, who
+made a practice of going to bed at daylight, and had taken for their motto the
+words of Tennyson&mdash;&ldquo;For men may come and men may go, but I go on for
+ever.&rdquo; It was not a proper club for his brother to join, Oliver
+considered; Montague&rsquo;s &ldquo;game&rdquo; was the heavy respectable, and
+the person to put him up was General Prentice. But he was permitted to lunch
+there with his brother to chaperon him&mdash;and also Reggie Mann, who happened
+in, fresh from talking over the itinerary of the foreign prince with Mrs.
+Ridgley-Clieveden, and bringing a diverting account of how Mrs. R.-C. had had a
+fisticuffs with her maid.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague mentioned the invention casually, and with no idea that his brother
+would have an opinion one way or the other. But Oliver had quite a vigorous
+opinion: &ldquo;Good God, Allan, you aren&rsquo;t going to let yourself be
+persuaded into a thing like that!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But what do you know about it?&rdquo; asked the other. &ldquo;It may be
+a tremendous thing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course!&rdquo; cried Oliver. &ldquo;But what can you tell about it?
+You&rsquo;ll be like a child in other people&rsquo;s hands, and they&rsquo;ll
+be certain to rob you. And why in the world do you want to take risks when you
+don&rsquo;t have to?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have to put my money somewhere,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;His first fee is burning a hole in his pocket!&rdquo; put in Reggie
+Mann, with a chuckle. &ldquo;Turn it over to me, Mr. Montague; and let me spend
+it in a gorgeous entertainment for Alice; and the prestige of it will bring you
+more cases than you can handle in a lifetime!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He had much better spend it all for soda water than buy a lot of coal
+chutes with it,&rdquo; said Oliver: &ldquo;Wait awhile, and let me find you
+some place to put your money, and you&rsquo;ll see that you don&rsquo;t have to
+take any risks.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I had no idea of taking it up until I&rsquo;d made certain of it,&rdquo;
+replied the other. &ldquo;And those whose judgment I took would, of course, go
+in also.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The younger man thought for a moment. &ldquo;You are going to dine with Major
+Venable to-night, aren&rsquo;t you?&rdquo; he asked; and when the other
+answered in the affirmative, he continued, &ldquo;Very well, then, ask him. The
+Major&rsquo;s been a capitalist for forty years, and if you can get him to take
+it up, why, you&rsquo;ll know you&rsquo;re safe.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Major Venable had taken quite a fancy to Montague&mdash;perhaps the old
+gentleman liked to have somebody to gossip with, to whom all his anecdotes were
+new. He had seconded Montague&rsquo;s name at the
+&ldquo;Millionaires&rsquo;,&rdquo; where he lived, and had asked him there to
+make the acquaintance of some of the other members. Before Montague parted with
+his brother, he promised that he would talk the matter over with the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Millionaires&rsquo; was the show club of the city, the one which the
+ineffably rich had set apart for themselves. It was up by the park, in a
+magnificent white marble palace which had cost a million dollars. Montague felt
+that he had never really known the Major until he saw him here. The Major was
+excellent at all times and places, but in this club he became an <i>edition de
+luxe</i> of himself. He made his headquarters here, keeping his suite of rooms
+all the year round; and the atmosphere and surroundings of the place seemed to
+be a part of him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague thought that the Major&rsquo;s face grew redder every day, and the
+purple veins in it purpler; or was it that the old gentleman&rsquo;s shirt
+bosom gleamed more brightly in the glare of the lights? The Major met him in
+the stately entrance hall, fifty feet square and all of Numidian marble, with a
+ceiling of gold, and a great bronze stairway leading to the gallery above. He
+apologized for his velvet slippers and for his hobbling walk&mdash;he was
+getting his accursed gout again. But he limped around and introduced his friend
+to the other millionaires&mdash;and then told scandal about them behind their
+backs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major was the very type of a blue-blooded old aristocrat; he was all
+<i>noblesse oblige</i> to those within the magic circle of his
+intimacy&mdash;but alas for those outside it! Montague had never heard anyone
+bully servants as the Major did. &ldquo;Here you!&rdquo; he would cry, when
+something went wrong at the table. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know any better than
+to bring me a dish like that? Go and send me somebody who knows how to set a
+table!&rdquo; And, strange to say, the servants all acknowledged his perfect
+right to bully them, and flew with terrified alacrity to do his bidding.
+Montague noticed that the whole staff of the club leaped into activity whenever
+the Major appeared; and when he was seated at the table, he led off in this
+fashion&mdash;&ldquo;Now I want two dry Martinis. And I want them at
+once&mdash;do you understand me? Don&rsquo;t stop to get me any butter plates
+or finger-bowls&mdash;I want two cock-tails, just as quick as you can carry
+them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Dinner was an important event to Major Venable&mdash;the most important in
+life. The younger man humbly declined to make any suggestions, and sat and
+watched while his friend did all the ordering. They had some very small
+oysters, and an onion soup, and a grouse and asparagus, with some wine from the
+Major&rsquo;s own private store, and then a romaine salad. Concerning each one
+of these courses, the Major gave special injunctions, and throughout his
+conversation he scattered comments upon them: &ldquo;This is good thick
+soup&mdash;lots of nourishment in onion soup. Have the rest of this?&mdash;I
+think the Burgundy is too cold. Sixty-five is as cold as Burgundy ought ever to
+be. I don&rsquo;t mind sherry as low as sixty.&mdash;They always cook a bird
+too much&mdash;Robbie Walling&rsquo;s chef is the only person I know who never
+makes a mistake with game.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this, of course, was between comments upon the assembled millionaires.
+There was Hawkins, the corporation lawyer; a shrewd fellow, cold as a corpse.
+He was named for an ambassadorship&mdash;a very efficient man. Used to be old
+Wyman&rsquo;s confidential adviser and buy aldermen for him.&mdash;And the man
+at table with him was Harrison, publisher of the <i>Star;</i> administration
+newspaper, sound and conservative. Harrison was training for a cabinet
+position. He was a nice little man, and would make a fine splurge in
+Washington.&mdash;And that tall man coming in was Clarke, the steel magnate;
+and over there was Adams, a big lawyer also&mdash;prominent
+reformer&mdash;civic righteousness and all that sort of stuff. Represented the
+Oil Trust secretly, and went down to Trenton to argue against some reform
+measure, and took along fifty thousand dollars in bills in his valise. &ldquo;A
+friend of mine got wind of what he was doing, and taxed him with it,&rdquo;
+said the Major, and laughed gleefully over the great lawyer&rsquo;s
+reply&mdash;&ldquo;How did I know but I might have to pay for my own
+lunch?&rdquo;&mdash;And the fat man with him&mdash;that was Jimmie
+Featherstone, the chap who had inherited a big estate. &ldquo;Poor
+Jimmie&rsquo;s going all to pieces,&rdquo; the Major declared. &ldquo;Goes down
+town to board meetings now and then&mdash;they tell a hair-raising story about
+him and old Dan Waterman. He had got up and started a long argument, when
+Waterman broke in, &lsquo;But at the earlier meeting you argued directly to the
+contrary, Mr. Featherstone!&rsquo; &lsquo;Did I?&rsquo; said Jimmie, looking
+bewildered. &lsquo;I wonder why I did that?&rsquo; &lsquo;Well, Mr.
+Featherstone, since you ask me, I&rsquo;ll tell you,&rsquo; said old
+Dan&mdash;he&rsquo;s savage as a wild boar, you know, and won&rsquo;t be
+delayed at meetings. &lsquo;The reason is that the last time you were drunker
+than you are now. If you would adopt a uniform standard of intoxication for the
+directors&rsquo; meetings of this road, it would expedite matters
+considerably.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had got as far as the romaine salad. The waiter came with a bowl of
+dressing&mdash;and at the sight of it, the old gentleman forgot Jimmie
+Featherstone. &ldquo;Why are you bringing me that stuff?&rdquo; he cried.
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want that! Take it away and get me some vinegar and
+oil.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The waiter fled in dismay, while the Major went on growling under his breath.
+Then from behind him came a voice: &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter with you this
+evening, Venable? You&rsquo;re peevish!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Major looked up. &ldquo;Hello, you old cormorant,&rdquo; said he.
+&ldquo;How do you do these days?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old cormorant replied that he did very well. He was a pudgy little man,
+with a pursed-up, wrinkled face. &ldquo;My friend Mr. Montague&mdash;Mr.
+Symmes,&rdquo; said the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Montague,&rdquo; said Mr. Symmes,
+peering over his spectacles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And what are you doing with yourself these days?&rdquo; asked the Major.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other smiled genially. &ldquo;Nothing much,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Seducing
+my friends&rsquo; wives, as usual.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And who&rsquo;s the latest?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Read the newspapers, and you&rsquo;ll find out,&rdquo; laughed Symmes.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m told I&rsquo;m being shadowed.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He passed on down the room, chuckling to himself; and the Major said,
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s Maltby Symmes. Have you heard of him?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He gets into the papers a good deal. He was up in supplementary
+proceedings the other day&mdash;couldn&rsquo;t pay his liquor bill.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A member of the Millionaires&rsquo;?&rdquo; laughed Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, the papers made quite a joke out of it,&rdquo; said the other.
+&ldquo;But you see he&rsquo;s run through a couple of fortunes; the last was
+his mother&rsquo;s&mdash;eleven millions, I believe. He&rsquo;s been a pretty
+lively old boy in his time.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The vinegar and oil had now arrived, and the Major set to work to dress the
+salad. This was quite a ceremony, and Montague took it with amused interest.
+The Major first gathered all the necessary articles together, and looked them
+all over and grumbled at them. Then he mixed the vinegar and the pepper and
+salt, a tablespoonful at a time, and poured it over the salad. Then very slowly
+and carefully the oil had to be poured on, the salad being poked and turned
+about so that it would be all absorbed. Perhaps it was because he was so busy
+narrating the escapades of Maltby Symmes that the old gentleman kneaded it
+about so long; all the time fussing over it like a hen-partridge with her
+chicks, and interrupting himself every sentence or two: &ldquo;It was Lenore,
+the opera star, and he gave her about two hundred thousand dollars&rsquo; worth
+of railroad shares. (Really, you know, romaine ought not to be served in a bowl
+at all, but in a square, flat dish, so that one could keep the ends quite dry.)
+And when they quarrelled, she found the old scamp had fooled her&mdash;the
+shares had never been transferred. (One is not supposed to use a fork at all,
+you know.) But she sued him, and he settled with her for about half the value.
+(If this dressing were done properly, there ought not to be any oil in the
+bottom of the dish at all.)&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This last remark meant that the process had reached its climax&mdash;that the
+long, crisp leaves were receiving their final affectionate overturnings. While
+the waiter stood at respectful attention, two or three pieces at a time were
+laid carefully upon the little silver plate intended for Montague. &ldquo;And
+now,&rdquo; said the triumphant host, &ldquo;try it! If it&rsquo;s good, it
+ought to be neither sweet nor bitter, but just right.&rdquo;&mdash;And he
+watched anxiously while Montague tasted it, saying, &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s the
+least bit bitter, say so; and we&rsquo;ll send it out. I&rsquo;ve told them
+about it often enough before.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But it was not bitter, and so the Major proceeded to help himself, after which
+the waiter whisked the bowl away. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m told that salad is the one
+vegetable we have from the Romans,&rdquo; said the old boy, as he munched at
+the crisp green leaves. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s mentioned by Horace, you
+know.&mdash;As I was saying, all this was in Symmes&rsquo;s early days. But
+since his son&rsquo;s been grown up, he&rsquo;s married another
+chorus-girl.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the salad the Major had another cocktail. In the beginning Montague had
+noticed that his hands shook and his eyes were watery; but now, after these
+copious libations, he was vigorous, and, if possible, more full of anecdotes
+than ever. Montague thought that it would be a good time to broach his inquiry,
+and so when the coffee had been served, he asked, &ldquo;Have you any
+objections to talking business after dinner?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not with you,&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;Why? What is it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Montague told him about his friend&rsquo;s proposition, and described
+the invention. The other listened attentively to the end; and then, after a
+pause, Montague asked him, &ldquo;What do you think of it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The invention&rsquo;s no good,&rdquo; said the Major, promptly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Because, if it had been, the companies would have taken it long ago,
+without paying him a cent.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But he has it patented,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Patented hell!&rdquo; replied the other. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s a patent to
+lawyers of concerns of that size? They&rsquo;d have taken it and had it in use
+from Maine to Texas; and when he sued, they&rsquo;d have tied the case up in so
+many technicalities and quibbles that he couldn&rsquo;t have got to the end of
+it in ten years&mdash;and he&rsquo;d have been ruined ten times over in the
+process.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is that really done?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Done!&rdquo; exclaimed the Major. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s done so often you
+might say it&rsquo;s the only thing that&rsquo;s done.&mdash;The people are
+probably trying to take you in with a fake.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That couldn&rsquo;t possibly be so,&rdquo; responded the other.
+&ldquo;The man is a friend&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve found it an excellent rule never to do business with
+friends,&rdquo; said the Major, grimly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But listen,&rdquo; said Montague; and he argued long enough to convince
+his companion that that could not be the true explanation. Then the Major sat
+for a minute or two and pondered; and suddenly he exclaimed, &ldquo;I have it!
+I see why they won&rsquo;t touch it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the coal companies! They&rsquo;re giving the steamships short
+weight, and they don&rsquo;t want the coal weighed truly!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But there&rsquo;s no sense in that,&rdquo; said Montague.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the steamship companies that won&rsquo;t take the
+machine.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the Major; &ldquo;naturally, their officers are sharing
+the graft.&rdquo; And he laughed heartily at Montague&rsquo;s look of
+perplexity.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know anything about the business?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing whatever,&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;I am like the German who
+shut himself up in his inner consciousness and deduced the shape of an elephant
+from first principles. I know the game of big business from A to Z, and
+I&rsquo;m telling you that if the invention is good and the companies
+won&rsquo;t take it, that&rsquo;s the reason; and I&rsquo;ll lay you a wager
+that if you were to make an investigation, some such thing as that is what
+you&rsquo;d find! Last winter I went South on a steamer, and when we got near
+port, I saw them dumping a ton or two of good food overboard; and I made
+inquiries, and learned that one of the officials of the company ran a farm, and
+furnished the stuff&mdash;and the orders were to get rid of so much every
+trip!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s jaw had fallen. &ldquo;What could Major Thorne do against such
+a combination?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said the Major, shrugging his shoulders.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a case to take to a lawyer&mdash;one who knows the ropes.
+Hawkins over there would know what to tell you. I should imagine the thing
+he&rsquo;d advise would be to call a strike of the men who handle the coal, and
+tie up the companies and bring them to terms.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;re joking now!&rdquo; exclaimed the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; said the Major, laughing again. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s
+done all the time. There&rsquo;s a building trust in this city, and the way it
+put all its rivals out of business was by having strikes called on their
+jobs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But how could it do that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Easiest thing in the world. A labour leader is a man with a great deal
+of power, and a very small salary to live on. And even if he won&rsquo;t sell
+out&mdash;there are other ways. I could introduce you to a man right in this
+room who had a big strike on at an inconvenient time, and he had the president
+of the union trapped in a hotel with a woman, and the poor fellow gave in and
+called off the strike.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I should think the strikers might sometimes get out of hand,&rdquo; said
+Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Sometimes they do,&rdquo; smiled the other. &ldquo;There is a regular
+procedure for that case. Then you hire detectives and start violence, and call
+out the militia and put the strike leaders into jail.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that. The programme seemed to be
+complete.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You see,&rdquo; the Major continued, earnestly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+advising you as a friend, and I&rsquo;m taking the point of view of a man who
+has money in his pocket. I&rsquo;ve had some there always, but I&rsquo;ve had
+to work hard to keep it there. All my life I&rsquo;ve been surrounded by people
+who wanted to do me good; and the way they wanted to do it was to exchange my
+real money for pieces of paper which they&rsquo;d had printed with fancy
+scroll-work and eagles and flags. Of course, if you want to look at the thing
+from the other side, why, then the invention is most ingenious, and trade is
+booming just now, and this is a great country, and merit is all you need in
+it&mdash;and everything else is just as it ought to be. It makes all the
+difference in the world, you know, whether a man is buying a horse or selling
+him!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had observed with perplexity that such incendiary talk as this was one
+of the characteristics of people in these lofty altitudes. It was one of the
+liberties accorded to their station. Editors and bishops and statesmen and all
+the rest of their retainers had to believe in the respectabilities, even in the
+privacy of their clubs&mdash;the people&rsquo;s ears were getting terribly
+sharp these days! But among the real giants of business you might have thought
+yourself in a society of revolutionists; they would tear up the mountain tops
+and hurl them at each other. When one of these old war-horses once got started,
+he would tell tales of deviltry to appall the soul of the hardiest muck-rake
+man. It was always the other fellow, of course; but then, if you pinned your
+man down, and if he thought that he could trust you&mdash;he would acknowledge
+that he had sometimes fought the enemy with the enemy&rsquo;s own weapons!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But of course one must understand that all this radicalism was for
+conversational purposes only. The Major, for instance, never had the slightest
+idea of doing anything about all the evils of which he told; when it came to
+action, he proposed to do just what he had done all his life&mdash;to sit tight
+on his own little pile. And the Millionaires&rsquo; was an excellent place to
+learn to do it!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;See that old money-bags over there in the corner,&rdquo; said the Major.
+&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a man you want to fix in your mind&mdash;old Henry S. Grimes.
+Have you heard of him?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Vaguely,&rdquo; said the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He&rsquo;s Laura Hegan&rsquo;s uncle. She&rsquo;ll have his money also
+some day&mdash;but Lord, how he does hold on to it meantime! It&rsquo;s quite
+tragic, if you come to know him&mdash;he&rsquo;s frightened at his own shadow.
+He goes in for slum tenements, and I guess he evicts more people in a month
+than you could crowd into this building!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague looked at the solitary figure at the table, a man with a wizened-up
+little face like a weasel&rsquo;s, and a big napkin tied around his neck.
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s so as to save his shirt-front for to-morrow,&rdquo; the
+Major explained. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really only about sixty, but you&rsquo;d
+think he was eighty. Three times every day he sits here and eats a bowl of
+graham crackers and milk, and then goes out and sits rigid in an arm-chair for
+an hour. That&rsquo;s the regimen his doctors have put him on&mdash;angels and
+ministers of grace defend us!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old gentleman paused, and a chuckle shook his scarlet jowls. &ldquo;Only
+think!&rdquo; he said&mdash;&ldquo;they tried to do that to me! But no,
+sir&mdash;when Bob Venable has to eat graham crackers and milk, he&rsquo;ll put
+in arsenic instead of sugar! That&rsquo;s the way with many a one of these rich
+fellows, though&mdash;you picture him living in Capuan luxury, when, as a
+matter of fact, he&rsquo;s a man with a torpid liver and a weak stomach, who is
+put to bed at ten o&rsquo;clock with a hot-water bag and a flannel
+night-cap!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two had got up and were strolling toward the smoking-room; when suddenly at
+one side a door opened, and a group of men came out. At the head of them was an
+extraordinary figure, a big powerful body with a grim face.
+&ldquo;Hello!&rdquo; said the Major. &ldquo;All the big bugs are here to-night.
+There must be a governors&rsquo; meeting.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who is that?&rdquo; asked his companion; and he answered, &ldquo;That?
+Why, that&rsquo;s Dan Waterman.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Dan Waterman! Montague stared harder than ever, and now he identified the face
+with the pictures he had seen. Waterman, the Colossus of finance, the Croesus
+of copper and gold! How many trusts had Waterman organized! And how many puns
+had been made upon that name of his!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who are the other men?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, they&rsquo;re just little millionaires,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The &ldquo;little millionaires&rdquo; were following as a kind of body-guard;
+one of them, who was short and pudgy, was half running, to keep up with
+Waterman&rsquo;s heavy stride. When they came to the coat-room, they crowded
+the attendants away, and one helped the great man on with his coat, and another
+held his hat, and another his stick, and two others tried to talk to him. And
+Waterman stolidly buttoned his coat, and then seized his hat and stick, and
+without a word to anyone, bolted through the door.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was one of the funniest sights that Montague had ever seen in his life, and
+he laughed all the way into the smoking-room. And, when Major Venable had
+settled himself in a big chair and bitten off the end of a cigar and lighted
+it, what floodgates of reminiscence were opened!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For Dan Waterman was one of the Major&rsquo;s own generation, and he knew all
+his life and his habits. Just as Montague had seen him there, so he had been
+always; swift, imperious, terrible, trampling over all opposition; the most
+powerful men in the city quailed before the glare of his eyes. In the old days
+Wall Street had reeled in the shock of the conflicts between him and his most
+powerful rival.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the Major went on to tell about Waterman&rsquo;s rival, and his life. He
+had been the city&rsquo;s traction-king, old Wyman had been made by him. He was
+the prince among political financiers; he had ruled the Democratic party in
+state and nation. He would give a quarter of a million at a time to the boss of
+Tammany Hall, and spend a million in a single campaign; on
+&ldquo;dough-day,&rdquo; when the district leaders came to get the election
+funds, there would be a table forty feet long completely covered with
+hundred-dollar bills. He would have been the richest man in America, save that
+he spent his money as fast as he got it. He had had the most famous
+racing-stable in America; and a house on Fifth Avenue that was said to be the
+finest Italian palace in the world. Over three millions had been spent in
+decorating it; all the ceilings had been brought intact from palaces abroad,
+which he had bought and demolished! The Major told a story to show how such a
+man lost all sense of the value of money; he had once been sitting at lunch
+with him, when the editor of one of his newspapers had come in and remarked,
+&ldquo;I told you we would need eight thousand dollars, and the check you send
+is for ten.&rdquo; &ldquo;I know it,&rdquo; was the smiling
+answer&mdash;&ldquo;but somehow I thought eight seemed harder to write than
+ten!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Old Waterman&rsquo;s quite a spender, too, when it comes to that,&rdquo;
+the Major went on. &ldquo;He told me once that it cost him five thousand
+dollars a day for his ordinary expenses. And that doesn&rsquo;t include a
+million-dollar yacht, nor even the expenses of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And think of another man I know of who spent a million dollars for a
+granite pier, so that he could land and see his mistress!&mdash;It&rsquo;s a
+fact, as sure as God made me! She was a well-known society woman, but she was
+poor, and he didn&rsquo;t dare to make her rich for fear of the scandal. So she
+had to live in a miserable fifty-thousand-dollar villa; and when other
+people&rsquo;s children would sneer at her children because they lived in a
+fifty-thousand-dollar villa, the answer would be, &lsquo;But you haven&rsquo;t
+got any pier!&rsquo; And if you don&rsquo;t believe that&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But here suddenly the Major turned, and observed a boy who had brought him some
+cigars, and who was now standing near by, pretending to straighten out some
+newspapers upon the table. &ldquo;Here, sir!&rdquo; cried the Major,
+&ldquo;what do you mean&mdash;listening to what I&rsquo;m saying! Out of the
+room with you now, you rascal!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Another week-end came, and with it an invitation from the Lester Todds to visit
+them at their country place in New Jersey. Montague was buried in his books,
+but his brother routed him out with strenuous protests. His case be
+damned&mdash;was he going to ruin his career for one case? At all hazards, he
+must meet people&mdash;&ldquo;people who counted.&rdquo; And the Todds were
+such, a big money crowd, and a power in the insurance world; if Montague were
+going to be an insurance lawyer, he could not possibly decline their
+invitation. Freddie Vandam would be a guest&mdash;and Montague smiled at the
+tidings that Betty Wyman would be there also. He had observed that his
+brother&rsquo;s week-end visits always happened at places where Betty was, and
+where Betty&rsquo;s granddaddy was not.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Montague&rsquo;s man packed his grips, and Alice&rsquo;s maid her trunks;
+and they rode with a private-car party to a remote Jersey suburb, and were
+whirled in an auto up a broad shell road to a palace upon the top of a
+mountain. Here lived the haughty Lester Todds, and scattered about on the
+neighbouring hills, a set of the ultra-wealthy who had withdrawn to this
+seclusion. They were exceedingly &ldquo;classy&rdquo;; they affected to regard
+all the Society of the city with scorn, and had their own all-the-year-round
+diversions&mdash;an open-air horse show in summer, and in the fall fox-hunting
+in fancy uniforms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Lester Todds themselves were ardent pursuers of all varieties of game, and
+in various clubs and private preserves they followed the seasons, from Florida
+and North Carolina to Ontario, with occasional side trips to Norway, and New
+Brunswick, and British Columbia. Here at home they had a whole mountain of
+virgin forest, carefully preserved; and in the Renaissance palace at the
+summit&mdash;which they carelessly referred to as a
+&ldquo;lodge&rdquo;&mdash;you would find such <i>articles de vertu</i> as a
+ten-thousand-dollar table with a set of two-thousand-dollar chairs, and quite
+ordinary-looking rugs at ten and twenty thousand dollars each.&mdash;All these
+prices you might ascertain without any difficulty at all, because there were
+many newspaper articles describing the house to be read in an album in the
+hall. On Saturday afternoons Mrs. Todd welcomed the neighbours in a pastel grey
+reception-gown, the front of which contained a peacock embroidered in silk,
+with jewels in every feather, and a diamond solitaire for an eye; and in the
+evening there was a dance, and she appeared in a gown with several hundred
+diamonds sewn upon it, and received her guests upon a rug set with jewels to
+match.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All together, Montague judged this the &ldquo;fastest&rdquo; set he had yet
+encountered; they ate more and drank more and intrigued more openly. He had
+been slowly acquiring the special lingo of Society, but these people had so
+much more slang that he felt all lost again. A young lady who was gossiping to
+him about those present remarked that a certain youth was a
+&ldquo;spasm&rdquo;; and then, seeing the look of perplexity upon his face, she
+laughed, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe you know what I mean!&rdquo; Montague
+replied that he had ventured to infer that she did not like him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then there was Mrs. Harper, who came from Chicago by way of London. Ten
+years ago Mrs. Harper had overwhelmed New York with the millions brought from
+her great department-store; and had then moved on, sighing for new worlds to
+conquer. When she had left Chicago, her grammar had been unexceptionable; but
+since she had been in England, she said &ldquo;you ain&rsquo;t&rdquo; and
+dropped all her g&rsquo;s; and when Montague brought down a bird at long range,
+she exclaimed, condescendingly, &ldquo;Why, you&rsquo;re quite a dab at
+it!&rdquo; He sat in the front seat of an automobile, and heard the great lady
+behind him referring to the sturdy Jersey farmers, whose ancestors had fought
+the British and Hessians all over the state, as &ldquo;your peasantry.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was an extraordinary privilege to have Mrs. Harper for a guest; &ldquo;at
+home&rdquo; she moved about in state recalling that of Queen Victoria, with
+flags and bunting on the way, and crowds of school children cheering. She kept
+up half a dozen establishments, and had a hundred thousand acres of game
+preserves in Scotland. She made a speciality of collecting jewels which had
+belonged to the romantic and picturesque queens of history. She appeared at the
+dance in a breastplate of diamonds covering the entire front of her bodice, so
+that she was literally clothed in light; and with her was her English friend,
+Mrs. Percy, who had accompanied her in her triumph through the courts and camps
+of Europe, and displayed a famous lorgnette-chain, containing one specimen of
+every rare and beautiful jewel known. Mrs. Percy wore a gown of cloth of gold
+tissue, covered with a fortune in Venetian lace, and made a tremendous
+sensation&mdash;until the rumour spread that it was a rehash of the costume
+which Mrs. Harper had worn at the Duchess of London&rsquo;s ball. The Chicago
+lady herself never by any chance appeared in the same costume twice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alice had a grand time at the Todds&rsquo;; all the men fell in love with
+her&mdash;one in particular, a young chap named Fayette, quite threw himself at
+her feet. He was wealthy, but unfortunately he had made his money by eloping
+with a rich girl (who was one of the present party), and so, from a practical
+point of view, his attentions were not desirable for Alice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was left with the task of finding these things out for himself, for
+his brother devoted himself exclusively to Betty Wyman. The way these two
+disappeared between meals was a jest of the whole company; so that when they
+were on their way home, Montague felt called upon to make paternal inquiries.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;re as much engaged as we dare to be,&rdquo; Oliver answered
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And when do you expect to marry her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;God knows,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t. The old man
+wouldn&rsquo;t give her a cent.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And you couldn&rsquo;t support her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I? Good heavens, Allan&mdash;do you suppose Betty would consent to be
+poor?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have you asked her?&rdquo; inquired Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to ask her, thank you! I&rsquo;ve not the least
+desire to live in a hovel with a girl who&rsquo;s been brought up in a
+palace.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then what do you expect to do?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, Betty has a rich aunt in a lunatic asylum. And then I&rsquo;m
+making money, you know&mdash;and the old boy will have to relent in the end.
+And we&rsquo;re having a very good time in the meanwhile, you know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be very much in love,&rdquo; said Montague&mdash;to
+which his brother replied cheerfully that they were as much in love as they
+felt like being.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was on the train Monday morning. Oliver observed that his brother relapsed
+into a brown study, and remarked, &ldquo;I suppose you&rsquo;re going back now
+to bury yourself in your books. You&rsquo;ve got to give me one evening this
+week for a dinner that&rsquo;s important.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where&rsquo;s that?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, it&rsquo;s a long story,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll
+explain it to you some time. But first we must have an understanding about next
+week, also&mdash;I suppose you&rsquo;ve not overlooked the fact that it&rsquo;s
+Christmas week. And you won&rsquo;t be permitted to do any work then.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But that&rsquo;s impossible!&rdquo; exclaimed the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Nothing else is possible,&rdquo; said Oliver, firmly. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve
+made an engagement for you with the Eldridge Devons up the Hudson&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;For the whole week?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The whole week. And it&rsquo;ll be the most important thing you&rsquo;ve
+done. Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s going to take us all in her car, and you will make no
+end of indispensable acquaintances.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oliver, I don&rsquo;t see how in the world I can do it!&rdquo; the other
+protested in dismay, and went on for several minutes arguing and explaining
+what he had to do. But Oliver contented himself with the assurance that where
+there&rsquo;s a will, there&rsquo;s a way. One could not refuse an invitation
+to spend Christmas with the Eldridge Devons!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And sure enough, there was a way. Mr. Hasbrook had mentioned to him that he had
+had considerable work done upon the case, and would have the papers sent round.
+And when Montague reached his office that morning, he found them there. There
+was a package of several thousand pages; and upon examining them, he found to
+his utter consternation that they contained a complete bill of complaint, with
+all the necessary references and citations, and a preliminary draught of a
+brief&mdash;in short, a complete and thoroughgoing preparation of his case.
+There could not have been less than ten or fifteen thousand dollars&rsquo;
+worth of work in the papers; and Montague sat quite aghast, turning over the
+neatly typewritten sheets. He could indeed afford to attend Christmas house
+parties, if all his clients were to treat him like this!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He felt a little piqued about it&mdash;for he had noted some of these points
+for himself, and felt a little proud about them. Apparently he was to be
+nothing but a figure-head in the case! And he turned to the phone and called up
+Mr. Hasbrook, and asked him what he expected him to do with these papers. There
+was the whole case here; and was he simply to take them as they stood?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No one could have replied more considerately than did Mr. Hasbrook. The papers
+were for Montague&rsquo;s benefit&mdash;he would do exactly as he pleased with
+them. He might use them as they stood, or reject them altogether, or make them
+the basis for his own work&mdash;anything that appealed to his judgment would
+be satisfactory. And so Montague turned about and wrote an acceptance to the
+formal invitation which had come from the Eldridge Devons.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Later on in the day Oliver called up, and said that he was to go out to dinner
+the following evening, and that he would call for him at eight.
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s with the Jack Evanses,&rdquo; Oliver added. &ldquo;Do you
+know them?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had heard the name, as that of the president of a chain of Western
+railroads. &ldquo;Do you mean him?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re a rum crowd, but
+there&rsquo;s money in it. I&rsquo;ll call early and explain it to you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But it was explained sooner than that. During the next afternoon Montague had a
+caller&mdash;none other than Mrs. Winnie Duval. Some one had left Mrs. Winnie
+some more money, it appeared; and there was a lot of red tape attached to it,
+which she wanted the new lawyer to attend to. Also, she said, she hoped that he
+would charge her a lot of money by way of encouraging himself. It was a mere
+bagatelle of a hundred thousand or so, from some forgotten aunt in the West.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The business was soon disposed of, and then Mrs. Winnie asked Montague if he
+had any place to go to for dinner that evening: which was the occasion of his
+mentioning the Jack Evanses. &ldquo;O dear me!&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie, with a
+laugh. &ldquo;Is Ollie going to take you there? What a funny time you&rsquo;ll
+have!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know them?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Heavens, no!&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;Nobody knows them; but
+everybody knows about them. My husband meets old Evans in business, of course,
+and thinks he&rsquo;s a good sort. But the family&mdash;dear me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How much of it is there?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, there&rsquo;s the old lady, and two grown daughters and a son. The
+son&rsquo;s a fine chap, they say&mdash;the old man took him in hand and put
+him at work in the shops. But I suppose he thought that daughters were too much
+of a proposition for him, and so he sent them to a fancy school&mdash;and, I
+tell you, they&rsquo;re the most highly polished human specimens that ever you
+encountered!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It sounded entertaining. &ldquo;But what does Oliver want with them?&rdquo;
+asked Montague, wonderingly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t that he wants them&mdash;they want him. They&rsquo;re
+climbers, you know&mdash;perfectly frantic. They&rsquo;ve come to town to get
+into Society.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then you mean that they pay Oliver?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that,&rdquo; said the other, with a laugh.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll have to ask Ollie. They&rsquo;ve a number of the little
+brothers of the rich hanging round them, picking up whatever plunder&rsquo;s in
+sight.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A look of pain crossed Montague&rsquo;s face; and she saw it, and put out her
+hand with a sudden gesture. &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; she exclaimed, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve
+offended you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not that exactly&mdash;I
+wouldn&rsquo;t be offended. But I&rsquo;m worried about my brother.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He gets a lot of money somehow, and I don&rsquo;t know what it
+means.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The woman sat for a few moments in silence, watching him. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t
+he have any when he came here?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not very much,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Because,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;if he didn&rsquo;t, he certainly
+managed it very cleverly&mdash;we all thought he had.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Again there was a pause; then suddenly Mrs. Winnie said: &ldquo;Do you know,
+you feel differently about money from the way we do in New York. Do you realize
+it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You look at it in an old-fashioned sort of way&mdash;a person has to
+earn it&mdash;it&rsquo;s a sign of something he&rsquo;s done. It came to me
+just now, all in a flash&mdash;we don&rsquo;t feel that way about money. We
+haven&rsquo;t any of us earned ours; we&rsquo;ve just got it. And it never
+occurs to us to expect other people to earn it&mdash;all we want to know is if
+they have it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague did not tell his companion how very profound a remark he considered
+that; he was afraid it would not be delicate to agree with her. He had heard a
+story of a negro occupant of the &ldquo;mourners&rsquo; bench,&rdquo; who was
+voluble in confession of his sins, but took exception to the fervour with which
+the congregation said &ldquo;Amen!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The Evanses used to be a lot funnier than they are now,&rdquo; continued
+Mrs. Winnie, after a while. &ldquo;When they came here last year, they were
+really frightful. They had an English chap for social secretary&mdash;a younger
+son of some broken-down old family. My brother knew a man who had been one of
+their intimates in the West, and he said it was perfectly
+excruciating&mdash;this fellow used to sit at the table and give orders to the
+whole crowd: &lsquo;Your ice-cream fork should be at your right hand, Miss
+Mary.&mdash;One never asks for more soup, Master Robert.&mdash;And Miss Anna,
+always move your soup-spoon <i>from</i> you&mdash;that&rsquo;s
+better!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I fancy I shall feel sorry for them,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, you needn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said the other, promptly.
+&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll get what they want.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you think so?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, certainly they will. They&rsquo;ve got the money; and they&rsquo;ve
+been abroad&mdash;they&rsquo;re learning the game. And they&rsquo;ll keep at it
+until they succeed&mdash;what else is there for them to do? And then my husband
+says that old Evans is making himself a power here in the East; so that pretty
+soon they won&rsquo;t dare offend him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Does that count?&rdquo; asked the man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, I guess it counts!&rdquo; laughed Mrs. Winnie. &ldquo;It has of
+late.&rdquo; And she went on to tell him of the Society leader who had dared to
+offend the daughters of a great magnate, and how the magnate had retaliated by
+turning the woman&rsquo;s husband out of his high office. That was often the
+way in the business world; the struggles were supposed to be affairs of men,
+but oftener than not the moving power was a woman&rsquo;s intrigue. You would
+see a great upheaval in Wall Street, and it would be two of the big men
+quarrelling over a mistress; you would see some man rush suddenly into a high
+office&mdash;and that would be because his wife had sold herself to advance
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Mrs. Winnie took him up town in her auto, and he dressed for dinner; and then
+came Oliver, and his brother asked, &ldquo;Are you trying to put the Evanses
+into Society?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s been telling you about them?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Winnie,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did she tell you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague went over her recital, which his brother apparently found
+satisfactory. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not as serious as that,&rdquo; he said,
+answering the earlier question. &ldquo;I help them a little now and
+then.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you do?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, advise them, mostly&mdash;tell them where to go and what to wear.
+When they first came to New York, they were dressed like paraquets, you know.
+And&rdquo;&mdash;here Oliver broke into a laugh&mdash;&ldquo;I refrain from
+making jokes about them. And when I hear other people abusing them, I point out
+that they are sure to land in the end, and will be dangerous enemies.
+I&rsquo;ve got one or two wedges started for them.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And do they pay you for doing it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;d call it paying me, I suppose,&rdquo; replied the other.
+&ldquo;The old man carries a few shares of stock for me now and then.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Carries a few shares?&rdquo; echoed Montague, and Oliver explained the
+procedure. This was one of the customs which had grown up in a community where
+people did not have to earn their money. The recipient of the favour put up
+nothing and took no risks; but the other person was supposed to buy some stock
+for him, and then, when the stock went up, he would send a cheque for the
+&ldquo;profits.&rdquo; Many a man who would have resented a direct offer of
+money, would assent pleasantly when a powerful friend offered to &ldquo;carry a
+hundred shares for him.&rdquo; This was the way one offered a tip in the big
+world; it was useful in the case of newspaper men, whose good opinion of a
+stock was desired, or of politicians and legislators, whose votes might help
+its fortunes. When one expected to get into Society, one must be prepared to
+strew such tips about him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; added Oliver, &ldquo;what the family would really like
+me to do is to get the Robbie Wallings to take them up. I suppose I could get
+round half a million of them if I could manage that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To all of which Montague replied, &ldquo;I see.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A great light had dawned upon him. So <i>that</i> was the way it was managed!
+That was why one paid thirty thousand a year for one&rsquo;s apartments, and
+thirty thousand more for a girl&rsquo;s clothes! No wonder it was better to
+spend Christmas week at the Eldridge Devons than to labour at one&rsquo;s law
+books!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;One more question,&rdquo; Montague went on. &ldquo;Why are you
+introducing me to them?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; his brother answered, &ldquo;it won&rsquo;t hurt you;
+you&rsquo;ll find it amusing. You see, they&rsquo;d heard I had a brother; and
+they asked me to bring you. I couldn&rsquo;t keep you hidden for ever, could
+I?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All this was while they were driving up town. The Evanses&rsquo; place was on
+Riverside Drive; and when Montague got out of the cab and saw it looming up in
+the semi-darkness, he emitted an exclamation of wonder. It was as big as a
+jail!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, yes, they&rsquo;ve got room enough,&rdquo; said Oliver, with a
+laugh. &ldquo;I put this deal through for them&mdash;it&rsquo;s the old Lamson
+palace, you know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They had the room; and likewise they had all the trappings of
+snobbery&mdash;Montague took that fact in at a glance. There were knee-breeches
+and scarlet facings and gold braid&mdash;marble balconies and fireplaces and
+fountains&mdash;French masters and real Flemish tapestry. The staircase of
+their palace was a winding one, and there was a white velvet carpet which had
+been specially woven for it, and had to be changed frequently; at the top of it
+was a white cashmere rug which had a pedigree of six centuries&mdash;and so on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then came the family: this tall, raw-boned, gigantic man, with
+weather-tanned face and straggling grey moustache&mdash;this was Jack Evans;
+and Mrs. Evans, short and pudgy, but with a kindly face, and not too many
+diamonds; and the Misses Evans,&mdash;stately and slender and perfectly
+arrayed. &ldquo;Why, they&rsquo;re all right!&rdquo; was the thought that came
+to Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were all right until they opened their mouths. When they spoke, you
+discovered that Evans was a miner, and that his wife had been cook on a ranch;
+also that Anne and Mary had harsh voices, and that they never by any chance
+said or did anything natural.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They were escorted into the stately dining-room&mdash;Henri II., with a
+historic mantel taken from the palace of Fontainebleau, and four great
+allegorical paintings of Morning, Evening, Noon, and Midnight upon the walls.
+There were no other guests&mdash;the table, set for six, seemed like a toy in
+the vast apartment. And in a sudden flash&mdash;with a start of almost
+terror&mdash;Montague realized what it must mean not to be in Society. To have
+all this splendour, and nobody to share it! To have Henri II. dining-rooms and
+Louis XVI. parlours and Louis XIV. libraries&mdash;and see them all empty! To
+have no one to drive with or talk with, no one to visit or play cards
+with&mdash;to go to the theatre and the opera and have no one to speak to!
+Worse than that, to be stared at and smiled at! To live in this huge palace,
+and know that all the horde of servants, underneath their cringing deference,
+were sneering at you! To face that&mdash;to live in the presence of it day
+after day! And then, outside of your home, the ever widening circles of
+ridicule and contempt&mdash;Society, with all its hangers-on and parasites, its
+imitators and admirers!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And some one had defied all that&mdash;some one had taken up the sword and gone
+forth to beat down that opposition! Montague looked at this little family of
+four, and wondered which of them was the driving force in this most desperate
+emprise!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He arrived at it by a process of elimination. It could not be Evans himself.
+One saw that the old man was quite hopeless socially; nothing could change his
+big hairy hands or his lean scrawny neck, or his irresistible impulse to slide
+down in his chair and cross his long legs in front of him. The face and the
+talk of Jack Evans brought irresistibly to mind the mountain trail and the
+prospector&rsquo;s pack-mule, the smoke of camp-fires and the odour of bacon
+and beans. Seventeen long years the man had tramped in deserts and mountain
+wildernesses, and Nature had graven her impress deep into his body and soul.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was very shy at this dinner; but Montague came to know him well in the
+course of time. And after he had come to realize that Montague was not one of
+the grafters, he opened up his heart. Evans had held on to his mine when he had
+found it, and he had downed the rivals who had tried to take it away from him,
+and he had bought the railroads who had tried to crush him&mdash;and now he had
+come to Wall Street to fight the men who had tried to ruin his railroads. But
+through it all, he had kept the heart of a woman, and the sight of real
+distress was unbearable to him. He was the sort of man to keep a roll of
+ten-thousand-dollar bills in his pistol pocket, and to give one away if he
+thought he could do it without offence. And, on the other hand, men told how
+once when he had seen a porter insult a woman passenger on his line, he jumped
+up and pulled the bell-cord, and had the man put out on the roadside at
+midnight, thirty miles from the nearest town!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No, it was the women folks, he said to Montague, with his grim laugh. It
+didn&rsquo;t trouble him at all to be called a &ldquo;noovoo rich&rdquo;; and
+when he felt like dancing a shakedown, he could take a run out to God&rsquo;s
+country. But the women folks had got the bee in their bonnet. The old man added
+sadly that one of the disadvantages of striking it rich was that it left the
+women folks with nothing to do.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor was it Mrs. Evans, either. &ldquo;Sarey,&rdquo; as she was called by the
+head of the house, sat next to Montague at dinner; and he discovered that with
+the very least encouragement, the good lady was willing to become homelike and
+comfortable. Montague gave the occasion, because he was a stranger, and
+volunteered the opinion that New York was a shamelessly extravagant place, and
+hard to get along in; and Mrs. Evans took up the subject and revealed herself
+as a good-natured and kindly personage, who had wistful yearnings for mush and
+molasses, and flap-jacks, and bread fried in bacon-grease, and similar sensible
+things, while her chef was compelling her to eat <i>paté de foie gras</i> in
+aspic, and milk-fed guinea-chicks, and <i>biscuits glacées Tortoni</i>. Of
+course she did not say that at dinner,&mdash;she made a game effort to play her
+part,&mdash;with the result of at least one diverting experience for Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Evans was telling him what a dreadful place she considered the city for
+young men; and how she feared to bring her boy here. &ldquo;The men here have
+no morals at all,&rdquo; said she, and added earnestly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve come
+to the conclusion that Eastern men are naturally amphibious!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, as Montague knitted his brows and looked perplexed, she added,
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think so?&rdquo; And he replied, with as little delay as
+possible, that he had never really thought of it before.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was not until a couple of hours later that the light dawned upon him, in the
+course of a conversation with Miss Anne. &ldquo;We met Lady Stonebridge at
+luncheon to-day,&rdquo; said that young person. &ldquo;Do you know her?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague, who had never heard of her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I think those aristocratic English women use the most abominable
+slang,&rdquo; continued Anne. &ldquo;Have you noticed it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, I have,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And so utterly cynical! Do you know, Lady Stonebridge quite shocked
+mother&mdash;she told her she didn&rsquo;t believe in marriage at all, and that
+she thought all men were naturally polygamous!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Later on, Montague came to know &ldquo;Mrs. Sarey&rdquo;; and one afternoon,
+sitting in her <i>Petit Trianon</i> drawing-room, he asked her abruptly,
+&ldquo;Why in the world do you want to get into Society?&rdquo; And the poor
+lady caught her breath, and tried to be indignant; and then, seeing that he was
+in earnest, and that she was cornered, broke down and confessed. &ldquo;It
+isn&rsquo;t me,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s the gals.&rdquo; (For along
+with the surrender went a reversion to natural speech.) &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Mary,
+and more particularly Anne.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They talked it over confidentially&mdash;which was a great relief to Mrs.
+Sarey&rsquo;s soul, for she was cruelly lonely. So far as she was concerned, it
+was not because she wanted Society, but because Society didn&rsquo;t want her.
+She flashed up in sudden anger, and clenched her fists, declaring that Jack
+Evans was as good a man as walked the streets of New York&mdash;and they would
+acknowledge it before he got through with them, too! After that she intended to
+settle down at home and be comfortable, and mend her husband&rsquo;s socks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She went on to tell him what a hard road was the path of glory. There were
+hundreds of people ready to know them&mdash;but oh, such a riffraff! They might
+fill up their home with the hangers-on and the yellow, but no, they could wait.
+They had learned a lot since they set out. One very aristocratic lady had
+invited them to dinner, and their hopes had been high&mdash;but alas, while
+they were sitting by the fireplace, some one admired a thirty-thousand-dollar
+emerald ring which Mrs. Evans had on her finger, and she had taken it off and
+passed it about among the company, and somewhere it had vanished completely!
+And another person had invited Mary to a bridge-party, and though she had
+played hardly at all, her hostess had quietly informed her that she had lost a
+thousand dollars. And the great Lady Stonebridge had actually sent for her and
+told her that she could introduce her in some of the very best circles, if only
+she was willing to lose always! Mrs. Evans had possessed a very homely Irish
+name before she was married; and Lady Stonebridge had got five thousand dollars
+from her to use some great influence she possessed in the Royal College of
+Heralds, and prove that she was descended directly from the noble old family of
+Magennis, who had been the lords of Iveagh, way back in the fourteenth century.
+And now Oliver had told them that this imposing charter would not help them in
+the least!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the process of elimination, there were the Misses Evans left.
+Montague&rsquo;s friends made many jests when they heard that he had met
+them&mdash;asking him if he meant to settle down. Major Venable went so far as
+to assure him that there was not the least doubt that either of the girls would
+take him in a second. Montague laughed, and answered that Mary was not so
+bad&mdash;she had a sweet face and was good-natured; but also, she was two
+years younger than Anne; and he could not get over the thought that two more
+years might make another Anne of her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For it was Anne who was the driving force of the family! Anne who had planned
+the great campaign, and selected the Lamson palace, and pried the family loose
+from the primeval rocks of Nevada! She was cold as an iceberg, tireless,
+pitiless to others as to herself; for seventeen years her father had wandered
+and dug among the mountains; and for seventeen years, if need be, she would dig
+beneath the walls of the fortress of Society!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After Montague had had his heart to heart talk with the mother, Miss Anne Evans
+became very haughty toward him; whereby he knew that the old lady had told
+about it, and that the daughter resented his presumption. But to Oliver she
+laid bare her soul, and Oliver would come and tell his brother about it: how
+she plotted and planned and studied, and brought new schemes to him every week.
+She had some of the real people bought over to secret sympathy with her; if
+there was some especial favour which she asked for, she would set to work with
+the good-natured old man, and the person would have some important money
+service done him. She had the people of Society all marked&mdash;she was
+learning all their weaknesses, and the underground passages of their lives, and
+working patiently to find the key to her problem&mdash;some one family which
+was socially impregnable, but whose finances were in such a shape that they
+would receive the proposition to take up the Evanses, and definitely put them
+in. Montague used to look back upon all this with wonder and
+amusement&mdash;from those days in the not far distant future, when the papers
+had cable descriptions of the gowns of the Duchess of Arden, <i>née</i> Evans,
+who was the bright particular star of the London social season!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Montague had written a reluctant letter to Major Thorne, telling him that he
+had been unable to interest anyone in his proposition, and that he was not in
+position to undertake it himself. Then, according to his brother&rsquo;s
+injunction, he left his money in the bank, and waited. There would be
+&ldquo;something doing&rdquo; soon, said Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And as they drove home from the Evanses&rsquo;, Oliver served notice upon him
+that this event might be expected any day. He was very mysterious about it, and
+would answer none of his brother&rsquo;s questions&mdash;except to say that it
+had nothing to do with the people they had just visited.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I suppose,&rdquo; Montague remarked, &ldquo;you have not failed to
+realize that Evans might play you false.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the other laughed, echoing the words, &ldquo;<i>Might</i> do it!&rdquo;
+Then he went on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West,
+whose daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and some of the
+young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental mood, had asked him
+for his views about the market. He advised them to buy the stock of his road;
+and they formed a pool and bought, and as fast as they bought, he
+sold&mdash;until the little venture cost the boys a total of seven million and
+a half!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; Oliver added. &ldquo;I have never put up a dollar for
+anything of Evans&rsquo;s, and I never shall.&mdash;They are simply a side
+issue, anyway,&rdquo; he added carelessly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his brother called
+him up and said that he was coming round, and would go down town with him.
+Montague knew at once that that meant something serious, for he had never
+before known his brother to be awake so early.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had arrived&mdash;the
+time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He could not tell much
+about it, for it was a matter upon which he stood pledged to absolute secrecy.
+There were but four people in the country who knew about it. It was the chance
+of a lifetime&mdash;and in four or five hours it would be gone. Three times
+before it had come to Oliver, and each time he had multiplied his capital
+several times; that he had not made millions was simply because he did not have
+enough money. His brother must take his word for this and simply put himself
+into his hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it you want me to do?&rdquo; asked Montague, gravely.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your hands
+on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;To buy on margin, you mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course I mean that,&rdquo; said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother
+frown, he added, &ldquo;Understand me, I have absolutely certain information as
+to how a certain stock will behave to-day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters,&rdquo;
+said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is not a question of any person&rsquo;s judgment,&rdquo; was the
+reply. &ldquo;It is a question of knowledge. The stock is to be <i>made</i> to
+behave so.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But how can you know that the person who intends to make it behave may
+not be lying to you?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My information does not come from that person, but from a person who has
+no such interest&mdash;who, on the contrary, is in on the deal with me, and
+gains only as I gain.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then, in other words,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;your information is
+stolen?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Everything in Wall Street is stolen,&rdquo; was Oliver&rsquo;s concise
+reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a long silence, while the cab rolled swiftly on its way.
+&ldquo;Well?&rdquo; Oliver asked at last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can imagine,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;how a man might intend to
+move a certain stock, and think that he had the power, and yet find that he was
+mistaken. There are so many forces, so many chances to be considered&mdash;it
+seems to me you must be taking a risk.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver laughed. &ldquo;You talk like a child,&rdquo; was his reply.
+&ldquo;Suppose that I were in absolute control of a corporation, and that I
+chose to run it for purposes of market manipulation, don&rsquo;t you think I
+might come pretty near knowing what its stock was going to do?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague, slowly, &ldquo;if such a thing as that were
+conceivable.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If it were conceivable!&rdquo; laughed his brother. &ldquo;And now
+suppose that I had a confidential man&mdash;a secretary, we&rsquo;ll
+say&mdash;and I paid him twenty thousand a year, and he saw chances to make a
+hundred thousand in an hour&mdash;don&rsquo;t you think he might conceivably
+try it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;he might. But where do you come
+in?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, if the man were going to do anything worth while, he&rsquo;d need
+capital, would he not? And he&rsquo;d hardly dare to look for any money in the
+Street, where a thousand eyes would be watching him. What more natural than to
+look out for some person who is in Society and has the ear of private parties
+with plenty of cash?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague sat in deep thought. &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; he said slowly; &ldquo;I
+see!&rdquo; Then, fixing his eyes upon Oliver, he exclaimed, earnestly,
+&ldquo;One thing more!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t ask me any more,&rdquo; protested the other. &ldquo;I told
+you I was pledged&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You must tell me this,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;Does Bobbie Walling
+know about it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He does not,&rdquo; was the reply. But Montague had known his brother
+long and intimately, and he could read things in his eyes. He knew that that
+was a lie. He had solved the mystery at last!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Montague knew that he had come to a parting of the ways. He did not like this
+kind of thing&mdash;he had not come to New York to be a stock-gambler. But what
+a difficult thing it would be to say so; and how unfair it was to be confronted
+with such an issue, and compelled to decide in a few minutes in a cab!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had put himself in his brother&rsquo;s hands, and now he was under
+obligations to him, which he could not pay off. Oliver had paid all his
+expenses; he was doing everything for him. He had made all his difficulties his
+own, and all in frankness and perfect trust&mdash;upon the assumption that his
+brother would play the game with him. And now, at the critical moment, he was
+to face about, and say; &ldquo;I do not like the game. I do not approve of your
+life!&rdquo; Such a painful thing it is to have a higher moral code than
+one&rsquo;s friends!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If he refused, he saw that he would have to face a complete break; he could not
+go on living in the world to which he had been introduced. Fifty thousand had
+seemed an enormous fee, yet even a week or two had sufficed for it to come to
+seem inadequate. He would have to have many such fees, if they were to go on
+living at their present rate; and if Alice were to have a social career, and
+entertain her friends. And to ask Alice to give up now, and retire, would be
+even harder than to face his brother here in the cab.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then came the temptation. Life was a battle, and this was the way it was being
+fought. If he rejected the opportunity, others would seize it; in fact, by
+refusing, he would be handing it to them. This great man, whoever he might be,
+who was manipulating stocks for his own convenience&mdash;could anyone in his
+senses reject a chance to wrench from him some part of his spoils? Montague saw
+the impulse of refusal dying away within him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well?&rdquo; asked his brother, finally.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oliver,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t you think that I ought
+to know more about it, so that I can judge?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You could not judge, even if I told you all,&rdquo; said Oliver.
+&ldquo;It would take you a long time to become familiar with the circumstances,
+as I am. You must take my word; I know it is certain and safe.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then suddenly he unbuttoned his coat, and took out some papers, and handed his
+brother a telegram. It was dated Chicago, and read, &ldquo;Guest is expected
+immediately.&mdash;HENRY.&rdquo; &ldquo;That means, &lsquo;Buy Transcontinental
+this morning,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;Then the man is in Chicago?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;That is his wife. He wires to
+her.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&mdash;How much money have you?&rdquo; asked Oliver, after a pause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve most of the fifty thousand,&rdquo; the other answered,
+&ldquo;and about thirty thousand we brought with us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How much can you put your hands on?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, I could get all of it; but part of the money is mother&rsquo;s, and
+I would not touch that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The younger man was about to remonstrate, but Montague stopped him, &ldquo;I
+will put up the fifty thousand I have earned,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I dare not
+risk any more.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;As you please,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You
+may never have another such chance in your life.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He dropped the subject, or at least he probably tried to. Within a few minutes,
+however, he was back at it again, with the result that by the time they reached
+the banking-district, Montague had agreed to draw sixty thousand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They stopped at his bank. &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t open yet,&mdash;&rdquo; said
+Oliver, &ldquo;but the paying teller will oblige you. Tell him you want it
+before the Exchange opens.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague went in and got his money, in six new, crisp, ten-thousand-dollar
+bills. He buttoned them up in his inmost pocket, wondering a little,
+incidentally, at the magnificence of the place, and at the swift routine manner
+in which the clerk took in and paid out such sums as this. Then they drove to
+Oliver&rsquo;s bank, and he drew a hundred and twenty thousand; and then he
+paid off the cab, and they strolled down Broadway into Wall Street. It lacked a
+quarter of an hour of the time of the opening of the Exchange; and a stream of
+prosperous-looking men were pouring in from all the cars and ferries to their
+offices.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where are your brokers?&rdquo; Montague inquired.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have any brokers&mdash;at least not for a matter such as
+this,&rdquo; said Oliver. And he stopped in front of one of the big buildings.
+&ldquo;In there,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;are the offices of Hammond and
+Streeter&mdash;second floor to your left. Go there and ask for a member of the
+firm, and introduce yourself under an assumed name&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What!&rdquo; gasped Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course, man&mdash;you would not dream of giving your own name! What
+difference will that make?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I never thought of doing such a thing,&rdquo; said the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, think of it now.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Montague shook his head. &ldquo;I would not do that,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;tell
+him you don&rsquo;t care to give your name. They&rsquo;re a little
+shady&mdash;they&rsquo;ll take your money.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Suppose they won&rsquo;t?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then wait outside for me, and I&rsquo;ll take you somewhere else.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What shall I buy?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ten thousand shares of Transcontinental Common at the opening price; and
+tell them to buy on the scale up, and to raise the stop; also to take your
+orders to sell over the &rsquo;phone. Then wait there until I come for
+you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague set his teeth together and obeyed orders. Inside the door marked
+Hammond and Streeter a pleasant-faced young man advanced to meet him, and led
+him to a grey-haired and affable gentleman, Mr. Streeter. And Montague
+introduced himself as a stranger in town, from the South, and wishing to buy
+some stock. Mr. Streeter led him into an inner office and seated himself at a
+desk and drew some papers in front of him. &ldquo;Your name, please?&rdquo; he
+asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care to give my name,&rdquo; replied the other. And Mr.
+Streeter put down his pen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not give your name?&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague quietly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why?&rdquo;&mdash;said Mr. Streeter&mdash;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t
+understand&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am a stranger in town,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;and not accustomed
+to dealing in stocks. I should prefer to remain unknown.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The man eyed him sharply. &ldquo;Where do you come from?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;From Mississippi,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And have you a residence in New York?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;At a hotel,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You have to give some name,&rdquo; said the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Any will do,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;John Smith, if you
+like.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We never do anything like this,&rdquo; said the broker.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We require that our customers be introduced. There are rules of the
+Exchange&mdash;there are rules&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I am sorry,&rdquo; said Montague; &ldquo;this would be a cash
+transaction.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How many shares do you want to buy?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Ten thousand,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mr. Streeter became more serious. &ldquo;That is a large order,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you wish to buy?&rdquo; was the next question.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Transcontinental Common,&rdquo; he replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the other, after another pause.&mdash;&ldquo;we will
+try to accommodate you. But you will have to consider it&mdash;er&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Strictly confidential,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Mr. Streeter made out the papers, and Montague, looking them over,
+discovered that they called for one hundred thousand dollars.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is a mistake,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I have only sixty
+thousand.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;we shall certainly have to charge you
+a ten per cent, margin.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was not prepared for this contingency; but he did some mental
+arithmetic. &ldquo;What is the present price of the stock?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Fifty-nine and five-eighths,&rdquo; was the reply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then sixty thousand dollars is more than ten per cent, of the market
+price,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Mr. Streeter. &ldquo;But in dealing with a stranger we
+shall certainly have to put a &lsquo;stop loss&rsquo; order at four points
+above, and that would leave you only two points of safety&mdash;surely not
+enough.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Montague&mdash;and he had a sudden appalling
+realization of the wild game which his brother had planned for him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Whereas,&rdquo; Mr. Streeter continued, persuasively, &ldquo;if you put
+up ten per cent., you will have six points.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said the other promptly. &ldquo;Then please buy me six
+thousand shares.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So they closed the deal, and the papers were signed, and Mr. Streeter took the
+six new, crisp ten-thousand-dollar bills.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he escorted him to the outer office, remarking pleasantly on the way,
+&ldquo;I hope you&rsquo;re well advised. We&rsquo;re inclined to be bearish
+upon Transcontinental ourselves&mdash;the situation looks rather
+squally.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These words were not worth the breath it took to say them; but Montague was not
+aware of this, and felt a painful start within. But he answered, carelessly,
+that one must take his chance, and sat down in one of the customer&rsquo;s
+chairs. Hammond and Streeter&rsquo;s was like a little lecture-hall, with rows
+of seats and a big blackboard in front, with the initials of the most important
+stocks in columns, and yesterday&rsquo;s closing prices above, on little green
+cards. At one side was a ticker, with two attendants awaiting the opening
+click.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the seats were twenty or thirty men, old and young; most of them regular
+<i>habitués</i>, victims of the fever of the Street. Montague watched them,
+catching snatches of their whispered conversation, with its intricate and
+disagreeable slang. He felt intensely humiliated and uncomfortable&mdash;for he
+had got the fever of the Street into his own veins, and he could not conquer
+it. There were nasty shivers running up and down his spine, and his hands were
+cold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He stared at the little figures, fascinated; they stood for some vast and
+tremendous force outside, which could not be controlled or even
+comprehended,&mdash;some merciless, annihilating force, like the lightning or
+the tornado. And he had put himself at the mercy of it; it might do its will
+with him! &ldquo;Tr. C. 59-5/8&rdquo; read the little pasteboard; and he had
+only six points of safety. If at any time in the day that figure should be
+changed to read &ldquo;53-5/8&rdquo;&mdash;then every dollar of
+Montague&rsquo;s sixty thousand would be gone for ever! The great fee that he
+had worked so hard for and rejoiced so greatly over&mdash;that would be all
+gone, and a slice out of his inheritance besides!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A boy put into his hand a little four-page paper&mdash;one of the countless
+news-sheets which different houses and interests distributed free for
+advertising or other purposes; and a heading &ldquo;Transcontinental&rdquo;
+caught his eye, among the paragraphs in the <i>Day&rsquo;s Events</i>. He read:
+&ldquo;The directors&rsquo; meeting of the Transcontinental R.R. will be held
+at noon. It is confidently predicted that the quarterly dividend will be
+passed, as it has been for the last three quarters. There is great
+dissatisfaction among the stock-holders. The stock has been decidedly weak,
+with no apparent inside support; it fell off three points just before closing
+yesterday, upon the news of further proceedings by Western state officials, and
+widely credited rumours of dissensions among the directors, with renewed
+opposition to the control of the Hopkins interests.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ten o&rsquo;clock came and went, and the ticker began its long journey. There
+was intense activity in Transcontinental, many thousands of shares changing
+hands, and the price swaying back and forth. When Oliver came in, in half an
+hour, it stood at 59-3/8.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s all right,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Our time will not come
+till afternoon.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But suppose we are wiped out before afternoon?&rdquo; said the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is impossible,&rdquo; answered Oliver. &ldquo;There will be big
+buying all the morning.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They sat for a while, nervous and restless. Then, by way of breaking the
+monotony, Oliver suggested that his brother might like to see the
+&ldquo;Street.&rdquo; They went around the corner to Broad Street. Here at the
+head stood the Sub-treasury building, with all the gold of the government
+inside, and a Gatling gun in the tower. The public did not know it was there,
+but the financial men knew it, and it seemed as if they had huddled all their
+offices and banks and safe-deposit vaults under its shelter. Here, far
+underground, were hidden the two hundred millions of securities of the Oil
+Trust&mdash;in a huge six-hundred-ton steel vault, with a door so delicately
+poised that a finger could swing it on its hinges. And opposite to this was the
+white Grecian building of the Stock Exchange. Down the street were throngs of
+men within a roped arena, pushing, shouting, jostling; this was &ldquo;the
+curb,&rdquo; where one could buy or sell small blocks of stock, and all the
+wild-cat mining and oil stocks which were not listed by the Exchange. Rain or
+shine, these men were always here; and in the windows of the neighbouring
+buildings stood others shouting quotations to them through megaphones, or
+signalling in deaf and dumb language. Some of these brokers wore coloured hats,
+so that they could be distinguished; some had offices far off, where men sat
+all day with strong glasses trained upon them. Everywhere was the atmosphere of
+speculation&mdash;the restless, feverish eyes; the quick, nervous gestures; the
+haggard, care-worn faces. For in this game every man was pitted against every
+other man; and the dice were loaded so that nine out of every ten were doomed
+in advance to ruin and defeat. They procured passes to the visitors&rsquo;
+gallery of the Exchange. From here one looked down into a room one or two
+hundred feet square, its floor covered with a snowstorm of torn pieces of
+paper, and its air a babel of shouts and cries. Here were gathered perhaps two
+thousand men and boys; some were lounging and talking, but most were crowded
+about the various trading-posts, pushing, climbing over each other, leaping up,
+waving their hands and calling aloud. A &ldquo;seat&rdquo; in this exchange was
+worth about ninety-five thousand dollars, and so no one of these men was poor;
+but yet they came, day after day, to play their parts in this sordid arena,
+&ldquo;seeking in sorrow for each other&rsquo;s joy&rdquo;: inventing a
+thousand petty tricks to outwit and deceive each other; rejoicing in a thousand
+petty triumphs; and spending their lives, like the waves upon the shore, a very
+symbol of human futility. Now and then a sudden impulse would seize them, and
+they would become like howling demons, surging about one spot, shrieking,
+gasping, clawing each other&rsquo;s clothing to pieces; and the spectator
+shuddered, seeing them as the victims of some strange and dreadful enchantment,
+which bound them to struggle and torment each other until they were worn out
+and grey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But one felt these things only dimly, when he had put all his fortune into
+Transcontinental Common. For then he had sold his own soul to the enchanter,
+and the spell was upon him, and he hoped and feared and agonized with the
+struggling throng. Montague had no need to ask which was his
+&ldquo;post&rdquo;; for a mob of a hundred men were packed about it, with
+little whirls and eddies here and there on the outside. &ldquo;Something doing
+to-day all right,&rdquo; said a man in his ear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was interesting to watch; but there was one difficulty&mdash;there were no
+quotations provided for the spectators. So the sight of this activity merely
+set them on edge with anxiety&mdash;something must be happening to their stock!
+Even Oliver was visibly nervous&mdash;after all, in the surest cases, the game
+was a dangerous one; there might be a big failure, or an assassination, or an
+earthquake! They rushed out and made for the nearest broker&rsquo;s office,
+where a glance at the board showed them Transcontinental at 60. They drew a
+long breath, and sat down again to wait.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That was about half-past eleven. At a quarter to twelve the stock went up an
+eighth, and then a quarter, and then another eighth. The two gripped their
+hands in excitement. Had the time come?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Apparently it had. A minute later the stock leaped to 61, on large buying. Then
+it went three-eighths more. A buzz of excitement ran through the office, and
+the old-timers sat up in their seats. The stock went another quarter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague heard a man behind him say to his neighbour, &ldquo;What does it
+mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;God knows,&rdquo; was the answer; but Oliver whispered in his
+brother&rsquo;s ear, &ldquo;I know what it means. The insiders are
+buying.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Somebody was buying, and buying furiously. The ticker seemed to set all other
+business aside and give its attention to the trading in Transcontinental. It
+was like a base-ball game, when one side begins to pile up runs, and the man in
+the coacher&rsquo;s box chants exultantly, and the dullest spectator is
+stirred&mdash;since no man can be indifferent to success. And as the stock went
+higher and higher, a little wave of excitement mounted with it, a murmur
+running through the room, and a thrill passing from person to person. Some
+watched, wondering if it would last, and if they had not better take on a
+little; then another point would be scored, and they would wish they had done
+it, and hesitate whether to do it now. But to others, like the Montagues, who
+&ldquo;had some,&rdquo; it was victory, glorious and thrilling; their pulses
+leaped faster with every new change of the figures; and between times they
+reckoned up their gains, and hung between hope and dread for the new gains
+which were on the way, but not yet in sight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was little lull, and the boys who tended the board had a chance to rest.
+The stock was above 66; at which price, owing to the device of
+&ldquo;pyramiding.&rdquo; Montague was on &ldquo;velvet,&rdquo; to use the
+picturesque phrase of the Street. His earnings amounted to sixty thousand
+dollars, and even if the stock were to fall and he were to be sold out, he
+would lose nothing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He wished to sell and realize his profits; but his brother gripped him fast by
+the arm. &ldquo;No! <i>no!</i>&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t really
+come yet!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some went out to lunch&mdash;to a restaurant where they could have a telephone
+on their table, so as to keep in touch with events. But the Montagues had no
+care about eating; they sat picturing the directors in session, and speculating
+upon a score of various eventualities. Things might yet go wrong, and all their
+profits would vanish like early snow-flakes&mdash;and all their capital with
+them. Oliver shook like a leaf, but he would not stir. &ldquo;Stay game!&rdquo;
+he whispered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He took out his watch, and glanced at it. It was after two o&rsquo;clock.
+&ldquo;It may go over till to-morrow!&rdquo; he muttered.&mdash;But then
+suddenly came the storm.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The ticker recorded a rise in the price of Transcontinental of a point and a
+half, upon a purchase of five thousand shares; and then half a point for two
+thousand more. After that it never stopped. It went a point at a time; it went
+ten points in about fifteen minutes. And babel broke loose in the office, and
+in several thousand other offices in the street, and spread to others all over
+the world. Montague had got up, and was moving here and there, because the
+tension was unendurable; and at the door of an inner office he heard some one
+at the telephone exclaiming, &ldquo;For the love of God, can&rsquo;t you find
+out what&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo;&mdash;A moment later a man rushed in,
+breathless and wild-eyed, and his voice rang through the office, &ldquo;The
+directors have declared a quarterly dividend of three per cent, and an extra
+dividend of two!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Oliver caught his brother by the arm and started for the door with him.
+&ldquo;Get to your broker&rsquo;s,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And if the stock has
+stopped moving, sell; and sell in any case before the close.&rdquo; And then he
+dashed away to his own headquarters.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+At about half after three o&rsquo;clock, Oliver came into Hammond and
+Streeter&rsquo;s, breathless, and with his hair and clothing dishevelled. He
+was half beside himself with exultation; and Montague was scarcely less wrought
+up&mdash;in fact he felt quite limp after the strain he had been through.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What price did you get?&rdquo; his brother inquired; and he answered,
+&ldquo;An average of 78-3/8.&rdquo; There had been another sharp rise at the
+end, and he had sold all his stock without checking the advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I got five-eighths,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;O ye gods!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were some unhappy &ldquo;shorts&rdquo; in the office; Mr. Streeter was
+one of them. It was bitterness and gall to them to see the radiant faces of the
+two lucky ones; but the two did not even see this. They went out, half dancing,
+and had a drink or two to steady their nerves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They would not actually get their money until the morrow; but Montague figured
+a profit of a trifle under a quarter of a million for himself. Of this about
+twenty thousand would go to make up the share of his unknown informant; the
+balance he considered would be an ample reward for his six hours&rsquo; work
+that day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His brother had won more than twice as much. But as they drove up home, talking
+over it in awe-stricken whispers, and pledging themselves to absolute secrecy,
+Oliver suddenly clenched his fist and struck his knee.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;By God!&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;If I hadn&rsquo;t been a fool and
+tried to save an extra margin, I could have had a million!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<p>
+After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas festivities,&mdash;for
+music and dancing and all beautiful and happy things.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet him; clad in
+her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy ermine, so truly gorgeous
+that wherever she went, people turned and stared and caught their breath. Mrs.
+Winnie was a picture of joyful health, with a glow in her rich complexion, and
+a sparkle in her black eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She sat in her big touring-car&mdash;in which one could afford to wear ermine.
+It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine were seats for six
+persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths for sleeping, and a
+writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful electric chandelier to light it
+at night. Its trimmings were of South American mahogany, and its upholstering
+of Spanish and Morocco leathers; it had a telephone with which one spoke to the
+driver; an ice-box and a lunch hamper&mdash;in fact, one might have spent an
+hour discovering new gimcracks in this magic automobile. It had been made
+especially for Mrs. Winnie a couple of years ago, and the newspapers said it
+had cost thirty thousand dollars; it had then been quite a novelty, but now
+&ldquo;everybody&rdquo; was getting them. In this car one might sit at ease,
+and laugh and chat, and travel at the rate of an express train; and with never
+a jar or a quiver, nor the faintest sound of any sort.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went through
+the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road which runs out of
+Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a macadamized avenue, lined with
+beautiful and stately homes. As one went farther yet, he came to the great
+country estates&mdash;a whole district of hundreds of square miles given up to
+them. There were forests and lakes and streams; there were gardens and
+greenhouses filled with rare plants and flowers, and parks with deer browsing,
+and peacocks and lyre-birds strutting about. The road wound in and out among
+hills, the surfaces of which would be one unbroken lawn; and upon the highest
+points stood palaces of every conceivable style and shape.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One might find these great domains anywhere around the city, at a distance of
+from thirty to sixty miles; there were two or three hundred of them, and
+incredible were the sums of money which had been spent upon their decoration.
+One saw an artificial lake of ten thousand acres, made upon land which had cost
+several hundred dollars an acre; one saw gardens with ten thousand rose-bushes,
+and a quarter of a million dollars&rsquo; worth of lilies from Japan; there was
+one estate in which had been planted a million dollars&rsquo; worth of rare
+trees, imported from all over the world. Some rich men, who had nothing else to
+amuse them, would make their estates over and over again, changing the view
+about their homes as one changes the scenery in a play. Over in New Jersey the
+Hegans were building a castle upon a mountain-top, and had built a special
+railroad simply to carry the materials. Here, also, was the estate of the
+tobacco king, upon which three million dollars had been spent before the plans
+of the mansion had even been drawn; there were artificial lakes and streams,
+and fantastic bridges and statuary, and scores of little model plantations and
+estates, according to the whim of the owner. And here in the Pocantico Hills
+was the estate of the oil king, about four square miles, with thirty miles of
+model driveways; many car-loads of rare plants had been imported for its
+gardens, and it took six hundred men to keep it in order. There was a golf
+course, a little miniature Alps, upon which the richest man in the world
+pursued his lost health, with armed guards and detectives patrolling the place
+all day, and a tower with a search-light, whereby at night he could flood the
+grounds with light by pressing a button.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In one of these places lived the heir of the great house of Devon. His cousin
+dwelt in Europe, saying that America was not a fit place for a gentleman to
+live in. Each of them owned a hundred million dollars&rsquo; worth of New York
+real estate, and drew their tribute of rents from the toil of the swarming
+millions of the city. And always, according to the policy of the family, they
+bought new real estate. They were directors of the great railroads tributary to
+the city, and in touch with the political machines, and in every other way in
+position to know what was under way: if a new subway were built to set the
+swarming millions free, the millions would find the land all taken up, and
+apartment-houses newly built for them&mdash;and the Devons were the owners.
+They had a score of the city&rsquo;s greatest hotels&mdash;and also slum
+tenements, and brothels and dives in the Tenderloin. They did not even have to
+know what they owned; they did not have to know anything, or do
+anything&mdash;they lived in their palaces, at home or abroad, and in their
+offices in the city the great rent-gathering machine ground on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Eldridge Devon&rsquo;s occupation was playing with his country-place and his
+automobiles. He had recently sold all his horses, and turned his stables into a
+garage equipped with a score or so of cars; he was always getting a new one,
+and discussing its merits. As to Hudson Cliff, the estate, he had conceived the
+brilliant idea of establishing a gentleman&rsquo;s country-place which should
+be self-supporting&mdash;that is to say, which should furnish the luxuries and
+necessities of its owner&rsquo;s table for no more than it would have cost to
+buy them. Considering the prices usually paid, this was no astonishing feat,
+but Devon took a child&rsquo;s delight in it; he showed Montague his
+greenhouses, filled with rare flowers and fruits, and his model dairy, with
+marble stables and nickel plumbing, and attendants in white uniforms and rubber
+gloves. He was a short and very stout gentleman with red cheeks, and his
+conversation was not brilliant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To Hudson Cliff came many of Montague&rsquo;s earlier acquaintances, and others
+whom he had not met before. They amused themselves in all the ways with
+which he had become familiar at house-parties; likewise on Christmas Eve there
+were festivities for the children, and on Christmas night a costume ball, very
+beautiful and stately. Many came from New York to attend this, and others from
+the neighbourhood; and in returning calls, Montague saw others of these
+hill-top mansions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Also, and most important of all, they played bridge&mdash;as they had played at
+every function which he had attended so far. Here Mrs. Winnie, who had rather
+taken him up, and threatened to supplant Oliver as his social guide and
+chaperon, insisted that no more excuses would be accepted; and so for two
+mornings he sat with her in one of the sun-parlours, and diligently put his
+mind upon the game. As he proved an apt pupil, he was then advised that he
+might take a trial plunge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so Montague came into touch with a new social phenomenon; perhaps on the
+whole the most significant and soul-disturbing phenomenon which Society had
+exhibited to him. He had just had the experience of getting a great deal of
+money without earning it, and was fresh from the disagreeable memories of
+it&mdash;the trembling and suspense, the burning lustful greed, the terrible
+nerve-devouring excitement. He had hoped that he would not soon have to go
+through such an experience again&mdash;and here was the prospect of an endless
+dalliance with it!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For that was the meaning of bridge; it was a penalty which people were paying
+for getting their money without earning it. The disease got into their blood,
+and they could no longer live without the excitement of gain and the hope of
+gain. So after their labours were over, when they were supposed to be resting
+and enjoying themselves, they would get together and torment themselves with an
+imitation struggle, mimicking the grim and dreadful gamble of business. Down in
+the Street, Oliver had pointed out to his brother a celebrated
+&ldquo;plunger,&rdquo; who had sometimes won six or eight millions in a single
+day; and that man would play at stocks all morning, and &ldquo;play the
+ponies&rdquo; in the afternoon, and then spend the evening in a
+millionaires&rsquo; gambling-house. And so it was with the bridge fiends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a social plague; it had run through all Society, high and low. It had
+destroyed conversation and all good-fellowship&mdash;it would end by destroying
+even common decency, and turning the best people into vulgar
+gamblers.&mdash;Thus spoke Mrs. Billy Alden, who was one of the guests; and
+Montague thought that Mrs. Billy ought to know, for she herself was playing all
+the time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Billy did not like Mrs. Winnie Duval; and the beginning of the
+conversation was her inquiry why he let that woman corrupt him. Then the good
+lady went on to tell him what bridge had come to be; how people played it on
+the trains all the way from New York to San Francisco; how they had tables in
+their autos, and played while they were touring over the world.
+&ldquo;Once,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;I took a party to see the America&rsquo;s
+Cup races off Sandy Hook; and when we got back to the pier, some one called,
+&lsquo;Who won?&rsquo; And the answer was, &lsquo;Mrs. Billy&rsquo;s ahead, but
+we&rsquo;re going on this evening.&rsquo; I took a party of friends through the
+Mediterranean and up the Nile, and we passed Venice and Cairo and the Pyramids
+and the Suez Canal, and they never once looked up&mdash;they were playing
+bridge. And you think I&rsquo;m joking, but I mean just literally what I say. I
+know a man who was travelling from New York to Philadelphia, and got into a
+game with some strangers, and rode all the way to Palm Beach to finish
+it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague heard later of a well-known Society leader who was totally
+incapacitated that winter, from too much bridge at Newport; and she was passing
+the winter at Hot Springs and Palm Beach&mdash;and playing bridge there. They
+played it even in sanitariums, to which they had been driven by nervous
+breakdown. It was an occupation so exhausting to the physique of women that
+physicians came to know the symptoms of it, and before they diagnosed a case,
+they would ask, &ldquo;Do you play bridge?&rdquo; It had destroyed the last
+remnants of the Sabbath&mdash;it was a universal custom to have card-parties on
+that day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a very expensive game, as they played it in Society; one might easily
+win or lose several thousand dollars in an evening, and there were many who
+could not afford this. If one did not play, he would be dropped from the lists
+of those invited; and when one entered a game, etiquette required him to stay
+in until it was finished. So one heard of young girls who had pawned their
+family plate, or who had sold their honour, to pay their bills at the game; and
+all Society knew of one youth who had robbed his hostess of her jewels and
+pawned them, and then taken her the tickets&mdash;telling her that her guests
+had robbed him. There were women received in the best Society, who lived as
+adventuresses pure and simple, upon their skill at the game; hostesses would
+invite rich guests and fleece them. Montague never forgot the sense of
+amazement and dismay with which he listened while first Mrs. Winnie and then
+his brother warned him that he must avoid playing with a certain aristocratic
+dame whom he met in this most aristocratic household&mdash;because she was such
+a notorious cheater!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My dear fellow,&rdquo; laughed his brother, when he protested, &ldquo;we
+have a phrase &lsquo;to cheat at cards like a woman.&rsquo;&rdquo; And then
+Oliver went on to tell him of his own first experience at cards in Society,
+when he had played poker with several charming young débutantes; they would
+call their hands and take the money without showing their cards, and he had
+been too gallant to ask to see them. But later he learned that this was a
+regular practice, and so he never played poker with women. And Oliver pointed
+out one of these girls to his brother&mdash;sitting, as beautiful as a picture
+and as cold as marble, with a half-smoked cigarette on the edge of the table,
+and whisky and soda and glasses of cracked ice beside her. Later on, as he
+chanced to be reading a newspaper, his brother leaned over his shoulder and
+pointed out another of the symptoms of the craze&mdash;an advertisement headed,
+&ldquo;Your luck will change.&rdquo; It gave notice that at Rosenstein&rsquo;s
+Parlours, just off Fifth Avenue, one might borrow money upon expensive gowns
+and furs!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+All during the ten days of this house-party, Mrs. Winnie devoted herself to
+seeing that Montague had a good time; Mrs. Winnie sat beside him at
+table&mdash;he found that somehow a convention had been established which
+assigned him to Mrs. Winnie as a matter of course. Nobody said anything to him
+about it, but knowing how relentlessly the affairs of other people were probed
+and analyzed, he began to feel exceedingly uncomfortable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There came a time when he felt quite smothered by Mrs. Winnie; and immediately
+after lunch one day he broke away and went for a long walk by himself. This was
+the occasion of his meeting with an adventure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An inch or two of snow had fallen, and lay gleaming in the sunlight. The air
+was keen, and he drank deep draughts of it, and went striding away over the
+hills for an hour or so. There was a gale blowing, and as he came over the
+summits it would strike him, and he would see the river white with foam. And
+then down in the valleys again all would be still.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here, in a thickly wooded place, Montague&rsquo;s attention was arrested
+suddenly by a peculiar sound, a heavy thud, which seemed to shake the earth. It
+suggested a distant explosion, and he stopped for a moment and then went on,
+gazing ahead. He passed a turn, and then he saw a great tree which had fallen
+directly across the road.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He went on, thinking that this was what he had heard. But as he came nearer, he
+saw his mistake. Beyond the tree lay something else, and he began to run toward
+it. It was two wheels of an automobile, sticking up into the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He sprang upon the tree-trunk, and in one glance he saw the whole story. A big
+touring-car had swept round the sharp turn, and swerved to avoid the unexpected
+obstruction, and so turned a somersault into the ditch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague gave a thrill of horror, for there was the form of a man pinned
+beneath the body of the car. He sprang toward it, but a second glance made him
+stop&mdash;he saw that blood had gushed from the man&rsquo;s mouth and soaked
+the snow all about. His chest was visibly crushed flat, and his eyes were
+dreadful, half-started from their sockets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For a moment Montague stood staring, as if turned to stone. Then from the other
+side of the car came a moan, and he ran toward the sound. A second man lay in
+the ditch, moving feebly. Montague sprang to help him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The man wore a heavy bearskin coat. Montague lifted him, and saw that he was a
+very elderly person, with a cut across his forehead, and a face as white as
+chalk. The other helped him to a position with his back against the bank, and
+he opened his eyes and groaned.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague knelt beside him, watching his breathing. He had a sense of utter
+helplessness&mdash;there was nothing he could think of to do, save to unbutton
+the man&rsquo;s coat and keep wiping the blood from his face.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Some whisky,&rdquo; the stranger moaned. Montague answered that he had
+none; but the other replied that there was some in the car.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The slope of the bank was such that Montague could crawl under, and find the
+compartment with the bottle in it. The old man drank some, and a little colour
+came back to his face. As the other watched him, it came to him that this face
+was familiar; but he could not place it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How many were there with you?&rdquo; Montague asked; and the man
+answered, &ldquo;Only one.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague went over and made certain that the other man&mdash;who was obviously
+the chauffeur&mdash;was dead. Then he hurried down the road, and dragged some
+brush out into the middle of it, where it could be seen from a distance by any
+other automobile that came along; after which he went back to the stranger, and
+bound his handkerchief about his forehead to stop the bleeding from the cut.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man&rsquo;s lips were tightly set, as if he were suffering great pain.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m done for!&rdquo; he moaned, again and again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Where are you hurt?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he gasped. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s finished me!
+I know it&mdash;it&rsquo;s the last straw.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he closed his eyes and lay back. &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t you get a
+doctor?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There are no houses very near,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;But I can
+run&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; the other interrupted, anxiously. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+leave me! Some one will come.&mdash;Oh, that fool of a chauffeur&mdash;why
+couldn&rsquo;t he go slow when I told him? That&rsquo;s always the way with
+them&mdash;they&rsquo;re always trying to show off.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The man is dead,&rdquo; said Montague, quietly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other started upon his elbow. &ldquo;Dead!&rdquo; he gasped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s under the car.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man&rsquo;s eyes had started wild with fright; and he caught Montague
+by the arm. &ldquo;<i>Dead!</i>&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;O my God&mdash;and it
+might have been me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a moment&rsquo;s pause. The stranger caught his breath, and whispered
+again: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m done for! I can&rsquo;t stand it! it&rsquo;s too
+much!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had noticed when he lifted the man that he was very frail and slight
+of build. Now he could feel that the hand that held his arm was trembling
+violently. It occurred to him that perhaps the man was not really hurt, but
+that his nerves had been upset by the shock.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he felt certain of this a moment later, when the stranger suddenly leaned
+forward, clutching him with redoubled intensity, and staring at him with wide,
+horror-stricken eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?&rdquo; he panted.
+&ldquo;Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed on&mdash;&ldquo;No, no! You
+can&rsquo;t! you can&rsquo;t! I don&rsquo;t believe any man knows it as I do!
+Think of it&mdash;for ten years I&rsquo;ve never known a minute when I
+wasn&rsquo;t afraid of death! It follows me around&mdash;it won&rsquo;t let me
+be! It leaps out at me in places, like this! And when I escape it, I can hear
+it laughing at me&mdash;for it knows I can&rsquo;t get away!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The old man caught his breath with a choking sob. He was clinging to Montague
+like a frightened child, and staring with a wild, hunted look upon his face.
+Montague sat transfixed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; the other rushed on, &ldquo;that&rsquo;s the truth, as God
+hears me! And it&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ve ever spoken it in my life! I
+have to hide it&mdash;because men would laugh at me&mdash;they pretend
+they&rsquo;re not afraid! But I lie awake all night, and it&rsquo;s like a
+fiend that sits by my bedside! I lie and listen to my own heart&mdash;I feel it
+beating, and I think how weak it is, and what thin walls it has, and what a
+wretched, helpless thing it is to have your life depend on that!&mdash;You
+don&rsquo;t know what that is, I suppose.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague shook his head.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;re young, you see,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;You have
+health&mdash;everybody has health, except me! And everybody hates me&mdash;I
+haven&rsquo;t got a friend in the world!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this outburst. He tried to
+stop it, for he felt almost indecent in listening&mdash;it was not fair to take
+a man off his guard like this. But the stranger could not be stopped&mdash;he
+was completely unstrung, and his voice grew louder and louder.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s every word of it true,&rdquo; he exclaimed wildly. &ldquo;And
+I can&rsquo;t stand it any more. I can&rsquo;t stand anything any more. I was
+young and strong once&mdash;I could take care of myself; and I said: I&rsquo;ll
+make money, I&rsquo;ll be master of other men! But I was a fool&mdash;I forgot
+my health. And now all the money on earth can&rsquo;t do me any good! I&rsquo;d
+give ten million dollars to-day for a body like any other man&rsquo;s&mdash;and
+this&mdash;this is what I have!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He struck his hands against his bosom. &ldquo;Look at it!&rdquo; he cried,
+hysterically. &ldquo;This is what I&rsquo;ve got to live in! It won&rsquo;t
+digest any food, and I can&rsquo;t keep it warm&mdash;there&rsquo;s nothing
+right with it! How would you like to lie awake at night and say to yourself
+that your teeth were decaying and you couldn&rsquo;t help it&mdash;your hair
+was falling out, and nobody could stop it? You&rsquo;re old and worn
+out&mdash;falling to pieces; and everybody hates you&mdash;everybody&rsquo;s
+waiting for you to die, so that they can get you out of the way. The doctors
+come, and they&rsquo;re all humbugs! They shake their heads and use long
+words&mdash;they know they can&rsquo;t do you any good, but they want their big
+fees! And all they do is to frighten you worse, and make you sicker than
+ever!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was nothing that Montague could do save to sit and listen to this
+outburst of wretchedness. His attempts to soothe the old man only had the
+effect of exciting him more.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why does it all have to fall on me?&rdquo; he moaned. &ldquo;I want to
+be like other people&mdash;I want to live! And instead, I&rsquo;m like a man
+with a pack of hungry wolves prowling round him&mdash;that&rsquo;s what
+it&rsquo;s like! It&rsquo;s like Nature&mdash;hungry and cruel and savage! You
+think you know what life is; it seems so beautiful and gentle and
+pleasant&mdash;that&rsquo;s when you&rsquo;re on top! But now I&rsquo;m down,
+and I <i>know</i> what it is&mdash;it&rsquo;s a thing like a nightmare, that
+reaches out for you to clutch you and crush you! And you can&rsquo;t get away
+from it&mdash;you&rsquo;re helpless as a rat in a corner&mdash;you&rsquo;re
+damned&mdash;you&rsquo;re <i>damned!</i>&rdquo; The miserable man&rsquo;s voice
+broke in a cry of despair, and he sank down in a heap in front of Montague,
+shaking and sobbing. The other was trembling slightly, and stricken with awe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a long silence, and then the stranger lifted his tear-stained face,
+and Montague helped to support him. &ldquo;Have a little more of the
+whisky,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; the other answered feebly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d better
+not.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;&mdash;My doctors won&rsquo;t let me have whisky,&rdquo; he added, after
+a while. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my liver. I&rsquo;ve so many don&rsquo;ts, you
+know, that it takes a note-book to keep track of them. And all of them together
+do me no good! Think of it&mdash;I have to live on graham crackers and
+milk&mdash;actually, not a thing has passed my lips for two years but graham
+crackers and milk.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then suddenly, with a start, it came to Montague where he had seen this
+wrinkled old face before. It was Laura Hegan&rsquo;s uncle, whom the Major had
+pointed out to him in the dining-room of the Millionaires&rsquo; Club! Old
+Henry S. Grimes, who was really only sixty, but looked eighty; and who owned
+slum tenements, and evicted more people in a month than could be crowded into
+the club-house!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague gave no sign, but sat holding the man in his arms. A little trickle of
+blood came from under the handkerchief and ran down his cheek; Montague felt
+him tremble as he touched this with his ringer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Is it much of a cut?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not much,&rdquo; said Montague; &ldquo;two or three stitches,
+perhaps.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Send for my family physician,&rdquo; the other added. &ldquo;If I should
+faint, or anything, you&rsquo;ll find his name in my card-case. What&rsquo;s
+that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was the sound of voices down the road. &ldquo;Hello!&rdquo; Montague
+shouted; and a moment later two men in automobile costume came running toward
+him. They stopped, staring in dismay at the sight which confronted them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At Montague&rsquo;s suggestion they made haste to find a log by means of which
+they lifted the auto sufficiently to drag out the body of the chauffeur.
+Montague saw that it was quite cold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He went back to old Grimes. &ldquo;Where do you wish to go?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other hesitated. &ldquo;I was bound for the Harrisons&rsquo;&mdash;&rdquo;
+he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The Leslie Harrisons?&rdquo; asked Montague. (They were people he had
+met at the Devons&rsquo;.)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other noticed his look of recognition. &ldquo;Do you know them?&rdquo; he
+asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I do,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t far,&rdquo; said the old man. &ldquo;Perhaps I had best
+go there.&rdquo;&mdash;And then he hesitated for a moment; and catching
+Montague by the arm, and pulling him toward him, whispered, &ldquo;Tell
+me&mdash;you&mdash;you won&rsquo;t tell&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague, comprehending what he meant, answered, &ldquo;It will be between
+us.&rdquo; At the same time he felt a new thrill of revulsion for this most
+miserable old creature.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They lifted him into the car; and because they delayed long enough to lay a
+blanket over the body of the chauffeur, he asked peevishly why they did not
+start. During the ten or fifteen minutes&rsquo; trip he sat clinging to
+Montague, shuddering with fright every time they rounded a turn in the road.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They reached the Harrisons&rsquo; place; and the footman who opened the door
+was startled out of his studied impassivity by the sight of a big bundle of
+bearskin in Montague&rsquo;s arms. &ldquo;Send for Mrs. Harrison,&rdquo; said
+Montague, and laid the bundle upon a divan in the hall. &ldquo;Get a doctor as
+quickly as you can,&rdquo; he added to a second attendant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Harrison came. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Mr. Grimes,&rdquo; said Montague; and
+then he heard a frightened exclamation, and turned and saw Laura Hegan, in a
+walking costume, fresh from the cold outside.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; she cried. And he told her, as quickly as he could,
+and she ran to help the old man. Montague stood by, and later carried him
+upstairs, and waited below until the doctor came.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was only when he set out for home again that he found time to think about
+Laura Hegan, and how beautiful she had looked in her furs. He wondered if it
+would always be his fate to meet her under circumstances which left her no time
+to be aware of his own existence.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+At home he told about his adventure, and found himself quite a hero for the
+rest of the day. He was obliged to give interviews to several newspaper
+reporters, and to refuse to let one of them take his picture. Every one at the
+Devons&rsquo; seemed to know old Harry Grimes, and Montague thought to himself
+that if the comments of this particular group of people were a fair sample, the
+poor wretch was right in saying that he had not a friend in the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When he came downstairs the next morning, he found elaborate accounts of the
+accident in the papers, and learned that Grimes had nothing worse than a scalp
+wound and a severe shock. Even so, he felt it was incumbent upon him to pay a
+visit of inquiry, and rode over shortly before lunch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Laura Hegan came down to see him, wearing a morning gown of white. She
+confirmed the good news of the papers, and said that her uncle was resting
+quietly. (She did not say that his physician had come post-haste, with two
+nurses, and taken up his residence in the house, and that the poor old
+millionaire was denied even his graham crackers and milk). Instead she said
+that he had mentioned Montague&rsquo;s kindness particularly, and asked her to
+thank him. Montague was cynical enough to doubt this.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the first time that he had ever had any occasion to talk with Miss
+Hegan. He noticed her gentle and caressing voice, with the least touch of the
+South in it; and he was glad to find that it was possible for her to talk
+without breaking the spell of her serene and noble beauty. Montague stayed as
+long as he had any right to stay.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And all the way as he rode home he was thinking about Laura Hegan. Here for the
+first time was a woman whom he felt he should like to know; a woman with
+reserve and dignity, and some ideas in her life. And it was impossible for him
+to know her&mdash;because she was rich!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was no dodging this fact&mdash;Montague did not even try. He had met
+women with fortunes already, and he knew how they felt about themselves, and
+how the rest of the world felt about them. They might wish in their hearts to
+be something else besides the keepers of a treasure-chest, but their wishes
+were futile; the money went with them, and they had to defend it against all
+comers. Montague recalled one heiress after another&mdash;débutantes, some of
+them, exquisite and delicate as butterflies&mdash;but under the surface as hard
+as chain-armour. All their lives they had been trained to think of themselves
+as representing money, and of every one who came near them as adventurers
+seeking money. In every word they uttered, in every glance and motion, one
+might read this meaning. And then he thought of Laura Hegan, with the fortune
+she would inherit; and he pictured what her life must be&mdash;the toadies and
+parasites and flatterers who would lay siege to her&mdash;the scheming mammas
+and the affectionate sisters and cousins who would plot to gain her confidence!
+For a man who was poor, and who meant to keep his self-respect, was there any
+possible conclusion except that she was entirely unknowable to him?
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Montague came back to the city, and dug into his books again; while Alice gave
+her spare hours to watching the progress of the new gown in which she was to
+uphold the honour of the family at Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s opening ball. The great
+event was due in the next week and Society was as much excited about it as a
+family of children before Christmas. All whom Montague met were invited and all
+were going unless they happened to be in mourning. Their gossip was all of the
+disappointed ones, and their bitterness and heartburning.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s mansion was thrown open early on the eventful evening, but
+few would come until midnight. It was the fashion to attend the Opera first,
+and previous to that half a dozen people would give big dinners. He was a
+fortunate person who did not hear from his liver after this occasion; for at
+one o&rsquo;clock came Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s massive supper, and then again at
+four o&rsquo;clock another supper. To prepare these repasts a dozen extra chefs
+had been imported into the Devon establishment for a week&mdash;for it was part
+of the great lady&rsquo;s pride to permit no outside caterer to prepare
+anything for her guests.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had never been able to get over his wonder at the social phenomenon
+known as Mrs. Devon. He came and took his chances in the jostling throngs; and
+except that he got into casual conversation with one of the numerous detectives
+whom he took for a guest he came off fairly well. But all the time that he was
+being passed about and introduced and danced with, he was looking about him and
+wondering. The grand staircase and the hall and parlours had been turned into
+tropical gardens, with palms and trailing vines, and azaleas and roses, and
+great vases of scarlet poinsettia, with hundreds of lights glowing through
+them. (It was said that this ball had exhausted the flower supply of the
+country as far south as Atlanta.) And then in the reception room one came upon
+the little old lady, standing&rsquo; beneath a bower of orchids. She was clad
+in a robe of royal purple trimmed with silver, and girdled about with an
+armour-plate of gems. If one might credit the papers, the diamonds that were
+worn at one of these balls were valued at twenty million dollars.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The stranger was quite overwhelmed by all the splendour. There was a cotillion
+danced by two hundred gorgeously clad women and their partners&mdash;a scene so
+gay that one could only think of it as happening in a fairy legend, or some old
+romance of knighthood. Four sets of favours were given during this function,
+and jewels and objects of art were showered forth as if from a magician&rsquo;s
+wand. Mrs. Devon herself soon disappeared, but the riot of music and
+merry-making went on until near morning, and during all this time the halls and
+rooms of the great mansion were so crowded that one could scarcely move about.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then one went home, and realized that all this splendour, and the human effort
+which it represented, had been for nothing but a memory! Nor would he get the
+full meaning of it if he failed to realize that it was simply one of
+thousands&mdash;a pattern which every one there would strive to follow in some
+function of his own. It was a signal bell, which told the world that the
+&ldquo;season&rdquo; was open. It loosed the floodgates of extravagance, and
+the torrent of dissipation poured forth. From then on there would be a
+continuous round of gaieties; one might have three banquets every single
+night&mdash;for a dinner and two suppers was now the custom, at entertainments!
+And filling the rest of one&rsquo;s day were receptions and teas and
+musicales&mdash;a person might take his choice among a score of opportunities,
+and never leave the circle he met at Mrs. Devon&rsquo;s. Nor was this counting
+the tens of thousands of aspirants and imitators all over the city; nor in a
+host of other cities, each with thousands of women who had nothing to do save
+to ape the ways of the Metropolis. The mind could not realize the volume of
+this deluge of destruction&mdash;it was a thing which stunned the senses, and
+thundered in one&rsquo;s ears like Niagara.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The meaning of it all did not stop with the people who poured it forth; its
+effects were to be traced through the whole country. There were hordes of
+tradesmen and manufacturers who supplied what Society bought, and whose study
+it was to induce people to buy as much as possible. And so they devised what
+were called &ldquo;fashions&rdquo;&mdash;little eccentricities of cut and
+material, which made everything go out of date quickly. There had once been two
+seasons, but now there were four; and through window displays and millions of
+advertisements the public was lured into the trap. The &ldquo;yellow&rdquo;
+journals would give whole pages to describing &ldquo;What the 400 are
+wearing&rdquo;; there were magazines with many millions of readers, which
+existed for nothing save to propagate these ideas. And everywhere, in all
+classes of Society, men and women were starving their minds and hearts, and
+straining their energies to follow this phantom of fashion; the masses were
+kept poor because of it, and the youth and hope of the world was betrayed by
+it. In country villages poor farmers&rsquo; wives were trimming their bonnets
+over to be &ldquo;stylish&rdquo;; and servant-girls in the cities were wearing
+imitation sealskins, and shop-clerks and sempstresses selling themselves into
+brothels for the sake of ribbons and gilt jewellery.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the instinct of decoration, perverted by the money-lust. In the
+Metropolis the sole test of excellence was money, and the possession of money
+was the proof of power; and every natural desire of men and women had been
+tainted by this influence. The love of beauty, the impulse to hospitality, the
+joys of music and dancing and love&mdash;all these things had become simply
+means to the demonstration of money-power! The men were busy making more
+money&mdash;but their idle women had nothing in life save this mad race in
+display. So it had come about that the woman who could consume wealth most
+conspicuously&mdash;who was the most effective instrument for the destroying of
+the labour and the lives of other people&mdash;this was the woman who was most
+applauded and most noticed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most appalling fact about Society was this utter blind materialism. Such
+expectations as Montague had brought with him had been derived from the
+literature of Europe; in a <i>grand monde</i> such as this, he expected to meet
+diplomats and statesmen, scientists and explorers, philosophers and poets and
+painters. But one never heard anything about such people in Society. It was a
+mark of eccentricity to be interested in intellectual affairs, and one might go
+about for weeks and not meet a person with an idea. When these people read, it
+was a sugar-candy novel, and when they went to the play, it was a musical
+comedy. The one single intellectual product which it could point to as its own,
+was a rancid scandal-sheet, used mainly as a means of blackmail. Now and then
+some aspiring young matron of the &ldquo;élite&rdquo; would try to set up a
+<i>salon</i> after the fashion of the continent, and would gather a few feeble
+wits about her for a time. But for the most part the intellectual workers of
+the city held themselves severely aloof; and Society was left a little clique
+of people whose fortunes had become historic in a decade or two, and who got
+together in each other&rsquo;s palaces and gorged themselves, and gambled and
+gossiped about each other, and wove about their personalities a veil of awful
+and exclusive majesty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague found himself thinking that perhaps it was not they who were to blame.
+It was not they who had set up wealth as the end and goal of things&mdash;it
+was the whole community, of which they were a part. It was not their fault that
+they had been left with power and nothing to use it for; it was not their fault
+that their sons and daughters found themselves stranded in the world, deprived
+of all necessity, and of the possibility of doing anything useful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The most pitiful aspect of the whole thing to Montague was this &ldquo;second
+generation&rdquo; who were coming upon the scene, with their lives all poisoned
+in advance. No wrong which they could do to the world would ever equal the
+wrong which the world had done them, in permitting them to have money which
+they had not earned. They were cut off for ever from reality, and from the
+possibility of understanding life; they had big, healthy bodies, and they
+craved experience&mdash;and they had absolutely nothing to do. That was the
+real meaning of all this orgy of dissipation&mdash;this &ldquo;social
+whirl&rdquo; as it was called; it was the frantic chase of some new thrill,
+some excitement that would stir the senses of people who had nothing in the
+world to interest them. That was why they were building palaces, and flinging
+largesses of banquets and balls, and tearing about the country in automobiles,
+and travelling over the earth in steam yachts and private trains.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And first and last, the lesson of their efforts was, that the chase was futile;
+the jaded nerves would not thrill. The most conspicuous fact about Society was
+its unutterable and agonizing boredom; of its great solemn functions the
+shop-girl would read with greedy envy, but the women who attended them would be
+half asleep behind their jewelled fans. It was typified to Montague by Mrs.
+Billy Alden&rsquo;s yachting party on the Nile; yawning in the face of the
+Sphinx, and playing bridge beneath the shadow of the pyramids&mdash;and
+counting the crocodiles and proposing to jump in by way of &ldquo;changing the
+pain&rdquo;!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+People attended these ceaseless rounds of entertainments, simply because they
+dreaded to be left alone. They wandered from place to place, following like a
+herd of sheep whatever leader would inaugurate a new diversion. One could have
+filled a volume with the list of their &ldquo;fads.&rdquo; There were new ones
+every week&mdash;if Society did not invent them, the yellow journals invented
+them. There was a woman who had her teeth filled with diamonds; and another who
+was driving a pair of zebras. One heard of monkey dinners and pyjama dinners at
+Newport, of horseback dinners and vegetable dances in New York. One heard of
+fashion-albums and autograph-fans and talking crows and rare orchids and
+reindeer meat; of bracelets for men and ankle rings for women; of
+&ldquo;vanity-boxes&rdquo; at ten and twenty thousand dollars each; of weird
+and repulsive pets, chameleons and lizards and king-snakes&mdash;there was one
+young woman who wore a cat-snake as a necklace. One would take to slumming and
+another to sniffing brandy through the nose; one had a table-cover made of
+woven roses, and another was wearing perfumed flannel at sixteen dollars a
+yard; one had inaugurated ice-skating in August, and another had started a
+class for the study of Plato. Some were giving tennis tournaments in
+bathing-suits, and playing leap-frog after dinner; others had got dispensations
+from the Pope, so that they might have private chapels and confessors; and yet
+others were giving &ldquo;progressive dinners,&rdquo; moving from one
+restaurant to another&mdash;a cocktail and blue-points at Sherry&rsquo;s, a
+soup and Madeira at Delmonico&rsquo;s, some terrapin with amontillado at the
+Waldorf&mdash;and so on.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One of the consequences of the furious pace was that people&rsquo;s health
+broke down very quickly; and there were all sorts of bizarre ways of restoring
+it. One person would be eating nothing but spinach, and another would be living
+on grass. One would chew a mouthful of soup thirty-two times; another would eat
+every two hours, and another only once a week. Some went out in the early
+morning and walked bare-footed in the grass, and others went hopping about the
+floor on their hands and knees to take off fat. There were &ldquo;rest
+cures&rdquo; and &ldquo;water cures,&rdquo; &ldquo;new thought&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;metaphysical healing&rdquo; and &ldquo;Christian Science&rdquo;; there
+was an automatic horse, which one might ride indoors, with a register showing
+the distance travelled. Montague met one man who had an electric machine, which
+cost thirty thousand dollars, and which took hold of his arms and feet and
+exercised him while he waited. He met a woman who told him she was riding an
+electric camel!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Everywhere one went there were new people, spending their money in new and
+incredible ways. Here was a man who had bought a chapel and turned it into a
+theatre, and hired professional actors, and persuaded his friends to come and
+see him act Shakespeare. Here was a woman who costumed herself after figures in
+famous paintings, with arrangements of roses and cherry leaves, and wreaths of
+ivy and laurel&mdash;and with costumes for her pet dogs to match! Here was a
+man who paid six dollars a day for a carnation four inches across; and a girl
+who wore a hat trimmed with fresh morning-glories, and a ball costume with
+swarms of real butterflies tied with silk threads; and another with a hat made
+of woven silver, with ostrich plumes forty inches long made entirely of silver
+films. Here was a man who hired a military company to drill all day long to
+prepare a floor for dancing; and another who put up a building at a cost of
+thirty thousand dollars to give a débutante dance for his daughter, and then
+had it torn down the day after. Here was a man who bred rattlesnakes and turned
+them loose by thousands, and had driven everybody away from the North Carolina
+estate of one of the Wallings. Here was a man who was building himself a yacht
+with a model dairy and bakery on board, and a French laundry and a brass band.
+Here was a million-dollar racing-yacht with auto-boats on it and a platoon of
+marksmen, and some Chinese laundrymen, and two physicians for its half-insane
+occupant. Here was a man who had bought a Rhine castle for three-quarters of a
+million, and spent as much in restoring it, and filled it with servants dressed
+in fourteenth-century costumes. Here was a five-million-dollar art collection
+hidden away where nobody ever saw it!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One saw the meaning of this madness most clearly in the young men of Society.
+Some were killing themselves and other people in automobile races at a hundred
+and twenty miles an hour. Some went in for auto-boats, mere shells of things,
+shaped like a knife-blade, that tore through the water at forty miles an hour.
+Some would hire professional pugilists to knock them out; others would get up
+dog-fights and bear-fights, and boxing matches with kangaroos. Montague was
+taken to the home of one young man who had given his life to hunting wild game
+in every corner of the globe, and would travel round the world for a new
+species to add to his museum of trophies. He had heard that Baron Rothschild
+had offered a thousand pounds for a &ldquo;bongo,&rdquo; a huge grass-eating
+animal, which no white man had ever seen; and he had taken a year&rsquo;s trip
+into the interior, with a train of a hundred and thirty natives, and had
+brought out the heads of forty different species, including a bongo&mdash;which
+the Baron did not get! He met another who had helped to organize a balloon
+club, and two twenty-four-hour trips in the clouds. (This, by the way, was the
+latest sport&mdash;at Tuxedo they had races between balloons and automobiles;
+and Montague met one young lady who boasted that she had been up five times.)
+There was another young millionaire who sat and patiently taught Sunday School,
+in the presence of a host of reporters; there was another who set up a chain of
+newspapers all over the country and made war upon his class. There were others
+who went in for settlement work and Russian revolutionists&mdash;there were
+even some who called themselves Socialists! Montague thought that this was the
+strangest fad of all; and when he met one of these young men at an afternoon
+tea, he gazed at him with wonder and perplexity&mdash;thinking of the man he
+had heard ranting on the street-corner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was the &ldquo;second generation.&rdquo; Appalling as it was to think of,
+there was a <i>third</i> growing up, and getting ready to take the stage. And
+with wealth accumulating faster than ever, who could guess what they might do?
+There were still in Society a few men and women who had earned their money, and
+had some idea of the toil and suffering that it stood for; but when the third
+generation had taken possession, these would all be dead or forgotten, and
+there would no longer be any link to connect them with reality!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the light of this thought one was moved to watch the children of the rich.
+Some of these had inherited scores of millions of dollars while they were still
+in the cradle; now and then one of them would be presented with a
+million-dollar house for a birthday gift. When such a baby was born, the
+newspapers would give pages to describing its <i>layette</i>, with baby dresses
+at a hundred dollars each, and lace handkerchiefs at five dollars, and
+dressing-sets with tiny gold brushes and powder-boxes; one might see a picture
+of the precious object in a &ldquo;Moses basket,&rdquo; covered with rare and
+wonderful Valenciennes lace.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This child would grow up in an atmosphere of luxury and self-indulgence; it
+would be bullying the servants at the age of six, and talking scandal and
+smoking cigarettes at twelve. It would be petted and admired and stared at, and
+paraded about in state, dressed up like a French doll; it would drink in
+snobbery and hatefulness with the very air it breathed. One might meet in these
+great houses little tots not yet in their teens whose talk was all of the cost
+of things, and of the inferiority of their neighbours. There was nothing in the
+world too good for them.&mdash;They had little miniature automobiles to ride
+about the country in, and blooded Arabian ponies, and doll-houses in real Louis
+Seize, with jewelled rugs and miniature electric lights. At Mrs. Caroline
+Smythe&rsquo;s, Montague was introduced to a pale and anaemic-looking youth of
+thirteen, who dined in solemn state alone when the rest of the family was away,
+and insisted upon having all the footmen in attendance; and his unfortunate
+aunt brought a storm about her ears by forbidding the butler to take champagne
+upstairs into the nursery before lunch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A little remark stayed in Montague&rsquo;s mind as expressing the attitude of
+Society toward such matters. Major Venable had chanced to remark jestingly that
+children were coming to understand so much nowadays that it was necessary for
+the ladies to be careful. To which Mrs. Vivie Patton answered, with a sudden
+access of seriousness: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know&mdash;do you find that
+children have any morals? Mine haven&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then the fascinating Mrs. Vivie went on to tell the truth about her own
+children. They were natural-born savages, and that was all there was to it.
+They did as they pleased, and no one could stop them. The Major replied that
+nowadays all the world was doing as it pleased, and no one seemed to be able to
+stop it; and with that jest the conversation was turned to other matters. But
+Montague sat in silence, thinking about it&mdash;wondering what would happen to
+the world when it had fallen under the sway of this generation of spoiled
+children, and had adopted altogether the religion of doing as one pleased.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the beginning people had simply done as they pleased spontaneously, and
+without thinking about it; but now, Montague discovered, the custom had spread
+to such an extent that it was developing a philosophy. There was springing up a
+new cult, whose devotees were planning to make over the world upon the plan of
+doing as one pleased. Because its members were wealthy, and able to command the
+talent of the world, the cult was developing an art, with a highly perfected
+technique, and a literature which was subtle and exquisite and alluring. Europe
+had had such a literature for a century, and England for a generation or two.
+And now America was having it, too!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had an amusing insight into this one day, when Mrs. Vivie invited him
+to one of her &ldquo;artistic evenings.&rdquo; Mrs. Vivie was in touch with a
+special set which went in for intellectual things, and included some amateur
+Bohemians and men of &ldquo;genius.&rdquo; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you come if
+you&rsquo;ll be shocked,&rdquo; she had said to him&mdash;&ldquo;for Strathcona
+will be there.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague deemed himself able to stand a good deal by this time. He went, and
+found Mrs. Vivie and her Count (Mr. Vivie had apparently not been invited) and
+also the young poet of Diabolism, whose work was just then the talk of the
+town. He was a tall, slender youth with a white face and melancholy black eyes,
+and black locks falling in cascades about his ears; he sat in an Oriental
+corner, with a manuscript copied in tiny handwriting upon delicately scented
+&ldquo;art paper,&rdquo; and tied with passionate purple ribbons. A young girl
+clad in white sat by his side and held a candle, while he read from this
+manuscript his unprinted (because unprintable) verses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And between the readings the young poet talked. He talked about himself and his
+work&mdash;apparently that was what he had come to talk about. His words flowed
+like a swift stream, limpid, sparkling, incessant; leaping from place to
+place&mdash;here, there, quick as the play of light upon the water. Montague
+laboured to follow the speaker&rsquo;s ideas, until he found his mind in a
+whirl and gave it up. Afterward, when he thought it over, he laughed at
+himself; for Strathcona&rsquo;s ideas were not serious things, having
+relationship to truth&mdash;they were epigrams put together to dazzle the
+hearer, studies in paradox, with as much relation to life as fireworks. He took
+the sum-total of the moral experience of the human race, and turned it upside
+down and jumbled it about, and used it as bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. And
+the hearers would gasp, and whisper, &ldquo;Diabolical!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The motto of this &ldquo;school&rdquo; of poets was that there was neither good
+nor evil, but that all things were &ldquo;interesting.&rdquo; After listening
+to Strathcona for half an hour, one felt like hiding his head, and denying that
+he had ever thought of having any virtue; in a world where all things were
+uncertain, it was presumptuous even to pretend to know what virtue was. One
+could only be what one was; and did not that mean that one must do as one
+pleased?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+You could feel a shudder run through the company at his audacity. And the worst
+of it was that you could not dismiss it with a laugh; for the boy was really a
+poet&mdash;he had fire and passion, the gift of melodious ecstacy. He was only
+twenty, and in his brief meteor flight he had run the gamut of all experience;
+he had familiarized himself with all human achievement&mdash;past, present, and
+future. There was nothing any one could mention that he did not perfectly
+comprehend: the raptures of the saints, the consecration of the
+martyrs&mdash;yes, he had known them; likewise he had touched the depths of
+depravity, he had been lost in the innermost passages of the caverns of hell.
+And all this had been interesting&mdash;in its time; now he was sighing for new
+worlds of experience&mdash;say for unrequited love, which should drive him to
+madness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was at this point that Montague dropped out of the race, and took to
+studying from the outside the mechanism of this young poet&rsquo;s
+conversation. Strathcona flouted the idea of a moral sense; but in reality he
+was quite dependent upon it&mdash;his recipe for making epigrams was to take
+what other people&rsquo;s moral sense made them respect, and identify it with
+something which their moral sense made them abhor. Thus, for instance, the tale
+which he told about one of the members of his set, who was a relative of a
+bishop. The great man had occasion to rebuke him for his profligate ways,
+declaring in the course of his lecture that he was living off the reputation of
+his father; to which the boy made the crushing rejoinder: &ldquo;It may be bad
+to live off the reputation of one&rsquo;s father, but it&rsquo;s better than
+living off the reputation of God.&rdquo;&mdash;This was very subtle and it was
+necessary to ponder it. God was dead; and the worthy bishop did not know it!
+But let him take a new God, who had no reputation, and go out into the world
+and make a living out of him!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Strathcona discussed literature. He paid his tribute to the &ldquo;Fleurs
+de Mal&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Songs before Sunrise&rdquo;; but most, he said, he
+owed to &ldquo;the divine Oscar.&rdquo; This English poet of many poses and
+some vices the law had seized and flung into jail; and since the law is a thing
+so brutal and wicked that whoever is touched by it is made thereby a martyr and
+a hero, there had grown up quite a cult about the memory of
+&ldquo;Oscar.&rdquo; All up-to-date poets imitated his style and his attitude
+to life; and so the most revolting of vices had the cloak of romance flung
+about them&mdash;were given long Greek and Latin names, and discussed with
+parade of learning as revivals of Hellenic ideals. The young men in
+Strathcona&rsquo;s set referred to each other as their &ldquo;lovers&rdquo;;
+and if one showed any perplexity over this, he was regarded, not with
+contempt&mdash;for it was not aesthetic to feel contempt&mdash;but with a
+slight lifting of the eyebrows, intended to annihilate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One must not forget, of course, that these young people were poets, and to that
+extent were protected from their own doctrines. They were interested, not in
+life, but in making pretty verses about life; there were some among them who
+lived as cheerful ascetics in garret rooms, and gave melodious expression to
+devilish emotions. But, on the other hand, for every poet, there were thousands
+who were not poets, but people to whom life was real. And these lived out the
+creed, and wrecked their lives; and with the aid of the poet&rsquo;s magic, the
+glamour of melody and the fire divine, they wrecked the lives with which they
+came into contact. The new generation of boys and girls were deriving their
+spiritual sustenance from the poetry of Baudelaire and Wilde; and rushing with
+the hot impulsiveness of youth into the dreadful traps which the traders in
+vice prepared for them. One&rsquo;s heart bled to see them, pink-cheeked and
+bright-eyed, pursuing the hem of the Muse&rsquo;s robe in brothels and dens of
+infamy!
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The social mill ground on for another month. Montague withdrew himself as much
+as his brother would let him; but Alice, was on the go all night and half the
+day. Oliver had sold his racing automobile to a friend&mdash;he was a man of
+family now, he said, and his wild days were over. He had got, instead, a
+limousine car for Alice; though she declared she had no need of it&mdash;if
+ever she was going to any place, Charlie Carter always begged her to use his.
+Charlie&rsquo;s siege was as persistent as ever, as Montague noticed with
+annoyance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great law case was going forward. After weeks of study and investigation,
+Montague felt that he had the matter well in hand; and he had taken Mr.
+Hasbrook&rsquo;s memoranda as a basis for a new work of his own, much more
+substantial. Bit by bit; as he dug into the subject, he had discovered a state
+of affairs in the Fidelity Company, and, indeed, in the whole insurance
+business and its allied realms of banking and finance, which shocked him
+profoundly. It was impossible for him to imagine how such conditions could
+exist and remain unknown to the public&mdash;more especially as every one in
+Wall Street with whom he talked seemed to know about them and to take them for
+granted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His client&rsquo;s papers had provided him with references to the books;
+Montague had taken this dry material and made of it a protest which had the
+breath of life in it. It was a thing at which he toiled with deadly
+earnestness; it was not merely a struggle of one man to get a few thousand
+dollars, it was an appeal in behalf of millions of helpless people whose trust
+had been betrayed. It was the first step in a long campaign, which the young
+lawyer meant should force a great evil into the light of day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He went over his bill of complaint with Mr. Hasbrook, and he was glad to see
+that the work he had done made its impression upon him. In fact, his client was
+a little afraid that some of his arguments might be too radical in
+tone&mdash;from the strictly legal point of view, he made haste to explain. But
+Montague reassured him upon this point.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then came the day when the great ship was ready for launching. The news
+must have spread quickly, for a few hours after the papers in the suit had been
+filed, Montague received a call from a newspaper reporter, who told him of the
+excitement in financial circles, where the thing had fallen like a bomb.
+Montague explained the purpose of the suit, and gave the reporter a number of
+facts which he felt certain would attract attention to the matter. When he
+picked up the paper the next morning, however, he was surprised to find that
+only a few lines had been given to the case, and that his interview had been
+replaced by one with an unnamed official of the Fidelity, to the effect that
+the attack upon the company was obviously for black-mailing purposes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That was the only ripple which Montague&rsquo;s work produced upon the surface
+of the pool; but there was a great commotion among the fish at the bottom,
+about which he was soon to learn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That evening, while he was hard at work in his study, he received a telephone
+call from his brother. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m coming round to see you,&rdquo; said
+Oliver. &ldquo;Wait for me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the other, and added, &ldquo;I thought you were
+dining at the Wallings&rsquo;.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m there now,&rdquo; was the answer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
+leaving.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What is the matter?&rdquo; Montague asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s hell to pay,&rdquo; was the reply&mdash;and then silence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Oliver appeared, a few minutes later, he did not even stop to set down his
+hat, but exclaimed, &ldquo;Allan, what in heaven&rsquo;s name have you been
+doing?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, that suit!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What about it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good God, man!&rdquo; cried Oliver. &ldquo;Do you mean that you really
+don&rsquo;t know what you&rsquo;ve done?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was staring at him. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid I don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said
+he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, you&rsquo;re turning the world upside down!&rdquo; exclaimed the
+other. &ldquo;Everybody you know is crazy about it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Everybody I know!&rdquo; echoed Montague. &ldquo;What have they to do
+with it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, you&rsquo;ve stabbed them in the back!&rdquo; half shouted Oliver.
+&ldquo;I could hardly believe my ears when they told me. Robbie Walling is
+simply wild&mdash;I never had such a time in my life.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand yet,&rdquo; said Montague, more and more
+amazed. &ldquo;What has he to do with it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, man,&rdquo; cried Oliver, &ldquo;his brother&rsquo;s a director in
+the Fidelity! And his own interests&mdash;and all the other companies!
+You&rsquo;ve struck at the whole insurance business!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague caught his breath. &ldquo;Oh, I see!&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How could you think of such a thing?&rdquo; cried the other, wildly.
+&ldquo;You promised to consult me about things&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I told you when I took this case,&rdquo; put in Montague, quickly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know,&rdquo; said his brother. &ldquo;But you didn&rsquo;t
+explain&mdash;and what did I know about it? I thought I could leave it to your
+common sense not to mix up in a thing like this.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very sorry,&rdquo; said Montague, gravely. &ldquo;I had no
+idea of any such result.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I told Robbie,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;Good God,
+what a time I had!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He took his hat and coat and laid them on the bed, and sat down and began to
+tell about it. &ldquo;I made him realize the disadvantage you were
+under,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;being a stranger and not knowing the ground. I
+believe he had an idea that you tried to get his confidence on purpose to
+attack him. It was Mrs. Robbie, I guess&mdash;you know her fortune is all in
+that quarter.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver wiped the perspiration from his forehead. &ldquo;My!&rdquo; he
+said.&mdash;&ldquo;And fancy what old Wyman must be saying about this! And what
+a time poor Betty must be having! And then Freddie Vandam&mdash;the air will be
+blue for half a mile round his place! I must send him a wire and explain that
+it was a mistake, and that we&rsquo;re getting out of it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he got up, to suit the action to the word. But half-way to the desk he
+heard his brother say, &ldquo;Wait.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He turned, and saw Montague, quite pale. &ldquo;I suppose by &lsquo;getting out
+of it,&rsquo;&rdquo; said the latter, &ldquo;you mean dropping the case.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; was the answer.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, then,&rdquo; he continued, very gravely,&mdash;&ldquo;I can see
+that it&rsquo;s going to be hard, and I&rsquo;m sorry. But you might as well
+understand me at the very beginning&mdash;I will never drop this case.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver&rsquo;s jaw fell limp. &ldquo;Allan!&rdquo; he gasped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a silence; and then the storm broke. Oliver knew his brother well
+enough to realize just how thoroughly he meant what he said; and so he got the
+full force of the shock all at once. He raved and swore and wrung his hands,
+and declaimed at his brother, saying that he had betrayed him, that he was
+ruining him&mdash;dumping himself and the whole family into the ditch. They
+would be jeered at and insulted&mdash;they would be blacklisted and thrown out
+of Society. Alice&rsquo;s career would be cut short&mdash;every door would be
+closed to her. His own career would die before it was born; he would never get
+into the clubs&mdash;he would be a pariah&mdash;he would be bankrupted and
+penniless. Again and again Oliver went over the situation, naming person after
+person who would be outraged, and describing what that person would do; there
+were the Wallings and the Venables and the Havens, the Vandams and the Todds
+and the Wymans&mdash;they were all one regiment, and Montague had flung a bomb
+into the centre of them!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was very terrible to him to see his brother&rsquo;s rage and despair; but he
+had seen his way clear through this matter, and he knew that there was no
+turning back for him. &ldquo;It is painful to learn that all one&rsquo;s
+acquaintances are thieves,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But that does not change my
+opinion of stealing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But my God!&rdquo; cried Oliver; &ldquo;did you come to New York to
+preach sermons?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To which the other answered, &ldquo;I came to practise law. And the lawyer who
+will not fight injustice is a traitor to his profession.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver threw up his hands in despair. What could one say to a sentiment such as
+that?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&mdash;But then again he came to the charge, pointing out to his brother the
+position in which he had placed himself with the Wallings. He had accepted
+their hospitality; they had taken him and Alice in, and done everything in the
+world for them&mdash;things for which no money could ever repay them. And now
+he had struck them!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the only effect of that was to make Montague regret that he had ever had
+anything to do with the Wallings. If they expected to use their friendship to
+tie his hands in such a matter, they were people he would have left alone.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But do you realize that it&rsquo;s not merely yourself you&rsquo;re
+ruining?&rdquo; cried Oliver. &ldquo;Do you know what you&rsquo;re doing to
+Alice?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is harder yet for me,&rdquo; the other replied. &ldquo;But I am
+sure that Alice would not ask me to stop.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was firmly set in his own mind; but it seemed to be quite impossible
+for his brother to realize that this was the case. He would give up; but then,
+going back into his own mind, and facing the thought of this person and that,
+and the impossibility of the situation which would arise, he would return to
+the attack with new anguish in his voice. He implored and scolded, and even
+wept; and then he would get himself together again, and come and sit in front
+of his brother and try to reason with him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale and
+nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his brother
+unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had come to see it. It
+was a city ruled by mighty forces&mdash;money-forces; great families and
+fortunes, which had held their sway for generations, and regarded the place,
+with all its swarming millions, as their birthright. They possessed it
+utterly&mdash;they held it in the hollow of their hands. Railroads and
+telegraphs and telephones&mdash;banks and insurance and trust
+companies&mdash;all these they owned; and the political machines and the
+legislatures, the courts and the newspapers, the churches and the colleges. And
+their rule was for plunder; all the streams of profit ran into their coffers.
+The stranger who came to their city succeeded as he helped them in their
+purposes, and failed if they could not use him. A great editor or bishop was a
+man who taught their doctrines; a great statesman was a man who made the laws
+for them; a great lawyer was one who helped them to outwit the public. Any man
+who dared to oppose them, they would cast out and trample on, they would
+slander and ridicule and ruin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Oliver came down to particulars&mdash;he named these powerful men, one
+after one, and showed what they could do. If his brother would only be a man of
+the world, and see the thing! Look at all the successful lawyers! Oliver named
+them, one after one&mdash;shrewd devisers of corporation trickery, with incomes
+of hundreds of thousands a year. He could not name the men who had refused to
+play the game&mdash;for no one had ever heard of them. But it was so evident
+what would happen in this case! His friends would cast him off; his own client
+would get his price&mdash;whatever it was&mdash;and then leave him in the
+lurch, and laugh at him! &ldquo;If you can&rsquo;t make up your mind to play
+the game,&rdquo; cried Oliver, frantically, &ldquo;at least you can give it up!
+There are plenty of other ways of getting a living&mdash;if you&rsquo;ll let
+me, I&rsquo;ll take care of you myself, rather than have you disgrace me. Tell
+me&mdash;will you do that? Will you quit altogether?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague suddenly leaped to his feet, and brought his fist down upon the
+desk with a bang. &ldquo;No!&rdquo; he cried; &ldquo;by God, no!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let me make you understand me once for all,&rdquo; he rushed on.
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve shown me New York as you see it. I don&rsquo;t believe
+it&rsquo;s the truth&mdash;I don&rsquo;t believe it for one single moment! But
+let me tell you this, I shall stay here and find out&mdash;and if it is true,
+it won&rsquo;t stop me! I shall stay here and defy those people! I shall stay
+and fight them till the day I die! They may ruin me,&mdash;I&rsquo;ll go and
+live in a garret if I have to,&mdash;but as sure as there&rsquo;s a God that
+made me, I&rsquo;ll never stop till I&rsquo;ve opened the eyes of the people to
+what they&rsquo;re doing!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague towered over his brother, white-hot and terrible. Oliver shrank from
+him&mdash;he never had seen such a burst of wrath from him before. &ldquo;Do
+you understand me now?&rdquo; Montague cried; and he answered, in a despairing
+voice, &ldquo;Yes, yes.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see it&rsquo;s all up,&rdquo; he added weakly. &ldquo;You and I
+can&rsquo;t pull together.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; exclaimed the other, passionately, &ldquo;we can&rsquo;t. And
+we might as well give up trying. You have chosen to be a time-server and a
+lick-spittle, and I don&rsquo;t choose it! Do you think I&rsquo;ve learned
+nothing in the time I&rsquo;ve been here? Why, man, you used to be daring and
+clever&mdash;and now you never draw a breath without wondering if these rich
+snobs will like the way you do it! And you want Alice to sell herself to
+them&mdash;you want me to sell my career to them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a long pause. Oliver had turned very pale. And then suddenly his
+brother caught himself together, and said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry. I
+didn&rsquo;t mean to quarrel, but you&rsquo;ve goaded me too much. I&rsquo;m
+grateful for what you have tried to do for me, and I&rsquo;ll pay you back as
+soon as I can. But I can&rsquo;t go on with this game. I&rsquo;ll quit, and you
+can disown me to your friends&mdash;tell them that I&rsquo;ve run amuck, and to
+forget they ever knew me. They&rsquo;ll hardly blame you for it&mdash;they know
+you too well for that. And as for Alice, I&rsquo;ll talk it out with her
+to-morrow, and let her decide for herself&mdash;if she wants to be a Society
+queen, she can put herself in your hands, and I&rsquo;ll get out of her way. On
+the other hand, if she approves of what I&rsquo;m doing, why we&rsquo;ll both
+quit, and you won&rsquo;t have to bother with either of us.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+That was the basis upon which they parted for the night; but like most
+resolutions taken at white heat, it was not followed literally. It was very
+hard for Montague to have to confront Alice with such a choice; and as for
+Oliver, when he went home and thought it over, he began to discover gleams of
+hope. He might make it clear to every one that he was not responsible for his
+brother&rsquo;s business vagaries, and take his chances upon that basis. After
+all, there were wheels within wheels in Society; and if the Robbie Wallings
+chose to break with him&mdash;why, they had plenty of enemies. There might even
+be interests which would be benefited by Allan&rsquo;s course, and would take
+him up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had resolved to write and break every engagement which he had made,
+and to sever his connection with Society at one stroke. But the next day his
+brother came again, with compromises and new protestations. There was no use
+going to the other extreme: he, Oliver, would have it out with the Wallings,
+and they might all go on their way as if nothing had happened.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Montague made his début in the rôle of knight-errant. He went with many
+qualms and misgivings, uncertain how each new person would take it. The next
+evening he was promised for a theatre-party with Siegfried Harvey; and they had
+supper in a private room at Delmonico&rsquo;s, and there came Mrs. Winnie,
+resplendent as an apple tree in early April&mdash;and murmuring with bated
+breath, &ldquo;Oh, you dreadful man, what have you been doing?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Have I been poaching on <i>your</i> preserves?&rdquo; he asked promptly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, not mine,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but&mdash;&rdquo; and then she
+hesitated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;On Mr. Duval&rsquo;s?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;not his&mdash;but everybody else&rsquo;s! He
+was telling me about it to-day&mdash;there&rsquo;s a most dreadful uproar. He
+wanted me to try to find out what you were up to, and who was behind it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague listened, wonderingly. Did Mrs. Winnie mean to imply that her husband
+had asked her to try to worm his business secrets out of him? That was what she
+seemed to imply. &ldquo;I told him I never talked business with my
+friends,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;He can ask you himself, if he chooses. But
+what <i>does</i> it all mean, anyhow?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague smiled at the naïve inconsistency.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It means nothing,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;except that I am trying to get
+justice for a client.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But can you afford to make so many powerful enemies?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve taken my chances on that,&rdquo; he replied.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie answered nothing, but looked at him with wondering admiration in
+her eyes. &ldquo;You arc different from the men about you,&rdquo; she remarked,
+after a while&mdash;and her tone gave Montague to understand that there was one
+person who meant to stand by him.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+But Mrs. Winnie Duval was not all Society. Montague was amused to notice with
+what suddenness the stream of invitations slacked up; it was necessary for
+Alice to give her calling list many revisions. Freddie Vandam had promised to
+invite them to his place on Long Island, and of course that invitation would
+never come; likewise they would never again see the palace of the Lester Todds,
+upon the Jersey mountain-top.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver put in the next few days in calling upon people to explain his
+embarrassing situation. He washed his hands of his brother&rsquo;s affairs, he
+said; and his friends might do the same, if they saw fit. With the Robbie
+Wallings he had a stormy half hour, about which he thought it best to say
+little to the rest of the family. Robbie did not break with him utterly,
+because of their Wall Street Alliance; but Mrs. Robbie&rsquo;s feeling was so
+bitter, he said, that it would be best if Alice saw nothing of her for a while.
+He had a long talk with Alice, and explained the situation. The girl was
+utterly dumbfounded, for she was deeply grateful to Mrs. Robbie, and fond of
+her as well; and she could not believe that a friend could be so cruelly unjust
+to her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The upshot of the whole situation was a very painful episode. A few days later
+Alice met Mrs. Robbie at a reception; and she took the lady aside, and tried to
+tell her how distressed and helpless she was. And the result was that Mrs.
+Robbie flew into a passion and railed at her, declaring in the presence of
+several people that she had sponged upon her and abused her hospitality! And so
+poor Alice came home, weeping and half hysterical.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All of which, of course, was like oil upon a fire; the heavens were lighted up
+with the conflagration. The next development was a paragraph in Society&rsquo;s
+scandal-sheet&mdash;telling with infinite gusto how a certain ultra-fashionable
+matron had taken up a family of stranded waifs from a far State, and introduced
+them into the best circles, and even gone so far as to give a magnificent dance
+in their honour; and how the discovery had been made that the head of the
+family had been secretly preparing an attack upon their business interests; and
+of the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth which had followed&mdash;and the
+violent quarrel in a public place. The paragraph concluded with the prediction
+that the strangers would find themselves the centre of a merry social war.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver was the first to show them this paper. But lest by any chance they
+should miss it, half a dozen unknown friends were good enough to mail them
+copies, carefully marked.&mdash;And then came Reggie Mann, who as free-lance
+and gossip-gatherer sat on the fence and watched the fun; Reggie wore a thin
+veil of sympathy over his naked glee, and brought them the latest reports from
+all portions of the battle-ground. Thus they were able to know exactly what
+everybody was saying about them&mdash;who was amused and who was outraged, and
+who proposed to drop them and who to take them up.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague listened for a while, but then he got tired of it, and went for a walk
+to escape it&mdash;but only to run into another trap. It was dark, and he was
+strolling down the Avenue, when out of a brilliantly lighted jewellery shop
+came Mrs. Billy Alden to her carriage. And she hailed him with an exclamation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You man,&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;what have you been doing?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He tried to laugh it off and escape, but she took him by the arm, commanding,
+&ldquo;Get in here and tell me about it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So he found himself moving with the slow stream of vehicles on the Avenue, and
+with Mrs. Billy gazing at him quizzically and asking him if he did not feel
+like a hippopotamus in a frog-pond.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He replied to her raillery by asking her under which flag she stood. But there
+was little need to ask that, for anyone who was fighting a Walling became
+<i>ipso facto</i> a friend of Mrs. Billy&rsquo;s. She told Montague that if he
+felt his social position was imperilled, all he had to do was to come to her.
+She would gird on her armour and take the field.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But tell me how you came to do it,&rdquo; she said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He answered that there was very little to tell. He had taken up a case which
+was obviously just, but having no idea what a storm it would raise.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then he noticed that his companion was looking at him sharply. &ldquo;Do you
+really mean that&rsquo;s all there is to it?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course I do,&rdquo; said he, perplexed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know,&rdquo; was her unexpected response, &ldquo;I hardly know
+what to make of you. I&rsquo;m afraid to trust you, on account of your
+brother.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was embarrassed. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what you mean,&rdquo; he
+said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Everybody thinks there&rsquo;s some trickery in that suit,&rdquo; she
+answered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;I see. Well, they will find out. If it
+will help you any to know it, I&rsquo;ve been having no end of scenes with my
+brother.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll believe you,&rdquo; said Mrs. Billy, genially. &ldquo;But it
+seems strange that a man could have been so blind to a situation! I feel quite
+ashamed because I didn&rsquo;t help you myself!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The carriage had stopped at Mrs. Billy&rsquo;s home, and she asked him to
+dinner. &ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be nobody but my brother,&rdquo; she
+said,&mdash;&ldquo;we&rsquo;re resting this evening. And I can make up to you
+for my negligence!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had no engagement, and so he went in, and saw Mrs. Billy&rsquo;s
+mansion, which was decorated in imitation of a Doge&rsquo;s palace, and met Mr.
+&ldquo;Davy&rdquo; Alden, a mild-mannered little gentleman who obeyed orders
+promptly. They had a comfortable dinner of half-a-dozen courses, and then
+retired to the drawing-room, where Mrs. Billy sank into a huge easy chair, with
+a decanter of whisky and some cracked ice in readiness beside it. Then from a
+tray she selected a thick black cigar, and placidly bit off the end and lighted
+it, and then settled back at her ease, and proceeded to tell Montague about New
+York, and about the great families who ruled it, and where and how they had got
+their money, and who were their allies and who their enemies, and what
+particular skeletons were hidden in each of their closets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was worth coming a long way to listen to Mrs. Billy tête-à-tête; her
+thoughts were vigorous, and her imagery was picturesque. She spoke of old Dan
+Waterman, and described him as a wild boar rooting chestnuts. He was all right,
+she said, if you didn&rsquo;t come under his tree. And Montague asked,
+&ldquo;Which is his tree?&rdquo; and she answered, &ldquo;Any one he happens to
+be under at the time.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then she came to the Wallings. Mrs. Billy had been in on the inside of that
+family, and there was nothing she didn&rsquo;t know about it; and she brought
+the members up, one by one, and dissected them, and exhibited them for
+Montague&rsquo;s benefit. They were typical <i>bourgeois</i> people, she said.
+They were burghers. They had never shown the least capacity for
+refinement&mdash;they ate and drank, and jostled other people out of the way.
+The old ones had been boors, and the new ones were cads.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Mrs. Billy sat and puffed at her cigar. &ldquo;Do you know the history of
+the family?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;The founder was a rough old ferryman. He
+fought his rivals so well that in the end he owned all the boats; and then some
+one discovered the idea of buying legislatures and building railroads, and he
+went into that. It was a time when they simply grabbed things&mdash;if you ever
+look into it, you&rsquo;ll find they&rsquo;re making fortunes to-day out of
+privileges that the old man simply sat down on and held. There&rsquo;s a bridge
+at Albany, for instance, to which they haven&rsquo;t the slightest right; my
+brother knows about it&mdash;they&rsquo;ve given themselves a contract with
+their railroad by which they&rsquo;re paid for every passenger, and their
+profit every year is greater than the cost of the bridge. The son was the head
+of the family when I came in; and I found that he had it all arranged to leave
+thirty million dollars to one of his sons, and only ten million to my husband.
+I set to work to change that, I can tell you. I used to go around to see him,
+and scratch his back and tickle him and make him feel good. Of course the
+family went wild&mdash;my, how they hated me! They set old Ellis to work to
+keep me off&mdash;have you met Judge Ellis?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I have,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, there&rsquo;s a pussy-footed old hypocrite for you,&rdquo; said
+Mrs. Billy. &ldquo;In those days he was Walling&rsquo;s business
+lackey&mdash;used to pass the money to the legislators and keep the wheels of
+the machine greased. One of the first things I said to the old man was that I
+didn&rsquo;t ask him to entertain my butler, and he mustn&rsquo;t ask me to
+entertain his valet&mdash;and so I forbid Ellis to enter my house. And when I
+found that he was trying to get between the old man and me, I flew into a rage
+and boxed his ears and chased him out of the room!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Billy paused, and laughed heartily over the recollection. &ldquo;Of course
+that tickled the old man to death,&rdquo; she continued. &ldquo;The Wallings
+never could make out how I managed to get round him as I did; but it was simply
+because I was honest with him. They&rsquo;d come snivelling round, pretending
+they were anxious about his health; while I wanted his money, and I told him
+so.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The valiant lady turned to the decanter. &ldquo;Have some Scotch?&rdquo; she
+asked, and poured some for herself, and then went on with her story.
+&ldquo;When I first came to New York,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;the rich
+people&rsquo;s houses were all alike&mdash;all dreary brownstone fronts,
+sandwiched in on one or two city lots. I vowed that I would have a house with
+some room all around it&mdash;and that was the beginning of those palaces that
+all New York walks by and stares at. You can hardly believe it now&mdash;those
+houses were a scandal! But the sensation tickled the old man. I remember one
+day we walked up the Avenue to see how they were coming on; and he pointed with
+his big stick to the second floor, and asked, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s that?&rsquo;
+I answered, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s a safe I&rsquo;m building into the house.&rsquo;
+(That was a new thing, too, in those days.)&mdash;&lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to
+keep my money in that,&rsquo; I said. &lsquo;Bah!&rsquo; he growled,
+&lsquo;when you&rsquo;re done with this house, you won&rsquo;t have any money
+left.&rsquo;&mdash;&lsquo;I&rsquo;m planning to make you fill it for me,&rsquo;
+I answered; and do you know, he chuckled all the way home over it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Billy sat laughing softly to herself. &ldquo;We had great old battles in
+those days,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Among other things, I had to put the
+Wallings into Society. They were sneaking round on the outside when I
+came&mdash;licking people&rsquo;s boots and expecting to be kicked. I said to
+myself, I&rsquo;ll put an end to that&mdash;we&rsquo;ll have a show-down! So I
+gave a ball that made the whole country sit up and gasp&mdash;it wouldn&rsquo;t
+be noticed particularly nowadays, but then people had never dreamed of anything
+so gorgeous. And I made out a list of all the people I wanted to know in New
+York, and I said to myself: &lsquo;If you come, you&rsquo;re a friend, and if
+you don&rsquo;t come, you&rsquo;re an enemy.&rsquo; And they all came, let me
+tell you! And there was never any question about the Wallings being in Society
+after that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Billy halted; and Montague remarked, with a smile, that doubtless she was
+sorry now that she had done it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, no,&rdquo; she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. &ldquo;I
+find that all I have to do is to be patient&mdash;I hate people, and think
+I&rsquo;d like to poison them, but if I only wait long enough, something
+happens to them much worse than I ever dreamed of. You&rsquo;ll be revenged on
+the Robbies some day.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want any revenge,&rdquo; Montague answered.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve no quarrel with them&mdash;I simply wish I hadn&rsquo;t
+accepted their hospitality. I didn&rsquo;t know they were such little people.
+It seems hard to believe it.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Billy laughed cynically. &ldquo;What could you expect?&rdquo; she said.
+&ldquo;They know there&rsquo;s nothing to them but their money. When
+that&rsquo;s gone, they&rsquo;re gone&mdash;they could never make any
+more.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The lady gave a chuckle, and added: &ldquo;Those words make me think of
+Davy&rsquo;s experience when he wanted to go to Congress! Tell him about it,
+Davy.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Mr. Alden did not warm to the subject; he left the tale to his sister.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He was a Democrat, you know,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;and he went to the
+boss and told him he&rsquo;d like to go to Congress. The answer was that it
+would cost him forty thousand dollars, and he kicked at the price. Others
+didn&rsquo;t have to put up such sums, he said&mdash;why should he? And the old
+man growled at him, &lsquo;The rest have other things to give. One can deliver
+the letter-carriers, another is paid for by a corporation. But what can you do?
+What is there to you but your money?&rsquo;&mdash;So Davy paid the
+money&mdash;didn&rsquo;t you, Davy?&rdquo; And Davy grinned sheepishly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Even so,&rdquo; she went on, &ldquo;he came off better than poor Devon.
+They got fifty thousand out of him, and sold him out, and he never got to
+Congress after all! That was just before he concluded that America wasn&rsquo;t
+a fit place for a gentleman to live in.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so Mrs. Billy got started on the Devons! And after that came the Havens and
+the Wymans and the Todds&mdash;it was midnight before she got through with them
+all.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The newspapers said nothing more about the Hasbrook suit; but in financial
+circles Montague had attained considerable notoriety because of it. And this
+was the means of bringing him a number of new cases.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But alas, there were no more fifty-thousand-dollar clients! The first caller
+was a destitute widow with a deed which would have entitled her to the greater
+part of a large city in Pennsylvania&mdash;only unfortunately the deed was
+about eighty years old. And then there was a poor old man who had been hurt in
+a street-car accident and had been tricked into signing away his rights; and an
+indignant citizen who proposed to bring a hundred suits against the traction
+trust for transfers refused. All were contingency cases, with the chances of
+success exceedingly remote. And Montague noticed that the people had come to
+him as a last resort, having apparently heard of him as a man of altruistic
+temper.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was one case which interested him particularly, because it seemed to fit
+in so ominously with the grim prognosis of his brother. He received a call from
+an elderly gentleman, of very evident refinement and dignity of manner, who
+proceeded to unfold to him a most amazing story. Five or six years ago he had
+invented a storage-battery, which was the most efficient known. He had
+organised a company with three million dollars&rsquo; capital to manufacture
+it, himself taking a third interest for his patents, and becoming president of
+the company. Not long afterward had come a proposal from a group of men who
+wished to organize a company to manufacture automobiles; they proposed to form
+an alliance which would give them the exclusive use of the battery. But these
+men were not people with whom the inventor cared to deal&mdash;they were
+traction and gas magnates widely known for their unscrupulous methods. And so
+he had declined their offer, and set to work instead to organize an automobile
+company himself. He had just got under way when he discovered that his rivals
+had set to work to take his invention away from him. A friend who owned another
+third share in his company had hypothecated his stock to help form the new
+company; and now came a call from the bank for more collateral, and he was
+obliged to sell out. And at the next stockholders&rsquo; meeting it developed
+that their rivals had bought it, and likewise more stock in the open market;
+and they proceeded to take possession of the company, ousting the former
+president&mdash;and then making a contract with their automobile company to
+furnish the storage-battery at a price which left no profit for the
+manufacturers! And so for two years the inventor had not received a dollar of
+dividends upon his million dollars&rsquo; worth of paper; and to cap the
+climax, the company had refused to sell the battery to his automobile company,
+and so that had gone into bankruptcy, and his friend was ruined also!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague went into the case very carefully, and found that the story was true.
+What interested him particularly in it was the fact that he had met a couple of
+these financial highwaymen in social life; he had come to know the son and heir
+of one of them quite well, at Siegfried Harvey&rsquo;s. This gilded youth was
+engaged to be married in a very few days, and the papers had it that the
+father-in-law had presented the bride with a cheque for a million dollars.
+Montague could not but wonder if it was the million that had been taken from
+his client!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was to be a &ldquo;bachelor dinner&rdquo; at the Millionaires&rsquo; on
+the night before the wedding, to which he and Oliver had been invited. As he
+was thinking of taking up his case, he went to his brother, saying that he
+wished to decline; but Oliver had been getting back his courage day by day, and
+declared that it was more important than ever now that he should hold his
+ground, and face his enemies&mdash;for Alice&rsquo;s sake, if not for his own.
+And so Montague went to the dinner, and saw deeper yet into the history of the
+stolen millions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a very beautiful affair, in the beginning. There was a large private
+dining-room, elaborately decorated, with a string orchestra concealed in a
+bower of plants. But there were cocktails even on the side-board at the
+doorway; and by the time the guests had got to the coffee, every one was
+hilariously drunk. After each toast they would hurl their glasses over their
+shoulders. The purpose of a &ldquo;bachelor dinner,&rdquo; it appeared, was a
+farewell to the old days and the boon companions; so there were sentimental and
+comic songs which had been composed for the occasion, and were received with
+whirlwinds of laughter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By listening closely and reading between the lines, one might get quite a
+history of the young host&rsquo;s adventurous career. There was a house up on
+the West Side; and there was a yacht, with, orgies in every part of the world.
+There was the summer night in Newport harbour, when some one had hit upon the
+dazzling scheme of freezing twenty-dollar gold pieces in tiny blocks of ice, to
+be dropped down the girls&rsquo; backs! And there was a banquet in a studio in
+New York, when a huge pie had been brought on, from which a half-nude girl had
+emerged, with a flock of canary birds about her! Then there was a damsel who
+had been wont to dance upon the tops of supper tables, clad in diaphanous
+costume; and who had got drunk after a theatre-party, and set out to smash up a
+Broadway restaurant. There was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a
+speciality of this diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
+champagne.&mdash;Apparently there were numberless places in the city where such
+orgies were carried on continually; there were private clubs, and
+artists&rsquo; &ldquo;studios&rdquo;&mdash;there were several allusions to a
+high tower, which Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters, however, were
+explained to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on his right, and who seemed
+to stay sober, no matter how much he drank. Incidentally he gravely advised
+Montague to meet one of the young host&rsquo;s mistresses, who was a
+&ldquo;stunning&rdquo; girl, and was in the market.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of wrestling-bouts; the
+young men stripped off their clothing and tore the table to pieces, and piled
+it out of the way in a corner, smashing most of the crockery in the process.
+Between the matches, champagne would be opened by knocking off the heads of the
+bottles; and this went on until four o&rsquo;clock in the morning, when many of
+the guests were lying in heaps upon the floor.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague rode home in a cab with the elderly gentleman who had sat next to him;
+and on the way he asked if such affairs as this were common. And his companion,
+who was a &ldquo;steel man&rdquo; from the West, replied by telling him of some
+which he had witnessed at home. At Siegfried Harvey&rsquo;s theatre-party
+Montague had seen a popular actress in a musical comedy, which was then the
+most successful play running in New York. The house was sold out weeks ahead,
+and after the matinée you might observe the street in front of the
+stage-entrance blocked by people waiting to see the woman come out. She was
+lithe and supple, like a panther, and wore close-fitting gowns to reveal her
+form. It seemed that her play must have been built with one purpose in mind, to
+see how much lewdness could be put upon a stage without interference by the
+police.&mdash;And now his companion told him how this woman had been invited to
+sing at a banquet given by the magnates of a mighty Trust, and had gone after
+midnight to the most exclusive club in the town, and sung her popular ditty,
+&ldquo;Won&rsquo;t you come and play with me?&rdquo; The merry magnates had
+taken the invitation literally&mdash;with the result that the actress had
+escaped from the room with half her clothing torn off her. And a little while
+later an official of this trust had wished to get rid of his wife and marry a
+chorus-girl; and when public clamour had forced the directors to ask him to
+resign, he had replied by threatening to tell about this banquet!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The next day&mdash;or rather, to be precise, that same morning&mdash;Montague
+and Alice attended the gorgeous wedding. It was declared by the newspapers to
+be the most &ldquo;important&rdquo; social event of the week; and it took half
+a dozen policemen to hold back the crowds which filled the street. The ceremony
+took place at St. Cecilia&rsquo;s, with the stately bishop officiating, in his
+purple and scarlet robes. Inside the doors were all the elect, exquisitely
+groomed and gowned, and such a medley of delicious perfumes as not all the
+vales in Arcady could equal. The groom had been polished and scrubbed, and
+looked very handsome, though somewhat pale; and Montague could not but smile as
+he observed the best man, looking so very solemn, and recollected the drunken
+wrestler of a few hours before, staggering about in a pale blue undershirt
+ripped up the back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Montagues knew by this time whom they were to avoid. They were graciously
+taken under the wing of Mrs. Eldridge Devon&mdash;whose real estate was not
+affected by insurance suits; and the next morning they had the satisfaction of
+seeing their names in the list of those present&mdash;and even a couple of
+lines about Alice&rsquo;s costume. (Alice was always referred to as &ldquo;Miss
+Montague&rdquo;; it was very pleasant to be <i>the</i> &ldquo;Miss
+Montague,&rdquo; and to think of all the other would-be Miss Montagues in the
+city, who were thereby haughtily rebuked!) In the &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; papers
+there were also accounts of the trousseau of the bride, and of the wonderful
+gifts which she had received, and of the long honeymoon which she was to spend
+in the Mediterranean upon her husband&rsquo;s yacht. Montague found himself
+wondering if the ghosts of its former occupants would not haunt her, and
+whether she would have been as happy, had she known as much as he knew.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+He found food for a good deal of thought in the memory of this banquet. Among
+the things which he had gathered from the songs was a hint that Oliver, also,
+had some secrets, which he had not seen fit to tell his brother. The keeping of
+young girls was apparently one of the established customs of the &ldquo;little
+brothers of the rich&rdquo;&mdash;and, for that matter, of many of the big
+brothers, also.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A little later Montague had a curious glimpse into the life of this
+&ldquo;half-world.&rdquo; He had occasion one evening to call up a certain
+financier whom he had come to know quite well&mdash;a man of family and a
+member of the church. There were some important papers to be signed and sent
+off by a steamer; and the great man&rsquo;s secretary said that he would try to
+find him. A minute or two later he called up Montague and asked him if he would
+be good enough to go to an address uptown. It was a house not far from
+Riverside Drive; and Montague went there and found his acquaintance, with
+several other prominent men of affairs whom he knew, conversing in a
+drawing-room with one of the most charming ladies he had ever met. She was
+exquisite to look at, and one of the few people in New York whom he had found
+worth listening to. He spent such an enjoyable evening, that when he was
+leaving, he remarked to the lady that he would like his cousin Alice to meet
+her; and then he noticed that she flushed slightly, and was embarrassed. Later
+on he learned to his dismay that the charming and beautiful lady did not go
+into Society.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor was this at all rare; on the contrary, if one took the trouble to make
+inquiries, he would find that such establishments were everywhere taken for
+granted. Montague talked about it with Major Venable; and out of his gossip
+storehouse the old gentleman drew forth a string of anecdotes that made
+one&rsquo;s hair stand on end. There was one all-powerful magnate, who had a
+passion for the wife of a great physician; and he had given a million dollars
+or so to build a hospital, and had provided that it should be the finest in the
+world, and that this physician should go abroad for three years to study the
+institutions of Europe! No conventions counted with this old man&mdash;if he
+saw a woman whom he wanted, he would ask for her; and women in Society felt
+that it was an honour to be his mistress. Not long after this a man who voiced
+the anguish of a mighty nation was turned out of several hotels in New York
+because he was not married according to the laws of South Dakota; but this
+other man would take a woman to any hotel in the city, and no one would dare
+oppose him!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And there was another, a great traction king, who kept mistresses in Chicago
+and Paris and London, as well as in New York; he had one just around the corner
+from his palatial home, and had an underground passage leading to it. And the
+Major told with glee how he had shown this to a friend, and the latter had
+remarked, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m too stout to get through
+there.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;I know it,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;else I
+shouldn&rsquo;t have told you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so it went. One of the richest men in New York was a sexual degenerate,
+with half a dozen women on his hands all the time; he would send them cheques,
+and they would use these to blackmail him. This man&rsquo;s young wife had been
+shut up in a closet for twenty-four hours by her mother to compel her to marry
+him.&mdash;And then there was the charming tale of how he had gone away upon a
+mission of state, and had written long messages full of tender protestations,
+and given them to a newspaper correspondent to cable home &ldquo;to his
+wife.&rdquo; The correspondent had thought it such a touching example of
+conjugal devotion that he told about it at a dinner-party when he came back;
+and he was struck by the sudden silence that fell. &ldquo;The messages had been
+sent to a code address!&rdquo; chuckled the Major. &ldquo;And every one at the
+table knew who had got them!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+A few days after this, Montague received a telephone message from Siegfried
+Harvey, who said that he wanted to see him about a matter of business. He asked
+him to lunch at the Noonday Club; and Montague went&mdash;though not without a
+qualm. For it was in the Fidelity Building, the enemy&rsquo;s bailiwick: a
+magnificent structure with halls of white marble, and a lavish display of
+bronze. It occurred to Montague that somewhere in this structure people were at
+work preparing an answer to his charges; he wondered what they were saying.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two had lunch, talking meanwhile about the coming events in Society, and
+about politics and wars; and when the coffee was served and they were alone in
+the room, Harvey settled his big frame back in his chair, and began:&mdash;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;In the first place,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I must explain that
+I&rsquo;ve something to say that is devilish hard to get into. I&rsquo;m so
+much afraid of your jumping to a wrong conclusion in the middle of
+it&mdash;I&rsquo;d like you to agree to listen for a minute or two before you
+think at all.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Montague, with a smile. &ldquo;Fire away.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And at once the other became grave. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve taken a case against
+this company,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And Ollie has talked enough to me to make
+me understand that you&rsquo;ve done a plucky thing, and that you must be
+everlastingly sick of hearing from cowardly people who want you to drop it.
+I&rsquo;d be very sorry to be classed with them, for even a moment; and you
+must understand at the outset that I haven&rsquo;t a particle of interest in
+the company, and that it wouldn&rsquo;t matter to me if I had. I don&rsquo;t
+try to use my friends in business, and I don&rsquo;t let money count with me in
+my social life. I made up my mind to take the risk of speaking to you about
+this case, simply because I happen to know one or two things about it that I
+thought you didn&rsquo;t know. And if that&rsquo;s so, you are at a great
+disadvantage; but in any case, please understand that I have no motive but
+friendship, and so if I am butting in, excuse me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When Siegfried Harvey talked, he looked straight at one with his clear blue
+eyes, and there was no doubting his honesty. &ldquo;I am very much obliged to
+you,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;Pray tell me what you have to say.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;It can be done very quickly.
+You have taken a case which involves a great many sacrifices upon your part.
+And I wondered if it had ever occurred to you to ask whether you might not be
+taken advantage of?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How do you mean?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Do you know the people who are behind you?&rdquo; inquired the other.
+&ldquo;Do you know them well enough to be sure what are their motives in the
+case?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague hesitated, and thought. &ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I
+couldn&rsquo;t say that I do.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then it&rsquo;s just as I thought,&rdquo; replied Harvey.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been watching you&mdash;you are an honest man, and
+you&rsquo;re putting yourself to no end of trouble from the best of motives.
+And unless I&rsquo;m mistaken, you&rsquo;re being used by men who are not
+honest, and whom you wouldn&rsquo;t work with if you knew their
+purposes.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What purposes could they have?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There are several possibilities. In the first place, it might be a
+&lsquo;strike&rsquo; suit&mdash;somebody who is hoping to be bought off for a
+big price. That is what nearly every one thinks is the case. But I don&rsquo;t;
+I think it&rsquo;s more likely some one within the company who is trying to put
+the administration in a hole.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Who could that be?&rdquo; exclaimed Montague, amazed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that. I&rsquo;m not familiar enough with the
+situation in the Fidelity&mdash;it&rsquo;s changing all the time. I simply know
+that there are factions struggling for the control of it, and hating each other
+furiously, and ready to do anything in the world to cripple each other. You
+know that their forty millions of surplus gives an enormous power; I&rsquo;d
+rather be able to swing forty millions in the Street than to have ten millions
+in my own right. And so the giants are fighting for the control of those
+companies; and you can&rsquo;t tell who&rsquo;s in and who&rsquo;s
+out&mdash;you can never know the real meaning of anything that happens in the
+struggle. All that you can be sure of is that the game is crooked from end to
+end, and that nothing that happens in it is what it pretends to be.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague listened, half dazed, and feeling as if the ground he stood on were
+caving beneath his feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you know about those who brought you this case?&rdquo; asked his
+companion, suddenly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not much,&rdquo; he said weakly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Harvey hesitated a moment. &ldquo;Understand me, please,&rdquo; he said.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve no wish to pry into your affairs, and if you don&rsquo;t care
+to say any more, I&rsquo;ll understand it perfectly. But I&rsquo;ve heard it
+said that the man who started the thing was Ellis.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague, in his turn, hesitated; then he said, &ldquo;That is
+correct&mdash;between you and me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very good,&rdquo; said Harvey, &ldquo;and that is what made me
+suspicious. Do you know anything about Ellis?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard a little
+since.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can fancy so,&rdquo; said Harvey. &ldquo;And I can tell you that Ellis
+is mixed up in life-insurance matters in all sorts of dubious ways. It seems to
+me that you have reason to be most careful where you follow him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat with his hands clenched and his brows knitted. His friend&rsquo;s
+talk had been like a flash of lightning; it revealed huge menacing forms in the
+darkness about him. All the structure of his hopes seemed to be tottering; his
+case, that he had worked so hard over&mdash;his fifty thousand dollars that he
+had been so proud of! Could it be that he had been tricked, and had made a fool
+of himself?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How in the world am I to know?&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That is more than I can tell,&rdquo; said his friend. &ldquo;And for
+that matter, I&rsquo;m not sure that you could do anything now. All that I
+could do was to warn you what sort of ground you were treading on, so that you
+could watch out for yourself in future.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague thanked him heartily for that service; and then he went back to his
+office, and spent the rest of the day pondering the matter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What he had heard had made a vast change in things. Before it everything had
+seemed simple; and now nothing was clear. He was overwhelmed with a sense of
+the utter futility of his efforts; he was trying to build a house upon
+quicksands. There was nowhere a solid spot upon which he could set his foot.
+There was nowhere any truth&mdash;there were only contending powers who used
+the phrases of truth for their own purposes! And now he saw himself as the
+world saw him,&mdash;a party to a piece of trickery,&mdash;a knave like all the
+rest. He felt that he had been tripped up at the first step in his career.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The conclusion of the whole matter was that he took an afternoon train for
+Albany; and the next morning he talked the matter out with the Judge. Montague
+had realized the need of going slowly, for, after all, he had no definite
+ground for suspicion; and so, very tactfully and cautiously he explained, that
+it had come to his ears that many people believed there were interested parties
+behind the suit of Mr. Hasbrook; and that this had made him uncomfortable, as
+he knew nothing whatever about his client. He had come to ask the Judge&rsquo;s
+advice in the matter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No one could have taken the thing more graciously than did the great man; he
+was all kindness and tact. In the first place, he said, he had warned him in
+advance that enemies would attack him and slander him, and that all kinds of
+subtle means would be used to influence him. And he must understand that these
+rumours were part of such a campaign; it made no difference how good a friend
+had brought them to him&mdash;how could he know who had brought them to that
+friend?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Judge ventured to hope that nothing that anyone might say could influence
+him to believe that he, the Judge, would have advised him to do anything
+improper.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;but can you assure me that there are no
+interested parties behind Mr. Hasbrook?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Interested parties?&rdquo; asked the other.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I mean people connected with the Fidelity or other insurance
+companies.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why, no,&rdquo; said the Judge; &ldquo;I certainly couldn&rsquo;t assure
+you of that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague looked surprised. &ldquo;You mean you don&rsquo;t know?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; was the answer, &ldquo;that I wouldn&rsquo;t feel at
+liberty to tell, even if I did know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague stared at him; he had not been prepared for this frankness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It never occurred to me,&rdquo; the other continued, &ldquo;that that
+was a matter which could make any difference to you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why&mdash;&rdquo; began Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Pray understand me, Mr. Montague,&rdquo; said the Judge. &ldquo;It
+seemed to me that this was obviously a just case, and it seemed so to you. And
+the only other matter that I thought you had a right to be assured of was that
+it was seriously meant. Of that I felt assured. It did not seem to me of any
+importance that there might be interested individuals behind Mr. Hasbrook. Let
+us suppose, for instance, that there were some parties who had been offended by
+the administration of the Fidelity, and were anxious to punish it. Could a
+lawyer be justified in refusing to take a just case, simply because he knew of
+such private motives? Or, let us assume an extreme case&mdash;a factional fight
+within the company, as you say has been suggested to you. Well, that would be a
+case of thieves falling out; and is there any reason why the public should not
+reap the advantage of such a situation? The men inside the company are the ones
+who would know first what is going on; and if you saw a chance to use such an
+advantage in a just fight&mdash;would you not do it?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So the Judge went on, gracious and plausible&mdash;and so subtly and
+exquisitely corrupting! Underneath his smoothly flowing sentences Montague
+could feel the presence of one fundamental thought; it was unuttered and even
+unhinted, but it pervaded the Judge&rsquo;s discourse as a mood pervades a
+melody. The young lawyer had got a big fee, and he had a nice easy case; and as
+a man of the world, he could not really wish to pry into it too closely. He had
+heard gossip, and felt that his reputation required him to be disturbed; but he
+had come, simply to be smoothed down the back and made at ease, and enabled to
+keep his fee without losing his good opinion of himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague quit, because he concluded that it was not worth while to try to make
+himself understood. After all, he was in the case now, and there was nothing to
+be gained by a breach. Two things he felt that he had made certain by the
+interview&mdash;first, that his client was a &ldquo;dummy,&rdquo; and that it
+was really a case of thieves falling out; and second, that he had no guarantee
+that he might not be left in the lurch at any moment&mdash;except the touching
+confidence of the Judge in some parties unknown.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Montague came home with his mind made up that there was nothing he could do
+except to be more careful next time. For this mistake he would have to pay the
+price.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had still to learn what the full price was. The day after his return there
+came a caller&mdash;Mr. John C. Burton, read his card. He proved to be a
+canvassing agent for the company which published the scandal-sheet of Society.
+They were preparing a <i>de luxe</i> account of the prominent families of New
+York; a very sumptuous affair, with a highly exclusive set of subscribers, at
+the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per set. Would Mr. Montague by any chance
+care to have his family included?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Mr. Montague explained politely that he was a comparative stranger in New
+York, and would not belong properly in such a volume. But the agent was not
+satisfied with this. There might be reasons for his subscribing, even so; there
+might be special cases; Mr. Montague, as a stranger, might not realize the
+important nature of the offer; after he had consulted his friends, he might
+change his mind&mdash;and so on. As Montague listened to this series of broad
+hints, and took in the meaning of them, the colour mounted, to his
+cheeks&mdash;until at last he rose abruptly and bid the man good afternoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But then as he sat alone, his anger died away, and there was left only
+discomfort and uneasiness. And three or four days later he bought another issue
+of the paper, and sure enough, there was a new paragraph!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He stood on the street-corner reading it. The social war was raging hotly, it
+said; and added that Mrs. de Graffenried was threatening to take up the cause
+of the strangers. Then it went on to picture a certain exquisite young man of
+fashion who was rushing about among his friends to apologize for his
+brother&rsquo;s indiscretions. Also, it said, there was a brilliant social
+queen, wife of a great banker, who had taken up the cudgels.&mdash;And then
+came three sentences more, which made the blood leap like flame into
+Montague&rsquo;s cheeks:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There have not been lacking comments upon her suspicious ardour. It has
+been noticed that since the advent of the romantic-looking Southerner, this
+restless lady&rsquo;s interest in the Babists and the trance mediums has waned;
+and now Society is watching for the dénouement of a most interesting
+situation.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To Montague these words came like a blow in the face. He went on down the
+street, half dazed. It seemed to him the blackest shame that New York had yet
+shown him. He clenched his fists as he walked, whispering to himself,
+&ldquo;The scoundrels!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He realized instantly that he was helpless. Down home one would have thrashed
+the editor of such a paper; but here he was in the wolves&rsquo; own country,
+and he could do nothing. He went back to his office, and sat down at the desk.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My dear Mrs. Winnie,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;I have just read the
+enclosed paragraph, and I cannot tell you how profoundly pained I am that your
+kindness to us should have made you the victim of such an outrage. I am quite
+helpless in the matter, except to enable you to avoid any further annoyance.
+Please believe me when I say that we shall all of us understand perfectly if
+you think that we had best not meet again at present; and that this will make
+no difference whatever in our feelings.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+This letter Montague sent by a messenger; and then he went home. Perhaps ten
+minutes after he arrived, the telephone bell rang&mdash;and there was Mrs.
+Winnie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Your note has come,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Have you an engagement this
+evening?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he answered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;will you come to dinner?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Winnie&mdash;&rdquo; he protested.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Please come,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Please!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I hate to have you&mdash;&rdquo; he began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I wish you to come!&rdquo; she said, a third time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So he answered, &ldquo;Very well.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+He went; and when he entered the house, the butler led him to the elevator,
+saying, &ldquo;Mrs. Duval says will you please come upstairs, sir.&rdquo; And
+there Mrs. Winnie met him, with flushed cheeks and eager countenance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She was even lovelier than usual, in a soft cream-coloured gown, and a crimson
+rose in her bosom. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m all alone to-night,&rdquo; she said,
+&ldquo;so we&rsquo;ll dine in my apartments. We&rsquo;d be lost in that big
+room downstairs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She led him into her drawing-room, where great armfuls of new roses scattered
+their perfume. There was a table set for two, and two big chairs before the
+fire which blazed in the hearth. Montague noticed that her hand trembled a
+little, as she motioned him to one of them; he could read her excitement in her
+whole aspect. She was flinging down the gauntlet to her enemies!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Let us eat first and talk afterward,&rdquo; she said, hurriedly.
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be happy for a while, anyway.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she went on to be happy, in her nervous and eager way. She talked about the
+new opera which was to be given, and about Mrs. de Graffenried&rsquo;s new
+entertainment, and about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden&rsquo;s ball; also about the
+hospital for crippled children which she wanted to build, and about Mrs. Vivie
+Patton&rsquo;s rumoured divorce. And, meantime, the sphinx-like attendants
+moved here and there, and the dinner came and went. They took their coffee in
+the big chairs by the fire; and the table was swept clear, and the servants
+vanished, closing the doors behind them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then Montague set his cup aside, and sat gazing sombrely into the fire. And
+Mrs. Winnie watched him. There was a long silence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Suddenly he heard her voice. &ldquo;Do you find it so easy to give up our
+friendship?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think about it&rsquo;s being easy or hard,&rdquo; he
+answered. &ldquo;I simply thought of protecting you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;And do you think that my friends are nothing to me?&rdquo; she demanded.
+&ldquo;Have I so very many as that?&rdquo; And she clenched her hands with a
+sudden passionate gesture. &ldquo;Do you think that I will let those wretches
+frighten me into doing what they want? I&rsquo;ll not give in to them&mdash;not
+for anything that Lelia can do!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A look of perplexity crossed Montague&rsquo;s face. &ldquo;Lelia?&rdquo; he
+asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Robbie Walling!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you suppose
+that she is responsible for that paragraph?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague started.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way they fight their battles!&rdquo; cried Mrs. Winnie.
+&ldquo;They pay money to those scoundrels to be protected. And then they send
+nasty gossip about people they wish to injure.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t mean that!&rdquo; exclaimed the man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Of course I do,&rdquo; cried she. &ldquo;I know that it&rsquo;s true! I
+know that Robbie Walling paid fifteen thousand dollars for some trumpery
+volumes that they got out! And how do you suppose the paper gets its
+gossip?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;But I never
+dreamed&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; exclaimed Mrs. Winnie, &ldquo;their mail is full of blue and
+gold monogram stationery! I&rsquo;ve known guests to sit down and write gossip
+about their hostesses in their own homes. Oh, you&rsquo;ve no idea of
+people&rsquo;s vileness!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I had some idea,&rdquo; said Montague, after a pause.&mdash;&ldquo;That
+was why I wished to protect you.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t wish to be protected!&rdquo; she cried, vehemently.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll not give them the satisfaction. They wish to make me give you
+up, and I&rsquo;ll not do it, for anything they can say!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat with knitted brows, gazing into the fire. &ldquo;When I read that
+paragraph,&rdquo; he said slowly. &ldquo;I could not bear to think of the
+unhappiness it might cause you. I thought of how much it might disturb your
+husband&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;My husband!&rdquo; echoed Mrs. Winnie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a hard tone in her voice, as she went on. &ldquo;He will fix it up
+with them,&rdquo; she said,&mdash;&ldquo;that&rsquo;s his way. There will be
+nothing more published, you can feel sure of that.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat in silence. That was not the reply he had expected, and it rather
+disconcerted him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;If that were all&mdash;&rdquo; he said, with hesitation. &ldquo;But I
+could not know. I thought that the paragraph might disturb him for another
+reason&mdash;that it might be a cause of unhappiness between you and
+him&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a pause. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t understand,&rdquo; said Mrs. Winnie,
+at last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Without turning his head he could see her hands, as they lay upon her knees.
+She was moving them nervously. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t understand,&rdquo; she
+repeated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When she began to&rsquo; speak again, it was in a low, trembling voice.
+&ldquo;I must tell you,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;I have felt sure that you did
+not know.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was another pause. She hesitated, and her hands trembled; then suddenly
+she hurried on.&mdash;&ldquo;I wanted you to know. I do not love my husband. I
+am not bound to him. He has nothing to say in my affairs.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat rigid, turned to stone. He was half dazed by the words. He could
+feel Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s gaze fixed upon him; and he could feel the hot flush
+that spread over her throat and cheeks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&mdash;it was not fair for you not to know,&rdquo; she whispered. And
+her voice died away, and there was again a silence. Montague was dumb.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you say something?&rdquo; she panted, at last; and he
+caught the note of anguish in her voice. Then he turned and stared at her, and
+saw her tightly clenched hands, and the quivering of her lips.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was shocked quite beyond speech. And he saw her bosom heaving quickly, and
+saw the tears start into her eyes. Suddenly she sank down, and covered her face
+with her hands and broke into frantic sobbing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Winnie!&rdquo; he cried; and started to his feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her outburst continued. He saw that she was shuddering violently. &ldquo;Then
+you don&rsquo;t love me!&rdquo; she wailed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He stood trembling and utterly bewildered. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so sorry!&rdquo; he
+whispered. &ldquo;Oh, Mrs. Winnie&mdash;I had no idea&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I know it! I know it!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my fault! I
+was a fool! I knew it all the time. But I hoped&mdash;I thought you might, if
+you knew&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then again her tears choked her; she was convulsed with pain and grief.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague stood watching her, helpless with distress. She caught hold of the arm
+of the chair, convulsively, and he put his hand upon hers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Winnie&mdash;&rdquo; he began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But she jerked her hand away and hid it. &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; she cried, in
+terror. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t touch me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And suddenly she looked up at him, stretching out her arms. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+you understand that I love you?&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;You despise me for
+it, I know&mdash;but I can&rsquo;t help it. I will tell you, even so!
+It&rsquo;s the only satisfaction I can have. I have always loved you! And I
+thought&mdash;I thought it was only that you didn&rsquo;t understand. I was
+ready to brave all the world&mdash;I didn&rsquo;t care who knew it, or what
+anybody said. I thought we could be happy&mdash;I thought I could be free at
+last. Oh, you&rsquo;ve no idea how unhappy I am&mdash;and how lonely&mdash;and
+how I longed to escape! And I believed that you&mdash;that you
+might&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then the tears gushed into Mrs. Winnie&rsquo;s eyes again, and her voice
+became the voice of a little child.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think that you might come to love me?&rdquo; she wailed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Her voice shook Montague, so that he trembled to the depths of him. But his
+face only became the more grave.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You despise me because I told you!&rdquo; she exclaimed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No, no, Mrs. Winnie,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I could not possibly do
+that&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then&mdash;then why&mdash;&rdquo; she whispered.&mdash;&ldquo;Would it
+be so hard to love me?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It would be very easy,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I dare not let
+myself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She looked at him piteously. &ldquo;You are so cold&mdash;so merciless!&rdquo;
+she cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He answered nothing, and she sat trembling. &ldquo;Have you ever loved a
+woman?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was a long pause. He sat in the chair again. &ldquo;Listen, Mrs.
+Winnie&rdquo;&mdash;he began at last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t call me that!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;Call me
+Evelyn&mdash;please.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; he said&mdash;&ldquo;Evelyn. I did not intend to make
+you unhappy&mdash;if I had had any idea, I should never have seen you again. I
+will tell you&mdash;what I have never told anybody before. Then you will
+understand.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He sat for a few moments, in a sombre reverie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Once,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;when I was young, I loved a woman&mdash;a
+quadroon girl. That was in New Orleans; it is a custom we have there. They have
+a world of their own, and we take care of them, and of the children; and every
+one knows about it. I was very young, only about eighteen; and she was even
+younger. But I found out then what women are, and what love means to them. I
+saw how they could suffer. And then she died in childbirth&mdash;the child
+died, too.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague&rsquo;s voice was very low; and Mrs. Winnie sat with her hands
+clasped, and her eyes riveted upon his face. &ldquo;I saw her die,&rdquo; he
+said. &ldquo;And that was all. I have never forgotten it. I made up my mind
+then that I had done wrong; and that never again while I lived would I offer my
+love to a woman, unless I could devote all my life to her. So you see, I am
+afraid of love. I do not wish to suffer so much, or to make others suffer. And
+when anyone speaks to me as you did, it brings it all back to me&mdash;it makes
+me shrink up and wither.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He paused, and the other caught her breath.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Understand me,&rdquo; she said, her voice trembling. &ldquo;I would not
+ask any pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay&mdash;I am
+not afraid to suffer.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I do not wish you to suffer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I do not wish to
+take advantage of any woman.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But I have nothing in the world that I value!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;I
+would go away&mdash;I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I
+have no ties&mdash;no duties&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He interrupted her. &ldquo;You have your husband&mdash;&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she cried out in sudden fury&mdash;&ldquo;My husband!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Has no one ever told you about my husband?&rdquo; she asked, after a
+pause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No one,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, ask them!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;Meantime, take my word for
+it&mdash;I owe nothing to my husband.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat staring into the fire. &ldquo;But consider my own case,&rdquo; he
+said. &ldquo;<i>I</i> have duties&mdash;my mother and my cousin&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, don&rsquo;t say any more!&rdquo; cried the woman, with a break in
+her voice. &ldquo;Say that you don&rsquo;t love me&mdash;that is all there is
+to say! And you will never respect me again! I have been a fool&mdash;I have
+ruined everything! I have flung away your friendship, that I might have
+kept!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But she rushed on, vehemently&mdash;&ldquo;At least, I have been
+honest&mdash;give me credit for that! That is how all my troubles come&mdash;I
+say what is in my mind, and I pay the price for my blunders. It is not as if I
+were cold and calculating&mdash;so don&rsquo;t despise me altogether.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t despise you,&rdquo; said Montague. &ldquo;I am simply
+pained, because I have made you unhappy. And I did not mean to.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie sat staring ahead of her in a sombre reverie. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+think any more about it,&rdquo; she said, bitterly. &ldquo;I will get over it.
+I am not worth troubling about. Don&rsquo;t you suppose I know how you feel
+about this world that I live in? And I&rsquo;m part of it&mdash;I beat my
+wings, and try to get out, but I can&rsquo;t. I&rsquo;m in it, and I&rsquo;ll
+stay in till I die; I might as well give up. I thought that I could steal a
+little joy&mdash;you have no idea how hungry I am for a little joy! You have no
+idea how lonely I am! And how empty my life is! You talk about your fear of
+making me unhappy; it&rsquo;s a grim jest&mdash;but I&rsquo;ll give you
+permission, if you can! I&rsquo;ll ask nothing&mdash;no promises, no
+sacrifices! I&rsquo;ll take all the risks, and pay all the penalties!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She smiled through her tears, a sardonic smile. He was watching her, and she
+turned again, and their eyes met; again he saw the blood mount from her throat
+to her cheeks. At the same time came the old stirring of the wild beasts within
+him. He knew that the less time he spent in sympathizing with Mrs. Winnie, the
+better for both of them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He had started to rise, and words of farewell were on his lips; when suddenly
+there came a knock upon the door.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie sprang to her feet. &ldquo;Who is that?&rdquo; she cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And the door opened, and Mr. Duval entered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good evening,&rdquo; he said pleasantly, and came toward her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie flushed angrily, and stared at him. &ldquo;Why do you come here
+unannounced?&rdquo; she cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I apologize,&rdquo; he said&mdash;&ldquo;but I found this in my
+mail&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague, in the act of rising to greet him, saw that he had the offensive
+clipping in his hand. Then he saw Duval give a start, and realized that the man
+had not been aware of his presence in the room.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Duval gazed from Montague to his wife, and noticed for the first time her
+tears, and her agitation. &ldquo;I beg pardon,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am
+evidently trespassing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You most certainly are,&rdquo; responded Mrs. Winnie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He made a move to withdraw; but before he could take a step, she had brushed
+past him and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Duval stared after her, and then he stared at Montague, and laughed.
+&ldquo;Well! well! well!&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, checking his amusement, he added, &ldquo;Good evening, sir.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good evening,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was trembling slightly, and Duval noticed it; he smiled genially.
+&ldquo;This is the sort of material out of which scenes are made,&rdquo; said
+he. &ldquo;But I beg you not to be embarrassed&mdash;we won&rsquo;t have any
+scenes.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I owe Evelyn an apology,&rdquo; the other continued. &ldquo;It was
+entirely an accident&mdash;this clipping, you see. I do not intrude, as a rule.
+You may make yourself at home in future.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague flushed scarlet at the words.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mr. Duval,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have to assure you that you are
+mistaken&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other stared at him. &ldquo;Oh, come, come!&rdquo; he said, laughing.
+&ldquo;Let us talk as men of the world.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I say that you are mistaken,&rdquo; said Montague again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; he said genially.
+&ldquo;As you please. I simply wish to make matters clear to you, that&rsquo;s
+all. I wish you joy with Evelyn. I say nothing about her&mdash;you love her.
+Suffice it that I&rsquo;ve had her, and I&rsquo;m tired of her; the field is
+yours. But keep her out of mischief, and don&rsquo;t let her make a fool of
+herself in public, if you can help it. And don&rsquo;t let her spend too much
+money&mdash;she costs me a million a year already.&mdash;Good evening, Mr.
+Montague.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he went out. Montague, who stood like a statue, could hear him chuckling
+all the way down the hall.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At last Montague himself started to leave. But he heard Mrs. Winnie coming
+back, and he waited for her. She came in and shut the door, and turned toward
+him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did he say?&rdquo; she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He&mdash;was very pleasant,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she smiled grimly. &ldquo;I went out on purpose,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I
+wanted you to see him&mdash;to see what sort of a man he is, and how much
+&lsquo;duty&rsquo; I owe him! You saw, I guess.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes, I saw,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then again he started to go. But she took him by the arm. &ldquo;Come and talk
+to me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Please!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she led him back to the fire. &ldquo;Listen,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;He
+will not come here again. He is going away to-night&mdash;I thought he had gone
+already. And he does not return for a month or two. There will be no one to
+disturb us again.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She came close to him and gazed up into his face. She had wiped her tears away,
+and her happy look had come back to her; she was lovelier than ever.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I took you by surprise,&rdquo; she said, smiling. &ldquo;You
+didn&rsquo;t know what to make of it. And I was ashamed&mdash;I thought you
+would hate me. But I&rsquo;m not going to be unhappy any more&mdash;I
+don&rsquo;t care at all. I&rsquo;m glad that I spoke!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Mrs. Winnie put up her hands and took him by the lapels of his coat.
+&ldquo;I know that you love me,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;I saw it in your eyes
+just now, before he came in: It is simply that you won&rsquo;t let yourself go.
+You have so many doubts and so many fears. But you will see that I am right;
+you will learn to love me. You won&rsquo;t be able to help it&mdash;I shall be
+so kind and good! Only don&rsquo;t go away&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Mrs. Winnie was so close to him that her breath touched his cheek.
+&ldquo;Promise me, dear,&rdquo; she whispered&mdash;&ldquo;promise me that you
+won&rsquo;t stop seeing me&mdash;that you will learn to love me. I can&rsquo;t
+do without you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague was trembling in every nerve; he felt like a man caught in a net. Mrs.
+Winnie had had everything she ever wanted in her life; and now she wanted him!
+It was impossible for her to face any other thought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Listen,&rdquo; he began gently.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But she saw the look of resistance in his eyes, and she cried &ldquo;No
+no&mdash;don&rsquo;t! I cannot do without you! Think! I love you! What more can
+I say to you? I cannot believe that you don&rsquo;t care for me&mdash;you
+<i>have</i> been fond of me&mdash;I have seen it in your face. Yet you&rsquo;re
+afraid of me&mdash;why? Look at me&mdash;am I not beautiful to look at! And is
+a woman&rsquo;s love such a little thing&mdash;can you fling it away and
+trample upon it so easily? Why do you wish to go? Don&rsquo;t you
+understand&mdash;no one knows we are here&mdash;no one cares! You can come here
+whenever you wish&mdash;this is my place&mdash;mine! And no one will think
+anything about it. They all do it. There is nothing to be afraid of!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She put her arms about him, and clung to him so that he could feel the beating
+of her heart upon his bosom. &ldquo;Oh, don&rsquo;t leave me here alone
+to-night!&rdquo; she cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To Montague it was like the ringing of an alarm-bell deep within his soul.
+&ldquo;I must go,&rdquo; he said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+She flung back her head and stared at him, and he saw the terror and anguish in
+her eyes. &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t say that to me! I
+can&rsquo;t bear it&mdash;oh, see what I have done! Look at me! Have mercy on
+me!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Mrs. Winnie,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you must have mercy on
+<i>me!</i>&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But he only felt her clasp him more tightly. He took her by the wrists, and
+with quiet force he broke her hold upon him; her hands fell to her sides, and
+she stared at him, aghast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I must go,&rdquo; he said, again.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he started toward the door. She followed him dumbly with her eyes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Good-bye,&rdquo; he said. He knew that there was no use of any more
+words; his sympathy had been like oil upon flames. He saw her move, and as he
+opened the door, she flung herself down in a chair and burst into frantic
+weeping. He shut the door softly and went away.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He found his way down the stairs, and got his hat and coat, and went out,
+unseen by anyone. He walked down the Avenue&mdash;and there suddenly was the
+giant bulk of St. Cecilia&rsquo;s lifting itself into the sky. He stopped and
+looked at it&mdash;it seemed a great tumultuous surge of emotion. And for the
+first time in his life it seemed to him that he understood why men had put
+together that towering heap of stone!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Then he went on home.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He found Alice dressing for a ball, and Oliver waiting for her. He went to his
+room, and took off his coat; and Oliver came up to him, and with a sudden
+gesture reached over to his shoulder, and held up a trophy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He drew it out carefully, and measured the length of it, smiling mischievously
+in the meanwhile. Then he held it up to the light, to see the colour of it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A black one!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Coal black!&rdquo; And he looked at
+his brother, with a merry twinkle in his eyes. &ldquo;Oh, Allan!&rdquo; he
+chuckled.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing.
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<p>
+It was about a week from the beginning of Lent, when there would be a lull in
+the city&rsquo;s gaieties, and Society would shift the scene of its activities
+to the country clubs, and to California and Hot Springs and Palm Beach. Mrs.
+Caroline Smythe invited Alice to join her in an expedition to the last-named
+place; but Montague interposed, because he saw that Alice had been made pale
+and nervous by three months of night-and-day festivities. Also, a trip to
+Florida would necessitate ten or fifteen thousand dollars&rsquo; worth of new
+clothes; and these would not do for the summer, it appeared&mdash;they would be
+faded and <i>passé</i> by that time.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So Alice settled back to rest; but she was too popular to be let alone&mdash;a
+few days later came another invitation, this time from General Prentice and his
+family. They were planning a railroad trip&mdash;to be gone for a month; they
+would have a private train, and twenty five people in the party, and would take
+in California and Mexico&mdash;&ldquo;swinging round the circle,&rdquo; as it
+was called. Alice was wild to go, and Montague gave his consent. Afterward he
+learned to his dismay that Charlie Carter was one of those invited, and he
+would have liked to have Alice withdraw; but she did not wish to, and he could
+not make up his mind to insist.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These train trips were the very latest diversion of the well-to-do; a year ago
+no one had heard of them, and now fifty parties were leaving New York every
+month. You might see a dozen of such hotel-trains at once at Palm Beach; there
+were some people who lived on board all the time, having special tracks built
+for them in pleasant locations wherever they stopped. One man had built a huge
+automobile railroad car, shaped like a ram, and having accommodation for sixty
+people. The Prentice train had four cars, one of them a &ldquo;library
+car,&rdquo; finished in St. Iago mahogany, and provided with a pipe-organ. Also
+there were bath-rooms and a barber-shop, and a baggage car with two autos on
+board for exploring purposes.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Since the episode of Mrs. Winnie, Oliver had apparently concluded that his
+brother was one of the initiated. Not long afterward he permitted him to a
+glimpse into that side of his life which had been hinted at in the songs at the
+bachelors&rsquo; dinner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver had planned to take Betty Wyman to the theatre; but Betty&rsquo;s
+grandfather had come home from the West unexpectedly, and so Oliver came round
+and took his brother instead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I was going to play a joke on her,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go
+to see one of my old flames.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a translation of a French farce, in which the marital infidelities of
+two young couples were the occasion of many mishaps. One of the characters was
+a waiting-maid, who was in love with a handsome young soldier, and was pursued
+by the husband of one of the couples. It was a minor part, but the young Jewish
+girl who played it had so many pretty graces and such a merry laugh that she
+made it quite conspicuous. When the act was over, Oliver asked him whose acting
+he liked best, and he named her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Come and be introduced to her,&rdquo; Oliver said.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He opened a door near their box. &ldquo;How do you do, Mr. Wilson,&rdquo; he
+said, nodding to a man in evening dress, who stood near by. Then he turned
+toward the dressing-rooms, and went down a corridor, and knocked upon one of
+the doors. A voice called, &ldquo;Come in,&rdquo; and he opened the door; and
+there was a tiny room, with odds and ends of clothing scattered about, and the
+girl, clad in corsets and underskirt, sitting before a mirror. &ldquo;Hello,
+Rosalie,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And she dropped her powder-puff, and sprang up with a
+cry&mdash;&ldquo;Ollie!&rdquo; &lsquo;In a moment more she had her arms about
+his neck.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, you wretched man,&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you come
+to see me any more? Didn&rsquo;t you get my letters?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I got some,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ve been busy. This is my
+brother, Mr. Allan Montague.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other nodded to Montague, and said, &ldquo;How do you do?&rdquo;&mdash;but
+without letting go of Oliver. &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you come to see me?&rdquo;
+she exclaimed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There, there, now!&rdquo; said Oliver, laughing good-naturedly. &ldquo;I
+brought my brother along so that you&rsquo;d have to behave yourself.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care about your brother!&rdquo; exclaimed the girl,
+without even giving him another glance. Then she held Oliver at arm&rsquo;s
+length, and gazed into his face. &ldquo;How can you be so cruel to me?&rdquo;
+she asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I told you I was busy,&rdquo; said he, cheerfully. &ldquo;And I gave you
+fair warning, didn&rsquo;t I? How&rsquo;s Toodles?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, Toodles is in raptures,&rdquo; said Rosalie. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s got
+a new fellow.&rdquo; And then, her manner changing to one of merriment, she
+added: &ldquo;Oh, Ollie! He gave her a diamond brooch! And she looks like a
+countess&mdash;she&rsquo;s hoping for a chance to wear it in a part!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve seen Toodles,&rdquo; said Oliver, to his brother
+&ldquo;She&rsquo;s in &lsquo;The Kaliph of Kamskatka&rsquo;&rdquo;.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going on the road next week,&rdquo; said Rosalie.
+&ldquo;And then I&rsquo;ll be all alone.&rdquo; She added, in a pleading voice:
+&ldquo;Do, Ollie, be a good boy and take us out to-night. Think how long
+it&rsquo;s been since I&rsquo;ve seen you! Why, I&rsquo;ve been so good I
+don&rsquo;t know myself in the looking-glass. Please, Ollie!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;maybe I will.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to let you get away from me,&rdquo; she cried.
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll come right over the footlights after you!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You&rsquo;d better get dressed,&rdquo; said Oliver. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll
+be late.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He pushed aside a tray with some glasses on it, and seated himself upon a
+trunk; and Montague stood in a corner and watched Rosalie, while she powdered
+and painted herself, and put on an airy summer dress, and poured out a flood of
+gossip about &ldquo;Toodles&rdquo; and &ldquo;Flossie&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;Grace&rdquo; and some others. A few minutes later came a stentorian
+voice in the hallway: &ldquo;Second act!&rdquo; There were more embraces, and
+then Ollie brushed the powder from his coat, and went away laughing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague stood for a few moments in the wings, watching the scene-shifters
+putting the final touches to the new set, and the various characters taking
+their positions. Then they went out to their seats. &ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t she a
+jewel?&rdquo; asked Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She&rsquo;s very pretty,&rdquo; the other admitted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;She came right out of the slums,&rdquo; said Oliver&mdash;&ldquo;over on
+Rivington Street. That don&rsquo;t happen very often.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;How did you come to know her?&rdquo; asked his brother.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, I picked her out. She was in a chorus, then. I got her first
+speaking part.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did you?&rdquo; said the other, in surprise. &ldquo;How did you do
+that?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh, a little money,&rdquo; was the reply. &ldquo;Money will do most
+anything. And I was in love with her&mdash;that&rsquo;s how I got her.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing, but sat in thought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll take her out to supper and make her happy,&rdquo; added
+Oliver, as the curtain started up. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s lonesome, I guess. You
+see, I promised Betty I&rsquo;d reform.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All through that scene and the next one Rosalie acted for them; she was so full
+of <i>verve</i> and merriment that there was quite a stir in the audience, and
+she got several rounds of applause. Then, when the play was over, she
+extricated herself from the arms of the handsome young soldier, and fled to her
+dressing-room, and when Oliver and Montague arrived, she was half ready for the
+street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They went up Broadway, and from a group of people coming out of another
+stage-entrance a young girl came to join them&mdash;an airy little creature
+with the face of a doll-baby, and a big hat with a purple feather on top. This
+was &ldquo;Toodles&rdquo;&mdash;otherwise known as Helen Gwynne; and she took
+Montague&rsquo;s arm, and they fell in behind Oliver and his companion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague wondered what one said to a chorus-girl on the way to supper.
+Afterward his brother told him that Toodles had been the wife of a real-estate
+agent in a little town in Oklahoma, and had run away from respectability and
+boredom with a travelling theatrical company. Now she was tripping her part in
+the musical comedy which Montague had seen at Mrs. Lane&rsquo;s; and
+incidentally swearing devotion to a handsome young &ldquo;wine-agent.&rdquo;
+She confided to Montague that she hoped the latter might see her that
+evening&mdash;he needed to be made jealous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;The Great White Way&rdquo; was the name which people had given to this
+part of Broadway; and at the head of it stood a huge hotel with flaming lights,
+and gorgeous marble and bronze, and famous paintings upon the walls and
+ceilings inside. At this hour every one of its many dining-rooms was thronged
+with supper-parties, and the place rang with laughter and the rattle of dishes,
+and the strains of several orchestras which toiled heroically in the midst of
+the uproar. Here they found a table, and while Oliver was ordering frozen
+poached eggs and quails in aspic, Montague sat and gazed about him at the
+revelry, and listened to the prattle of the little ex-sempstress from Rivington
+Street.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+His brother had &ldquo;got her,&rdquo; he said, by buying a speaking part in a
+play for her; and Montague recalled the orgies of which he had heard at the
+bachelors&rsquo; dinner, and divined that here he was at the source of the
+stream from which they were fed. At the table next to them was a young Hebrew,
+whom Toodles pointed out as the son and heir of a great clothing manufacturer.
+He was &ldquo;keeping&rdquo; several girls, said she; and the queenly creature
+who was his vis-a-vis was one of the chorus in &ldquo;The Maids of
+Mandalay.&rdquo; And a little way farther down the room was a boy with the face
+of an angel and the air of a prince of the blood&mdash;he had inherited a
+million and run away from school, and was making a name for himself in the
+Tenderloin. The pretty little girl all in green who was with him was Violet
+Pane, who was the artist&rsquo;s model in a new play that had made a hit. She
+had had a full-page picture of herself in the Sunday supplement of the
+&ldquo;sporting paper&rdquo; which was read here&mdash;so Rosalie remarked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you ever do that for me?&rdquo; she added, to Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Perhaps I will,&rdquo; said he, with a laugh. &ldquo;What does it
+cost?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And when he learned that the honour could be purchased for only fifteen hundred
+dollars, he said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do it, if you&rsquo;ll be good.&rdquo; And
+from that time on the last trace of worriment vanished from the face and the
+conversation of Rosalie.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the champagne cocktails disappeared, she and Oliver became confidential.
+Then Montague turned to Toodles, to learn more about how the &ldquo;second
+generation&rdquo; was preying upon the women of the stage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;A chorus-girl got from ten to twenty dollars a week,&rdquo; said
+Toodles; and that was hardly enough to pay for her clothes. Her work was very
+uncertain&mdash;she would spend weeks at rehearsal, and then if the play
+failed, she would get nothing. It was a dog&rsquo;s life; and the keys of
+freedom and opportunity were in the keeping of rich men, who haunted the
+theatres and laid siege to the girls. They would send in notes to them, or
+fling bouquets to them, with cards, or perhaps money, hidden in them. There
+were millionaire artists and bohemians who kept a standing order for seats in
+the front rows at opening performances; they had accounts with florists and
+liverymen and confectioners, and gave <i>carte blanche</i> to scores of girls
+who lent themselves to their purposes. Sometimes they were in league with the
+managers, and a girl who held back would find her chances imperilled; sometimes
+these men would even finance shows to give a chance to some favourite.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Afterward Toodles turned to listen to Oliver and his companion; and Montague
+sat back and gazed about the room. Next to him was a long table with a dozen,
+people at it; and he watched the buckets of champagne and the endless
+succession of fantastic-looking dishes of food, and the revellers, with their
+flushed faces and feverish eyes and loud laughter. Above all the tumult was the
+voice of the orchestra, calling, calling, like the storm wind upon the
+mountains; the music was wild and chaotic, and produced an indescribable sense
+of pain and confusion. When one realized that this same thing was going on in
+thousands of places in this district it seemed that here was a flood of
+dissipation that out-rivalled even that of Society.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was said that the hotels of New York, placed end to end, would reach all the
+way to London; and they took care of a couple of hundred thousand people a
+day&mdash;a horde which had come from all over the world in search of pleasure
+and excitement. There were sight-seers and &ldquo;country customers&rdquo; from
+forty-five states; ranchers from Texas, and lumber kings from Maine, and mining
+men from Nevada. At home they had reputations, and perhaps families to
+consider; but once plunged into the whirlpool of the Tenderloin, they were
+hidden from all the world. They came with their pockets full of money; and
+hotels and restaurants, gambling-places and pool-rooms and brothels&mdash;all
+were lying in wait for them! So eager had the competition become that there was
+a tailoring establishment and a bank that were never closed the year round,
+except on Sunday.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Everywhere about one&rsquo;s feet the nets of vice were spread. The head waiter
+in one&rsquo;s hotel was a &ldquo;steerer&rdquo; for a &ldquo;dive,&rdquo; and
+the house detective was &ldquo;touting&rdquo; for a gambling-place. The
+handsome woman who smiled at one in &ldquo;Peacock Alley&rdquo; was a
+&ldquo;madame&rdquo;; the pleasant-faced young man who spoke to one at the bar
+was on the look-out for customers for a brokerage-house next door. Three times
+in a single day in another of these great caravanserais Montague was offered
+&ldquo;short change&rdquo;; and so his eyes were opened to a new kind of
+plundering. He was struck by the number of attendants in livery who swarmed
+about him, and to whom he gave tips for their services. He did not notice that
+the boys in the wash-rooms and coat-rooms could not speak a word of English; he
+could not know that they were searched every night, and had everything taken
+from them, and that the Greek who hired them had paid fifteen thousand dollars
+a year to the hotel for the privilege.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So far had the specialization in evil proceeded that there were places of
+prostitution which did a telephone-business exclusively, and would send a woman
+in a cab to any address; and there were high-class assignation-houses, which
+furnished exquisite apartments and the services of maids and valets. And in
+this world of vice the modern doctrine of the equality of the sexes was fully
+recognized; there were gambling-houses and pool-rooms and opium-joints for
+women, and drinking-places which catered especially for them. In the
+&ldquo;orange room&rdquo; of one of the big hotels, you might see rich women of
+every rank and type, fingering the dainty leather-bound and gold-embossed wine
+cards. In this room alone were sold over ten thousand drinks every day; and the
+hotel paid a rental of a million a year to the Devon estate. Not far away the
+Devons also owned negro-dives, where, in the early hours of the morning, you
+might see richly-gowned white women drinking.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this seething caldron of graft there were many strange ways of making money,
+and many strange and incredible types of human beings to be met. Once, in
+&ldquo;Society,&rdquo; Montague had pointed out to him a woman who had been a
+&ldquo;tattooed lady&rdquo; in a circus; there was another who had been a
+confederate of gamblers upon the ocean steamships, and another who had washed
+dishes in a mining-camp. There was one of these great hotels whose proprietor
+had been a successful burglar; and a department-store whose owner had begun
+life as a &ldquo;fence.&rdquo; In any crowd of these revellers you might have
+such strange creatures pointed out to you; a multimillionaire who sold rotten
+jam to the people; another who had invented opium soothing-syrup for babies; a
+convivial old gentleman who disbursed the &ldquo;yellow dog fund&rdquo; of
+several railroads; a handsome chauffeur who had run away with an heiress.
+&lsquo;Once a great scientist had invented a new kind of underwear, and had
+endeavoured to make it a gift to humanity; and here was a man who had seized
+upon it and made millions out of it! Here was a &ldquo;trance medium,&rdquo;
+who had got a fortune out of an imbecile old manufacturer; here was a great
+newspaper proprietor, who published advertisements of assignations at a dollar
+a line; here was a cigar manufacturer, whose smug face was upon every
+billboard&mdash;he had begun as a tin manufacturer, and to avoid the duty, he
+had had his raw material cast in the form of statues, and brought them in as
+works of art!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And terrible and vile as were the sources from which the fortunes had been
+derived, they were no viler nor more terrible than the purposes for which they
+had been spent. Mrs. Vivie Patton had hinted to Montague of a &ldquo;Decameron
+Club,&rdquo; whose members gathered in each others&rsquo; homes and vied in the
+telling of obscene stories; Strathcona had told him about another set of
+exquisite ladies and gentlemen who gave elaborate entertainments, in which they
+dressed in the costumes of bygone periods, and imitated famous characters in
+history, and the vices and orgies of courts and camps. One heard of
+&ldquo;Cleopatra nights&rdquo; on board of yachts at Newport. There was a
+certain Wall Street &ldquo;plunger,&rdquo; who had begun life as a mining man
+in the West; and when his customers came in town, he would hire a trolley-car,
+and take a load of champagne and half a dozen prostitutes, and spend the night
+careering about the country. This man was now quartered in one of the great
+hotels in New York; and in his apartments he would have prize fights and
+chicken fights; and bloodthirsty exhibitions called &ldquo;purring
+matches,&rdquo; in which men tried to bark each other&rsquo;s shins; or perhaps
+a &ldquo;battle royal,&rdquo; with a diamond scarf-pin dangling from the
+ceiling, and half a dozen negroes in a free-for-all fight for the prize.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+No picture of the ways of the Metropolis would be complete which did not force
+upon the reluctant reader some realization of the extent to which new and
+hideous incitements to vice were spreading. To say that among the leisured
+classes such practices were raging like a pestilence would be no exaggeration.
+Ten years ago they were regarded with aversion by even the professionally
+vicious; but now the commonest prostitute accepted them as part of her fate.
+And there was no height to which they had not reached&mdash;ministers of state
+were enslaved by them; great fortunes and public events were controlled by
+them. In Washington there had been an ambassador whose natural daughter taught
+them in the houses of the great, until the scandal forced the minister&rsquo;s
+recall. Some of these practices were terrible in their effects, completely
+wrecking the victim in a short time; and physicians who studied their symptoms
+would be horrified to see them appearing in the homes of their friends.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And from New York, the centre of the wealth and culture of the country, these
+vices spread to every corner of it. Theatrical companies and travelling
+salesmen carried them; visiting merchants and sightseers acquired them.
+Pack-pedlers sold vile pictures and books&mdash;the manufacturing or importing
+of which was now quite an industry; one might read catalogues printed abroad in
+English, the contents of which would make one&rsquo;s flesh creep. There were
+cheap weeklies, costing ten cents a year, which were thrust into area-windows
+for servant-girls; there were yellow-covered French novels of unbelievable
+depravity for the mistress of the house. It was a curious commentary upon the
+morals of Society that upon the trains running to a certain suburban community
+frequented by the ultra-fashionable, the newsboys did a thriving business in
+such literature; and when the pastor of the fashionable church eloped with a
+Society girl, the bishop publicly laid the blame to the morals of his
+parishioners!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+The theory was that there were two worlds, and that they were kept rigidly
+separate. There were two sets of women; one to be toyed with and flung aside,
+and the other to be protected and esteemed. Such things as prostitutes and kept
+women might exist, but people of refinement did not talk about them, and were
+not concerned with them. But Montague was familiar with the saying, that if you
+follow the chain of the slave, you will find the other end about the wrist of
+the master; and he discovered that the Tenderloin was wreaking its vengeance
+upon Fifth Avenue. It was not merely that the men of wealth were carrying to
+their wives and children the diseases of vice; they were carrying also the
+manners and the ideals.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had been amazed by the things he had found in New York Society; the
+smoking and drinking and gambling of women, their hard and cynical views of
+life, their continual telling of coarse stories. And here, in this under-world,
+he had come upon the fountain head of the corruption. It was something which
+came to him in a sudden flash of intuition;&mdash;the barriers between the two
+worlds were breaking down!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He could picture the process in a hundred different forms. There was Betty
+Wyman. His brother had meant to take her to the theatre, to let her see
+Rosalie, by way of a joke! So, of course, Betty knew of his escapades, and of
+those of his set; she and her girl friends were whispering and jesting about
+them. Here sat Oliver, smiling and cynical, toying with Rosalie as a cat might
+toy with a mouse; and to-morrow he would be with Betty&mdash;and could anyone
+doubt any longer whence Betty had derived her attitude towards life? And the
+habits of mind that Oliver had taught her as a girl she would not forget as a
+wife; he might be anxious to keep her to himself, but there would be others
+whose interest was different.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And Montague recalled other things that he had seen or heard in Society, that
+he could put his finger upon, as having come out of this under-world. The more
+he thought of the explanation, the more it seemed to explain. This
+&ldquo;Society,&rdquo; which had perplexed him&mdash;now he could describe it:
+its manners and ideals of life were those which he would have expected to find
+in the &ldquo;fast&rdquo; side of stage life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was, of course, the women who made Society, and gave it its tone; and the
+women of Society were actresses. They were actresses in their love of notoriety
+and display; in their taste in clothes and jewels, their fondness for
+cigarettes and champagne. They made up like actresses; they talked and thought
+like actresses. The only obvious difference was that the women of the stage
+were carefully selected&mdash;were at least up to a certain standard of
+physical excellence; whereas the women of Society were not selected at all, and
+some were lean, and some were stout, and some were painfully homely.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague recalled cases where the two sets had met as at some of the private
+entertainments. It was getting to be the fashion to hobnob with the stage
+people on such occasions; and he recalled how naturally the younger people took
+to this. Only the older women held aloof; looking down upon the women of the
+stage from an ineffable height, as belonging to a lower caste&mdash;because
+they were obliged to work for their livings. But it seemed to Montague, as he
+sat and talked with this poor chorus-girl, who had sold herself for a little
+pleasure, that it was easier to pardon her than the woman who had been born to
+luxury, and scorned those who produced her wealth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But most of all, one&rsquo;s sympathies went out to a person who was not to be
+met in either of these sets; to the girl who had not sold herself, but was
+struggling for a living in the midst of this ravening corruption. There were
+thousands of self-respecting women, even on the stage; Toodles herself had been
+among them, she told Montague. &ldquo;I kept straight for a long time,&rdquo;
+she said, laughing cheerfully&mdash;&ldquo;and on ten dollars a week! I used to
+go out on the road, and then they paid me sixteen; and think of trying to live
+on one-night stands&mdash;to board yourself and stop at hotels and dress for
+the theatre&mdash;on sixteen a week, and no job half the year! And all that
+time&mdash;do you know Cyril Chambers, the famous church painter?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard of him,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, I was with a show here on Broadway the next winter; and every
+night for six months he sent me a bunch of orchids that couldn&rsquo;t have
+cost less than seventy-five dollars! And he told me he&rsquo;d open accounts
+for me in all the stores I chose, if I&rsquo;d spend the next summer in Europe
+with him. He said I could take my mother or my sister with me&mdash;and I was
+so green in those days, I thought that must mean he didn&rsquo;t intend
+anything wrong!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Toodles smiled at the memory. &ldquo;Did you go?&rdquo; asked the man.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; she answered. &ldquo;I stayed here with a roof-garden show
+that failed. And I went to my old manager for a job, and he said to me,
+&lsquo;I can only pay you ten a week. But why are you so foolish?&rsquo;
+&lsquo;How do you mean?&rsquo; I asked; and he answered, &lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t
+you get a rich sweetheart? Then I could pay you sixty.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s what
+a girl hears on the stage!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand,&rdquo; said Montague, perplexed. &ldquo;Did he
+mean he could get money out of the man?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Not directly,&rdquo; said Toodles; &ldquo;but tickets&mdash;and
+advertising. Why, men will hire front-row seats for a whole season, if
+they&rsquo;re interested in a girl in the show. And they&rsquo;ll take all
+their friends to see her, and she&rsquo;ll be talked about&mdash;she&rsquo;ll
+be somebody, instead of just nobody, as I was.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Then it actually helps her on the stage!&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Helps her!&rdquo; exclaimed Toodles. &ldquo;My God! I&rsquo;ve known a
+girl who&rsquo;d been abroad with a tip-top swell&mdash;and had the gowns and
+the jewels to prove it&mdash;to come home and get into the front row of a
+chorus at a hundred dollars a week.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+Toodles was cheerful and all unaware; and that only made the tragedy of it all
+one shade more black to Montague. He sat lost in sombre reverie, forgetting his
+companions, and the blare and glare of the place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the centre of this dining-room was a great cone-shaped stand, containing a
+display of food; and as they strolled out, Montague stopped to look at it.
+There were platters garnished with flowers and herbs, and containing roast
+turkeys and baked hams, jellied meats and game in aspic, puddings and tarts and
+frosted cakes&mdash;every kind of food-fantasticality imaginable. One might
+have spent an hour in studying it, and from top to bottom he would have found
+nothing simple, nothing natural. The turkeys had paper curls and rosettes stuck
+over them; the hams were covered with a white gelatine, the devilled crabs with
+a yellow mayonnaise&mdash;and all painted over in pink and green and black with
+landscapes and marine views&mdash;with &ldquo;ships and shoes and sealing-wax
+and cabbages and kings.&rdquo; The jellied meats and the puddings were in the
+shape of fruits and flowers; and there were elaborate works of art in pink and
+white confectionery&mdash;a barn-yard, for instance, with horses and cows, and
+a pump, and a dairymaid&mdash;and one or two alligators.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And all this was changed every day! Each morning you might see a procession of
+a score of waiters bearing aloft a new supply. Montague remembered Betty
+Wyman&rsquo;s remark at their first interview, apropos of the whipped cream
+made into little curleques; how his brother had said, &ldquo;If Allan were
+here, he&rsquo;d be thinking about the man who fixed that cream, and how long
+it took him, and how he might have been reading &lsquo;The Simple
+Life&rsquo;!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He thought of that now; he stood here and gazed, and wondered about all the
+slaves of the lamp who served in this huge temple of luxury. He looked at the
+waiters&mdash;pale, hollow-chested, harried-looking men: he imagined the hordes
+of servants of yet lower kinds, who never emerged into the light of day; the
+men who washed the dishes, the men who carried the garbage, the men who
+shovelled the coal into the furnaces, and made the heat and light and power.
+Pent up in dim cellars, many stories under ground, and bound for ever to the
+service of sensuality&mdash;how terrible must be their fate, how unimaginable
+their corruption! And they were foreigners; they had come here seeking liberty.
+And the masters of the new country had seized them and pent them here!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From this as a starting-point his thought went on, to the hordes of toilers in
+every part of the world, whose fate it was to create the things which these
+blind revellers destroyed; the women and children in countless mills and
+sweatshops, who spun the cloth, and cut and sewed it; the girls who made the
+artificial flowers, who rolled the cigarettes, who gathered the grapes from the
+vines; the miners who dug the coal and the precious metals out of the earth;
+the men who watched in ten thousand signal-towers and engines, who fought the
+elements from the decks of ten thousand ships&mdash;to bring all these things
+here to be destroyed. Step by step, as the flood of extravagance rose, and the
+energies of the men were turned to the creation of futility and
+corruption&mdash;so, step by step, increased the misery and degradation of all
+these slaves of Mammon. And who could imagine what they would think about
+it&mdash;if ever they came to think?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then, in a sudden flash, there came back to Montague that speech he had
+heard upon the street-corner, the first evening he had been in New York! He
+could hear again the pounding of the elevated trains, and the shrill voice of
+the orator; he could see his haggard and hungry face, and the dense crowd
+gazing up at him. And there came to him the words of Major Thorne:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It means another civil war!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Alice had been gone for a couple of weeks, and the day was drawing near when
+the Hasbrook case came up for trial. The Saturday before that being the date of
+the Mi-carême dance of the Long Island Hunt Club, Siegfried Harvey was to have
+a house-party for the week-end, and Montague accepted his invitation. He had
+been working hard, putting the finishing touches to his brief, and he thought
+that a rest would be good for him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He and his brother went down upon Friday afternoon, and the first person he met
+was Betty Wyman, whom he had not seen for quite a while. Betty had much to say,
+and said it. As Montague had not been seen with Mrs. Winnie since the episode
+in her house, people had begun to notice the break, and there was no end of
+gossip; and Mistress Betty wanted to know all about it, and how things stood
+between them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But he would not tell her, and so she saucily refused to tell him what she had
+heard. All the while they talked she was eyeing him quizzically, and it was
+evident that she took the worst for granted; also that he had become a much
+more interesting person to her because of it. Montague had the strangest
+sensations when he was talking with Betty Wyman; she was delicious and
+appealing, almost irresistible; and yet her views of life were so old! &ldquo;I
+told you you wouldn&rsquo;t do for a tame cat!&rdquo; she said to him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then she went on to talk to him about his case, and to tease him about the
+disturbance he had made.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You know,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;Ollie and I were in terror&mdash;we
+thought that grandfather would be furious, and that we&rsquo;d be ruined. But
+somehow, it didn&rsquo;t work out that way. Don&rsquo;t you say anything about
+it, but I&rsquo;ve had a sort of a fancy that he must be on your side of the
+fence.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be glad to know it,&rdquo; said Montague, with a
+laugh&mdash;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been trying for a long time to find out who is on
+my side of the fence.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;He was talking about it the other day,&rdquo; said Betty, &ldquo;and I
+heard him tell a man that he&rsquo;d read your argument, and thought it was
+good.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad to hear that,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;So was I,&rdquo; replied she. &ldquo;And I said to him afterward,
+&lsquo;I suppose you don&rsquo;t know that Allan Montague is my Ollie&rsquo;s
+brother.&rsquo; And he did you the honour to say that he hadn&rsquo;t supposed
+any member of Ollie&rsquo;s family could have as much sense!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Betty was staying with an aunt near by, and she went back before dinner. In the
+automobile which came for her was old Wyman himself, on his way home from the
+city; and as a snowstorm had begun, he came in and stood by the fire while his
+car was exchanged for a closed one from Harvey&rsquo;s stables. Montague did
+not meet him, but stood and watched him from the shadows&mdash;a mite of a man,
+with a keen and eager face, full of wrinkles. It was hard to realize that this
+little body held one of the great driving minds of the country. He was an
+intensely nervous and irritable man, bitter and implacable&mdash;by all odds
+the most hated and feared man in Wall Street. He was swift, imperious, savage
+as a hornet. &ldquo;Directors at meetings that I attend vote first and discuss
+afterward,&rdquo; was one of his sayings that Montague had heard quoted.
+Watching him here by the fireside, rubbing his hands and chatting pleasantly,
+Montague had a sudden sense of being behind the scenes, of being admitted to a
+privilege denied to ordinary mortals&mdash;the beholding of royalty in everyday
+attire!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+After dinner that evening Montague had a chat in the smoking-room with his
+host; and he brought up the subject of the Hasbrook case, and told about his
+trip to Washington, and his interview with Judge Ellis.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Harvey also had something to communicate. &ldquo;I had a talk with Freddie
+Vandam about it,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What did he say?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied the other, with a laugh, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s
+indignant, needless to say. You know, Freddie was brought up by his father to
+regard the Fidelity as his property, in a way. He always refers to it as
+&lsquo;my company.&rsquo; And he&rsquo;s very high and mighty about
+it&mdash;it&rsquo;s a personal affront if anyone attacks it. But it was evident
+to me that he doesn&rsquo;t know who&rsquo;s behind this case.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Did he know about Ellis?&rdquo; asked Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said the other, &ldquo;he had found out that much. It was he
+who told me that originally. He says that Ellis has been sponging off the
+company for years&mdash;he has a big salary that he never earns, and has
+borrowed something like a quarter of a million dollars on worthless
+securities.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague gave a gasp.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; laughed Harvey. &ldquo;But after all, that&rsquo;s a little
+matter. The trouble with Freddie Vandam is that that sort of thing is all he
+sees; and so he&rsquo;ll never be able to make out the mystery. He knows that
+this clique or that in the company is plotting to get some advantage, or to use
+him for their purposes&mdash;but he never realizes how the big men are pulling
+the wires behind the scenes. Some day they&rsquo;ll throw him overboard
+altogether, and then he&rsquo;ll realize how they&rsquo;ve played with him.
+That&rsquo;s what this Hasbrook case means, you know&mdash;they simply want to
+frighten him with a threat of getting the company&rsquo;s affairs into the
+courts and the newspapers.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague sat for a while in deep thought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What would you think would be Wyman&rsquo;s relation to the
+matter?&rdquo; he asked, at last.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; said Harvey. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s supposed to
+be Freddie&rsquo;s backer&mdash;but what can you tell in such a tangle?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It is certainly a mess,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no bottom to it,&rdquo; said the other.
+&ldquo;Absolutely&mdash;it would take your breath away! Just listen to what
+Vandam told me to-day!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then Harvey named one of the directors of the Fidelity who was well known
+as a philanthropist. Having heard that the wife of one of his junior partners
+had met with an accident in childbirth, and that the doctor had told her
+husband that if she ever had another child, she would die, this man had asked,
+&ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you have her life insured?&rdquo; The other replied that
+he had tried, and the companies had refused her. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll fix it for
+you,&rdquo; said he; and so they put in another application, and the director
+came to Freddie Vandam and had the policy put through &ldquo;by executive
+order.&rdquo; Seven months later the woman died, and the Fidelity had paid her
+husband in full&mdash;a hundred thousand or two!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s going on in the insurance world!&rdquo; said
+Siegfried Harvey.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And that was the story which Montague took with him to add to his enjoyment of
+the festivities at the country club. It was a very gorgeous affair; but perhaps
+the sombreness of his thoughts was to blame; the flowers and music and
+beautiful gowns failed entirely in their appeal, and he saw only the gluttony
+and drunkenness&mdash;more of it than ever before, it seemed to him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Then, too, he had an unpleasant experience. He met Laura Hegan; and presuming
+upon her cordial reception of his visit, he went up and spoke to her
+pleasantly. And she greeted him with frigid politeness; she was so brief in her
+remarks and turned away so abruptly as almost to snub him. He went away quite
+bewildered. But later on he recalled the gossip about himself and Mrs. Winnie,
+and he guessed that that was the explanation of Miss Hegar&rsquo;s action.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The episode threw a shadow over his whole visit. On Sunday he went out into the
+country and tramped through a snowstorm by himself, filled with a sense of
+disgust for all the past, and of foreboding for the future. He hated this
+money-world, in which all that was worst in human beings was brought to the
+surface; he hated it, and wished that he had never set foot within its bounds.
+It was only by tramping until he was too tired to feel anything that he was
+able to master himself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And then, toward dark, he came back, and found a telegram which had been
+forwarded from New York.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Meet me at the Penna depot, Jersey City, at nine to-night. Alice.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This message, of course, drove all other thoughts from his mind. He had no time
+even to tell Oliver about it&mdash;he had to jump into an automobile and rush
+to catch the next train for the city. And all through the long, cold ride in
+ferry-boats and cabs he pondered this mystery. Alice&rsquo;s party had not been
+expected for two weeks yet; and only two days before there had come a letter
+from Los Angeles, saying that they would probably be a week over time. And here
+she was home again!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He found there was an express from the West due at the hour named; apparently,
+therefore, Alice had not come in the Prentice&rsquo;s train at all. The express
+was half an hour late, and so he paced up and down the platform, controlling
+his impatience as best he could. And finally the long train pulled in, and he
+saw Alice coming down the platform. She was alone!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What does it mean?&rdquo; were the first words he said to her.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long story,&rdquo; she answered. &ldquo;I wanted to come
+home.&rdquo;;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;You mean you&rsquo;ve come all the way from the coast by
+yourself!&rdquo; he gasped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;all the way.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What in the world&mdash;&rdquo; he began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t tell you here, Allan,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Wait till we
+get to some quiet place.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;But,&rdquo; he persisted. &ldquo;The Prentice? They let you come home
+alone?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t know it,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I ran away.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was more bewildered than ever. But as he started to ask more questions, she
+laid a hand upon his arm. &ldquo;Please wait, Allan,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It
+upsets me to talk about it. It was Charlie Carter.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And so the light broke. He caught his breath and gasped, &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He said not another word until they had crossed the ferry and settled
+themselves in a cab, and started. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;tell
+me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Alice began. &ldquo;I was very much upset,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But you must
+understand, Allan, that I&rsquo;ve had nearly a week to think it over, and I
+don&rsquo;t mind it now. So I want you please not to get excited about it; it
+wasn&rsquo;t poor Charlie&rsquo;s fault&mdash;he can&rsquo;t help himself. It
+was my mistake. I ought to have taken your advice and had nothing to do with
+him.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Go on,&rdquo; said he; and Alice told her story.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The party had gone sight-seeing, and she had had a headache and had stayed in
+the car. And Charlie Carter had come and begun making love to her. &ldquo;He
+had asked me to marry him already&mdash;that was at the beginning of the
+trip,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And I told him no. After that he would never let
+me alone. And this time he went on in a terrible way&mdash;he flung himself
+down on his knees, and wept, and said he couldn&rsquo;t live without me. And
+nothing I could say did any good. At last he&mdash;he caught hold of
+me&mdash;and he wouldn&rsquo;t let me go. I was furious with him, and
+frightened. I had to threaten to call for help before he would stop. And
+so&mdash;you see how it was.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; said Montague, gravely. &ldquo;Go on.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, after that I made up my mind that I couldn&rsquo;t stay anywhere
+where I had to see him. And I knew he would never go away without a scene. If I
+had asked Mrs. Prentice to send him away, there would have been a scandal, and
+it would have spoiled everybody&rsquo;s trip. So I went out, and found there
+was a train for the East in a little while, and I packed up my things, and left
+a note for Mrs. Prentice. I told her a story&mdash;I said I&rsquo;d had a
+telegram that your mother was ill, and that I didn&rsquo;t want to spoil their
+good time, and had gone by myself. That was the best thing I could think of. I
+wasn&rsquo;t afraid to travel, so long as I was sure that Charlie
+couldn&rsquo;t catch up with me.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing; he sat with his hands gripped tightly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It seemed like a desperate thing to do,&rdquo; said Alice, nervously.
+&ldquo;But you see, I was upset and unhappy. I didn&rsquo;t seem to like the
+party any more&mdash;I wanted to be home. Do you understand?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Montague, &ldquo;I understand. And I&rsquo;m glad you
+are here.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+They reached home, and Montague called up Harvey&rsquo;s and told his brother
+what had happened. He could hear Oliver gasp with astonishment.
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretty how-do-you-do!&rdquo; he said, when he had got his
+breath back; and then he added, with a laugh, &ldquo;I suppose that settles
+poor Charlie&rsquo;s chances.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you&rsquo;ve come to that conclusion,&rdquo; said the
+other, as he hung up the receiver.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+This episode gave Montague quite a shock. But he had little time to think about
+it&mdash;the next morning at eleven o&rsquo;clock his case was to come up for
+trial, and so all his thoughts were called away. This case had been the one
+real interest of his life for the last three months; it was his purpose, the
+thing for the sake of which he endured everything else that repelled him. And
+he had trained himself as an athlete for a great race; he was in form, and
+ready for the effort of his life. He went down town that morning with every
+fibre of him, body and mind, alert and eager; and he went into his office, and
+in his mail was a letter from Mr. Hasbrook. He opened it hastily and read a
+message, brief and direct and decisive as a sword-thrust:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I beg to inform you that I have received a satisfactory proposition from
+the Fidelity Company. I have settled with them, and wish to withdraw the suit.
+Thanking you for your services, I remain, sincerely.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+To Montague the thing came like a thunderbolt. He sat utterly
+dumbfounded&mdash;his hands went limp, and the letter fell upon the desk in
+front of him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And at last, when he did move, he picked up the telephone, and told his
+secretary to call up Mr. Hasbrook. Then he sat waiting; and when the bell rang,
+picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Mr. Hasbrook&rsquo;s voice, and to
+demand an explanation. But he heard, instead, the voice of his own secretary:
+&ldquo;Central says the number&rsquo;s been discontinued, sir.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he hung up the receiver, and sat motionless again. The dummy had
+disappeared!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+To Montague this incident meant a change in the prospect of his whole life. It
+was the collapse of all his hopes. He had nothing more to work for, nothing
+more to think about; the bottom had fallen out of his career!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+He was burning with a sense of outrage. He had been tricked and made a fool of;
+he had been used and flung aside. And now there was nothing he could
+do&mdash;he was utterly helpless. What affected him most was his sense of the
+overwhelming magnitude of the powers which had made him their puppet; of the
+utter futility of the efforts that he or any other man could make against them.
+They were like elemental, cosmic forces; they held all the world in their grip,
+and a common man was as much at their mercy as a bit of chaff in a tempest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All day long he sat in his office, brooding and nursing his wrath. He had moods
+when he wished to drop everything, to shake the dust of the city from his feet,
+and go back home and recollect what it was to be a gentleman. And then again he
+had fighting moods, when he wished to devote all his life to punishing the men
+who had made use of him. He would get hold of some other policy-holder in the
+Fidelity, one whom he could trust; he would take the case without pay, and
+carry it through to the end! He would force the newspapers to talk about
+it&mdash;he would force the people to heed what he said!
+</p>
+
+<p class="p2">
+And then, toward evening, he went home, bitter and sore. And there was his
+brother sitting in his study, waiting for him.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Hello,&rdquo; he said, and took off his coat, preparing his mind for one
+more ignominy&mdash;the telling of his misfortune to Oliver, and listening to
+his inevitable, &ldquo;I told you so.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Oliver himself had something to communicate something that would not bear
+keeping. He broke out at once&mdash;&ldquo;Tell me, Allan! What in the world
+has happened between you and Mrs. Winnie?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; asked Montague, sharply.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said Oliver, &ldquo;everybody is talking about some kind of
+a quarrel.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;There has been no quarrel,&rdquo; said Montague.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Well, what is it, then?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It must be something!&rdquo; exclaimed Oliver. &ldquo;What do all the
+stories mean?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What stories?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;About you two. I met Mrs. Vivie Patton just now, and she swore me to
+secrecy, and told me that Mrs. Winnie had told some one that you had made love
+to her so outrageously that she had to ask you to leave the house.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague shrunk as from a blow. &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; he gasped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what she said,&rdquo; said he.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lie!&rdquo; he cried.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I told Mrs. Vivie,&rdquo; said the other; &ldquo;it
+doesn&rsquo;t sound like you&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague had flushed scarlet. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean that!&rdquo; he cried.
+&ldquo;I mean that Mrs. Winnie never said any such thing.&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said Oliver, and he shrugged his shoulders. &ldquo;Maybe
+not,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;But I know she&rsquo;s furious with you about
+something&mdash;everybody&rsquo;s talking about it. She tells people that
+she&rsquo;ll never speak to you again. And what I want to know is, why is it
+that you have to do things to make enemies of everybody you know?&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Montague said nothing; he was trembling with anger.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What in the world did you do to her?&rdquo; began the other.
+&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t you trust me&mdash;&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And suddenly Montague sprang to his feet. &ldquo;Oh, Oliver,&rdquo; he
+exclaimed, &ldquo;let me alone! Go away!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And he went into the next room and slammed the door, and began pacing back and
+forth like a caged animal.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was a lie! It was a lie! Mrs. Winnie had never said such a thing! He would
+never believe it&mdash;it was a nasty piece of backstairs gossip!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did it matter Whether it was
+true or not&mdash;whether anything was true or not? What did it matter if
+anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome things that everybody else said
+they had done? It was what everybody was saying! It was what everybody
+believed&mdash;what everybody was interested in! It was the measure of a whole
+society&mdash;their ideals and their standards! It was the way they spent their
+time, repeating nasty scandals about each other; living in an atmosphere of
+suspicion and cynicism, with endless whispering and leering, and gossip of lew
+intrigue.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him, away&mdash;rage against
+the world into which he had come, and against himself for the part he had
+played in it. Everything seemed to have come to a head at once; and he hated
+everything&mdash;hated the people he had met, and the things they did, and the
+things they had tempted him to do. He hated the way he had got his money, and
+the way he had spent it. He hated the idleness and wastefulness, the
+drunkenness and debauchery, the meanness and the snobbishness.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of the room where Oliver still
+sat. And he stood in the doorway, exclaiming, &ldquo;Oliver, I&rsquo;m done
+with it!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Oliver stared at him. &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; he asked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; cried his brother, &ldquo;that I&rsquo;ve had all I can
+stand of &lsquo;Society!&rsquo; And I&rsquo;m going to quit. You can go
+on&mdash;but I don&rsquo;t intend to take another step with you! I&rsquo;ve had
+enough&mdash;and I think Alice has had enough, also. We&rsquo;ll take ourselves
+off your hands&mdash;we&rsquo;ll get out!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;What are you going to do?&rdquo; gasped Oliver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to give up these expensive apartments&mdash;give them up
+to-morrow, when our week is up. And I&rsquo;m going to stop squandering money
+for things I don&rsquo;t want. I&rsquo;m going to stop accepting invitations,
+and meeting people I don&rsquo;t like and don&rsquo;t want to know. I&rsquo;ve
+tried your game&mdash;I&rsquo;ve tried it hard, and I don&rsquo;t like it; and
+I&rsquo;m going to get out before it&rsquo;s too late. I&rsquo;m going to find
+some decent and simple place to live in; and I&rsquo;m going down town to find
+out if there isn&rsquo;t some way in New York for a man to earn an honest
+living!&rdquo;
+</p>
+
+<h5>THE END</h5>
+
+</div><!--end chapter-->
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Metropolis
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Posting Date: March 20, 2009 [EBook #5421]
+Release Date: April, 2004
+First Posted: July 14, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE METROPOLIS
+
+
+BY
+
+UPTON SINCLAIR
+
+
+
+FIRST PUBLISHED 1908
+
+PRINTED BY OFFSET IN GREAT BRITAIN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+"Return at ten-thirty," the General said to his chauffeur, and then
+they entered the corridor of the hotel.
+
+Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little
+with anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The quiet
+uptown hotel would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he was from
+the country; but, he did not see the marble columns and the gilded
+carvings-he was thinking of the men he was to meet. It seemed too much
+to crowd into one day-first the vision of the whirling, seething city,
+the centre of all his hopes of the future; and then, at night, this
+meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories of everything that
+he held precious in the past.
+
+There were groups of men in faded uniforms standing about in the
+corridors. General Prentice bowed here and there as they retired and
+took the elevator to the reception-rooms. In the doorway they passed a
+stout little man with stubby white moustaches, and the General stopped,
+exclaiming, "Hello, Major!" Then he added: "Let me introduce Mr. Allan
+Montague. Montague, this is Major Thorne."
+
+A look of sudden interest flashed across the Major's face. "General
+Montague's son?" he cried. And then he seized the other's hand in both
+of his, exclaiming, "My boy! my boy! I'm glad to see you!"
+
+Now Montague was no boy--he was a man of thirty, and rather sedate in
+his appearance and manner; there was enough in his six feet one to have
+made two of the round and rubicund little Major. And yet it seemed to
+him quite proper that the other should address him so. He was back in
+his boyhood to-night--he was a boy whenever anyone mentioned the name
+of Major Thorne.
+
+"Perhaps you have heard your father speak of me?" asked the Major,
+eagerly; and Montague answered, "A thousand times."
+
+He was tempted to add that the vision that rose before him was of a
+stout gentleman hanging in a grape-vine, while a whole battery of
+artillery made him their target.
+
+Perhaps it was irreverent, but that was what Montague had always
+thought of, ever since he had first laughed over the tale his father
+told. It had happened one January afternoon in the Wilderness, during
+the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, when Montague's father had
+been a rising young staff-officer, and it had fallen to his lot to
+carry to Major Thorne what was surely the most terrifying order that
+ever a cavalry officer received. It was in the crisis of the conflict,
+when the Army of the Potomac was reeling before the onslaught of
+Stonewall Jackson's columns. There was no one to stop them-and yet they
+must be stopped, for the whole right wing of the army was going. So
+that cavalry regiment had charged full tilt through the thickets, and
+into a solid wall of infantry and artillery. The crash of their volley
+was blinding--and horses wore fairly shot to fragments; and the Major's
+horse, with its lower jaw torn off, had plunged madly away and left its
+rider hanging in the aforementioned grape-vine. After he had kicked
+himself loose, it was to find himself in an arena where pain-maddened
+horses and frenzied men raced about amid a rain of minie-balls and
+canister. And in this inferno the gallant Major had captured a horse,
+and rallied the remains of his shattered command, and held the line
+until help came-and then helped to hold it, all through the afternoon
+and the twilight and the night, against charge after charge.--And now
+to stand and gaze at this stout and red-nosed little personage, and
+realize that these mighty deeds had been his!
+
+Then, even while Montague was returning his hand-clasp and telling him
+of his pleasure, the Major's eye caught some one across the room, and
+he called eagerly, "Colonel Anderson! Colonel Anderson!"
+
+And this was the heroic Jack Anderson! "Parson" Anderson, the men had
+called him, because he always prayed before everything he did. Prayers
+at each mess,--a prayer-meeting in the evening,--and then rumour said
+the Colonel prayed on while his men slept. With his battery of
+artillery trained to perfection under three years of divine guidance,
+the gallant Colonel had stood in the line of battle at Cold
+Harbour--name of frightful memory!--and when the enemy had swarmed out
+of their intrenchments and swept back the whole line just beyond him,
+his battery had stood like a cape in a storm-beaten ocean, attacked on
+two sides at once; and for the half-hour that elapsed before infantry
+support came up, the Colonel had ridden slowly up and down his line,
+repeating in calm and godly accents, "Give 'em hell, boys--give 'em
+hell!"--The Colonel's hand trembled now as he held it out, and his
+voice was shrill and cracked as he told what pleasure it gave him to
+meet General Montague's son.
+
+"Why have we never seen you before?" asked Major Thorne. Montague
+replied that he had spent all his life in Mississippi--his father
+having married a Southern woman after the war. Once every year the
+General had come to New York to attend the reunion of the Loyal Legion
+of the State; but some one had had to stay at home with his mother,
+Montague explained.
+
+There were perhaps a hundred men in the room, and he was passed about
+from group to group. Many of them had known his father intimately. It
+seemed almost uncanny to him to meet them in the body; to find them old
+and feeble, white-haired and wrinkled. As they lived in the chambers of
+his memory, they were in their mighty youth-heroes, transfigured and
+radiant, not subject to the power of time.
+
+Life on the big plantation had been a lonely one, especially for a
+Southern-born man who had fought in the Union army. General Montague
+had been a person of quiet tastes, and his greatest pleasure had been
+to sit with his two boys on his knees and "fight his battles o'er
+again." He had collected all the literature of the corps which he had
+commanded--a whole library of it, in which Allan had learned to find
+his way as soon as he could read. He had literally been brought up on
+the war--for hours he would lie buried in some big illustrated history,
+until people came and called him away. He studied maps of campaigns and
+battle-fields, until they became alive with human passion and struggle;
+he knew the Army of the Potomac by brigade and division, with the names
+of commanders, and their faces, and their ways-until they lived and
+spoke, and the bare roll of their names had power to thrill him.--And
+now here were the men themselves, and all these scenes and memories
+crowding upon him in tumultuous throngs. No wonder that he was a little
+dazed, and could hardly find words to answer when he was spoken to.
+
+But then came an incident which called him suddenly back to the world
+of the present. "There is Judge Ellis," said the General.
+
+Judge Ellis! The fame of his wit and eloquence had reached even far
+Mississippi--was there any remotest corner of America where men had not
+heard of the silver tongue of Judge Ellis? "Cultivate him!" Montague's
+brother Oliver had laughed, when it was mentioned that the Judge would
+be present--"Cultivate him--he may be useful."
+
+It was not difficult to cultivate one who was as gracious as Judge
+Ellis. He stood in the doorway, a smooth, perfectly groomed gentleman,
+conspicuous in the uniformed assembly by his evening dress. The Judge
+was stout and jovial, and cultivated Dundreary whiskers and a beaming
+smile. "General Montague's son!" he exclaimed, as he pressed the young
+man's hands. "Why, why--I'm surprised! Why have we never seen you
+before?"
+
+Montague explained that he had only been in New York about six hours.
+"Oh, I see," said the Judge. "And shall you remain long?"
+
+"I have come to stay," was the reply.
+
+"Well, well!" said the other, cordially. "Then we may see more of you.
+Are you going into business?"
+
+"I am a lawyer," said Montague. "I expect to practise."
+
+The Judge's quick glance had been taking the measure of the tall,
+handsome man before him, with his raven-black hair and grave features.
+"You must give us a chance to try your mettle," he said; and then, as
+others approached to meet him, and he was forced to pass on, he laid a
+caressing hand on Montague's arm, whispering, with a sly smile, "I mean
+it."
+
+Montague felt his heart beat a little faster. He had not welcomed his
+brother's suggestion--there was nothing of the sycophant in him; but he
+meant to work and to succeed, and he knew what the favour of a man like
+Judge Ellis would mean to him. For the Judge was the idol of New York's
+business and political aristocracy, and the doorways of fortune yielded
+at his touch.
+
+There were rows of chairs in one of the rooms, and here two or three
+hundred men were gathered. There were stands of battle-flags in the
+corners, each one of them a scroll of tragic history, to one like
+Montague, who understood. His eye roamed over them while the secretary
+was reading minutes of meetings and other routine announcements. Then
+he began to study the assemblage. There were men with one arm and men
+with one leg--one tottering old soldier ninety years of age, stone
+blind, and led about by his friends. The Loyal Legion was an officers'
+organization, and to that extent aristocratic; but worldly success
+counted for nothing in it--some of its members were struggling to exist
+on their pensions, and were as much thought of as a man like General
+Prentice, who was president of one of the city's largest banks, and a
+rich man, even in New York's understanding of that term.
+
+The presiding officer introduced "Colonel Robert Selden, who will read
+the paper of the evening: 'Recollections of Spottsylvania.'" Montague
+started at the name--for "Bob" Selden had been one of his father's
+messmates, and had fought all through the Peninsula Campaign at his
+side.
+
+He was a tall, hawk-faced man with a grey imperial. The room was still
+as he arose, and after adjusting his glasses, he began to read his
+story. He recalled the situation of the Army of the Potomac in the
+spring of 1864; for three years it had marched and fought, stumbling
+through defeat after defeat, a mighty weapon, lacking only a man who
+could wield it. Now at last the man had come--one who would put them
+into the battle and give them a chance to fight. So they had marched
+into the Wilderness, and there Lee struck them, and for three days they
+groped in a blind thicket, fighting hand to hand, amid suffocating
+smoke. The Colonel read in a quiet, unassuming voice; but one could see
+that he had hold of his hearers by the light that crossed their
+features when he told of the army's recoil from the shock, and of the
+wild joy that ran through the ranks when they took up their march to
+the left, and realized that this time they were not going back.--So
+they came to the twelve days' grapple of the Spottsylvania Campaign.
+
+There was still the Wilderness thicket; the enemy's intrenchments,
+covering about eight miles, lay in the shape of a dome, and at the
+cupola of it were breastworks of heavy timbers banked with earth, and
+with a ditch and a tangle of trees in front. The place was the keystone
+of the Confederate arch, and the name of it was "the Angle"--"Bloody
+Angle!" Montague heard the man who sat next to him draw in his breath,
+as if a spasm of pain had shot through him.
+
+At dawn two brigades had charged and captured the place. The enemy
+returned to the attack, and for twenty hours thereafter the two armies
+fought, hurling regiment after regiment and brigade after brigade into
+the trenches. There was a pouring rain, and the smoke hung black about
+them; they could only see the flashes of the guns, and the faces of the
+enemy, here and there.
+
+The Colonel described the approach of his regiment. They lay down for a
+moment in a swamp, and the minie-balls sang like swarming bees, and
+split the blades of the grass above them. Then they charged, over
+ground that ran with human blood. In the trenches the bodies of dead
+and dying men lay three deep, and were trampled out of sight in the mud
+by the feet of those who fought. They would crouch behind the works,
+lifting their guns high over their heads, and firing into the throngs
+on the other side; again and again men sprang upon the breastworks and
+fired their muskets, and then fell dead. They dragged up cannon, one
+after another, and blew holes through the logs, and raked the' ground
+with charges of canister.
+
+While the Colonel read, still in his calm, matter-of-fact voice, you
+might see men leaning forward in their chairs, hands clenched, teeth
+set. They knew! They knew! Had there ever before been a time in history
+when breastworks had been charged by artillery? Twenty-four men in the
+crew of one gun, and only two unhurt! One iron sponge-bucket with
+thirty-nine bullet holes shot through it! And then blasts of canister
+sweeping the trenches, and blowing scores of living and dead men to
+fragments! And into this hell of slaughter new regiments charging, in
+lines four deep! And squad after squad of the enemy striving to
+surrender, and shot to pieces by their own comrades as they clambered
+over the blood-soaked walls! And heavy timbers in the defences shot to
+splinters! Huge oak trees--one of them twenty-four inches in
+diameter--crashing down upon the combatants, gnawed through by
+rifle-bullets! Since the world began had men ever fought like that?
+
+Then the Colonel told of his own wound in the shoulder, and how, toward
+dusk, he had crawled away; and how he became lost, and strayed into the
+enemy's line, and was thrust into a batch of prisoners and marched to
+the rear. And then of the night that he spent beside a hospital camp in
+the Wilderness, where hundreds of wounded and dying men lay about on
+the rain-soaked ground, moaning, screaming, praying to be killed. Again
+the prisoners were moved, having been ordered to march to the railroad;
+and on the way the Colonel went blind from suffering and exhaustion,
+and staggered and fell in the road. You could have heard a pin drop in
+the room, in the pause between sentences in his story, as he told how
+the guard argued with him to persuade him to go on. It was their duty
+to kill him if he refused, but they could not bring themselves to do
+it. In the end they left the job to one, and he stood and cursed the
+officer, trying to get up his courage; and finally fired his gun into
+the air, and went off and left him.
+
+Then he told how an old negro had found him, and how he lay delirious;
+and how, at last, the army marched his way. He ended his narrative the
+simple sentence: "It was not until the siege of Petersburg that I was
+able to rejoin my Command."
+
+There was a murmur of applause; and then silence. Suddenly, from
+somewhere in the room, came the sound of singing--"Mine eyes have seen
+the glory of the coming of the Lord!" The old battle-hymn seemed to
+strike the very mood of the meeting; the whole throng took it up, and
+they sang it, stanza by stanza. It was rolling forth like a mighty
+organ-chant as they came to the fervid closing:--
+
+"He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is
+sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; Oh! be swift,
+my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet,--Our God is marching on!"
+
+There was a pause again; and the presiding officer rose and said that,
+owing to the presence of a distinguished guest, they would forego one
+of their rules, and invite Judge Ellis to say a few words. The Judge
+came forward, and bowed his acknowledgment of their welcome. Then,
+perhaps feeling a need of relief after the sombre recital, the Judge
+took occasion to apologize for his own temerity in addressing a roomful
+of warriors; and somehow he managed to make that remind him of a story
+of an army mule, a very amusing story; and that reminded him of another
+story, until, when he stopped and sat down, every one in the room broke
+into delighted applause.
+
+They went in to dinner. Montague sat by General Prentice, and he, in
+turn, by the Judge; the latter was reminded of more stories during the
+dinner, and kept every one near him laughing. Finally Montague was
+moved to tell a story himself--about an old negro down home, who passed
+himself off for an Indian. The Judge was so good as to consider this an
+immensely funny story, and asked permission to tell it himself. Several
+times after that he leaned over and spoke to Montague, who felt a
+slight twinge of guilt as he recalled his brother's cynical advice,
+"Cultivate him!" The Judge was so willing to be cultivated, however,
+that it gave one's conscience little chance.
+
+They went back to the meeting-room again; chairs were shifted, and
+little groups formed, and cigars and pipes brought out. They moved the
+precious battle-flags forward, and some one produced a bugle and a
+couple of drums; then the walls of the place shook, as the whole
+company burst forth:--
+
+"Bring the good old bugle, boys! we'll sing another song--Sing it with
+a spirit that will start the world along--Sing it as we used to sing
+it, fifty thousand strong,--While we were marching through Georgia!"
+
+It was wonderful to witness the fervour with which they went through
+this rollicking chant--whose spirit we miss because we hear it too
+often. They were not skilled musicians--they could only sing loud; but
+the fire leaped into their eyes, and they swayed with the rhythm, and
+sang! Montague found himself watching the old blind soldier, who sat
+beating his foot in time, upon his face the look of one who sees
+visions.
+
+And then he noticed another man, a little, red-faced Irishman, one of
+the drummers. The very spirit of the drum seemed to have entered into
+him--into his hands and his feet, his eyes and his head, and his round
+little body. He played a long roll between the verses, and it seemed as
+if he must surely be swept away upon the wings of it. Catching
+Montague's eye, he nodded and smiled; and after that, every once in a
+while their eyes would meet and exchange a greeting. They sang "The
+Loyal Legioner" and "The Army Bean" and "John Brown's Body" and "Tramp,
+tramp, tramp, the boys are marching"; all the while the drum rattled
+and thundered, and the little drummer laughed and sang, the very
+incarnation of the care-free spirit of the soldier!
+
+They stopped for a while, and the little man came over and was
+introduced. Lieutenant O'Day was his name; and after he had left,
+General Prentice leaned over to Montague and told him a story. "That
+little man," he said, "began as a drummer-boy in my regiment, and went
+all through the war in my brigade; and two years ago I met him on the
+street one cold winter night, as thin as I am, and shivering in a
+summer overcoat. I took him to dinner with me and watched him eat, and
+I made up my mind there was something wrong. I made him take me home,
+and do you know, the man was starving! He had a little tobacco shop,
+and he'd got into trouble--the trust had taken away his trade. And he
+had a sick wife, and a daughter clerking at six dollars a week!"
+
+The General went on to tell of his struggle to induce the little man to
+accept his aid--to accept a loan of a few hundreds of dollars from
+Prentice, the banker! "I never had anything hurt me so in all my life,"
+he said. "Finally I took him into the bank--and now you can see he has
+enough to eat!"
+
+They began to sing again, and Montague sat and thought over the story.
+It seemed to him typical of the thing that made this meeting beautiful
+to him--of the spirit of brotherhood and service that reigned
+here.--They sang "We are tenting to-night on the old camp ground"; they
+sang "Benny Havens, Oh!" and "A Soldier No More"; they sang other songs
+of tenderness and sorrow, and men felt a trembling in their voices and
+a mist stealing over their eyes. Upon Montague a spell was falling.
+
+Over these men and their story there hung a mystery--a presence of
+wonder, that discloses itself but rarely to mortals, and only to those
+who have dreamed and dared. They had not found it easy to do their
+duty; they had had their wives and children, their homes and friends
+and familiar places; and all these they had left to serve the Republic.
+They had taught themselves a new way of life--they had forged
+themselves into an iron sword of war. They had marched and fought in
+dust and heat, in pouring rains and driving, icy blasts; they had
+become men grim and terrible in spirit-men with limbs of steel, who
+could march or ride for days and nights, who could lie down and sleep
+upon the ground in rain-storms and winter snows, who were ready to leap
+at a word and seize their muskets and rush into the cannon's mouth.
+They had learned to stare into the face of death, to meet its fiery
+eyes; to march and eat and sleep, to laugh and play and sing, in its
+presence--to carry their life in their hands, and toss it about as a
+juggler tosses a ball. And this for Freedom: for the star-crowned
+goddess with the flaming eyes, who trod upon the mountain-tops and
+called to them in the shock and fury of the battle; whose trailing
+robes they followed through the dust and cannon-smoke; for a glimpse of
+whose shining face they had kept the long night vigils and charged upon
+the guns in the morning; for a touch of whose shimmering robe they had
+wasted in prison pens, where famine and loathsome pestilence and raving
+madness stalked about in the broad daylight.
+
+And now this army of deliverance, with its waving banners and its
+prancing horses and its rumbling cannon, had marched into the
+shadow-world. The very ground that it had trod was sacred; and one who
+fingered the dusty volumes which held the record of its deeds would
+feel a strange awe come upon him, and thrill with a sudden fear of
+life--that was so fleeting and so little to be understood. There were
+boyhood memories in Montague's mind, of hours of consecration, when the
+vision had descended upon him, and he had sat with face hidden in his
+hands.
+
+It was for the Republic that these men had suffered; for him and his
+children--that a government of the people, by the people, for the
+people, might not perish from the earth. And with the organ-music of
+the Gettysburg Address echoing within him, the boy laid his soul upon
+the altar of his country. They had done so much for him--and now, was
+there anything that he could do? A dozen years had passed since then,
+and still he knew that deep within him--deeper than all other purposes,
+than all thoughts of wealth and fame and power--was the purpose that
+the men who had died for the Republic should find him worthy of their
+trust.
+
+The singing had stopped, and Judge Ellis was standing before him. The
+Judge was about to go, and in his caressing voice he said that he would
+hope to see Montague again. Then, seeing that General Prentice was also
+standing up, Montague threw off the spell that had gripped him, and
+shook hands with the little drummer, and with Selden and Anderson and
+all the others of his dream people. A few minutes later he found
+himself outside the hotel, drinking deep draughts of the cold November
+air.
+
+Major Thorne had come out with them; and learning that the General's
+route lay uptown, he offered to walk with Montague to his hotel.
+
+They set out, and then Montague told the Major about the figure in the
+grape-vine, and the Major laughed and told how it had felt. There had
+been more adventures, it seemed; while he was hunting a horse he had
+come upon two mules loaded with ammunition and entangled with their
+harness about a tree; he had rushed up to seize them--when a solid shot
+had struck the tree and exploded the ammunition and blown the mules to
+fragments. And then there was the story of the charge late in the
+night, which had recovered the lost ground, and kept Stonewall Jackson
+busy up to the very hour of his tragic death. And there was the story
+of Andersonville, and the escape from prison. Montague could have
+walked the streets all night, exchanging these war-time reminiscences
+with the Major.
+
+Absorbed in their talk, they came to an avenue given up to the poorer
+class of people; with elevated trains rattling by overhead, and rows of
+little shops along it. Montague noticed a dense crowd on one of the
+corners, and asked what it meant.
+
+"Some sort of a meeting," said the Major.
+
+They came nearer, and saw a torch, with a man standing near it, above
+the heads of the crowd.
+
+"It looks like a political meeting," said Montague, "but it can't be,
+now--just after election."
+
+"Probably it's a Socialist," said the Major. "They're at it all the
+time."
+
+They crossed the avenue, and then they could see plainly. The man was
+lean and hungry-looking, and he had long arms, which he waved with
+prodigious violence. He was in a frenzy of excitement, pacing this way
+and that, and leaning over the throng packed about him. Because of a
+passing train the two could not hear a sound.
+
+"A Socialist!" exclaimed Montague, wonderingly. "What do they want?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said the other. "They want to overthrow the government."
+
+The train passed, and then the man's words came to them: "They force
+you to build palaces, and then they put you into tenements! They force
+you to spin fine raiment, and then they dress you in rags! They force
+you to build jails, and then they lock you up in them! They force you
+to make guns, and then they shoot you with them! They own the political
+parties, and they name the candidates, and trick you into voting for
+them--and they call it the law! They herd you into armies and send you
+to shoot your brothers--and they call it order! They take a piece of
+coloured rag and call it the flag and teach you to let yourself be
+shot--and they call it patriotism! First, last, and all the time, you
+do the work and they get the benefit--they, the masters and owners, and
+you--fools--fools--fools!"
+
+The man's voice had mounted to a scream, and he flung his hands into
+the air and broke into jeering laughter. Then came another train, and
+Montague could not hear him; but he could see that he was rushing on in
+the torrent of his denunciation.
+
+Montague stood rooted to the spot; he was shocked to the depths of his
+being--he could scarcely contain himself as he stood there. He longed
+to spring forward to beard the man where he stood, to shout him down,
+to rebuke him before the crowd.
+
+The Major must have seen his agitation, for he took his arm and led him
+back from the throng, saying: "Come! We can't help it."
+
+"But--but--," he protested, "the police ought to arrest him."
+
+"They do sometimes," said the Major, "but it doesn't do any good."
+
+They walked on, and the sounds of the shrill voice died away. "Tell
+me," said Montague, in a low voice, "does that go on very often?"
+
+"Around the corner from where I live," said the other, "it goes on
+every Saturday night."
+
+"And do the people listen?" he asked.
+
+"Sometimes they can't keep the street clear," was the reply.
+
+And again they walked in silence. At last Montague asked, "What does it
+mean?"
+
+The Major shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps another civil war," said he.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Allan Montague's father had died about five years before. A couple of
+years later his younger brother, Oliver, had announced his intention of
+seeking a career in New York. He had no profession, and no definite
+plans; but his father's friends were men of influence and wealth, and
+the doors were open to him. So he had turned his share of the estate
+into cash and departed.
+
+Oliver was a gay and pleasure-loving boy, with all the material of a
+prodigal son in him; his brother had more than half expected to see him
+come back in a year or two with empty pockets. But New York had seemed
+to agree with Oliver. He never told what he was doing--what he wrote
+was simply that he was managing to keep the wolf from the door. But his
+letters hinted at expensive ways of life; and at Christmas time, and at
+Cousin Alice's birthday, he would send home presents which made the
+family stare.
+
+Montague had always thought of himself as a country lawyer and planter.
+But two months ago a fire had swept away the family mansion, and then
+on top of that had come an offer for the land; and with Oliver
+telegraphing several times a day in his eagerness, they had taken the
+sudden resolution to settle up their affairs and move to New York.
+
+There were Montague and his mother, and Cousin Alice, who was nineteen,
+and old "Mammy Lucy," Mrs. Montague's servant. Oliver had met them at
+Jersey City, radiant with happiness. He looked just as much of a boy as
+ever, and just as beautiful; excepting that he was a little paler, New
+York had not changed him at all. There was a man in uniform from the
+hotel to take charge of their baggage, and a big red touring-car for
+them; and now they were snugly settled in their apartments, with the
+younger brother on duty as counsellor and guide.
+
+Montague had come to begin life all over again. He had brought his
+money, and he expected to invest it, and to live upon the income until
+he had begun to earn something. He had worked hard at his profession,
+and he meant to work in New York, and to win his way in the end. He
+knew almost nothing about the city--he faced it with the wide-open eyes
+of a child.
+
+One began to learn quickly, he found. It was like being swept into a
+maelstrom: first the hurrying throngs on the ferry-boat, and then the
+cabmen and the newsboys shouting, and the cars with clanging gongs;
+then the swift motor, gliding between trucks and carriages and around
+corners where big policemen shepherded the scurrying populace; and then
+Fifth Avenue, with its rows of shops and towering hotels; and at last a
+sudden swing round a corner--and their home.
+
+"I have picked a quiet family place for you," Oliver had said, and that
+had greatly pleased his brother. But he had stared in dismay when he
+entered this latest "apartment hotel"--which catered for two or three
+hundred of the most exclusive of the city's aristocracy--and noted its
+great arcade, with massive doors of bronze, and its entrance-hall,
+trimmed with Caen stone and Italian marble, and roofed with a vaulted
+ceiling painted by modern masters. Men in livery bore their wraps and
+bowed the way before them; a great bronze elevator shot them to the
+proper floor; and they went to their rooms down a corridor walled with
+blood-red marble and paved with carpet soft as a cushion. Here were six
+rooms of palatial size, with carpets, drapery, and furniture of a
+splendour quite appalling to Montague.
+
+As soon as the man who bore their wraps had left the room, he turned
+upon his brother.
+
+"Oliver," he said, "how much are we paying for all this?"
+
+Oliver smiled. "You are not paying anything, old man," he replied.
+"You're to be my guests for a month or two, until you get your
+bearings."
+
+"That's very good of you," said the other; "--we'll talk about it
+later. But meantime, tell me what the apartment costs."
+
+And then Montague encountered his first full charge of New York
+dynamite. "Six hundred dollars a week," said Oliver.
+
+He started as if his brother had struck him. "Six hundred dollars a
+week!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," said the other, quietly.
+
+It was fully a minute before he could find his breath. "Brother," he
+exclaimed, "you're mad!"
+
+"It is a very good bargain," smiled the other; "I have some influence
+with them."
+
+Again there was a pause, while Montague groped for words. "Oliver," he
+exclaimed, "I can't believe you! How could you think that we could pay
+such a price?"
+
+"I didn't think it," said Oliver; "I told you I expected to pay it
+myself."
+
+"But how could we let you pay it for us?" cried the other. "Can you
+fancy that _I_ will ever earn enough to pay such a price?"
+
+"Of course you will," said Oliver. "Don't be foolish, Allan--you'll
+find it's easy enough to make money in New York. Leave it to me, and
+wait awhile."
+
+But the other was not to be put off. He sat down on the embroidered
+silk bedspread, and demanded abruptly, "What do you expect my income to
+be a year?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," laughed Oliver; "nobody takes the time to add
+up his income. You'll make what you need, and something over for good
+measure. This one thing you'll know for certain--the more you spend,
+the more you'll be able to make."
+
+And then, seeing that the sober look was not to be expelled from his
+brother's face, Oliver seated himself and crossed his legs, and
+proceeded to set forth the paradoxical philosophy of extravagance. His
+brother had come into a city of millionaires. There was a certain group
+of people--"the right set," was Oliver's term for them--and among them
+he would find that money was as free as air. So far as his career was
+concerned, he would find that there was nothing in all New York so
+costly as economy. If he did not live like a gentleman, he would find
+himself excluded from the circle of the elect--and how he would manage
+to exist then was a problem too difficult for his brother to face.
+
+And so, as quickly as he could, he was to bring himself to a state of
+mind where things did not surprise him; where he did what others did
+and paid what others paid, and did it serenely, as if he had done it
+all his life. He would soon find his place; meantime all he had to do
+was to put himself into his brother's charge. "You'll find in time that
+I have the strings in my hands," the latter added. "Just take life
+easy, and let me introduce you to the right people."
+
+All of which sounded very attractive. "But are you sure," asked
+Montague, "that you understand what I'm here for? I don't want to get
+into the Four Hundred, you know--I want to practise law."
+
+"In the first place," replied Oliver, "don't talk about the Four
+Hundred--it's vulgar and silly; there's no such thing. In the next
+place, you're going to live in New York, and you want to know the right
+people. If you know them, you can practise law, or practise billiards,
+or practise anything else that you fancy. If you don't know them, you
+might as well go practise in Dahomey, for all you can accomplish. You
+might come on here and start in for yourself, and in twenty years you
+wouldn't get as far as you can get in two weeks, if you'll let me
+attend to it."
+
+Montague was nearly five years his brother's senior, and at home had
+taken a semi-paternal attitude toward him. Now, however, the situation
+seemed to have reversed itself. With a slight smile of amusement, he
+subsided, and proceeded to put himself into the attitude of a docile
+student of the mysteries of the Metropolis.
+
+They agreed that they would say nothing about these matters to the
+others. Mrs. Montague was half blind, and would lead her placid, indoor
+existence with old Mammy Lucy. As for Alice, she was a woman, and would
+not trouble herself with economics; if fairy godmothers chose to shower
+gifts upon her, she would take them.
+
+Alice was built to live in a palace, anyway, Oliver said. He had cried
+out with delight when he first saw her. She had been sixteen when he
+left, and tall and thin; now she was nineteen, and with the pale tints
+of the dawn in her hair and face. In the auto, Oliver had turned and,
+stared at her, and pronounced the cryptic judgment, "You'll go!"
+
+Just now she was wandering about the rooms, exclaiming with wonder.
+Everything here was so quiet and so harmonious that at first one's
+suspicions were lulled. It was simplicity, but of a strange and
+perplexing kind--simplicity elaborately studied. It was luxury, but
+grown assured of itself, and gazing down upon itself with aristocratic
+disdain. And after a while this began to penetrate the vulgarest mind,
+and to fill it with awe; one cannot remain long in an apartment which
+is trimmed and furnished in rarest Circassian walnut, and "papered"
+with hand-embroidered silk cloth, without feeling some excitement--even
+though there be no one to mention that the furniture has cost eight
+thousand dollars per room, and that the wall covering has been imported
+from Paris at a cost of seventy dollars per yard.
+
+Montague also betook himself to gazing about. He noted the great double
+windows, with sashes of bronze; the bronze fire-proof doors; the bronze
+electric candles and chandeliers, from which the room was flooded with
+a soft radiance at the touch of a button; the "duchesse" and "marquise"
+chairs, with upholstery matching the walls; the huge leather
+"slumber-couch," with adjustable lamp at its head. When one opened the
+door of the dressing-room closet, it was automatically filled with
+light; there was an adjustable three-sided mirror, at which one could
+study his own figure from every side. There was a little bronze box
+near the bed, in which one might set his shoes, and with a locked door
+opening out into the hall, so that the floor-porter could get them
+without disturbing one. Each of the bath-rooms was the size of an
+ordinary man's parlour, with floor and walls of snow-white marble, and
+a door composed of an imported plate-glass mirror. There was a great
+porcelain tub, with glass handles upon the wall by which you could help
+yourself out of it, and a shower-bath with linen duck curtains, which
+were changed every day; and a marble slab upon which you might lie to
+be rubbed by the masseur who would come at the touch of a button.
+
+There was no end to the miracles of this establishment, as Montague
+found in the course of time. There was no chance that the antique
+bronze clock on the mantel might go wrong, for it was electrically
+controlled from the office. You did not open the window and let in the
+dust, for the room was automatically ventilated, and you turned a
+switch marked "hot" and "cold." The office would furnish you a guide
+who would show you the establishment; and you might see your bread
+being kneaded by electricity, upon an opal glass table, and your eggs
+being tested by electric light; you might peer into huge refrigerators,
+ventilated by electric fans, and in which each tiny lamb chop reposed
+in a separate holder. Upon your own floor was a pantry, provided with
+hot and cold storage-rooms and an air-tight dumb-waiter; you might have
+your own private linen and crockery and plate, and your own family
+butler, if you wished. Your children, however, would not be permitted
+in the building, even though you were dying--this was a small
+concession which you made to a host who had invested a million dollars
+and a half in furniture alone.
+
+A few minutes later the telephone bell rang, and Oliver answered it and
+said, "Send him up."
+
+"Here's the tailor," he remarked, as he hung up the receiver.
+
+"Whose tailor?" asked his brother.
+
+"Yours," said he.
+
+"Do I have to have some new clothes?" Montague asked.
+
+"You haven't any clothes at present," was the reply.
+
+Montague was standing in front of the "costumer," as the elaborate
+mirror was termed. He looked himself over, and then he looked at his
+brother. Oliver's clothing was a little like the Circassian walnut; at
+first you thought that it was simple, and even a trifle careless--it
+was only by degrees you realized that it was original and
+distinguished, and very expensive.
+
+"Won't your New York friends make allowance for the fact that I am
+fresh from the country?" asked Montague, quizzically.
+
+"They might," was the reply. "I know a hundred who would lend me money,
+if I asked them. But I don't ask them."
+
+"Then how soon shall I be able to appear?" asked Montague, with visions
+of himself locked up in the room for a week or two.
+
+"You are to have three suits to-morrow morning," said Oliver. "Genet
+has promised."
+
+"Suits made to order?" gasped the other, in perplexity.
+
+"He never heard of any other sort of suits," said Oliver, with grave
+rebuke in his voice.
+
+M. Genet had the presence of a Russian grand duke, and the manner of a
+court chamberlain. He brought a subordinate to take Montague's measure,
+while he himself studied his colour-scheme. Montague gathered from the
+conversation that he was going to a house-party in the country the next
+morning, and that he would need a dress-suit, a hunting-suit, and a
+"morning coat." The rest might wait until his return. The two discussed
+him and his various "points" as they might have discussed a horse; he
+possessed distinction, he learned, and a great deal could be done with
+him--with a little skill he might be made into a personality. His
+French was not in training, but he managed to make out that it was M.
+Genet's opinion that the husbands of New York would tremble when he
+made his appearance among them.
+
+When the tailor had left, Alice came in, with her face shining from a
+cold bathing. "Here you are decking yourselves out!" she cried. "And
+what about me?"
+
+"Your problem is harder," said Oliver, with a laugh; "but you begin
+this afternoon. Reggie Mann is going to take you with him, and get you
+some dresses."
+
+"What!" gasped Alice. "Get me some dresses! A man?"
+
+"Of course," said the other. "Reggie Mann advises half the women in New
+York about their clothes."
+
+"Who is he? A tailor?" asked the girl.
+
+Oliver was sitting on the edge of the canap�, swinging one leg over the
+other; and he stopped abruptly and stared, and then sank back, laughing
+softly to himself. "Oh, dear me!" he said. "Poor Reggie!"
+
+Then, realizing that he would have to begin at the beginning, he
+proceeded to explain that Reggie Mann was a cotillion leader, the idol
+of the feminine side of society. He was the special pet and protege of
+the great Mrs. de Graffenried, of whom they had surely heard--Mrs. de
+Graffenried, who was acknowledged to be the mistress of society at
+Newport, and was destined some day to be mistress in New York. Reggie
+and Oliver were "thick," and he had stayed in town on purpose to attend
+to her attiring--having seen her picture, and vowed that he would make
+a work of art out of her. And then Mrs. Robbie Walling would give her a
+dance; and all the world would come to fall at her feet.
+
+"You and I are going out to 'Black Forest,' the Wallings'
+shooting-lodge, to-morrow," Oliver added to his brother. "You'll meet
+Mrs. Robbie there. You've heard of the Wallings, I hope."
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I'm not that ignorant."
+
+"All right," said the other, "we're to motor down. I'm going to take
+you in my racing-car, so you'll have an experience. We'll start early."
+
+"I'll be ready," said Montague; and when his brother replied that he
+would be at the door at eleven, he made another amused note as to the
+habits of New Yorkers.
+
+The price which he paid at the hotel included the services of a valet
+or a maid for each of them, and so when their baggage arrived they had
+nothing to do. They went to lunch in one of the main dining-rooms of
+the hotel, a room with towering columns of dark-green marble and a maze
+of palms and flowers. Oliver did the ordering; his brother noticed that
+the simple meal cost them about fifteen dollars, and he wondered if
+they were to eat at that rate all the time.
+
+Then Montague mentioned the fact that before leaving home he had
+received a telegram from General Prentice, asking him to go with him
+that evening to the meeting of the Loyal Legion. Montague wondered,
+half amused, if his brother would deem his old clothing fit for such a
+function. But Oliver replied that it would not matter what he wore
+there; he would not meet anyone who counted, except Prentice himself.
+The General and his family were prominent in society, it appeared, and
+were to be cultivated. But Oliver shrewdly forbore to elaborate upon
+this, knowing that his brother would be certain to talk about old
+times, which would be the surest possible method of lodging himself in
+the good graces of General Prentice.
+
+After luncheon came Reggie Mann, dapper and exquisite, with slender
+little figure and mincing gait, and the delicate hands and soft voice
+of a woman. He was dressed for the afternoon parade, and wore a
+wonderful scarlet orchid in his buttonhole. Montague's hand he shook at
+his shoulder's height; but when Alice came in he did not shake hands
+with her. Instead, he stood and gazed, and gazed again, and lifting his
+hands a little with excess of emotion, exclaimed, "Oh, perfect!
+perfect!"
+
+"And Ollie, I told you so!" he added, eagerly. "She it tall enough to
+wear satin! She shall have the pale blue Empire gown--she shall have
+the pale blue Empire gown if I have to pay for it myself! And oh, what
+times we shall have with that hair! And the figure--Reval will simply
+go wild!"
+
+So Reggie prattled on, with his airy grace; he took her hand and
+studied it, and then turned her about to survey her figure, while Alice
+blushed and strove to laugh to hide her embarrassment. "My dear Miss
+Montague," he exclaimed, "I bring all Gotham and lay it at your feet!
+Ollie, your battle is won! Won without firing a shot! I know the very
+man for her--his father is dying, and he will have four millions in
+Transcontinental alone. And he is as handsome as Antinous and as
+fascinating as Don Juan! Allons! we may as well begin with the
+trousseau this afternoon!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Oliver was not rooming with them; he had his own quarters at the club,
+which he did not wish to leave. But the next morning, about twenty
+minutes after the hour he had named, he was at the door, and Montague
+went down.
+
+Oliver's car was an imported French racer. It had only two seats, open
+in front, with a rumble behind for the mechanic. It was long and low
+and rakish, a most wicked-looking object; whenever it stopped on the
+street a crowd gathered to stare at it. Oliver was clad in a black
+bearskin coat, covering his feet, and with cap and gloves to match; he
+wore goggles, pushed up over his forehead. A similar costume lay ready
+in his brother's seat.
+
+The suits of clothing had come, and were borne in his grips by his
+valet. "We can't carry them with us," said Oliver. "He'll have to take
+them down by train." And while his brother was buttoning up the coat,
+he gave the address; then Montague clambered in, and after a quick
+glance over his shoulder, Oliver pressed a lever and threw over the
+steering-wheel, and they whirled about and sped down the street.
+
+Sometimes, at home in Mississippi, one would meet automobiling parties,
+generally to the damage of one's harness and temper. But until the day
+before, when he had stepped off the ferry, Montague had never ridden in
+a motor-car. Riding in this one was like travelling in a dream--it slid
+along without a sound, or the slightest trace of vibration; it shot
+forward, it darted to right or to left, it slowed up, it stopped, as if
+of its own will--the driver seemed to do nothing. Such things as car
+tracks had no effect upon it at all, and serious defects in the
+pavement caused only the faintest swelling motion; it was only when it
+leaped ahead like a living thing that one felt the power of it, by the
+pressure upon his back.
+
+They went at what seemed to Montague a breakneck pace through the city
+streets, dodging among trucks and carriages, grazing cars, whirling
+round corners, taking the wildest of chances. Oliver seemed always to
+know what the other fellow would do; but the thought that he might do
+something different kept his companion's heart pounding in a painful
+way. Once the latter cried out as a man leapt for his life; Oliver
+laughed, and said, without turning his head, "You'll get used to it by
+and by."
+
+They went down Fourth Avenue and turned into the Bowery. Elevated
+trains pounded overhead, and a maze of gin-shops, dime-museums, cheap
+lodging-houses, and clothing-stores sped past them. Once or twice
+Oliver's hawk-like glance detected a blue uniform ahead, and then they
+slowed down to a decorous pace, and the other got a chance to observe
+the miserable population of the neighbourhood. It was a cold November
+day, and an "out of work" time, and wretched outcast men walked with
+shoulders drawn forward and hands in their pockets.
+
+"Where in the world are we going?" Montague asked.
+
+"To Long Island," said the other. "It's a beastly ride--this part of
+it--but it's the only way. Some day we'll have an overhead speedway of
+our own, and we won't have to drive through this mess."
+
+They turned off at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, and found
+the street closed for repairs. They had to make a detour of a block,
+and they turned with a vicious sweep and plunged into the very heart of
+the tenement district. Narrow, filthy streets, with huge, canon-like
+blocks of buildings, covered with rusty iron fire-escapes and decorated
+with soap-boxes and pails and laundry and babies; narrow stoops,
+crowded with playing children; grocery-shops, clothing-shops, saloons;
+and a maze of placards and signs in English and German and Yiddish.
+Through the throngs Oliver drove, his brows knitted with impatience and
+his horn honking angrily. "Take it easy,"--protested Montague; but the
+other answered, "Bah!" Children screamed and darted out of the way, and
+men and women started back, scowling and muttering; when a blockade of
+wagons and push-carts forced them to stop, the children gathered about
+and jeered, and a group of hoodlums loafing by a saloon flung ribaldry
+at them; but Oliver never turned his eyes from the road ahead.
+
+And at last they were out on the bridge. "Slow vehicles keep to the
+right," ran the sign, and so there was a lane for them to the left.
+They sped up the slope, the cold air beating upon them like a
+hurricane. Far below lay the river, with tugs and ferry-boats ploughing
+the wind-beaten grey water, and a city spread out on either bank--a
+wilderness of roofs, with chimneys sticking up and white jets of steam
+spouting everywhere. Then they sped down the farther slope, and into
+Brooklyn.
+
+There was an asphalted avenue, lined with little residences. There was
+block upon block of them, mile after mile of them--Montague had never,
+seen so many houses in his life before, and nearly all poured out of
+the same mould.
+
+Many other automobiles were speeding out by this avenue, and they raced
+with one another. The one which was passed the most frequently got the
+dust and smell; and so the universal rule was that when you were behind
+you watched for a clear track, and then put on speed, and went to the
+front; but then just when you had struck a comfortable pace, there was
+a whirring and a puffing at your left, and your rival came stealing
+past you. If you were ugly, you put on speed yourself, and forced him
+to fall back, or to run the risk of trouble with vehicles coming the
+other way. For Oliver there seemed to be but one rule,--pass everything.
+
+They came to the great Ocean Driveway. Here were many automobiles,
+nearly all going one way, and nearly all racing. There were two which
+stuck to Oliver and would not be left behind--one, two, three--one,
+two, three--they passed and repassed. Their dust was blinding, and the
+continual odour was sickening; and so Oliver set his lips tight, and
+the little dial on the indicator began to creep ahead, and they whirled
+away down the drive. "Catch us this time!" he muttered.
+
+A few seconds later Oliver gave a sudden exclamation, as a policeman,
+concealed behind a bush at the roadside, sprang out and hailed them.
+The policeman had a motor-cycle, and Oliver shouted to the mechanic,
+"Pull the cord!" His brother turned, alarmed and perplexed, and saw the
+man reach down to the floor of the car. He saw the policeman leap upon
+the cycle and start to follow. Then he lost sight of him in the clouds
+of dust.
+
+For perhaps five minutes they tore on, tense and silent, at a pace that
+Montague had never equalled in an express train. Vehicles coming the
+other way would leap into sight, charging straight at them, it seemed,
+and shooting past a hand's breadth away. Montague had just about made
+up his mind that one such ride would last him for a lifetime, when he
+noticed that they were slacking up. "You can let go the cord," said
+Oliver. "He'll never catch us now."
+
+"What is the cord?" asked the other.
+
+"It's tied to the tag with our number on, in back. It swings it up so
+it can't be seen."
+
+They were turning off into a country road, and Montague sank back and
+laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. "Is that a common trick?"
+he asked.
+
+"Quite," said the other. "Mrs. Robbie has a trough of mud in their
+garage, and her driver sprinkles the tag every time before she goes
+out. You have to do something, you know, or you'd be taken up all the
+time."
+
+"Have you ever been arrested?"
+
+"I've only been in court once," said Oliver. "I've been stopped a dozen
+times."
+
+"What did they do the other times--warn you?"
+
+"Warn me?" laughed Oliver. "What they did was to get in with me and
+ride a block or two, out of sight of the crowd; and then I slipped them
+a ten-dollar bill and they got out."
+
+To which Montague responded, "Oh, I see!"
+
+They turned into a broad macadamized road, and here were more autos,
+and more dust, and more racing. Now and then they crossed a trolley or
+a railroad track, and here was always a warning sign; but Oliver must
+have had some occult way of knowing that the track was clear, for he
+never seemed to slow up. Now and then they came to villages, and did
+reduce speed; but from the pace at which they went through, the
+villagers could not have suspected it.
+
+And then came another adventure. The road was in repair, and was very
+bad, and they were picking their way, when suddenly a young man who had
+been walking on a side path stepped out before them, and drew a red
+handkerchief from his pocket, and faced them, waving it. Oliver
+muttered an oath.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried his brother.
+
+"We're arrested!" he exclaimed.
+
+"What!" gasped the other. "Why, we were not going at all."
+
+"I know," said Oliver; "but they've got us all the same."
+
+He must have made up his mind at one glance that the case was hopeless,
+for he made no attempt to put on speed, but let the young man step
+aboard as they reached him.
+
+"What is it?" Oliver demanded.
+
+"I have been sent out by the Automobile Association," said the
+stranger, "to warn you that they have a trap set in the next town. So
+watch out."
+
+And Oliver gave a gasp, and said, "Oh! Thank you!" The young man
+stepped off, and they went ahead, and he lay back in his seat and shook
+with laughter.
+
+"Is that common?" his brother asked, between laughs.
+
+"It happened to me once before," said Oliver. "But I'd forgotten it
+completely."
+
+They proceeded very slowly; and when they came to the outskirts of the
+village they went at a funereal pace, while the car throbbed in
+protest. In front of a country store they saw a group of loungers
+watching them, and Oliver said, "There's the first part of the trap.
+They have a telephone, and somewhere beyond is a man with another
+telephone, and beyond that a man to stretch a rope across the road."
+
+"What would they do with you?" asked the other.
+
+"Haul you up before a justice of the peace, and fine you anywhere from
+fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars. It's regular highway
+robbery--there are some places that boast of never levying taxes; they
+get all their money out of us!"
+
+Oliver pulled out his watch. "We're going to be late to lunch, thanks
+to these delays," he said. He added that they were to meet at the
+"Hawk's Nest," which he said was an "automobile joint."
+
+Outside of the town they "hit it up" again; and half an hour later they
+came to a huge sign, "To the Hawk's Nest," and turned off. They ran up
+a hill, and came suddenly out of a pine-forest into view of a hostelry,
+perched upon the edge of a bluff overlooking the Sound. There was a
+broad yard in front, in which automobiles wheeled and sputtered, and a
+long shed that was lined with them.
+
+Half a dozen attendants ran to meet them as they drew up at the steps.
+They all knew Oliver, and two fell to brushing his coat, and one got
+his cap, while the mechanic took the car to the shed. Oliver had a tip
+for each of them; one of the things that Montague observed was that in
+New York you had to carry a pocketful of change, and scatter it about
+wherever you went. They tipped the man who carried their coats and the
+boy who opened the door. In the washrooms they tipped the boys who
+filled the basins for them and those who gave them a second brushing.
+
+The piazzas of the inn were crowded with automobiling parties, in all
+sorts of strange costumes. It seemed to Montague that most of them were
+flashy people--the men had red faces and the women had loud voices; he
+saw one in a sky-blue coat with bright scarlet facing. It occurred to
+him that if these women had not worn such large hats, they would not
+have needed quite such a supply of the bright-coloured veiling which
+they wound over the hats and tied under their chins, or left to float
+about in the breeze.
+
+The dining-room seemed to have been built in sections, rambling about
+on the summit of the cliff. The side of it facing the water was all
+glass, and could be taken down. The ceiling was a maze of streamers and
+Japanese lanterns, and here and there were orange-trees and palms and
+artificial streams and fountains. Every table was crowded, it seemed;
+one was half-deafened by the clatter of plates, the voices and
+laughter, and the uproar of a negro orchestra of banjos, mandolins, and
+guitars. Negro waiters flew here and there, and a huge, stout
+head-waiter, who was pirouetting and strutting, suddenly espied Oliver,
+and made for him with smiles of welcome.
+
+"Yes, sir--just come in, sir," he said, and led the way down the room,
+to where, in a corner, a table had been set for sixteen or eighteen
+people. There was a shout, "Here's Ollie!"--and a pounding of glasses
+and a chorus of welcome--"Hello, Ollie! You're late, Ollie! What's the
+matter--car broke down?"
+
+Of the party, about half were men and half women. Montague braced
+himself for the painful ordeal of being introduced to sixteen people in
+succession, but this was considerately spared him. He shook hands with
+Robbie Walling, a tall and rather hollow-chested young man, with slight
+yellow moustaches; and with Mrs. Robbie, who bade him welcome, and
+presented him with the freedom of the company.
+
+Then he found himself seated between two young ladies, with a waiter
+leaning over him to take his order for the drinks. He said, a little
+hesitatingly, that he would like some whisky, as he was about frozen,
+upon which the girl on his right, remarked, "You'd better try a
+champagne cocktail--you'll get your results quicker." She added, to the
+waiter, "Bring a couple of them, and be quick about it."
+
+"You had a cold ride, no doubt, in that low car," she went on, to
+Montague. "What made you late?"
+
+"We had some delays," he answered. "Once we thought we were arrested."
+
+"Arrested!" she exclaimed; and others took up the word, crying, "Oh,
+Ollie! tell us about it!"
+
+Oliver told the tale, and meantime his brother had a chance to look
+about him. All of the party were young--he judged that he was the
+oldest person there. They were not of the flashily dressed sort, but no
+one would have had to look twice to know that there was money in the
+crowd. They had had their first round of drinks, and started in to
+enjoy themselves. They were all intimates, calling each other by their
+first names. Montague noticed that these names always ended in
+"ie,"--there was Robbie and Freddie and Auggie and Clarrie and Bertie
+and Chappie; if their names could not be made to end properly, they had
+nicknames instead.
+
+"Ollie" told how they had distanced the policeman; and Clarrie Mason
+(one of the younger sons of the once mighty railroad king) told of a
+similar feat which his car had performed. And then the young lady who
+sat beside him told how a fat Irish woman had skipped out of their way
+as they rounded a corner, and stood and cursed them from the
+vantage-point of the sidewalk.
+
+The waiter came with the liquor, and Montague thanked his neighbour,
+Miss Price. Anabel Price was her name, and they called her "Billy"; she
+was a tall and splendidly formed creature, and he learned in due time
+that she was a famous athlete. She must have divined that he would feel
+a little lost in this crowd of intimates, and set to work to make him
+feel at home--an attempt in which she was not altogether successful.
+
+They were bound for a shooting-lodge, and so she asked him if he were
+fond of shooting. He replied that he was; in answer to a further
+question he said that he had hunted chiefly deer and wild turkey. "Ah,
+then you are a real hunter!" said Miss Price. "I'm afraid you'll scorn
+our way."
+
+"What do you do?" he inquired.
+
+"Wait and you'll see," replied she; and added, casually, "When you get
+to be pally with us, you'll conclude we don't furnish."
+
+Montague's jaw dropped just a little. He recovered himself, however,
+and said that he presumed so, or that he trusted not; afterward, when
+he had made inquiries and found out what he should have said, he had
+completely forgotten what he HAD said.--Down in a hotel in Natchez
+there was an old head-waiter, to whom Montague had once appealed to
+seat him next to a friend. At the next meal, learning that the request
+had been granted, he said to the old man, "I'm afraid you have shown me
+partiality"; to which the reply came, "I always tries to show it as
+much as I kin." Montague always thought of this whenever he recalled
+his first encounter with "Billy" Price.
+
+The young lady on the other side of him now remarked that Robbie was
+ordering another "topsy-turvy lunch." He inquired what sort of a lunch
+that was; she told him that Robbie called it a "digestion exercise."
+That was the only remark that Miss de Millo addressed to him during the
+meal (Miss Gladys de Mille, the banker's daughter, known as "Baby" to
+her intimates). She was a stout and round-faced girl, who devoted
+herself strictly to the business of lunching; and Montague noticed at
+the end that she was breathing rather hard, and that her big round eyes
+seemed bigger than ever.
+
+Conversation was general about the table, but it was not easy
+conversation to follow. It consisted mostly of what is known as
+"joshing," and involved acquaintance with intimate details of
+personalities and past events. Also, there was a great deal of slang
+used, which kept a stranger's wits on the jump. However, Montague
+concluded that all his deficiencies were made up for by his brother,
+whose sallies were the cause of the loudest laughter. Just now he
+seemed to the other more like the Oliver he had known of old--for
+Montague had already noted a change in him. At home there had never
+been any end to his gaiety and fun, and it was hard to get him to take
+anything seriously; but now he kept all his jokes for company, and when
+he was alone he was in deadly earnest. Apparently he was working hard
+over his pleasures.
+
+Montague could understand how this was possible. Some one, for
+instance, had worked hard over the ordering of the lunch--to secure the
+maximum of explosive effect. It began with ice-cream, moulded in fancy
+shapes and then buried in white of egg and baked brown. Then there was
+a turtle soup, thick and green and greasy; and then--horror of
+horrors--a great steaming plum-pudding. It was served in a strange
+phenomenon of a platter, with six long, silver legs; and the waiter set
+it in front of Robbie Walling and lifted the cover with a sweeping
+gesture--and then removed it and served it himself. Montague had about
+made up his mind that this was the end, and begun to fill up on
+bread-and-butter, when there appeared cold asparagus, served in
+individual silver holders resembling andirons. Then--appetite now being
+sufficiently whetted--there came quail, in piping hot little
+casseroles--; and then half a grape-fruit set in a block of ice and
+filled with wine; and then little squab ducklings, bursting fat, and an
+artichoke; and then a _caf� parfait_; and then--as if to crown the
+audacity--huge thick slices of roast beef! Montague had given up long
+ago--he could keep no track of the deluge of food which poured forth.
+And between all the courses there were wines of precious brands,
+tumbled helter-skelter,--sherry and port, champagne and claret and
+liqueur. Montague watched poor "Baby" de Mille out of the corner of his
+eye, and pitied her; for it was evident that she could not resist the
+impulse to eat whatever was put before her, and she was visibly
+suffering. He wondered whether he might not manage to divert her by
+conversation, but he lacked the courage to make the attempt.
+
+The meal was over at four o'clock. By that time most of the other
+parties were far on their way to New York, and the inn was deserted.
+They possessed themselves of their belongings, and one by one their
+cars whirled away toward "Black Forest."
+
+Montague had been told that it was a "shooting-lodge." He had a vision
+of some kind of a rustic shack, and wondered dimly how so many people
+would be stowed away. When they turned off the main road, and his
+brother remarked, "Here we are," he was surprised to see a rather large
+building of granite, with an archway spanning the road. He was still
+more surprised when they whizzed through and went on.
+
+"Where are we going?" he asked.
+
+"To 'Black Forest,'" said Oliver.
+
+"And what was that we passed?"
+
+"That was the gate-keeper's lodge," was Oliver's reply.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+They ran for about three miles upon a broad macadamized avenue, laid
+straight as an arrow's flight through the forest; and then the sound of
+the sea came to them, and before them was a mighty granite pile,
+looming grim in the twilight, with a draw-bridge and moat, and four
+great castellated towers. "Black Forest" was built in imitation of a
+famous old fortress in Provence--only the fortress had forty small
+rooms, and its modern prototype had seventy large ones, and now every
+window was blazing with lights. A man does not let himself be caught
+twice in such a blunder; and having visited a "shooting-lodge" which
+had cost three-quarters of a million dollars and was set in a preserve
+of ten thousand acres, he was prepared for Adirondack "camps" which had
+cost half a million and Newport "cottages" which had cost a million or
+two.
+
+Liveried servants took the car, and others opened the door and took
+their coats. The first thing they saw was a huge, fireplace, a
+fireplace a dozen feet across, made of great boulders, and with whole
+sections of a pine tree blazing in it. Underfoot was polished hardwood,
+with skins of bear and buffalo. The firelight flickered upon shields
+and battle-axes and broad-swords, hung upon the oaken pillars; while
+between them were tapestries, picturing the Song of Roland and the
+battle of Roncesvalles. One followed the pillars of the great hall to
+the vaulted roof, whose glass was glowing blood-red in the western
+light. A broad stairway ascended to the second floor, which opened upon
+galleries about the hall.
+
+Montague went to the fire, and stood rubbing his hands before the
+grateful blaze. "Scotch or Irish, sir?" inquired a lackey, hovering at
+his side. He had scarcely given his order when the door opened and a
+second motor load of the party appeared, shivering and rushing for the
+fire. In a couple of minutes they were all assembled--and roaring with
+laughter over "Baby" de Mille's account of how her car had run over a
+dachshund. "Oh, do you know," she cried, "he simply POPPED!"
+
+Half a dozen attendants hovered about, and soon the tables in the hall
+were covered with trays containing decanters and siphons. By this means
+everybody in the party was soon warmed up, and then in groups they
+scattered to amuse themselves.
+
+There was a great hall for indoor tennis, and there were half a dozen
+squash-courts. Montague knew neither of these games, but he was
+interested in watching the water-polo in the swimming-tank, and in
+studying the appointments of this part of the building. The tank, with
+the walls and floor about it, were all of marble; there was a bronze
+gallery running about it, from which one might gaze into the green
+depths of the water. There were luxurious dressing-rooms for men and
+women, with hot and cold needle-baths, steam-rooms with rubbers in
+attendance and weighing and lifting machines, electric machines for
+producing "violet rays," and electric air-blasts for the drying of the
+women's hair.
+
+He watched several games, in which men and women took part; and later
+on, when the tennis and other players appeared, he joined them in a
+plunge. Afterward, he entered one of the electric elevators and was
+escorted to his room, where he found his bag unpacked, and his evening
+attire laid out upon the bed.
+
+It was about nine when the party went into the dining-room, which
+opened upon a granite terrace and loggia facing the sea. The room was
+finished in some rare black wood, the name of which he did not know;
+soft radiance suffused it, and the table was lighted by electric
+candles set in silver sconces, and veiled by silk shades. It gleamed
+with its load of crystal and silver, set off by scattered groups of
+orchids and ferns. The repast of the afternoon had been simply a lunch,
+it seemed--and now they had an elaborate dinner, prepared by Robbie
+Walling's famous ten-thousand-dollar chef. In contrast with the uproar
+of the inn was the cloistral stillness of this dining-room, where the
+impassive footmen seemed to move on padded slippers, and the courses
+appeared and vanished as if by magic. Montague did his best to accustom
+himself to the gowns of the women, which were cut lower than any he had
+ever seen in his life; but he hesitated every time he turned to speak
+to the young lady beside him, because he could look so deep down into
+her bosom, and it was difficult for him to realize that she did not
+mind it.
+
+The conversation was the same as before, except that it was a little
+more general, and louder in tone; for the guests had become more
+intimate, and as Robbie Walling's wines of priceless vintage poured
+forth, they became a little "high." The young lady who sat on
+Montague's right was a Miss Vincent, a granddaughter of one of the
+sugar-kings; she was dark-skinned and slender, and had appeared at a
+recent lawn fete in the costume of an Indian maiden. The company amused
+itself by selecting an Indian name for her; all sorts of absurd ones
+were suggested, depending upon various intimate details of the young
+lady's personality and habits. Robbie caused a laugh by suggesting
+"Little Dewdrop"--it appeared that she had once been discovered writing
+a poem about a dewdrop; some one else suggested "Little Raindrop," and
+then Ollie brought down the house by exclaiming, "Little Raindrop in
+the Mud-puddle!" A perfect gale of laughter swept over the company, and
+it must have been a minute before they could recover their composure;
+in order to appreciate the humour of the sally it was necessary to know
+that Miss Vincent had "come a cropper" at the last meet of the Long
+Island Hunt Club, and been extricated from a slough several feet deep.
+
+This was explained to Montague by the young lady on his left--the one
+whose half-dressed condition caused his embarrassment. She was only
+about twenty, with a wealth of golden hair and the bright, innocent
+face of a child; he had not yet learned her name, for every one called
+her "Cherub." Not long after this she made a remark across the table to
+Baby de Mille, a strange jumble of syllables, which sounded like
+English, yet was not. Miss de Mille replied, and several joined in,
+until there was quite a conversation going on. "Cherub" explained to
+him that "Baby" had invented a secret language, made by transposing
+letters; and that Ollie and Bertie were crazy to guess the key to it,
+and could not.
+
+The dinner lasted until late. The wine-glasses continued to be emptied,
+and to be magically filled again. The laughter was louder, and now and
+then there were snatches of singing; women lolled about in their
+chairs-one beautiful boy sat gazing dreamily across the table at
+Montague, now and then closing his eyes, and opening them more and more
+reluctantly. The attendants moved about, impassive and silent as ever;
+no one else seemed to be cognizant of their existence, but Montague
+could not help noticing them, and wondering what they thought of it all.
+
+When at last the party broke up, it was because the bridge-players
+wished to get settled for the evening. The others gathered in front of
+the fireplace, and smoked and chatted. At home, when one planned a
+day's hunting, he went to bed early and rose before dawn; but here, it
+seemed, there was game a-plenty, and the hunters had nothing to
+consider save their own comfort.
+
+The cards were played in the vaulted "gun-room." Montague strolled
+through it, and his eye ran down the wall, lined with glass cases and
+filled with every sort of firearm known to the hunter. He recalled,
+with a twinge of self-abasement, that he had suggested bringing his
+shotgun along!
+
+He joined a group in one corner, and lounged in the shadows, and
+studied "Billy" Price, whose conversation had so mystified him.
+"Billy," whose father was a banker, proved to be a devotee of horses;
+she was a veritable Amazon, the one passion of whose life was glory.
+Seeing her sitting in this group, smoking cigarettes, and drinking
+highballs, and listening impassively to risqu� stories, one might
+easily draw base conclusions about Billy Price. But as a matter of fact
+she was made of marble; and the men, instead of falling in love with
+her, made her their confidante, and told her their troubles, and sought
+her sympathy and advice.
+
+Some of this was explained to Montague by a young lady, who, as the
+evening wore on, came in and placed herself beside him. "My name is
+Betty Wyman," she said, "and you and I will have to be friends, because
+Ollie's my side partner."
+
+Montague had to meet her advances; so had not much time to speculate as
+to what the term "side partner" might be supposed to convey. Betty was
+a radiant little creature, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, made of
+some soft and filmy and complicated material; there was a crimson rose
+in her hair, and a living glow of crimson in her cheeks. She was bright
+and quick, like a butterfly, full of strange whims and impulses;
+mischievous lights gleamed in her eyes and mischievous smiles played
+about her adorable little cherry lips. Some strange perfume haunted the
+filmy dress, and completed the bewilderment of the intended victim.
+
+"I have a letter of introduction to a Mr. Wyman in New York," said
+Montague. "Perhaps he is a relative of yours."
+
+"Is he a railroad president?" asked she; and when he answered in the
+affirmative, "Is he a railroad king?" she whispered, in a mocking,
+awe-stricken voice, "Is he rich--oh, rich as Solomon--and is he a
+terrible man, who eats people alive all the time?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague--"that must be the one."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "he has done me the honour to be my granddaddy; but
+don't you take any letter of introduction to him."
+
+"Why not?" asked he, perplexed.
+
+"Because he'll eat YOU," said the girl. "He hates Ollie."
+
+"Dear me," said the other; and the girl asked, "Do you mean that the
+boy hasn't said a word about me?"
+
+"No," said Montague--"I suppose he left it for you to do."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "it's like a fairy story. Do you ever read fairy
+stories? In this story there was a princess--oh, the most beautiful
+princess! Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "She wore a red rose in her hair."
+
+"And then," said the girl, "there was a young courtier--very handsome
+and gay; and they fell in love with each other. But the terrible old
+king--he wanted his daughter to wait a while, until he got through
+conquering his enemies, so that he might have time to pick out some
+prince or other, or maybe some ogre who was wasting his lands--do you
+follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said he. "And then did the beautiful princess pine away?"
+
+"Um--no," said Betty, pursing her lips. "But she had to dance terribly
+hard to keep from thinking about herself." Then she laughed, and
+exclaimed, "Dear me, we are getting poetical!" And next, looking sober
+again, "Do you know, I was half afraid to talk to you. Ollie tells me
+you're terribly serious. Are you?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague--but she broke in with a laugh, "We were
+talking about you at dinner last night. They had some whipped cream
+done up in funny little curliques, and Ollie said, 'Now, if my brother
+Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the man who fixed this cream,
+and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading "The
+Simple Life."' Is that true?"
+
+"It involves a question of literary criticism"--said Montague.
+
+"I don't want to talk about literature," exclaimed the other. In truth,
+she wanted nothing save to feel of his armour and find out if there
+were any weak spots through which he could be teased. Montague was to
+find in time that the adorable Miss Elizabeth was a very thorny species
+of rose--she was more like a gay-coloured wasp, of predatory
+temperament.
+
+"Ollie says you want to go down town and work," she went on. "I think
+you're awfully foolish. Isn't it much nicer to spend your time in an
+imitation castle like this?"
+
+"Perhaps," said he, "but I haven't any castle."
+
+"You might get one," answered Betty. "Stay around awhile and let us
+marry you to a nice girl. They will all throw themselves at your feet,
+you know, for you have such a delicious melting voice, and you look
+romantic and exciting." (Montague made a note to inquire whether it was
+customary in New York to talk about you so frankly to your face.)
+
+Miss Betty was surveying him quizzically meantime. "I don't know," she
+said. "On second thoughts, maybe you'll frighten the girls. Then it'll
+be the married women who'll fall in love with you. You'll have to watch
+out."
+
+"I've already been told that by my tailor," said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+"That would be a still quicker way of making your fortune," said she.
+"But I don't think you'd fit in the r�le of a tame cat."
+
+"A _what_?" he exclaimed; and Miss Betty laughed.
+
+"Don't you know what that is? Dear me--how charmingly naive! But
+perhaps you'd better get Ollie to explain for you."
+
+That brought the conversation to the subject of slang; and Montague, in
+a sudden burst of confidence, asked for an interpretation of Miss
+Price's cryptic utterance. "She said"--he repeated slowly--"that when I
+got to be pally with her, I'd conclude she didn't furnish."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Miss Wyman. "She just meant that when you knew her,
+you'd be disappointed. You see, she picks up all the race-track
+slang--one can't help it, you know. And last year she took her coach
+over to England, and so she's got all the English slang. That makes it
+hard, even for us."
+
+And then Betty sailed in to entertain him with little sketches of other
+members of the party. A phenomenon that had struck Montague immediately
+was the extraordinary freedom with which everybody in New York
+discussed everybody else. As a matter of fact, one seldom discussed
+anything else; and it made not the least difference, though the person
+were one of your set,--though he ate your bread and salt, and you ate
+his,--still you would amuse yourself by pouring forth the most painful
+and humiliating and terrifying things about him.
+
+There was poor Clarrie Mason: Clarrie, sitting in at bridge, with an
+expression of feverish eagerness upon his pale face. Clarrie always
+lost, and it positively broke his heart, though he had ten millions
+laid by on ice. Clarrie went about all day, bemoaning his brother, who
+had been kidnapped. Had Montague not heard about it? Well, the
+newspapers called it a marriage, but it was really a kidnapping. Poor
+Larry Mason was good-natured and weak in the knees, and he had been
+carried off by a terrible creature, three times as big as himself, and
+with a temper like--oh, there were no words for it! She had been an
+actress; and now she had carried Larry away in her talons, and was
+building a big castle to keep him in--for he had ten millions too, alas!
+
+And then there was Bertie Stuyvesant, beautiful and winning--the boy
+who had sat opposite Montague at dinner. Bertie's father had been a
+coal man, and nobody knew how many millions he had left. Bertie was
+gay; last week he had invited them to a brook-trout breakfast--in
+November--and that had been a lark! Somebody had told him that trout
+never really tasted good unless you caught them yourself, and Bertie
+had suddenly resolved to catch them for that breakfast. "They have a
+big preserve up in the Adirondacks," said Betty; "and Bertie ordered
+his private train, and he and Chappie de Peyster and some others
+started that night; they drove I don't know how many miles the next
+day, and caught a pile of trout--and we had them for breakfast the next
+morning! The best joke of all is that Chappie vows they were so full
+they couldn't fish, and that the trout were caught with nets! Poor
+Bertie--somebody'll have to separate him from that decanter now!"
+
+From the hall there came loud laughter, with sounds of scuffling, and
+cries, "Let me have it!"--"That's Baby de Mille," said Miss Wyman.
+"She's always wanting to rough-house it. Robbie was mad the last time
+she was down here; she got to throwing sofa-cushions, and upset a vase."
+
+"Isn't that supposed to be good form?" asked Montague.
+
+"Not at Robbie's," said she. "Have you had a chance to talk with Robbie
+yet? You'll like him--he's serious, like you."
+
+"What's he serious about?"
+
+"About spending his money," said Betty. "That's the only thing he has
+to be serious about."
+
+"Has he got so very much?"
+
+"Thirty or forty millions," she replied; "but then, you see, a lot of
+it's in the inner companies of his railroad system, and it pays him
+fabulously. And his wife has money, too--she was a Miss Mason, you
+know, her father's one of the steel crowd. We've a saying that there
+are millionaires, and then multi-millionaires, and then Pittsburg
+millionaires. Anyhow, the two of them spend all their income in
+entertaining. It's Robbie's fad to play the perfect host--he likes to
+have lots of people round him. He does put up good times--only he's so
+very important about it, and he has so many ideas of what is proper! I
+guess most of his set would rather go to Mrs. Jack Warden's any day;
+I'd be there to-night, if it hadn't been for Ollie."
+
+"Who's Mrs. Jack Warden?" asked Montague.
+
+"Haven't you ever heard of her?" said Betty. "She used to be Mrs. van
+Ambridge, and then she got a divorce and married Warden, the big lumber
+man. She used to give 'boy and girl' parties, in the English fashion;
+and when we went there we'd do as we please--play tag all over the
+house, and have pillow-fights, and ransack the closets and get up
+masquerades! Mrs. Warden's as good-natured as an old cow. You'll meet
+her sometime--only don't you let her fool you with those soft eyes of
+hers. You'll find she doesn't mean it; it's just that she likes to have
+handsome men hanging round her."
+
+At one o'clock a few of Robbie's guests went to bed, Montague among
+them. He left two tables of bridge fiends sitting immobile, the women
+with flushed faces and feverish hands, and the men with cigarettes
+dangling from their lips. There were trays and decanters beside each
+card-table; and in the hall he passed three youths staggering about in
+each other's arms and feebly singing snatches of "coon songs." Ollie
+and Betty had strolled away together to parts unknown.
+
+Montague had entered his name in the order-book to be called at nine
+o'clock. The man who awakened him brought him coffee and cream upon a
+silver tray, and asked him if he would have anything stronger. He was
+privileged to have his breakfast in his room, if he wished; but he went
+downstairs, trying his best to feel natural in his elaborate hunting
+costume. No one else had appeared yet, but he found the traces of last
+night cleared away, and breakfast ready--served in English fashion,
+with urns of tea and coffee upon the buffet. The grave butler and his
+satellites were in attendance, ready to take his order for anything
+else under the sun that he fancied.
+
+Montague preferred to go for a stroll upon the terrace, and to watch
+the sunlight sparkling upon the sea. The morning was
+beautiful--everything about the place was so beautiful that he wondered
+how men and women could live here and not feel the spell of it.
+
+Billy Price came down shortly afterward, clad in a khaki hunting suit,
+with knee kilts and button-pockets and gun-pads and Cossack
+cartridge-loops. She joined him in a stroll down the beach, and talked
+to him about the coming winter season, with its leading personalities
+and events,--the Horse Show, which opened next week, and the prospects
+for the opera, and Mrs. de Graffenried's opening entertainment. When
+they came back it was eleven o'clock, and they found most of the guests
+assembled, nearly all of them looking a little pale and uncomfortable
+in the merciless morning light. As the two came in they observed Bertie
+Stuyvesant standing by the buffet, in the act of gulping down a tumbler
+of brandy. "Bertie has taken up the 'no breakfast fad,'" said Billy
+with an ironical smile.
+
+Then began the hunt. The equipment of "Black Forest" included a granite
+building, steam-heated and elaborately fitted, in which an English
+expert and his assistants raised imported pheasants--magnificent
+bronze-coloured birds with long, floating black tails. Just before the
+opening of the season they were dumped by thousands into the
+covers--fat, and almost tame enough to be fed by hand; and now came the
+"hunters."
+
+First they drew lots, for they were to hunt in pairs, a man and a
+woman. Montague drew Miss Vincent--"Little Raindrop in the Mud-puddle."
+Then Ollie, who was master of ceremonies, placed them in a long line,
+and gave them the direction; and at a signal they moved through the
+forest; Following each person were two attendants, to carry the extra
+guns and reload them; and out in front were men to beat the bushes and
+scare the birds into flight.
+
+Now Montague's idea of hunting had been to steal through the bayou
+forests, and match his eyes against those of the wild turkey, and shoot
+off their heads with a rifle bullet. So, when one of these birds rose
+in front of him, he fired, and the bird dropped; and he could have done
+it for ever, he judged--only it was stupid slaughter, and it sickened
+him. However, if the creatures were not shot, they must inevitably
+perish in the winter snows; and he had heard that Robbie sent the game
+to the hospitals. Also, the score was being kept, and Miss Vincent, who
+was something of a shot herself, was watching him with eager
+excitement, being wild with desire to beat out Billy Price and Chappie
+de Peyster, who were the champion shots of the company. Baby de Mille,
+who was on his left, and who could not shoot at all, was blundering
+along, puffing for breath and eyeing him enviously; and the attendants
+at his back were trembling with delight and murmuring their applause.
+So he shot on, as long as the drive lasted, and again on their way
+back, over a new stretch of the country. Sometimes the birds would rise
+in pairs, and he would drop them both; and twice when a blundering
+flock took flight in his direction he seized a second gun and brought
+down a second pair. When the day's sport came to an end his score was
+fifteen better than his nearest competitor, and he and his partner had
+won the day.
+
+They crowded round to congratulate him; first his partner, and then his
+rivals, and his host and hostess. Montague found that he had suddenly
+become a person of consequence. Some who had previously taken no notice
+of him now became aware of his existence; proud society belles
+condescended to make conversation with him, and Clarrie Mason, who
+hated de Peyster, made note of a way to annoy him. As for Oliver, he
+was radiant with delight. "When it came to horses and guns, I knew
+you'd make good," he whispered.
+
+Leaving the game to be gathered up in carts, they made their way home,
+and there the two victors received their prizes. The man's consisted of
+a shaving set in a case of solid gold, set with diamonds. Montague was
+simply stunned, for the thing could not have cost less than one or two
+thousand dollars. He could not persuade himself that he had a right to
+accept of such hospitality, which he could never hope to return. He was
+to realize in time that Robbie lived for the pleasure of thus
+humiliating his fellow-men.
+
+After luncheon, the party came to an end. Some set out to return as
+they had come; and others, who had dinner engagements, went back with
+their host in his private car, leaving their autos to be returned by
+the chauffeurs. Montague and his brother were among these; and about
+dusk, when the swarms of working people were pouring out of the city,
+they crossed the ferry and took a cab to their hotel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+They found their apartments looking as if they had been struck by a
+snowstorm-a storm of red and green and yellow, and all the colours that
+lie between. All day the wagons of fashionable milliners and costumiers
+had been stopping at the door, and their contents had found their way
+to Alice's room. The floors were ankle-deep in tissue paper and tape,
+and beds and couches and chairs were covered with boxes, in which lay
+wonderful symphonies of colour, half disclosed in their wrappings of
+gauze. In the midst of it all stood the girl, her eyes shining with
+excitement.
+
+"Oh, Allan!" she cried, as they entered. "How am I ever to thank you?"
+
+"You're not to thank me," Montague replied. "This is all Oliver's
+doings."
+
+"Oliver!" exclaimed the girl, and turned to him. "How in the world
+could you do it?" she cried. "How will you ever get the money to pay
+for it all?"
+
+"That's my problem," said the man, laughing. "All you have to think
+about is to look beautiful."
+
+"If I don't," was her reply, "it won't be for lack of clothes. I never
+saw so many wonderful things in all my life as I've seen to-day."
+
+"There's quite a show of them," admitted Oliver.
+
+"And Reggie Mann! It was so queer, Allan! I never went shopping with a
+man before. And he's so--so matter-of-fact. You know, he bought
+me--everything!"
+
+"That was what he was told to do," said Oliver. "Did you like him?"
+
+"I don't know," said the girl. "He's queer--I never met a man like that
+before. But he was awfully kind; and the people just turned their
+stores inside out for us--half a dozen people hurrying about to wait on
+you at once!"
+
+"You'll get used to such things," said Oliver; and then, stepping
+toward the bed, "Let's see what you got."
+
+"Most of the things haven't come," said Alice. "The gowns all have to
+be fitted.--That one is for to-night," she added, as he lifted up a
+beautiful object made of rose-coloured chiffon.
+
+Oliver studied it, and glanced once or twice at the girl. "I guess you
+can carry it," he said. "What sort of a cloak are you to wear?"
+
+"Oh, the cloak!" cried Alice. "Oliver, I can't believe it's really to
+belong to me. I didn't know anyone but princesses wore such things."
+
+The cloak was in Mrs. Montague's room, and one of the maids brought it
+in. It was an opera-wrap of grey brocade, lined with unborn baby
+lamb--a thing of a gorgeousness that made Montague literally gasp for
+breath.
+
+"Did you ever see anything like it in your life?" cried Alice. "And
+Oliver, is it true that I have to have gloves and shoes and
+stockings--and a hat--to match every gown?"
+
+"Of course." said Oliver. "If you were doing things right, you ought to
+have a cloak to match each evening gown as well."
+
+"It seems incredible," said the girl. "Can it be right to spend so much
+money for things to wear?"
+
+But Oliver was not discussing questions of ethics; he was examining
+sets of tinted crepe de chine lingerie, and hand-woven hose of spun
+silk. There were boxes upon boxes, and bureau drawers and closet
+shelves already filled up with hand-embroidered and lace-trimmed
+creations-chemises and corset-covers, night-robes of "handkerchief
+linen" lawn, lace handkerchiefs and veils, corsets of French coutil,
+dressing-jackets of pale-coloured silks, and negligees of soft
+batistes, trimmed with Valenciennes lace, or even with fur.
+
+"You must have put in a full day," he said.
+
+"I never looked at so many things in my life," said Alice. "And Mr.
+Mann never stopped to ask the price of a thing."
+
+"I didn't think to tell him to," said Oliver, laughing.
+
+Then the girl went in to dress--and Oliver faced about to find his
+brother sitting and staring hard at him.
+
+"Tell me!" Montague exclaimed. "In God's name, what is all this to
+cost?"
+
+"I don't know," said Oliver, impassively. "I haven't seen the bills.
+It'll be fifteen or twenty thousand, I guess."
+
+Montague's hands clenched involuntarily, and he sat rigid. "How long
+will it all last her?" he asked.
+
+"Why," said the other, "when she gets enough, it'll last her until
+spring, of course--unless she goes South during the winter."
+
+"How much is it going to take to dress her for a year?"
+
+"I suppose thirty or forty thousand," was the reply. "I don't expect to
+keep count."
+
+Montague sat in silence. "You don't want to shut her up and keep her at
+home, do you?" inquired his brother, at last.
+
+"Do you mean that other women spend that much on clothes?" he demanded.
+
+"Of course," said Oliver, "hundreds of them. Some spend fifty
+thousand--I know several who go over a hundred."
+
+"It's monstrous!" Montague exclaimed.
+
+"Fiddlesticks!" was the other's response. "Why, thousands of people
+live by it--wouldn't know anything else to do."
+
+Montague said nothing to that. "Can you afford to have Alice compete
+with such women indefinitely?" he asked.
+
+"I have no idea of her doing it indefinitely," was Oliver's reply. "I
+simply propose to give her a chance. When she's married, her bills will
+be paid by her husband."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "then this layout is just for her to be exhibited
+in."
+
+"You may say that," answered Oliver,--"if you want to be foolish. You
+know perfectly well that parents who launch their daughters in Society
+don't figure on keeping up the pace all their lifetimes."
+
+"We hadn't thought of marrying Alice off," said Montague.
+
+To which his brother replied that the best physicians left all they
+could to nature. "Suppose," said he, "that we just introduce her in the
+right set, and turn her loose and let her enjoy herself--and then cross
+the next bridge when we come to it?"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, pondering.' He was beginning to see a
+little daylight now. "Oliver," he asked suddenly, "are you sure the
+stakes in this game aren't too big?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Will you be able to stay in until the show-down? Until either Alice or
+myself begins to bring in some returns?"
+
+"Never worry about that," said the other, with a laugh.
+
+"But hadn't you better take me into your confidence?" Montague
+persisted. "How many weeks can you pay our rent in this place? Have you
+got the money to pay for all these clothes?"
+
+"I've got it," laughed the other--"but that doesn't say I'm going to
+pay it."
+
+"Don't you have to pay your bills? Can we do all this upon credit?"
+
+Oliver laughed again. "You go at me like a prosecuting attorney," he
+said. "I'm afraid you'll have to inquire around and learn some respect
+for your brother." Then he added, seriously, "You see, Allan, people
+like Reggie or myself are in position to bring a great deal of custom
+to tradespeople, and so they are willing to go out of their way to
+oblige us. And we have commissions of all sorts coming to us, so it's
+never any question of cash."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the other, opening his eyes, "I see! Is that the way
+you make money?"
+
+"It's one of the ways we save it," said Oliver. "It comes to the same
+thing."
+
+"Do people know it?"
+
+"Why, of course. Why not?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague. "It sounds a little queer."
+
+"Nothing of the kind," said Oliver. "Some of the best people in New
+York do it. Strangers come to the city, and they want to go to the
+right places, and they ask me, and I send them. Or take Robbie Walling,
+who keeps up five or six establishments, and spends several millions a
+year. He can't see to it all personally--if he did, he'd never do
+anything else. Why shouldn't he ask a friend to attend to things for
+him? Or again, a new shop opens, and they want Mrs. Walling's trade for
+the sake of the advertising, and they offer her a discount and me a
+commission. Why shouldn't I get her to try them?"
+
+"It's quite intricate," commented the other. "The stores have more than
+one price, then?"
+
+"They have as many prices as they have customers," was the answer. "Why
+shouldn't they? New York is full of raw rich people who value things by
+what they pay. And why shouldn't they pay high and be happy? That
+opera-cloak that Alice has--Reval promised it to me for two thousand,
+and I'll wager you she'd charge some woman from Butte, Montana,
+thirty-five hundred for one just like it."
+
+Montague got up suddenly. "Stop," he said, waving his hands. "You take
+all the bloom off the butterfly's wings!"
+
+He asked where they were going that evening, and Oliver said that they
+were invited to an informal dinner-party at Mrs. Winnie Duval's. Mrs.
+Winnie was the young widow who had recently married the founder of the
+great banking-house of Puval and Co.--so Oliver explained; she was a
+chum of his, and they would meet an interesting set there. She was
+going to invite her cousin, Charlie Carter--she wanted him to meet
+Alice. "Mrs. Winnie's always plotting to get Charlie to settle down,"
+said Oliver, with a merry laugh.
+
+He telephoned for his man to bring over his clothes, and he and his
+brother dressed. Then Alice came in, looking like the goddess of the
+dawn in the gorgeous rose-coloured gown. The colour in her cheeks was
+even brighter than usual; for she was staggered to find how low the
+gown was cut, and was afraid she was committing a faux pas. "Tell me
+about it," she stammered. "Mammy Lucy says I'm surely supposed to wear
+some lace, or a bouquet."
+
+"Mammy Lucy isn't a Paris costumier," said Oliver, much amused. "Dear
+me--wait until you have seen Mrs. Winnie!"
+
+Mrs. Winnie had kindly sent her limousine car for them, and it stood
+throbbing in front of the hotel-entrance, its acetylenes streaming far
+up the street. Mrs. Winnie's home was on Fifth Avenue, fronting the
+park. It occupied half a block, and had cost two millions to build and
+furnish. It was known as the "Snow Palace," being all of white marble.
+
+At the curb a man in livery opened the door of the car, and in the
+vestibule another man in livery bowed the way. Lined up just inside the
+door was a corps of imposing personages, clad in scarlet waistcoats and
+velvet knee-breeches, with powdered wigs, and gold buttons, and gold
+buckles on their patent-leather pumps. These splendid creatures took
+their wraps, and then presented to Montague and Oliver a bouquet of
+flowers upon a silver salver, and upon another salver a tiny envelope
+bearing the name of their partner at this strictly "informal"
+dinner-party. Then the functionaries stood out of the way and permitted
+them to view the dazzling splendour of the entrance hall of the Snow
+Palace. There was a great marble staircase running up from the centre
+of the hall, with a carved marble gallery above, and a marble fireplace
+below. To decorate this mansion a real palace in the Punjab had been
+bought outright and plundered; there were mosaics of jade, and
+wonderful black marble, and rare woods, and strange and perplexing
+carvings.
+
+The head butler stood at the entrance to the salon, pronouncing their
+names; and just inside was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+Montague never forgot that first vision of her; she might have been a
+real princess out of the palace in the Punjab. She was a brunette,
+rich-coloured, full-throated and deep-bosomed, with scarlet lips, and
+black hair and eyes. She wore a court-gown of cloth of silver, with
+white kid shoes embroidered with jewelled flowers. All her life she had
+been collecting large turquoises, and these she had made into a tiara,
+and a neck ornament spreading over her chest, and a stomacher. Each of
+these stones was mounted with diamonds, and set upon a slender wire. So
+as she moved they quivered and shimmered, and the effect was dazzling,
+barbaric.
+
+She must have seen that Montague was staggered, for she gave him a
+little extra pressure of the hand, and said, "I'm so glad you came.
+Ollie has told me all about you." Her voice was soft and melting, not
+so forbidding as her garb.
+
+Montague ran the gauntlet of the other guests: Charlie Carter, a
+beautiful, dark-haired boy, having the features of a Greek god, but a
+sallow and unpleasant complexion; Major "Bob" Venable, a stout little
+gentleman with a red face and a heavy jowl; Mrs. Frank Landis, a
+merry-eyed young widow with pink cheeks and auburn hair; Willie Davis,
+who had been a famous half-back, and was now junior partner in the
+banking-house; and two young married couples, whose names Montague
+missed.
+
+The name written on his card was Mrs. Alden. She came in just after
+him--a matron of about fifty, of vigorous aspect and ample figure,
+approaching what he had not yet learned to call embonpoint. She wore
+brocade, as became a grave dowager, and upon her ample bosom there lay
+an ornament the size of a man's hand, and made wholly out of blazing
+diamonds--the most imposing affair that Montague had ever laid eyes
+upon. She gave him her hand to shake, and made no attempt to disguise
+the fact that she was looking him over in the meantime.
+
+"Madam, dinner is served," said the stately butler; and the glittering
+procession moved into the dining-room--a huge state apartment, finished
+in some lustrous jet-black wood, and with great panel paintings
+illustrating the Romaunt de la Rose. The table was covered with a cloth
+of French embroidery, and gleaming with its load of crystal and gold
+plate. At either end there were huge candlesticks of solid gold, and in
+the centre a mound of orchids and lilies of the valley, matching in
+colour the shades of the candelabra and the daintily painted menu cards.
+
+"You are fortunate in coming to New York late in life," Mrs. Alden was
+saying to him. "Most of our young men are tired out before they have
+sense enough to enjoy anything. Take my advice and look about
+you--don't let that lively brother of yours set the pace for you."
+
+In front of Mrs. Alden there was a decanter of Scotch whisky. "Will you
+have some?" she asked, as she took it up.
+
+"No, I thank you," said he, and then wondered if perhaps he should not
+have said yes, as he watched the other select the largest of the
+half-dozen wine-glasses clustered at her place, and pour herself out a
+generous libation.
+
+"Have you seen much of the city?" she asked, as she tossed it
+off--without as much as a quiver of an eyelash.
+
+"No," said he. "They have not given me much time. They took me off to
+the country--to the Robert Wallings'."
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Alden; and Montague, struggling to make conversation,
+inquired, "Do you know Mr. Walling?"
+
+"Quite well," said the other, placidly. "I used to be a Walling myself,
+you know."
+
+"Oh," said Montague, taken aback; and then added, "Before you were
+married?"
+
+"No," said Mrs. Alden, more placidly than ever, "before I was divorced."
+
+There was a dead silence, and Montague sat gasping to catch his breath.
+Then suddenly he heard a faint subdued chuckle, which grew into open
+laughter; and he stole a glance at Mrs. Alden, and saw that her eyes
+were twinkling; and then he began to laugh himself. They laughed
+together, so merrily that others at the table began to look at them in
+perplexity.
+
+So the ice was broken between them; which filled Montague with a vast
+relief. But he was still dimly touched with awe--for he realized that
+this must be the great Mrs. Billy Alden, whose engagement to the Duke
+of London was now the topic of the whole country. And that huge diamond
+ornament must be part of Mrs. Alden's million-dollar outfit of
+jewellery!
+
+The great lady volunteered not to tell on him; and added generously
+that when he came to dinner with her she would post him concerning the
+company. "It's awkward for a stranger, I can understand," said she; and
+continued, grimly: "When people get divorces it sometimes means that
+they have quarrelled--and they don't always make it up afterward,
+either. And sometimes other people quarrel--almost as bitterly as if
+they had been married. Many a hostess has had her reputation ruined by
+not keeping track of such things."
+
+So Montague made the discovery that the great Mrs. Billy, though.
+forbidding of aspect, was good-natured when she chose to be, and with a
+pretty wit. She was a woman with a mind of her own--a hard-fighting
+character, who had marshalled those about her, and taken her place at
+the head of the column. She had always counted herself a personage
+enough to do exactly as she pleased; through the course of the dinner
+she would take up the decanter of Scotch, and make a pass to help
+Montague--and then, when he declined, pour out imperturbably what she
+wanted. "I don't like your brother," she said to him, a little later.
+"He won't last; but he tells me you're different, so maybe I will like
+you. Come and see me sometime, and let me tell you what not to do in
+New York."
+
+Then Montague turned to talk with his hostess, who sat on his right.
+
+"Do you play bridge?" asked Mrs. Winnie, in her softest and most
+gracious tone.
+
+"My brother has given me a book to study from," he answered. "But if he
+takes me about day and night, I don't know how I'm to manage it."
+
+"Come and let me teach you," said Mrs. Winnie. "I mean it, really," she
+added. "I've nothing to do--at least that I'm not tired of. Only I
+don't believe you'd take long to learn all that I know."
+
+"Aren't you a successful player?" he asked sympathetically.
+
+"I don't believe anyone wants me to learn," said Mrs. Winnie.--"They'd
+rather come and get my money. Isn't that true, Major?"
+
+Major Venable sat on her other hand, and he paused in the act of
+raising a spoonful of soup to his lips, and laughed, deep down in his
+throat--a queer little laugh that shook his fat cheeks and neck. "I may
+say," he said, "that I know several people to whom the status quo is
+satisfactory."
+
+"Including yourself," said the lady, with a little moue. "The wretched
+man won sixteen hundred dollars from me last night; and he sat in his
+club window all afternoon, just to have the pleasure of laughing at me
+as I went by. I don't believe I'll play at all to-night--I'm going to
+make myself agreeable to Mr. Montague, and let you win from Virginia
+Landis for a change."
+
+And then the Major paused again in his attack upon the soup. "My dear
+Mrs. Winnie," he said, "I can live for much more than one day upon
+sixteen hundred dollars!"
+
+The Major was a famous club-man and bon vivant, as Montague learned
+later on. "He's an uncle of Mrs. Bobbie Walling's," said Mrs. Alden, in
+his ear. "And incidentally they hate each other like poison."
+
+"That is so that I won't repeat my luckless question again?" asked
+Montague, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, they meet," said the other. "You wouldn't be supposed to know
+that. Won't you have any Scotch?"
+
+Montague's thoughts were so much taken up with the people at this
+repast that he gave little thought to the food. He noticed with
+surprise that they had real spring lamb--it being the middle of
+November. But he could not know that the six-weeks-old creatures from
+which it had come had been raised in cotton-wool and fed on milk with a
+spoon--and had cost a dollar and a half a pound. A little later,
+however, there was placed before him a delicately browned sweetbread
+upon a platter of gold, and then suddenly he began to pay attention.
+Mrs. Winnie had a coat of arms; he had noticed it upon her auto, and
+again upon the great bronze gates of the Snow Palace, and again upon
+the liveries of her footmen, and yet again upon the decanter of Scotch.
+And now--incredible and appalling--he observed it branded upon the
+delicately browned sweetbread!
+
+After that, who would not have watched? There were large dishes of rare
+fruits upon the table--fruits which had been packed in cotton wool and
+shipped in cold storage from every corner of the earth. There were
+peaches which had come from South Africa (they had cost ten dollars
+apiece). There were bunches of Hamburg grapes, dark purple and bursting
+fat, which had been grown in a hot-house, wrapped in paper bags. There
+were nectarines and plums, and pomegranates and persimmons from Japan,
+and later on, little dishes of plump strawberries-raised in pots. There
+were quail which had come from Egypt, and a wonderful thing called
+"crab-flake a la Dewey," cooked in a chafing-dish, and served with
+mushrooms that had been grown in the tunnels of abandoned mines in
+Michigan. There was lettuce raised by electric light, and lima beans
+that had come from Porto Rico, and artichokes brought from France at a
+cost of one dollar each.--And all these extraordinary viands were
+washed down by eight or nine varieties of wines, from the cellar of a
+man who had made collecting them a fad for the last thirty years, who
+had a vineyard in France for the growing of his own champagne, and kept
+twenty thousand quarts of claret in storage all the time--and procured
+his Rhine wine from the cellar of the German Emperor, at a cost of
+twenty-five dollars a quart!
+
+There were twelve people at dinner, and afterward they made two tables
+for bridge, leaving Charlie Carter to talk to Alice, and Mrs. Winnie to
+devote herself to Montague, according to her promise. "Everybody likes
+to see my house," she said. "Would you?" And she led the way from the
+dining-room into the great conservatory, which formed a central court
+extending to the roof of the building. She pressed a button, and a soft
+radiance streamed down from above, in the midst of which Mrs. Winnie
+stood, with her shimmering jewels a very goddess of the fire.
+
+The conservatory was a place in which he could have spent the evening;
+it was filled with the most extraordinary varieties of plants. "They
+were gathered from all over the world," said Mrs. Winnie, seeing that
+he was staring at them. "My husband employed a connoisseur to hunt them
+out for him. He did it before we were married--he thought it would make
+me happy."
+
+In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen
+feet in height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the
+touch of a button the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and one
+might see scores of rare and beautiful fish swimming about.
+
+"Isn't it fine!" said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly, "Do you know, I
+come here at night, sometimes when I can't sleep, and sit for hours and
+gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary forms-some of
+them have faces, and look like human beings! And I wonder what they
+think about, and if life seems as strange to them as it does to me."
+
+She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. "These fish
+were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him Buzzie. Have
+you met him yet?--No, of course not. He's Charlie's brother, and he
+collects art things--the most unbelievable things. Once, a long time
+ago, he took a fad for goldfish--some goldfish are very rare and
+beautiful, you know--one can pay twenty-five and fifty dollars apiece
+for them. He got all the dealers had, and when he learned that there
+were some they couldn't get, he took a trip to Japan and China on
+purpose to get them. You know they raise them there, and some of them
+are sacred, and not allowed to be sold or taken out of the country. And
+he had all sorts of carved ivory receptacles for them, that he brought
+home with him--he had one beautiful marble basin about ten feet long,
+that had been stolen from the Emperor."
+
+Over Montague's shoulder where he sat, there hung an orchid, a most
+curious creation, an explosion of scarlet flame. "That is the
+odonto-glossum," said Mrs. Winnie. "Have you heard of it?"
+
+"Never," said the man.
+
+"Dear me," said the other. "Such is fame!"
+
+"Is it supposed to be famous?" he asked.
+
+"Very," she replied. "There was a lot in the newspapers about it. You
+see Winton--that's my husband, you know--paid twenty-five thousand
+dollars to the man who created it; and that made a lot of foolish
+talk--people come from all over to look at it. I wanted to have it,
+because its shape is exactly like the coronet on my crest. Do you
+notice that?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "It's curious."
+
+"I'm very proud of my crest," continued Mrs. Winnie. "Of course there
+are vulgar rich people who have them made to order, and make them
+ridiculous; but ours is a real one. It's my own--not my husband's; the
+Duvals are an old French family, but they're not noble. I was a Morris,
+you know, and our line runs back to the old French ducal house of
+Montmorenci. And last summer, when we were motoring, I hunted up one of
+their chateaux; and see! I brought over this."
+
+Mrs. Winnie pointed to a suit of armour, placed in a passage leading to
+the billiard-room. "I have had the lights fixed," she added. And she
+pressed a button, and all illumination vanished, save for a faint red
+glow just above the man in armour.
+
+"Doesn't he look real?" said she. (He had his visor down, and a
+battle-axe in his mailed hands.) "I like to imagine that he may have
+been my twentieth great-grandfather. I come and sit here, and gaze at
+him and shiver. Think what a terrible time it must have been to live
+in--when men wore things like that! It couldn't be any worse to be a
+crab."
+
+"You seem to be fond of strange emotions," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Maybe I am," said the other. "I like everything that's old and
+romantic, and makes you forget this stupid society world."
+
+She stood brooding for a moment or two, gazing at the figure. Then she
+asked, abruptly, "Which do you like best, pictures or swimming?"
+
+"Why," replied the man, laughing and perplexed, "I like them both, at
+times."
+
+"I wondered which you'd rather see first," explained his escort; "the
+art gallery or the natatorium. I'm afraid you'll get tired before
+you've seen every thing."
+
+"Suppose we begin with the art-gallery," said he. "There's not much to
+see in a swimming-pool."
+
+"Ah, but ours is a very special one," said the lady.--"And some day, if
+you'll be very good, and promise not to tell anyone, I'll let you see
+my own bath. Perhaps they've told you, I have one in my own apartments,
+cut out of a block of the most wonderful green marble."
+
+Montague showed the expected amount of astonishment.
+
+"Of course that gave the dreadful newspapers another chance to gossip,"
+said Mrs. Winnie, plaintively. "People found out what I had paid for
+it. One can't have anything beautiful without that question being
+asked."
+
+And then followed a silence, while Mrs. Winnie waited for him to ask
+it. As he forebore to do so, she added, "It was fifty thousand dollars."
+
+They were moving towards the elevator, where a small boy in the
+wonderful livery of plush and scarlet stood at attention. "Sometimes,"
+she continued, "it seems to me that it is wicked to pay such prices for
+things. Have you ever thought about it?"
+
+"Occasionally," Montague replied.
+
+"Of course," said she, "it makes work for people; and I suppose they
+can't be better employed than in making beautiful things. But
+sometimes, when I think of all the poverty there is, I get unhappy. We
+have a winter place down South--one of those huge country-houses that
+look like exposition buildings, and have rooms for a hundred guests;
+and sometimes I go driving by myself, down to the mill towns, and go
+through them and talk to the children. I came to know some of them
+quite well--poor little wretches."
+
+They stepped out of the elevator, and moved toward the art-gallery. "It
+used to make me so unhappy," she went on. "I tried to talk to my
+husband about it, but he wouldn't have it. 'I don't see why you can't
+be like other people,' he said--he's always repeating that to me. And
+what could I say?"
+
+"Why not suggest that other people might be like you?" said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"I wasn't clever enough," said she, regretfully.--"It's very hard for a
+woman, you know--with no one to understand. Once I went down to a
+settlement, to see what that was like. Do you know anything about
+settlements?"
+
+"Nothing at all," said Montague.
+
+"Well, they are people who go to live among the poor, and try to reform
+them. It takes a terrible lot of courage, I think. I give them money
+now and then, but I am never sure if it does any good. The trouble with
+poor people, it seems to me, is that there are so many of them."
+
+"There are, indeed," said Montague, thinking of the vision he had seen
+from Oliver's racing-car.
+
+Mrs. Winnie had seated herself upon a cushioned seat near the entrance
+to the darkened gallery. "I haven't been there for some time," she
+continued. "I've discovered something that I think appeals more to my
+temperament. I have rather a leaning toward the occult and the
+mystical, I'm afraid. Did you ever hear of the Babists?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"Well, that's a religious sect--from Persia, I think--and they are
+quite the rage. They are priests, you understand, and they give
+lectures, and teach you all about the immanence of the divine, and
+about reincarnation, and Karma, and all that. Do you believe any of
+those things?"
+
+"I can't say that I know about them," said he.
+
+"It is very beautiful and strange," added the other. "It makes you
+realize what a perplexing thing life is. They teach you how the
+universe is all one, and the soul is the only reality, and so bodily
+things don't matter. If I were a Babist, I believe that I could be
+happy, even if I had to work in a cotton-mill."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie rose up suddenly. "You'd rather look at the pictures,
+I know," she said; and she pressed a button, and a soft radiance
+flooded the great vaulted gallery.
+
+"This is our chief pride in life," she said. "My husband's object has
+been to get one representative work of each of the great painters of
+the world. We got their masterpiece whenever we could. Over there in
+the corner are the old masters--don't you love to look at them?"
+
+Montague would have liked to look at them very much; but he felt that
+he would rather it were some time when he did not have Mrs. Winnie by
+his side. Mrs. Winnie must have had to show the gallery quite
+frequently; and now her mind was still upon the Persian
+transcendentalists.
+
+"That picture of the saint is a Botticelli," she said. "And do you
+know, the orange-coloured robe always makes me think of the swami. That
+is my teacher, you know--Swami Babubanana. And he has the most
+beautiful delicate hands, and great big brown eyes, so soft and
+gentle--for all the world like those of the gazelles in our place down
+South!"
+
+Thus Mrs. Winnie, as she roamed from picture to picture, while the
+souls of the grave old masters looked down upon her in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Montague had now been officially pronounced complete by his tailor; and
+Reval had sent home the first of Alice's street gowns, elaborately
+plain, but fitting her conspicuously, and costing accordingly. So the
+next morning they were ready to be taken to call upon Mrs. Devon.
+
+Of course Montague had heard of the Devons, but he was not sufficiently
+initiated to comprehend just what it meant to be asked to call. But
+when Oliver came in, a little before noon, and proceeded to examine his
+costume and to put him to rights, and insisted that Alice should have
+her hair done over, he began to realize that this was a special
+occasion. Oliver was in quite a state of excitement; and after they had
+left the hotel, and were driving up the Avenue, he explained to them
+that their future in Society depended upon the outcome of this visit.
+Calling upon Mrs. Devon, it seemed, was the American equivalent to
+being presented at court. For twenty-five years this grand lady had
+been the undisputed mistress of the Society of the metropolis; and if
+she liked them, they would be invited to her annual ball, which took
+place in January, and then for ever after their position would be
+assured. Mrs. Devon's ball was the one great event of the social year;
+about one thousand people were asked, while ten thousand disappointed
+ones gnashed their teeth in outer darkness.
+
+All of which threw Alice into a state of trepidation.
+
+"Suppose we don't suit her!" she said.
+
+To that the other replied that their way had been made smooth by Reggie
+Mann, who was one of Mrs. Devon's favourites.
+
+A century and more ago the founder of the Devon line had come to
+America, and invested his savings in land on Manhattan Island. Other
+people had toiled and built a city there, and generation after
+generation of the Devons had sat by and collected the rents, until now
+their fortune amounted to four or five hundred millions of dollars.
+They were the richest old family in America, and the most famous; and
+in Mrs. Devon, the oldest member of the line, was centred all its
+social majesty and dominion. She lived a stately and formal life,
+precisely like a queen; no one ever saw her save upon her raised chair
+of state, and she wore her jewels even at breakfast. She was the
+arbiter of social destinies, and the breakwater against which the
+floods of new wealth beat in vain. Reggie Mann told wonderful tales
+about the contents of her enormous mail--about wives and daughters of
+mighty rich men who flung themselves at her feet and pleaded abjectly
+for her favour--who laid siege to her house for months, and intrigued
+and pulled wires to get near her, and even bought the favour of her
+servants! If Reggie might be believed, great financial wars had been
+fought, and the stock-markets of the world convulsed more than once,
+because of these social struggles; and women of wealth and beauty had
+offered to sell themselves for the privilege which was so freely
+granted to them.
+
+They came to the old family mansion and rang the bell, and the solemn
+butler ushered them past the grand staircase and into the front
+reception-room to wait. Perhaps five minutes later he came in and
+rolled back the doors, and they stood up, and beheld a withered old
+lady, nearly eighty years of age, bedecked with diamonds and seated
+upon a sort of throne. They approached, and Oliver introduced them, and
+the old lady held out a lifeless hand; and then they sat down.
+
+Mrs. Devon asked them a few questions as to how much of New York they
+had seen, and how they liked it, and whom they had met; but most of the
+time she simply looked them over, and left the making of conversation
+to Oliver. As for Montague, he sat, feeling perplexed and
+uncomfortable, and wondering, deep down in him, whether it could really
+be America in which this was happening.
+
+"You see," Oliver explained to them, when they were seated in their
+carriage again, "her mind is failing, and it's really quite difficult
+for her to receive."
+
+"I'm glad I don't have to call on her more than once," was Alice's
+comment. "When do we know the verdict?"
+
+"When you get a card marked 'Mrs. Devon at home,'" said Oliver. And he
+went on to tell them about the war which had shaken Society long ago,
+when the mighty dame had asserted her right to be "Mrs. Devon," and the
+only "Mrs. Devon." He told them also about her wonderful dinner-set of
+china, which had cost thirty thousand dollars, and was as fragile as a
+humming-bird's wing. Each piece bore her crest, and she had a china
+expert to attend to washing and packing it--no common hand was ever
+allowed to touch it. He told them, also, how Mrs. Devon's housekeeper
+had wrestled for so long, trying to teach the maids to arrange the
+furniture in the great reception-rooms precisely as the mistress
+ordered; until finally a complete set of photographs had been taken, so
+that the maids might do their work by chart.
+
+Alice went back to the hotel, for Mrs. Robbie Walling was to call and
+take her home to lunch; and Montague and his brother strolled round to
+Reggie Mann's apartments, to report upon their visit.
+
+Reggie received them in a pair of pink silk pyjamas, decorated with
+ribbons and bows, and with silk-embroidered slippers, set with
+pearls--a present from a feminine adorer. Montague noticed, to his
+dismay, that the little man wore a gold bracelet upon one arm! He
+explained that he had led a cotillion the night before--or rather this
+morning; he had got home at five o'clock. He looked quite white and
+tired, and there were the remains of a breakfast of brandy-and-soda on
+the table.
+
+"Did you see the old girl?" he asked. "And how does she hold up?"
+
+"She's game," said Oliver.
+
+"I had the devil's own time getting you in," said the other. "It's
+getting harder every day."
+
+"You'll excuse me," Reggie added, "if I get ready. I have an
+engagement." And he turned to his dressing-table, which was covered
+with an array of cosmetics and perfumes, and proceeded, in a
+matter-of-fact way, to paint his face. Meanwhile his valet was flitting
+silently here and there, getting ready his afternoon costume; and
+Montague, in spite of himself, followed the man with his eyes. A
+haberdasher's shop might have been kept going for quite a while upon
+the contents of Reggie's dressers. His clothing was kept in a room
+adjoining the dressing-room; Montague, who was near the door, could see
+the rosewood wardrobes, each devoted to a separate article of
+clothing-shirts, for instance, laid upon sliding racks, tier upon tier
+of them, of every material and colour. There was a closet fitted with
+shelves and equipped like a little shoe store--high shoes and low
+shoes, black ones, brown ones, and white ones, and each fitted over a
+last to keep its shape perfect. These shoes were all made to order
+according to Reggie's designs, and three or-four times a year there was
+a cleaning out, and those which had gone out of fashion became the prey
+of his "man." There was a safe in one closet, in which Reggie's
+jewellery was kept.
+
+The dressing-room was furnished like a lady's boudoir, the furniture
+upholstered with exquisite embroidered silk, and the bed hung with
+curtains of the same material. There was a huge bunch of roses on the
+centre-table, and the odour of roses hung heavy in the room.
+
+The valet stood at attention with a rack of neckties, from which Reggie
+critically selected one to match his shirt. "Are you going to take
+Alice with you down to the Havens's?" he was asking; and he added,
+"You'll meet Vivie Patton down there--she's had another row at home."
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Oliver.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "Frank waited up all night for her, and he wept
+and tore his hair and vowed he would kill the Count. Vivie told him to
+go to hell."
+
+"Good God!" said Oliver. "Who told you that?"
+
+"The faithful Alphonse," said Reggie, nodding toward his valet. "Her
+maid told him. And Frank vows he'll sue--I half expected to see it in
+the papers this morning."
+
+"I met Vivie on the street yesterday," said Oliver. "She looked as
+chipper as ever."
+
+Reggie shrugged his shoulders. "Have you seen this week's paper?" he
+asked. "They've got another of Ysabel's suppressed poems in."--And then
+he turned toward Montague to explain that "Ysabel" was the pseudonym of
+a young d�butante who had fallen under the spell of Baudelaire and
+Wilde, and had published a volume of poems of such furious eroticism
+that her parents were buying up stray copies at fabulous prices.
+
+Then the conversation turned to the Horse Show, and for quite a while
+they talked about who was going to wear what. Finally Oliver rose,
+saying that they would have to get a bite to eat before leaving for the
+Havens's. "You'll have a good time," said Reggie. "I'd have gone
+myself, only I promised to stay and help Mrs. de Graffenried design a
+dinner. So long!"
+
+Montague had heard nothing about the visit to the Havens's; but now, as
+they strolled down the Avenue, Oliver explained that they were to spend
+the weekend at Castle Havens. There was quite a party going up this
+Friday afternoon, and they would find one of the Havens's private cars
+waiting. They had nothing to do meantime, for their valets would attend
+to their packing, and Alice and her maid would meet them at the depot.
+
+"Castle Havens is one of the show places of the country," Oliver added.
+"You'll see the real thing this time." And while they lunched, he went
+on to entertain his brother with particulars concerning the place and
+its owners. John had inherited the bulk of the enormous Havens fortune,
+and he posed as his father's successor in the Steel Trust. Some day
+some one of the big men would gobble him up; meantime he amused himself
+fussing over the petty details of administration. Mrs. Havens had taken
+a fancy to a rural life, and they had built this huge palace in the
+hills of Connecticut, and she wrote verses in which she pictured
+herself as a simple shepherdess--and all that sort of stuff. But no one
+minded that, because the place was grand, and there was always so much
+to do. They had forty or fifty polo ponies, for instance, and every
+spring the place was filled with polo men.
+
+At the depot they caught sight of Charlie Carter, in his big red
+touring-car. "Are you going to the Havens's?" he said. "Tell them we're
+going to pick up Chauncey on the way."
+
+"That's Chauncey Venable, the Major's nephew," said Oliver, as they
+strolled to the train. "Poor Chauncey--he's in exile!"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Why, he daren't come into New York," said the other. "Haven't you read
+about it in the papers? He lost one or two hundred thousand the other
+night in a gambling place, and the district attorney's trying to catch
+him."
+
+"Does he want to put him in jail?" asked Montague.
+
+"Heavens, no!" said Oliver. "Put a Venable in jail? He wants him for a
+witness against the gambler; and poor Chauncey is flitting about the
+country hiding with his friends, and wailing because he'll miss the
+Horse Show."
+
+They boarded the palatial private car, and were introduced to a number
+of other guests. Among them was Major Venable; and while Oliver buried
+himself in the new issue of the fantastic-covered society journal,
+which contained the poem of the erotic "Ysabel," his brother chatted
+with the Major. The latter had taken quite a fancy to the big handsome
+stranger, to whom everything in the city was so new and interesting."
+
+"Tell me what you thought of the Snow Palace," said he. "I've an idea
+that Mrs. Winnie's got quite a crush on you. You'll find her dangerous,
+my boy--she'll make you pay for your dinners before you get through!"
+
+After the train was under way, the Major got himself surrounded with
+some apollinaris and Scotch, and then settled back to enjoy himself.
+"Did you see the 'drunken kid' at the ferry?" he asked. "(That's what
+our abstemious district attorney terms my precious young
+heir-apparent.) You'll meet him at the Castle--the Havens are good to
+him. They know how it feels, I guess; when John was a youngster his
+piratical uncle had to camp in Jersey for six months or so, to escape
+the strong arm of the law."
+
+"Don't you know about it?" continued the Major, sipping at his
+beverage. "Sic transit gloria mundi! That was when the great Captain
+Kidd Havens was piling up the millions which his survivors are spending
+with such charming insouciance. He was plundering a railroad, and the
+original progenitor of the Wallings tried to buy the control away from
+him, and Havens issued ten or twenty millions of new stock overnight,
+in the face of a court injunction, and got away with most of his money.
+It reads like opera bouffe, you know--they had a regular armed camp
+across the river for about six months--until Captain Kidd went up to
+Albany with half a million dollars' worth of greenbacks in a satchel,
+and induced the legislature to legalize the proceedings. That was just
+after the war, you know, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. It
+seems strange to think that anyone shouldn't know about it."
+
+"I know about Havens in a general way," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the Major. "But I know in a particular way, because I've
+carried some of that railroad's paper all these years, and it's never
+paid any dividends since. It has a tendency to interfere with my
+appreciation of John's lavish hospitality."
+
+Montague was reminded of the story of the Roman emperor who pointed out
+that money had no smell.
+
+"Maybe not," said the Major. "But all the same, if you were
+superstitious, you might make out an argument from the Havens fortune.
+Take that poor girl who married the Count."
+
+And the Major went on to picture the denouement of that famous
+international alliance, which, many years ago, had been the sensation
+of two continents. All Society had attended the gorgeous wedding, an
+archbishop had performed the ceremony, and the newspapers had devoted
+pages to describing the gowns and the jewels and the presents and all
+the rest of the magnificence. And the Count was a wretched little
+degenerate, who beat and kicked his wife, and flaunted his mistresses
+in her face, and wasted fourteen million dollars of her money in a
+couple of years. The mind could scarcely follow the orgies of this
+half-insane creature--he had spent two hundred thousand dollars on a
+banquet, and half as much again for a tortoise-shell wardrobe in which
+Louis the Sixteenth had kept his clothes! He had charged a diamond
+necklace to his wife, and taken two of the four rows of diamonds out of
+it before he presented it to her! He had paid a hundred thousand
+dollars a year to a jockey whom the Parisian populace admired, and a
+fortune for a palace in Verona, which he had promptly torn down, for
+the sake of a few painted ceilings. The Major told about one outdoor
+fete, which he had given upon a sudden whim: ten thousand Venetian
+lanterns, ten thousand metres of carpet; three thousand gilded chairs,
+and two or three hundred waiters in fancy costumes; two palaces built
+in a lake, with sea-horses and dolphins, and half a dozen orchestras,
+and several hundred chorus--girls from the Grand Opera! And in between
+adventures such as these, he bought a seat in the Chamber of Deputies,
+and made speeches and fought duels in defence of the Holy Catholic
+Church--and wrote articles for the yellow journals of America. "And
+that's the fate of my lost dividends!" growled the Major.
+
+There were several automobiles to meet the party at the depot, and they
+were whirled through a broad avenue up a valley, and past a little
+lake, and so to the gates of Castle Havens.
+
+It was a tremendous building, a couple of hundred feet long. One
+entered into a main hall, perhaps fifty feet wide, with a great
+fireplace arid staircase of marble and bronze, and furniture of gilded
+wood and crimson velvet, and a huge painting, covering three of the
+walls, representing the Conquest of Peru. Each of the rooms was
+furnished in the style of a different period--one Louis Quatorze, one
+Louis Quinze, one Marie Antoinette, and so on. There was a drawing-room
+and a regal music-room; a dining-room in the Georgian style, and a
+billiard-room, also in the English fashion, with high wainscoting and
+open beams in the ceiling; and a library, and a morning-room and
+conservatory. Upstairs in the main suite of rooms was a royal bedstead,
+which alone was rumoured to have cost twenty-five thousand dollars; and
+you might have some idea of the magnificence of things when you learned
+that underneath the gilding of the furniture was the rare and precious
+Circassian walnut.
+
+All this was beautiful. But what brought the guests to Castle Havens
+was the casino, so the Major had remarked. It was really a private
+athletic club--with tan-bark hippodrome, having a ring the size of that
+in Madison Square Garden, and a skylight roof, and thirty or forty
+arc-lights for night events. There were bowling-alleys, billiard and
+lounging-rooms, hand-ball, tennis and racket-courts, a completely
+equipped gymnasium, a shooting-gallery, and a swimming-pool with
+Turkish and Russian baths. In this casino alone there were rooms for
+forty guests.
+
+Such was Castle Havens; it had cost three or four millions of dollars,
+and within the twelve-foot wall which surrounded its grounds lived two
+world-weary people who dreaded nothing so much as to be alone. There
+were always guests, and on special occasions there might be three or
+four score. They went whirling about the country in their autos; they
+rode and drove; they played games, outdoor and indoor, or gambled, or
+lounged and chatted, or wandered about at their own sweet will. Coming
+to one of these places was not different from staying at a great hotel,
+save that the company was selected, and instead of paying a bill, you
+gave twenty or thirty dollars to the servants when you left.
+
+It was a great palace of pleasure, in which beautiful and graceful men
+and women played together in all sorts of beautiful and graceful ways.
+In the evenings great logs blazed in the fireplace in the hall, and
+there might be an informal dance--there was always music at hand. Now
+and then there would be a stately ball, with rich gowns and flashing
+jewels, and the grounds ablaze with lights, and a full orchestra, and
+special trains from the city. Or a whole theatrical company would be
+brought down to give an entertainment in the theatre; or a minstrel
+show, or a troupe of acrobats, or a menagerie of trained animals. Or
+perhaps there would be a great pianist, or a palmist, or a trance
+medium. Anyone at all would be welcome who could bring a new thrill--it
+mattered nothing at all, though the price might be several hundred
+dollars a minute.
+
+Montague shook hands with his host and hostess, and with a number of
+others; among them Billy Price who forthwith challenged him, and
+carried him off to the shooting-gallery. Here he took a rifle, and
+proceeded to satisfy her as to his skill. This brought him to the
+notice of Siegfried Harvey, who was a famous cross-country rider and
+"polo-man." Harvey's father owned a score of copper-mines, and had
+named him after a race-horse; he was a big broad-shouldered fellow, a
+favourite of every one; and next morning, when he found that Montague
+sat a horse like one who was born to it, he invited him to come out to
+his place on Long Island, and see some of the fox-hunting.
+
+Then, after he had dressed for dinner, Montague came downstairs, and
+found Betty Wyman, shining like Aurora in an orange-coloured cloud. She
+introduced him to Mrs. Vivie Patton, who was tall and slender and
+fascinating, and had told her husband to go to hell. Mrs. Vivie had
+black eyes that snapped and sparkled, and she was a geyser of animation
+in a perpetual condition of eruption. Montague wondered if she would
+have talked with him so gaily had she known what he knew about her
+domestic entanglements.
+
+The company moved into the dining-room, where there was served another
+of those elaborate and enormously expensive meals which he concluded he
+was fated to eat for the rest of his life. Only, instead of Mrs. Billy
+Alden with her Scotch, there was Mrs. Vivie, who drank champagne in
+terrifying quantities; and afterward there was the inevitable grouping
+of the bridge fiends.
+
+Among the guests there was a long-haired and wild-looking foreign
+personage, who was the "lion" of the evening, and sat with half a dozen
+admiring women about him. Now he was escorted to the music-room, and
+revealed the fact that he was a violin virtuoso. He played what was
+called "salon music"--music written especially for ladies and gentlemen
+to listen to after dinner; and also a strange contrivance called a
+concerto, put together to enable the player to exhibit within a brief
+space the utmost possible variety of finger gymnastics. To learn to
+perform these feats one had to devote his whole lifetime to practising
+them, just like any circus acrobat; and so his mind became atrophied,
+and a naive and elemental vanity was all that was left to him.
+
+Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
+company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
+Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
+Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
+smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of young
+bloods about him to play "Klondike." This was a game of deadly hazards,
+which they played without limit; the players themselves were silent and
+impassive, but the spectators who gathered about were tense with
+excitement.
+
+In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty in
+his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens's
+jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday, and
+there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
+prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled about
+with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who would
+take part in it.
+
+And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed him
+the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended in
+laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared with
+an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas of
+green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
+staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian walk,
+leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with a basin
+sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses. There were
+sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of France, and
+Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and other treasures of
+art.
+
+And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a
+perfectly equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy; a
+polo-field, and an enclosed riding-ring for the children; and
+dog-kennels and pigeon-houses, greenhouses and deer-parks--one was
+prepared for bear-pits and a menagerie. Finally, on their way back,
+they passed the casino, where musical chimes pealed out the
+quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower from which
+the sounds had come.
+
+The more he gazed, the more he found to gaze at The roof of this
+building had many gables, in the Queen Anne style; and from the midst
+of them shot up the tower, which was octagonal and solid, suggestive of
+the Normans. It was decorated with Christmas-wreaths in white stucco,
+and a few miscellaneous ornaments like the gilded tassels one sees upon
+plush curtains. Overtopping all of this was the dome of a Turkish
+mosque. Rising out of the dome was something that looked like a
+dove-cot; and out of this rose the slender white steeple of a Methodist
+country church. On top of that was a statue of Diana.
+
+"What are you looking at?" asked the Major.
+
+"Nothing," said Montague, as he moved on. "Has there ever been any
+insanity in the Havens family?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the other, puzzled. "They say the old man never
+could sleep at night, and used to wander about alone in the park. I
+suppose he had things on his conscience."
+
+They strolled away; and the Major's flood-gates of gossip were opened.
+There was an old merchant in New York, who had been Havens's private
+secretary. And Havens was always in terror of assassination, and so
+whenever they travelled abroad he and the secretary exchanged places.
+"The old man is big and imposing," said the Major, "and it's funny to
+hear him tell how he used to receive the visitors and be stared at by
+the crowds, while Havens, who was little and insignificant, would
+pretend to make himself useful. And then one day a wild-looking
+creature came into the Havens office, and began tearing the wrappings
+off some package that shone like metal--and quick as a flash he and
+Havens flung themselves down on the floor upon their faces. Then, as
+nothing happened, they looked up, and saw the puzzled stranger gazing
+over the railing at them. He had a patent churn, made of copper, which
+he wanted Havens to market for him!"
+
+Montague could have wished that this party might last for a week or
+two, instead of only two days. He was interested in the life, and in
+those who lived it; all whom he met were people prominent in the social
+world, and some in the business world as well, and one could not have
+asked a better chance to study them.
+
+Montague was taking his time and feeling his way slowly. But all the
+time that he was playing and gossiping he never lost from mind his real
+purpose, which was to find a place for himself in the world of affairs;
+and he watched for people from whose conversation he could get a view
+of this aspect of things. So he was interested when Mrs. Smythe
+remarked that among his fellow-guests was Vandam, an official of one of
+the great life-insurance companies. "Freddie" Vandam, as the lady
+called him, was a man of might in the financial world; and Montague
+said to himself that in meeting him he would really be accomplishing
+something. Crack shots and polo-players and four-in-hand experts were
+all very well, but he had his living to earn, and he feared that the
+problem was going to prove complicated.
+
+So he was glad when chance brought him and young Vandam together, and
+Siegfried Harvey introduced them. And then Montague got the biggest
+shock which New York had given him yet.
+
+It was not what Freddie Vandam said; doubtless he had a right to be
+interested in the Horse Show, since he was to exhibit many fine horses,
+and he had no reason to feel called upon to talk about anything more
+serious to a stranger at a house party. But it was the manner of the
+man, his whole personality. For Freddie was a man of fashion, with all
+the exaggerated and farcical mannerisms of the dandy of the comic
+papers. He wore a conspicuous and foppish costume, and posed with a
+little cane; he cultivated a waving pompadour, and his silky moustache
+and beard were carefully trimmed to points, and kept sharp by his
+active fingers. His conversation was full of French phrases and French
+opinions; he had been reared abroad, and had a whole-souled contempt
+for all things American-even dictating his business letters in French,
+and leaving it for his stenographer to translate them. His shirts were
+embroidered with violets and perfumed with violets--and there were
+bunches of violets at his horses' heads, so that he might get the odour
+as he drove!
+
+There was a cruel saying about Freddie Vandam--that if only he had had
+a little more brains, he would have been half-witted. And Montague sat,
+and watched his mannerisms and listened to his inanities, with his mind
+in a state of bewilderment and dismay. When at last he got up and
+walked away, it was with a new sense of the complicated nature of the
+problem that confronted him. Who was there that could give him the key
+to this mystery--who could interpret to him a world in which a man such
+as this was in control of four or five hundred millions of trust funds?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+It was quite futile to attempt to induce anyone to talk about serious
+matters just now--for the coming week all Society belonged to the
+horse. The parties which went to church on Sunday morning talked about
+horses on the way, and the crowds that gathered in front of the church
+door to watch them descend from their automobiles, and to get "points"
+on their conspicuous costumes--these would read about horses all
+afternoon in the Sunday papers, and about the gowns which the women
+would wear at the show.
+
+Some of the party went up on Sunday evening; Montague went with the
+rest on Monday morning, and had lunch with Mrs. Robbie Walling and
+Oliver and Alice. They had arrayed him in a frock coat and silk hat and
+fancy "spats"; and they took him and sat him in the front row of
+Robbie's box.
+
+There was a great tan-bark arena, in which the horses performed; and
+then a railing, and a broad promenade for the spectators; and then,
+raised a few feet above, the boxes in which sat all Society. For the
+Horse Show had now become a great social function. Last year a visiting
+foreign prince had seen fit to attend it, and this year "everybody"
+would come.
+
+Montague was rapidly getting used to things; he observed with a smile
+how easy it was to take for granted embroidered bed and table linen,
+and mural paintings, and private cars, and gold plate. At first it had
+seemed to him strange to be waited upon by a white woman, and by a
+white man quite unthinkable; but he was becoming accustomed to having
+silent and expressionless lackeys everywhere about him, attending to
+his slightest want. So he presumed that if he waited long enough, he
+might even get used to horses which had their tails cut off to stumps,
+and their manes to rows of bristles, and which had been taught to lift
+their feet in strange and eccentric ways, and were driven with burred
+bits in their mouths to torture them and make them step lively.
+
+There were road-horses, coach-horses, saddle-horses and hunters,
+polo-ponies, stud-horses--every kind of horse that is used for
+pleasure, over a hundred different "classes" of them. They were put
+through their paces about the ring, and there was a committee which
+judged them, and awarded blue and red ribbons. Apparently their highly
+artificial kind of excellence was a real thing to the people who took
+part in the show; for the spectators thrilled with excitement, and
+applauded the popular victors. There was a whole set of conventions
+which were generally understood--there was even a new language. You
+were told that these "turnouts" were "nobby" and "natty"; they were
+"swagger" and "smart" and "swell."
+
+However, the horse was really a small part of this show; before one had
+sat out an afternoon he realized that the function was in reality a
+show of Society. For six or seven hours during the day the broad
+promenade would be so packed with human beings that one moved about
+with difficulty; and this throng gazed towards the ring almost
+never--it stared up into the boxes. All the year round the discontented
+millions of the middle classes read of the doings of the "smart set";
+and here they had a chance to come and see them-alive, and real, and
+dressed in their showiest costumes. Here was all the grand monde, in
+numbered boxes, and with their names upon the programmes, so that one
+could get them straight. Ten thousand people from other cities had come
+to New York on purpose to get a look. Women who lived in
+boarding-houses and made their own clothes, had come to get hints; all
+the dressmakers in town were present for the same purpose.. Society
+reporters had come, with notebooks in hand; and next morning the
+imitators of Society all over the United States would read about it, in
+such fashion as this: "Mrs. Chauncey Venable was becomingly gowned in
+mauve cloth, made with an Eton jacket trimmed with silk braid, and
+opening over a chemisette of lace. Her hat was of the same colour,
+draped with a great quantity of mauve and orange tulle, and surmounted
+with birds of paradise to match. Her furs were silver fox."
+
+The most intelligent of the great metropolitan dailies would print
+columns of this sort of material; and as for the "yellow" journals,
+they would have discussions of the costumes by "experts," and half a
+page of pictures of the most conspicuous of the box-holders. While
+Montague sat talking with Mrs. Walling, half a dozen cameras were
+snapped at them; and once a young man with a sketch-book placed himself
+in front of them and went placidly to work.--Concerning such things the
+society dame had three different sets of emotions: first, the one which
+she showed in public, that of bored and contemptuous indifference;
+second, the one which she expressed to her friends, that of outraged
+but helpless indignation; and third, the one which she really felt,
+that of triumphant exultation over her rivals, whose pictures were not
+published and whose costumes were not described.
+
+It was a great dress parade of society women. One who wished to play a
+proper part in it would spend at least ten thousand dollars upon her
+costumes for the week. It was necessary to have a different gown for
+the afternoon and evening of each day; and some, who were adepts at
+quick changes and were proud of it, would wear three or four a day, and
+so need a couple of dozen gowns for the show. And of course there had
+to be hats and shoes and gloves to match. There would be robes of
+priceless fur hung carelessly over the balcony to make a setting; and
+in the evening there would be pyrotechnical displays of jewels. Mrs.
+Virginia Landis wore a pair of simple pearl earrings, which she told
+the reporters had cost twenty thousand dollars; and there were two
+women who displayed four hundred thousand dollars' worth of
+diamonds--and each of them had hired a detective to hover about in the
+crowd and keep watch over her!
+
+Nor must one suppose, because the horse was an inconspicuous part of
+the show, that he was therefore an inexpensive part. One man was to be
+seen here driving a four-in-hand of black stallions which had cost
+forty thousand; there were other men who drove only one horse, and had
+paid forty thousand for that. Half a million was a moderate estimate of
+the cost of the "string" which some would exhibit. And of course these
+horses were useless, save for show purposes, and to breed other horses
+like them. Many of them never went out of their stables except for
+exercise upon a track; and the cumbrous and enormous; expensive coaches
+were never by any possibility used elsewhere--when they were taken from
+place to place they seldom went upon their own wheels.
+
+And there were people here who made their chief occupation in life the
+winning of blue ribbons at these shows. They kept great country estates
+especially for the horses, and had private indoor exhibition rings.
+Robbie Walling and Chauncey Venable were both such people; in the
+summer of next year another of the Wallings took a string across the
+water to teach the horse-show game to Society in London. He took twenty
+or thirty horses, under the charge of an expert manager and a dozen
+assistants; he sent sixteen different kinds of carriages, and two great
+coaches, and a ton of harness and other stuff. It required one whole
+deck of a steamer, and the expedition enabled him to get rid of six
+hundred thousand dollars.
+
+All through the day, of course, Robbie was down in the ring with his
+trainers and his competitors, and Montague sat and kept his wife
+company. There was a steady stream of visitors, who came to
+congratulate her upon their successes, and to commiserate with Mrs.
+Chauncey Venable over the sufferings of the un-happy victim of a
+notoriety-seeking district attorney.
+
+There was just one drawback to the Horse Show, as Montague gathered
+from the conversation that went on among the callers: it was public,
+and there was no way to prevent undesirable people from taking part.
+There were, it appeared, hordes of rich people in New York who were not
+in Society, and of whose existence Society was haughtily unaware; but
+these people might enter horses and win prizes, and even rent a box and
+exhibit their clothes. And they might induce the reporters to mention
+them--and of course the ignorant populace did not know the difference,
+and stared at them just as hard as at Mrs. Robbie or Mrs. Winnie. And
+so for a whole blissful week these people had all the sensations of
+being in Society! "It won't be very long before that will kill the
+Horse Show," said Mrs. Vivie Patton, with a snap of her black eyes.
+
+There was Miss Yvette Simpkins, for instance; Society frothed at the
+mouth when her name was mentioned. Miss Yvette was the niece of a
+stock-broker who was wealthy, and she thought that she was in Society,
+and the foolish public thought so, too. Miss Yvette made a speciality
+of newspaper publicity; you were always seeing her picture, with some
+new "Worth creation," and the picture would be labelled "Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, the best-dressed woman in New York," or "Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, who is known as the best woman whip in Society." It was said
+that Miss Yvette, who was short and stout, and had a rosy German face,
+had paid five thousand dollars at one clip for photographs of herself
+in a new wardrobe; and her pictures were sent to the newspapers in
+bundles of a dozen at a time. Miss Yvette possessed over a million
+dollars' worth of diamonds--the finest in the country, according to the
+newspapers; she had spent a hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars
+this year upon her clothes, and she gave long interviews, in which she
+set forth the fact that a woman nowadays could not really be well
+dressed upon less than a hundred thousand a year. It was Miss Yvette's
+boast that she had never ridden in a street-car in her life.
+
+Montague always had a soft spot in his heart for the unfortunate Miss
+Yvette, who laboured so hard to be a guiding light; for it chanced to
+be while she was in the ring, exhibiting her skill in driving tandem,
+that he met with a fateful encounter. Afterward, when he came to look
+back upon these early days, it seemed strange to him that he should
+have gone about this place, so careless and unsuspecting, while the
+fates were weaving strange destinies about him.
+
+It was on Tuesday afternoon, and he sat in the box of Mrs. Venable, a
+sister-in-law of the Major. The Major, who was a care-free bachelor,
+was there himself, and also Betty Wyman, who was making sprightly
+comments on the passers-by; and there strolled into the box Chappie de
+Peyster, accompanied by a young lady.
+
+So many people had stopped and been introduced and then passed on, that
+Montague merely glanced at her once. He noticed that she was tall and
+graceful, and caught her name, Miss Hegan.
+
+The turnouts in the ring consisted of one horse harnessed in front of
+another; and Montague was wondering what conceivable motive could
+induce a human being to hitch and drive horses in that fashion. The
+conversation turned upon Miss Yvette, who was in the ring; and Betty
+remarked upon the airy grace with which she wielded the long whip she
+carried. "Did you see what the paper said about her this morning?" she
+asked. "' Miss Simpkins was exquisitely clad in purple velvet,' and so
+on! She looked for all the world like the Venus at the Hippodrome!"
+
+"Why isn't she in Society?" asked Montague, curiously.
+
+"She!" exclaimed Betty. "Why, she's a travesty!"
+
+There was a moment's pause, preceding a remark by their young lady
+visitor. "I've an idea," said she, "that the real reason she never got
+into Society was that she was fond of her old father."
+
+And Montague gave a short glance at the speaker, who was gazing fixedly
+into the ring. He heard the Major chuckle, and he thought that he heard
+Betty Wyman give a little sniff. A few moments later the young lady
+arose, and with some remark to Mrs. Venable about how well her costume
+became her, she passed on out of the box.
+
+"Who is that?" asked Montague.
+
+"That," the Major answered, "that's Laura Hegan--Jim Hegan's daughter."
+
+"Oh!" said Montague, and caught his breath. Jim Hegan--Napoleon of
+finance--czar of a gigantic system of railroads, and the power behind
+the political thrones of many states.
+
+"His only daughter, too," the Major added. "Gad, what a juicy morsel
+for somebody!"
+
+"Well, she'll make him pay for all he gets, whoever he is!" retorted
+Betty, vindictively.
+
+"You don't like her?" inquired Montague; and Betty replied promptly, "I
+do not!"
+
+"Her daddy and Betty's granddaddy are always at swords' points," put in
+Major Venable.
+
+"I have nothing to do with my granddaddy's quarrels," said the young
+lady. "I have troubles enough of my own."
+
+"What is the matter with Miss Hegan?" asked Montague, laughing.
+
+"She's an idea she's too good for the world she lives in," said Betty.
+"When you're with her, you feel as you will before the judgment throne."
+
+"Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling," put in the Major.
+
+"She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it," went on
+the girl. "All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my life
+is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to say what
+they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them or not."
+
+"Mostly not," said the Major, grimly; and added, "Anyway, she's
+beautiful."
+
+"Perhaps," said the other. "So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer something
+more comfortable."
+
+"What's Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?" asked Mrs. Venable.
+"Is he a candidate?"
+
+"Maybe his debts are troubling him again," said Mistress Betty. "He
+must be in a desperate plight.--Did you hear how Jack Audubon proposed
+to her?"
+
+"Did Jack propose?" exclaimed the Major.
+
+"Of course he did," said the girl. "His brother told me." Then, for
+Montague's benefit, she explained, "Jack Audubon is the Major's nephew,
+and he's a bookworm, and spends all his time collecting scarabs."
+
+"What did he say to her?" asked the Major, highly amused.
+
+"Why," said Betty, "he told her he knew she didn't love him; but also
+she knew that he didn't care anything about her money, and she might
+like to marry him so that other men would let her alone."
+
+"Gad!" cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. "A masterpiece!"
+
+"Does she have so many suitors?" asked Montague; and the Major replied,
+"My dear boy--she'll have a hundred million dollars some day!"
+
+At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went for a
+stroll with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss Hegan's remark.
+
+"What she said is perfectly true," replied the Major; "only it riled
+Betty. There's many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who has
+stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold."
+
+"What's the matter with old Simpkins?" asked the other.
+
+"Just a queer boy," was the reply. "He has a big pile, and his one joy
+in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he who makes her
+ridiculous--he has a regular press agent for her, a chap he loads up
+with jewellery and cheques whenever he gets her picture into the
+papers."
+
+The Major paused a moment to greet some acquaintance, and then resumed
+the conversation. Apparently he could gossip in this intimate fashion
+about any person whom you named. Old Simpkins had been very poor as a
+boy, it appeared, and he had never got over the memory of it. Miss
+Yvette spent fifty thousand at a clip for Paris gowns; but every day
+her old uncle would save up the lumps of sugar which came with the
+expensive lunch he had brought to his office. And when he had several
+pounds he would send them home by messenger!
+
+This conversation gave Montague a new sense of the complicatedness of
+the world into which he had come. Miss Simpkins was "impossible"; and
+yet there was--for instance--that Mrs. Landis whom he had met at Mrs.
+Winnie Duval's. He had met her several times at the show; and he heard
+the Major and his sister-in-law chuckling over a paragraph in the
+society journal, to the effect that Mrs. Virginia van Rensselaer Landis
+had just returned from a successful hunting-trip in the far West. He
+did not see the humour of this, at least not until they had told him of
+another paragraph which had appeared some time before: stating that
+Mrs. Landis had gone to acquire residence in South Dakota, taking with
+her thirty-five trunks and a poodle; and that "Leanie" Hopkins, the
+handsome young stock-broker, had taken a six months' vow of poverty,
+chastity, and obedience.
+
+And yet Mrs. Landis was "in" Society! And moreover, she spent nearly as
+much upon her clothes as Miss Yvette, and the clothes were quite as
+conspicuous; and if the papers did not print pages about them, it was
+not because Mrs. Landis was not perfectly willing. She was painted and
+made up quite as frankly as any chorus-girl on the stage. She laughed a
+great deal, and in a high key, and she and her friends told stories
+which made Montague wish to move out of the way.
+
+Mrs. Landis had for some reason taken a fancy to Alice, and invited her
+home to lunch with her twice during the show. And after they had got
+home in the evening, the girl sat upon the bed in her fur-trimmed
+wrapper, and told Montague and his mother and Mammy Lucy all about her
+visit.
+
+"I don't believe that woman has a thing to do or to think about in the
+world except to wear clothes!" she said. "Why, she has adjustable
+mirrors on ball-bearings, so that she can see every part of her skirts!
+And she gets all her gowns from Paris, four times a year--she says
+there are four seasons now, instead of two! I thought that my new
+clothes amounted to something, but my goodness, when I saw hers!"
+
+Then Alice went on to describe the unpacking of fourteen trunks, which
+had just come up from the custom-house that day. Mrs. Virginia's
+couturiere had her photograph and her colouring (represented in actual
+paints) and a figure made up from exact measurements; and so every one
+of the garments would fit her perfectly. Each one came stuffed with
+tissue paper and held in place by a lattice-work of tape; and attached
+to each gown was a piece of the fabric, from which her shoemaker would
+make shoes or slippers. There were street-costumes and opera-wraps,
+robes de chambre and tea-gowns, reception-dresses, and wonderful ball
+and dinner gowns. Most of these latter were to be embroidered with
+jewellery before they were worn, and imitation jewels were sewn on, to
+show how the real ones were to be placed. These garments were made of
+real lace or Parisian embroidery, and the prices paid for them were
+almost impossible to credit. Some of them were made of lace so filmy
+that the women who made them had to sit in damp cellars, because the
+sunlight would dry the fine threads and they would break; a single yard
+of the lace represented forty days of labour. There was a pastel
+"batiste de soie" Pompadour robe, embroidered with cream silk flowers,
+which had cost one thousand dollars. There was a hat to go with it,
+which had cost a hundred and twenty-five, and shoes of grey
+antelope-skin, buckled with mother-of-pearl, which had cost forty.
+There was a gorgeous and intricate ball-dress of pale green chiffon
+satin, with orchids embroidered in oxidized silver, and a long court
+train, studded with diamonds--and this had cost six thousand dollars
+without the jewels! And there was an auto-coat which had cost three
+thousand; and an opera-wrap made in Leipsic, of white unborn baby lamb,
+lined with ermine, which had cost twelve thousand--with a thousand
+additional for a hat to match! Mrs. Landis thought nothing of paying
+thirty-five dollars for a lace handkerchief, or sixty dollars for a
+pair of spun silk hose, or two hundred dollars for a pearl and
+gold-handled parasol trimmed with cascades of chiffon, and made, like
+her hats, one for each gown.
+
+"And she insists that these things are worth the money," said Alice.
+"She says it's not only the material in them, but the ideas. Each
+costume is a study, like a picture. 'I pay for the creative genius of
+the artist,' she said to me--'for his ability to catch my ideas and
+apply them to my personality--my complexion and hair and eyes.
+Sometimes I design my own costumes, and so I know what hard work it
+is!'"
+
+Mrs. Landis came from one of New York's oldest families, and she was
+wealthy in her own right; she had a palace on Fifth Avenue, and now
+that she had turned her husband out, she had nothing at all to put in
+it except her clothes. Alice told about the places in which she kept
+them--it was like a museum! There was a gown-room, made dust-proof, of
+polished hardwood, and with tier upon tier of long poles running
+across, and padded skirt-supporters hanging from them. Everywhere there
+was order and system--each skirt was numbered, and in a
+chiffonier-drawer of the same number you would find the waist--and so
+on with hats and stockings and gloves and shoes and parasols. There was
+a row of closets, having shelves piled up with dainty lace-trimmed and
+beribboned lingerie; there were two closets full of hats and three of
+shoes. "When she went West," said Alice, "one of her maids counted, and
+found that she had over four hundred pairs! And she actually has a
+cabinet with a card-catalogue to keep track of them. And all the
+shelves are lined with perfumed silk sachets, and she has tiny sachets
+sewed in every skirt and waist; and she has her own private
+perfume--she gave me some. She calls it Occur de Jeannette, and she
+says she designed it herself, and had it patented!"
+
+And then Alice went on to describe the maid's work-room, which was also
+of polished hardwood, and dust-proof, and had a balcony for brushing
+clothes, and wires upon which to hang them, and hot and cold water, and
+a big ironing-table and an electric stove. "But there can't be much
+work to do," laughed the girl, "for she never wears a gown more than
+two or three times. Just think of paying several thousand dollars for a
+costume, and giving it to your poor relations after you have worn it
+only twice! And the worst of it is that Mrs. Landis says it's all
+nothing unusual; you'll find such arrangements in every home of people
+who are socially prominent. She says there are women who boast of never
+appearing twice in the same gown, and there's one dreadful personage in
+Boston who wears each costume once, and then has it solemnly cremated
+by her butler!"
+
+"It is wicked to do such things," put in old Mrs. Montague, when she
+had heard this tale through. "I don't see how people can get any
+pleasure out of it."
+
+"That's what I said," replied Alice.
+
+"To whom did you say that?" asked Montague. "To Mrs. Landis?"
+
+"No," said Alice, "to a cousin of hers. I was downstairs waiting for
+her, and this girl came in. And we got to talking about it, and I said
+that I didn't think I could ever get used to such things."
+
+"What did she say?" asked the other.
+
+"She answered me strangely," said the girl. "She's tall, and very
+stately, and I was a little bit afraid of her. She said, 'You'll get
+used to it. Everybody you know will be doing it, and if you try to do
+differently they'll take offence; and you won't have the courage to do
+without friends. You'll be meaning every day to stop, but you never
+will, and you'll go on until you die.'"
+
+"What did you say to that?"
+
+"Nothing," answered Alice. "Just then Mrs. Landis came in, and Miss
+Hegan went away."
+
+"Miss Hegan?" echoed Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "That's her name--Laura Hegan. Have you met her?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+The Horse Show was held in Madison Square Garden, a building occupying
+a whole city block. It seemed to Montague that during the four days he
+attended he was introduced to enough people to fill it to the doors.
+Each one of the exquisite ladies and gentlemen extended to him a
+delicately gloved hand, and remarked what perfect weather they were
+having, and asked him how long he had been in New York, and what he
+thought of it. Then they would talk about the horses, and about the
+people who were present, and what they had on.
+
+He saw little of his brother, who was squiring the Walling ladies most
+of the time; and Alice, too, was generally separated from him and taken
+care of by others. Yet he was never alone--there was always some young
+matron ready to lead him to her carriage and whisk him away to lunch or
+dinner.
+
+Many times he wondered why people should be so kind to him, a stranger,
+and one who could do nothing for them in return. Mrs. Billy Alden
+undertook to explain it to him, one afternoon, as he sat in her box.
+There had to be some people to enjoy, it appeared, or there would be no
+fun in the game. "Everything is new and strange to you," said she, "and
+you're delicious and refreshing; you make these women think perhaps
+they oughtn't to be so bored after all! Here's a woman who's bought a
+great painting; she's told that it's great, but she doesn't understand
+it herself--all she knows is that it cost her a hundred thousand
+dollars. And now you come along, and to you it's really a painting--and
+don't you see how gratifying that is to her?"
+
+"Oliver is always telling me it's bad form to admire," said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"Yes?" said the other. "Well, don't you let that brother of yours spoil
+you. There are more than enough of blase people in town--you be
+yourself."
+
+He appreciated the compliment, but added, "I'm afraid that when the
+novelty is worn off, people will be tired of me."
+
+"You'll find your place," said Mrs. Alden--"the people you like and who
+like you." And she went on to explain that here he was being passed
+about among a number of very different "sets," with different people
+and different tastes. Society had become split up in that manner of
+late--each set being jealous and contemptuous of all the other sets.
+Because of the fact that they overlapped a little at the edges, it was
+possible for him to meet here a great many people who never met each
+other, and were even unaware of each other's existence.
+
+And Mrs. Alden went on to set forth the difference between these
+"sets"; they ran from the most exclusive down to the most "yellow,"
+where they shaded off into the disreputable rich--of whom, it seemed,
+there were hordes in the city. These included "sporting" and theatrical
+and political people, some of whom were very rich indeed; and these
+sets in turn shaded off into the criminals and the demi-monde--who
+might also easily be rich. "Some day," said Mrs. Alden "you should get
+my brother to tell you about all these people. He's been in politics,
+you know, and he has a racing-stable."
+
+And Mrs. Alden told him about the subtle little differences in the
+conventions of these various sets of Society. There was the matter of
+women smoking, for instance. All women smoked, nowadays; but some would
+do it only in their own apartments, with their women friends; and some
+would retire to an out-of-the-way corner to do it; while others would
+smoke in their own dining-rooms, or wherever the men smoked. All agreed
+however, in never smoking "in public"--that is, where they would be
+seen by people not of their own set. Such, at any rate, had always been
+the rule, though a few daring ones were beginning to defy even that.
+
+Such rules were very rigid, but they were purely conventional, they had
+nothing to do with right or wrong: a fact which Mrs. Alden set forth
+with her usual incisiveness. A woman, married or unmarried, might
+travel with a man all over Europe, and every one might know that she
+did it, but it would make no difference, so long as she did not do it
+in America. There was one young matron whom Montague would meet, a
+raging beauty, who regularly got drunk at dinner parties, and had to be
+escorted to her carriage by the butler. She moved in the most exclusive
+circles, and every one treated it as a joke. Unpleasant things like
+this did not hurt a person unless they got "out"--that is, unless they
+became a scandal in the courts or the newspapers. Mrs. Alden herself
+had a cousin (whom she cordially hated) who had gotten a divorce from
+her husband and married her lover forthwith and had for this been
+ostracized by Society. Once when she came to some semi-public affair,
+fifty women had risen at once and left the room! She might have lived
+with her lover, both before and after the divorce, and every one might
+have known it, and no one would have cared; but the convenances
+declared that she should not marry him until a year had elapsed after
+the divorce.
+
+One thing to which Mrs. Alden could testify, as a result of a
+lifetime's observation, was the rapid rate at which these conventions,
+even the most essential of them, were giving way, and being replaced by
+a general "do as you please." Anyone could see that the power of women
+like Mrs. Devon, who represented the old regime, and were dignified and
+austere and exclusive, was yielding before the onslaught of new people,
+who were bizarre and fantastic and promiscuous and loud. And the
+younger sets cared no more about anyone--nor about anything under
+heaven, save to have a good time in their own harum-scarum ways. In the
+old days one always received a neatly-written or engraved invitation to
+dinner, worded in impersonal and formal style; but the other day Mrs.
+Alden had found a message which had been taken from the telephone:
+"Please come to dinner, but don't come unless you can bring a man, or
+we'll be thirteen at the table."
+
+And along with this went a perfectly incredible increase in luxury and
+extravagance. "You are surprised at what you see here to-day," said
+she--"but take my word for it, if you were to come back five years
+later, you'd find all our present standards antiquated, and our present
+pace-makers sent to the rear. You'd find new hotels and theatres
+opening, and food and clothing and furniture that cost twice as much as
+they cost now. Not so long ago a private car was a luxury; now it's as
+much a necessity as an opera-box or a private ball-room, and people who
+really count have private trains. I can remember when our girls wore
+pretty muslin gowns in summer, and sent them to wash; now they wear
+what they call lingerie gowns, dimity en princesse, with silk
+embroidery and real lace and ribbons, that cost a thousand dollars
+apiece and won't wash. Years ago when I gave a dinner, I invited a
+dozen friends, and my own chef cooked it and my own servants served it.
+Now I have to pay my steward ten thousand a year, and nothing that I
+have is good enough. I have to ask forty or fifty people, and I call in
+a caterer, and he brings everything of his own, and my servants go off
+and get drunk. You used to get a good dinner for ten dollars a plate,
+and fifteen was something special; but now you hear of dinners that
+cost a thousand a plate! And it's not enough to have beautiful flowers
+on the table--you have to have 'scenery'; there must be a rural
+landscape for a background, and goldfish in the finger-bowls, and five
+thousand dollars' worth of Florida orchids on the table, and floral
+favours of roses that cost a hundred and fifty dollars a dozen. I
+attended a dinner at the Waldorf last year that had cost fifty thousand
+dollars; and when I ask those people to see me, I have to give them as
+good as I got. The other day I paid a thousand dollars for a
+tablecloth!"
+
+"Why do you do it?" asked Montague, abruptly.
+
+"God knows," said the other; "I don't. I sometimes wonder myself. I
+guess it's because I've nothing else to do. It's like the story they
+tell about my brother--he was losing money in a gambling-place in
+Saratoga, and some one said to him, 'Davy, why do you go there--don't
+you know the game is crooked?' 'Of course it's crooked,' said he, 'but,
+damn it, it's the only game in town!'"
+
+"The pressure is more than anyone can stand," said Mrs. Alden, after a
+moment's thought. "It's like trying to swim against a current. You have
+to float, and do what every one expects you to do--your children and
+your friends and your servants and your tradespeople. All the world is
+in a conspiracy against you."
+
+"It's appalling to me," said the man.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "and there's never any end to it. You think you
+know it all, but you find you really know very little. Just think of
+the number of people there are trying to go the pace! They say there
+are seven thousand millionaires in this country, but I say there are
+twenty thousand in New York alone--or if they don't own a million,
+they're spending the income of it, which amounts to the same thing. You
+can figure that a man who pays ten thousand a year for rent is paying
+fifty thousand to live; and there's Fifth Avenue--two miles of it, if
+you count the uptown and downtown parts; and there's Madison Avenue,
+and half a dozen houses adjoining on every side street; and then there
+are the hotels and apartment houses, to say nothing of the West Side
+and Riverside Drive. And you meet these mobs of people in the shops and
+the hotels and the theatres, and they all want to be better dressed
+than you. I saw a woman here to-day that I never saw in my life before,
+and I heard her say she'd paid two thousand dollars for a lace
+handkerchief; and it might have been true, for I've been asked to pay
+ten thousand for a lace shawl at a bargain. It's a common enough thing
+to see a woman walking on Fifth Avenue with twenty or thirty thousand
+dollars' worth of furs on her. Fifty thousand is often paid for a coat
+of sable, and I know of one that cost two hundred thousand. I know
+women who have a dozen sets of furs--ermine, chinchilla, black fox,
+baby lamb, and mink and sable; and I know a man whose chauffeur quit
+him because he wouldn't buy him a ten-thousand-dollar fur coat! And
+once people used to pack their furs away and take care of them; but now
+they wear them about the street, or at the sea-shore, and you can
+fairly see them fade. Or else their cut goes out of fashion, and so
+they have to have new ones!"
+
+All that was material for thought. It was all true--there was no
+question about that. It seemed to be the rule that whenever you
+questioned a tale of the extravagances of New York, you would hear the
+next day of something several times more startling. Montague was
+staggered at the idea of a two-hundred-thousand-dollar fur coat; and
+yet not long afterward there arrived in the city a titled Englishwoman,
+who owned a coat worth a million dollars, which hard-headed insurance
+companies had insured for half a million. It was made of the soft
+plumage of rare Hawaiian birds, and had taken twenty years to make;
+each feather was crescent-shaped, and there were wonderful designs in
+crimson and gold and black. Every day in the casual conversation of
+your acquaintances you heard of similar incredible things; a tiny
+antique Persian rug, which could be folded into an overcoat pocket, for
+ten thousand dollars; a set of five "art fans," each blade painted by a
+famous artist and costing forty-three thousand dollars; a crystal cup
+for eighty thousand; an edition de luxe of the works of Dickens for a
+hundred thousand; a ruby, the size of a pigeon's egg, for three hundred
+thousand. In some of these great New York palaces there were fountains
+which cost a hundred dollars a minute to run; and in the harbour there
+were yachts which cost twenty thousand a month to keep in commission.
+
+And that same day, as it chanced, he learned of a brand-new kind of
+squandering. He went home to lunch with Mrs. Winnie Duval, and there
+met Mrs. Caroline Smythe, with whom he had talked at Castle Havens.
+Mrs. Smythe, whose husband had been a well-known Wall Street plunger,
+was soft and mushy, and very gushing in manner; and she asked him to
+come home to dinner with her, adding, "I'll introduce you to my babies."
+
+From what Montague had so far seen, he judged that babies played a very
+small part in the lives of the women of Society; and so he was
+interested, and asked, "How many have you?"
+
+"Only two, in town," said Mrs. Smythe. "I've just come up, you see."
+
+"How old are they?" he inquired politely; and when the lady added,
+"About two years," he asked, "Won't they be in bed by dinner time?"
+
+"Oh my, no!" said Mrs. Smythe. "The dear little lambs wait up for me. I
+always find them scratching at my chamber door and wagging their little
+tails."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie laughed merrily and said, "Why do you fool him?" and
+went on to inform Montague that Caroline's "babies" were griffons
+Bruxelloises. Griffons suggested to him vague ideas of dragons and
+unicorns and gargoyles; but he said nothing more, save to accept the
+invitation, and that evening he discovered that griffons Bruxelloises
+were tiny dogs, long-haired, yellow, and fluffy; and that for her two
+priceless treasures Mrs. Smythe had an expert nurse, to whom she paid a
+hundred dollars a month, and also a footman, and a special cuisine in
+which their complicated food was prepared. They had a regular dentist,
+and a physician, and gold plate to eat from. Mrs. Smythe also owned two
+long-haired St. Bernards of a very rare breed, and a fierce Great Dane,
+and a very fat Boston bull pup--the last having been trained to go for
+an airing all alone in her carriage, with a solemn coachman and footman
+to drive him.
+
+Montague, deftly keeping the conversation upon the subject of pets,
+learned that all this was quite common. Many women in Society
+artificially made themselves barren, because of the inconvenience
+incidental to pregnancy and motherhood; and instead they lavished their
+affections upon cats and dogs. Some of these animals had elaborate
+costumes, rivalling in expensiveness those of their step-mothers. They
+wore tiny boots, which cost eight dollars a pair--house boots, and
+street boots lacing up to the knees; they had house-coats,
+walking-coats, dusters, sweaters, coats lined with ermine, and
+automobile coats with head and chest-protectors and hoods and
+goggles--and each coat fitted with a pocket for its tiny handkerchief
+of fine linen or lace! And they had collars set with rubies and pearls
+and diamonds--one had a collar that cost ten thousand dollars!
+Sometimes there would be a coat to match every gown of the owner. There
+were dog nurseries and resting-rooms, in which they might be left
+temporarily; and manicure parlours for cats, with a physician in
+charge. When these pets died, there was an expensive cemetery in
+Brooklyn especially for their interment; and they would be duly
+embalmed and buried in plush-lined casket, and would have costly marble
+monuments. When one of Mrs. Smythe's best loved pugs had fallen ill of
+congestion of the liver, she had had tan-bark put upon the street in
+front of her house; and when in spite of this the dog died, she had
+sent out cards edged in black, inviting her friends to a "memorial
+service." Also she showed Montague a number of books with very costly
+bindings, in which were demonstrated the unity, simplicity, and
+immortality of the souls of cats and dogs.
+
+Apparently the sentimental Mrs. Smythe was willing to talk about these
+pets all through dinner; and so was her aunt, a thin and angular
+spinster, who sat on Montague's other side. And he was willing to
+listen--he wanted to know it all. There were umbrellas for dogs, to be
+fastened over their backs in wet weather; there were manicure and
+toilet sets, and silver medicine-chests, and jewel-studded whips. There
+were sets of engraved visiting-cards; there were wheel-chairs in which
+invalid cats and dogs might be taken for an airing. There were shows
+for cats and dogs, with pedigrees and prizes, and nearly as great
+crowds as the Horse Show; Mrs. Smythe's St. Bernards were worth seven
+thousand dollars apiece, and there were bull-dogs worth twice that.
+There was a woman who had come all the way from the Pacific coast to
+have a specialist perform an operation upon the throat of her Yorkshire
+terrier! There was another who had built for her dog a tiny Queen Anne
+cottage, with rooms papered and carpeted and hung with lace curtains!
+Once a young man of fashion had come to the Waldorf and registered
+himself and "Miss Elsie Cochrane"; and when the clerk made the usual
+inquiries as to the relationship of the young lady, it transpired that
+Miss Elsie was a dog, arrayed in a prim little tea-gown, and requiring
+a room to herself. And then there was a tale of a cat which had
+inherited a life-pension from a forty-thousand-dollar estate; it had a
+two-floor apartment and several attendants, and sat at table and ate
+shrimps and Italian chestnuts, and had a velvet couch for naps, and a
+fur-lined basket for sleeping at night!
+
+Four days of horses were enough for Montague, and on Friday morning,
+when Siegfried Harvey called him up and asked if he and Alice would
+come out to "The Roost" for the week-end, he accepted gladly. Charlie
+Carter was going, and volunteered to take them in his car; and so again
+they crossed the Williamsburg Bridge--"the Jewish passover," as Charlie
+called it--and went out on Long Island.
+
+Montague was very anxious to get a "line" on Charlie Carter; for he had
+not been prepared for the startling promptness with which this young
+man had fallen at Alice's feet. It was so obvious, that everybody was
+smiling over it--he was with her every minute that he could arrange it,
+and he turned up at every place to which she was invited. Both Mrs.
+Winnie and Oliver were quite evidently complacent, but Montague was by
+no means the same. Charlie had struck him as a good-natured but rather
+weak youth, inclined to melancholy; he was never without a cigarette in
+his fingers, and there had been signs that he was not quite proof
+against the pitfalls which Society set about him in the shape of
+decanters and wine-cups: though in a world where the fragrance of
+spirits was never out of one's nostrils, and where people drank with
+such perplexing frequency, it was hard to know where to draw a line.
+
+"You won't find my place like Havens's," Siegfried Harvey had said. "It
+is real country." Montague found it the most attractive of all the
+homes he had seen so far. It was a big rambling house, all in rustic
+style, with great hewn logs outside, and rafters within, and a winding
+oak stairway, and any number of dens and cosy corners, and broad
+window-seats with mountains of pillows. Everything here was built for
+comfort--there was a billiard-room and a smoking-room, and a real
+library with readable books and great chairs in which one sank out of
+sight. There were log fires blazing everywhere, and pictures on the
+walls that told of sport, and no end of guns and antlers and trophies
+of all sorts. But you were not to suppose that all this elaborate
+rusticity would be any excuse for the absence of attendants in livery,
+and a chef who boasted the cordon bleu, and a dinner-table resplendent
+with crystal and silver and orchids and ferns. After all, though the
+host called it a "small" place, he had invited twenty guests, and he
+had a hunter in his stables for each one of them.
+
+But the most wonderful thing about "The Roost" was the fact that, at a
+touch of a button, all the walls of the lower rooms vanished into the
+second story, and there was one huge, log-lighted room, with violins
+tuning up and calling to one's feet. They set a fast pace here--the
+dancing lasted until three o'clock, and at dawn again they were dressed
+and mounted, and following the pink-coated grooms and the hounds across
+the frost-covered fields.
+
+Montague was half prepared for a tame fox, but this was spared him.
+There was a real game, it seemed; and soon the pack gave tongue, and
+away went the hunt. It was the wildest ride that Montague ever had
+taken--over ditches and streams and innumerable rail-fences, and
+through thick coverts and densely populated barnyards; but he was in at
+the death, and Alice was only a few yards behind, to the immense
+delight of the company. This seemed to Montague the first real life he
+had met, and he thought to himself that these full-blooded and
+high-spirited men and women made a "set" into which he would have been
+glad to fit--save only that he had to earn his living, and they did not.
+
+In the afternoon there was more riding, and walks in the crisp November
+air; and indoors, bridge and rackets and ping-pong, and a fast and
+furious game of roulette, with the host as banker. "Do I look much like
+a professional gambler?" he asked of Montague; and when the other
+replied that he had not yet met any New York gamblers, young Harvey
+went on to tell how he had gone to buy this apparatus (the sale of
+which was forbidden by law) and had been asked by the dealer how
+"strong" he wanted it!
+
+Then in the evening there was more dancing, and on Sunday another hunt.
+That night a gambling mood seemed to seize the company--there were two
+bridge tables, and in another room the most reckless game of poker that
+Montague had ever sat in. It broke up at three in the morning, and one
+of the company wrote him a cheque for sixty-five hundred dollars; but
+even that could not entirely smooth his conscience, nor reconcile him
+to the fever that was in his blood.
+
+Most important to him, however, was the fact that during the game he at
+last got to know Charlie Carter. Charlie did not play, for the reason
+that he was drunk, and one of the company told him so and refused to
+play with him; which left poor Charlie nothing to do but get drunker.
+This he did, and came and hung over the shoulders of the players, and
+told the company all about himself.
+
+Montague was prepared to allow for the "wild oats" of a youngster with
+unlimited money, but never in his life had he heard or dreamed of
+anything like this boy. For half an hour he wandered about the table,
+and poured out a steady stream of obscenities; his mind was like a
+swamp, in which dwelt loathsome and hideous serpents which came to the
+surface at night and showed their flat heads and their slimy coils. In
+the heavens above or the earth beneath there was nothing sacred to him;
+there was nothing too revolting to be spewed out. And the company
+accepted the performance as an old story--the men would laugh, and push
+the boy away, and say, "Oh, Charlie, go to the devil!"
+
+After it was all over, Montague took one of the company aside and asked
+him what it meant; to which the man replied: "Good God! Do you mean
+that nobody has told you about Charlie Carter?"
+
+It appeared that Charlie was one of the "gilded youths" of the
+Tenderloin, whose exploits had been celebrated in the papers. And after
+the attendants had bundled him off to bed, several of the men gathered
+about the fire and sipped hot punch, and rehearsed for Montague's
+benefit some of his leading exploits.
+
+Charlie was only twenty-three, it seemed; and when he was ten his
+father had died and left eight or ten millions in trust for him, in the
+care of a poor, foolish aunt whom he twisted about his finger. At the
+age of twelve he was a cigarette fiend, and had the run of the
+wine-cellar. When he went to a rich private school he took whole trunks
+full of cigarettes with him, and finally ran away to Europe, to acquire
+the learning of the brothels of Paris. And then he came home and struck
+the Tenderloin; and at three o'clock one morning he walked through a
+plate-glass window, and so the newspapers took him up. That had
+suddenly opened a new vista in life for Charlie--he became a devotee of
+fame; everywhere he went he was followed by newspaper reporters and a
+staring crowd. He carried wads as big round as his arm, and gave away
+hundred-dollar tips to bootblacks, and lost forty thousand dollars in a
+game of poker. He gave a fete to the demi-monde, with a jewelled
+Christmas tree in midsummer, and fifty thousand dollars' worth of
+splendour. But the greatest stroke of all was the announcement that he
+was going to build a submarine yacht and fill it with
+chorus-girls!--Now Charlie had sunk out of public attention, and his
+friends would not see him for days; he would be lying in a "sporting
+house" literally wallowing in champagne.
+
+And all this, Montague realized, his brother must have known! And he
+had said not a word about it--because of the eight or ten millions
+which Charlie would have when he was twenty-five!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+In the morning they went home with others of the party by train. They
+could not wait for Charlie and his automobile, because Monday was the
+opening night of the Opera, and no one could miss that. Here Society
+would appear in its most gorgeous raiment, and, there would be a show
+of jewellery such as could be seen nowhere else in the world.
+
+General Prentice and his wife had opened their town-house, and had
+invited them to dinner and to share their box; and so at about
+half-past nine o'clock Montague found himself seated in a great balcony
+of the shape of a horseshoe, with several hundred of the richest people
+in the city. There was another tier of boxes above, and three galleries
+above that, and a thousand or more people seated and standing below
+him. Upon the big stage there was an elaborate and showy play, the
+words of which were sung to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
+
+Now Montague had never heard an opera, and he was fond of music. The
+second act had just begun when he came in, and all through it he sat
+quite spellbound, listening to the most ravishing strains that ever he
+had heard in his life. He scarcely noticed that Mrs. Prentice was
+spending her time studying the occupants of the other boxes through a
+jewelled lorgnette, or that Oliver was chattering to her daughter.
+
+But after the act was over, Oliver got him alone outside the box, and
+whispered, "For God's sake, Allan, don't make a fool of yourself."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" asked the other.
+
+"What will people think," exclaimed Oliver, "seeing you sitting there
+like a man in a dope dream?"
+
+"Why," laughed the other, "they'll think I'm listening to the music."
+
+To which Oliver responded, "People don't come to the Opera to listen to
+the music."
+
+This sounded like a joke, but it was not. To Society the Opera was a
+great state function, an exhibition of far more exclusiveness and
+magnificence than the Horse Show; and Society certainly had the right
+to say, for it owned the opera-house and ran it. The real music-lovers
+who came, either stood up in the back, or sat in the fifth gallery,
+close to the ceiling, where the air was foul and hot. How much Society
+cared about the play was sufficiently indicated by the fact that all of
+the operas were sung in foreign languages, and sung so carelessly that
+the few who understood the languages could make but little of the
+words. Once there was a world-poet who devoted his life to trying to
+make the Opera an art; and in the battle with Society he all but
+starved to death. Now, after half a century, his genius had triumphed,
+and Society consented to sit for hours in darkness and listen to the
+domestic disputes of German gods and goddesses. But what Society really
+cared for was a play with beautiful costumes and scenery and dancing,
+and pretty songs to which one could listen while one talked; the story
+must be elemental and passionate, so that one could understand it in
+pantomime--say the tragic love of a beautiful and noble-minded
+courtesan for a gallant young man of fashion.
+
+Nearly every one who came to the Opera had a glass, by means of which
+he could bring each gorgeously-clad society dame close to him, and
+study her at leisure. There were said to be two hundred million
+dollars' worth of diamonds in New York, and those that were not in the
+stores were very apt to be at this show; for here was where they could
+accomplish the purpose for which they existed--here was where all the
+world came to stare at them. There were nine prominent Society women,
+who among them displayed five million dollars' worth of jewels. You
+would see stomachers which looked like a piece of a coat of mail, and
+were made wholly of blazing diamonds. You would see emeralds and rubies
+and diamonds and pearls made in tiaras--that is to say, imitation
+crowns and coronets--and exhibited with a stout and solemn dowager for
+a pediment. One of the Wallings had set this fashion, and now every one
+of importance wore them. One lady to whom Montague was introduced made
+a speciality of pearls--two black pearl ear-rings at forty thousand
+dollars, a string at three hundred thousand, a brooch of pink pearls at
+fifty thousand, and two necklaces at a quarter of a million each!
+
+This incessant repetition of the prices of things came to seem very
+sordid; but Montague found that there was no getting away from it. The
+people in Society who paid these prices affected to be above all such
+considerations, to be interested only in the beauty and artistic
+excellence of the things themselves; but one found that they always
+talked about the prices which other people had paid, and that somehow
+other people always knew what they had paid. They took care also to see
+that the public and the newspapers knew what they had paid, and knew
+everything else that they were doing. At this Opera, for instance,
+there was a diagram of the boxes printed upon the programme, and a list
+of all the box-holders, so that anyone could tell who was who. You
+might see these great dames in their gorgeous robes coming from their
+carriages, with crowds staring at them and detectives hovering about.
+And the bosom of each would be throbbing with a wild and wonderful
+vision of the moment when she would enter her box, and the music would
+be forgotten, and all eyes would be turned upon her; and she would lay
+aside her wraps, and flash upon the staring throngs, a vision of
+dazzling splendour.
+
+Some of these jewels were family treasures, well known to New York for
+generations; and in such cases it was becoming the fashion to leave the
+real jewels in the safe-deposit vault, and to wear imitation stones
+exactly like them. From homes where the jewels were kept, detectives
+were never absent, and in many cases there were detectives watching the
+detectives; and yet every once in a while the newspapers would be full
+of a sensational story of a robbery. Then the unfortunates who chanced
+to be suspected would be seized by the police and subjected to what was
+jocularly termed the "third degree," and consisted of tortures as
+elaborate and cruel as any which the Spanish Inquisition had invented.
+The advertising value of this kind of thing was found to be so great
+that famous actresses also had costly jewels, and now and then would
+have them stolen.
+
+That night, when they had got home, Montague had a talk with his cousin
+about Charlie Carter. He discovered a peculiar situation. It seemed
+that Alice already knew that Charlie had been "bad." He was sick and
+miserable; and her beauty and innocence had touched him and made him
+ashamed of himself, and he had hinted darkly at dreadful evils. Thus
+carefully veiled, and tinged with mystery and romance, Montague could
+understand how Charlie made an interesting and appealing figure. "He
+says I'm different from any girl he ever met," said Alice--a remark of
+such striking originality that her cousin could not keep back his smile.
+
+Alice was not the least bit in love with him, and had no idea of being;
+and she said that she would accept no invitations, and never go alone
+with him; but she did not see how she could avoid him when she met him
+at other people's houses. And to this Montague had to assent.
+
+General Prentice had inquired kindly as to what Montague had seen in
+New York, and how he was getting along. He added that he had talked
+about him to Judge Ellis, and that when he was ready to get to work,
+the Judge would perhaps have some suggestions to make to him. He
+approved, however, of Montague's plan of getting his bearings first;
+and said that he would introduce him and put him up at a couple of the
+leading clubs.
+
+All this remained in Montague's mind; but there was no use trying to
+think of it at the moment. Thanksgiving was at hand, and in countless
+country mansions there would be gaieties under way. Bertie Stuyvesant
+had planned an excursion to his Adirondack camp, and had invited a
+score or so of young people, including the Montagues. This would be a
+new feature of the city's life, worth knowing about.
+
+Their expedition began with a theatre-party. Bertie had engaged four
+boxes, and they met there, an hour or so after the performance had
+begun. This made no difference, however, for the play was like the
+opera-a number of songs and dances strung together, and with only plot
+enough to provide occasion for elaborate scenery and costumes. From the
+play they were carried to the Grand Central Station, and a little
+before midnight Bertie's private train set out on its journey.
+
+This train was a completely equipped hotel. There was a baggage
+compartment and a dining-car and kitchen; and a drawing-room and
+library-car; and a bedroom-car--not with berths, such as the ordinary
+sleeping-car provides, but with comfortable bedrooms, furnished in
+white mahogany, and provided with running water and electric light. All
+these cars were built of steel, and automatically ventilated: and they
+were furnished in the luxurious fashion of everything with which Bertie
+Stuyvesant had anything to do. In the library-car there were velvet
+carpets upon the floor, and furniture of South American mahogany, and
+paintings upon the walls over which great artists had laboured for
+years.
+
+Bertie's chef and servants were on board, and a supper was ready in the
+dining-car, which they ate while watching the Hudson by moonlight. And
+the next morning they reached their destination, a little station in
+the mountain wilderness. The train lay upon a switch, and so they had
+breakfast at their leisure, and then, bundled in furs, came out into
+the crisp pine-laden air of the woods. There was snow upon the ground,
+and eight big sleighs waiting; and for nearly three hours they drove in
+the frosty sunlight, through most beautiful mountain scenery. A good
+part of the drive was in Bertie's "preserve," and the road was private,
+as big signs notified one every hundred yards or so.
+
+So at last they reached a lake, winding like a snake among towering
+hills, and with a huge baronial castle standing out upon the rocky
+shore. This imitation fortress was the "camp."
+
+Bertie's father had built it, and visited it only half a dozen times in
+his life. Bertie himself had only been here twice, he said. The deer
+were so plentiful that in the winter they died in scores. Nevertheless
+there were thirty game-keepers to guard the ten thousand acres of
+forest, and prevent anyone's hunting in it. There were many such
+"preserves" in this Adirondack wilderness, so Montague was told; one
+man had a whole mountain fenced about with heavy iron railing, and had
+moose and elk and even wild boar inside. And as for the "camps," there
+were so many that a new style of architecture had been developed
+here--to say nothing of those which followed old styles, like this
+imported Rhine castle. One of Bertie's crowd had a big Swiss chalet;
+and one of the Wallings had a Japanese palace to which he came every
+August--a house which had been built from plans drawn in Japan, and by
+labourers imported especially from Japan. It was full of Japanese
+ware--furniture, tapestry, and mosaics; and the guides remembered with
+wonder the strange silent, brown-skinned little men who had laboured
+for days at carving a bit of wood, and had built a tiny pagoda-like
+tea-house with more bits of wood in it than a man could count in a week.
+
+They had a luncheon of fresh venison and partridges and trout, and in
+the afternoon a hunt. The more active set out to track the deer in the
+snow; but most prepared to watch the lake-shore, while the game-keepers
+turned loose the dogs back in the hills. This "hounding" was against
+the law, but Bertie was his own law here--and at the worst there could
+simply be a small fine, imposed upon some of the keepers. They drove
+eight or ten deer to water; and as they fired as many as twenty shots
+at one deer, they had quite a lively time. Then at dusk they came back,
+in a fine glow of excitement, and spent the evening before the blazing
+logs, telling over their adventures.
+
+The party spent two days and a half here, and on the last evening,
+which was Thanksgiving, they had a wild turkey which Bertie had shot
+the week before in Virginia, and were entertained by a minstrel show
+which had been brought up from New York the night before. The next
+afternoon they drove back to the train.
+
+In the morning, when they reached the city, Alice found a note from
+Mrs. Winnie Duval, begging her and Montague to come to lunch and attend
+a private lecture by the Swami Babubanana, who would tell them all
+about the previous states of their souls. They went--though not without
+a protest from old Mrs. Montague, who declared it was "worse than Bob
+Ingersoll."
+
+And then, in the evening, came Mrs. de Graffenried's opening
+entertainment, which was one of the great events of the social year. In
+the general rush of things Montague had not had a chance properly to
+realize it; but Reggie Mann and Mrs. de Graffenried had been working
+over it for weeks. When the Montagues arrived, they found the Riverside
+mansion--which was decorated in imitation of an Arabian palace--turned
+into a jungle of tropical plants.
+
+They had come early at Reggie's request, and he introduced them to Mrs.
+de Graffenried, a tall and angular lady with a leathern complexion
+painfully painted; Mrs. de Graffenried was about fifty years of age,
+but like all the women of Society she was made up for thirty. Just at
+present there were beads of perspiration upon her forehead; something
+had gone wrong at the last moment, and so Reggie would have no time to
+show them the favours, as he had intended.
+
+About a hundred and fifty guests were invited to this entertainment. A
+supper was served at little tables in the great ball-room, and
+afterward the guests wandered about the house while the tables were
+whisked out of the way and the room turned into a play-house. A company
+from one of the Broadway theatres would be bundled into cabs at the end
+of the performance, and by midnight they would be ready to repeat the
+performance at Mrs. de Graffenried's. Montague chanced to be near when
+this company arrived, and he observed that the guests had crowded up
+too close, and not left room enough for the actors. So the manager had
+placed them in a little ante-room, and when Mrs. de Graffenried
+observed this, she rushed at the man, and swore at him like a dragoon,
+and ordered the bewildered performers out into the main room.
+
+But this was peering behind the scenes, and he was supposed to be
+watching the play. The entertainment was another "musical comedy" like
+the one he had seen a few nights before. On that occasion, however,
+Bertie Stuyvesant's sister had talked to him the whole time, while now
+he was let alone, and had a chance to watch the performance.
+
+This was a very popular play; it had had a long run, and the papers
+told how its author had an income of a couple of hundred thousand
+dollars a year. And here was an audience of the most rich and
+influential people in the city; and they laughed and clapped, and made
+it clear that they were enjoying themselves heartily. And what sort of
+a play was it?
+
+It was called "The Kaliph of Kamskatka." It had no shred of a plot; the
+Kaliph had seventeen wives, and there was an American drummer who
+wanted to sell him another--but then you did not need to remember this,
+for nothing came of it. There was nothing in the play which could be
+called a character--there was nothing which could be connected with any
+real emotion ever felt by human beings. Nor could one say that there
+was any incident--at least nothing happened because of anything else.
+Each event was a separate thing, like the spasmodic jerking in the face
+of an idiot. Of this sort of "action" there was any quantity--at an
+instant's notice every one on the stage would fall simultaneously into
+this condition of idiotic jerking. There was rushing about, shouting,
+laughing, exclaiming; the stage was in a continual uproar of
+excitement, which was without any reason or meaning. So it was
+impossible to think of the actors in their parts; one kept thinking of
+them as human beings--thinking of the awful tragedy of full-grown men
+and women being compelled by the pressure of hunger to dress up and
+paint themselves, and then come out in public and dance, stamp, leap
+about, wring their hands, make faces, and otherwise be "lively."
+
+The costumes were of two sorts: one fantastic, supposed to represent
+the East, and the other a kind of reductio ad absurdum of fashionable
+garb. The leading man wore a "natty" outing-suit, and strutted with a
+little cane; his stock-in-trade was a jaunty air, a kind of perpetual
+flourish, and a wink that suggested the cunning of a satyr. The leading
+lady changed her costume several times in each act; but it invariably
+contained the elements of bare arms and bosom and back, and a skirt
+which did not reach her knees, and bright-coloured silk stockings, and
+slippers with heels two inches high. Upon the least provocation she
+would execute a little pirouette, which would reveal the rest of her
+legs, surrounded by a mass of lace ruffles. It is the nature of the
+human mind to seek the end of things; if this woman had worn a suit of
+tights and nothing else, she would have been as uninteresting as an
+underwear advertisement in a magazine; but this incessant
+not-quite-revealing of herself exerted a subtle fascination. At
+frequent intervals the orchestra would start up a jerky little tune,
+and the two "stars" would begin to sing in nasal voices some words
+expressive of passion; then the man would take the woman about the
+waist and dance and swing her about and bend her backward and gaze into
+her eyes--actions all vaguely suggestive of the relationship of sex. At
+the end of the verse a chorus would come gliding on, clad in any sort
+of costume which admitted of colour and the display of legs; the
+painted women of this chorus were never still for an instant--if they
+were not actually dancing, they were wriggling their legs, and jerking
+their bodies from side to side, and nodding their heads, and in all
+other possible ways being "lively."
+
+But it was not the physical indecency of this show that struck Montague
+so much as its intellectual content. The dialogue of the piece was what
+is called "smart"; that is, it was full of a kind of innuendo which
+implied a secret understanding of evil between the actor and his
+audience--a sort of countersign which passed between them. After all,
+it would have been an error to say that there were no ideas in the
+play--there was one idea upon which all the interest of it was based;
+and Montague strove to analyze this idea and formulate it to himself.
+There are certain life principles-one might call them moral
+axioms--which are the result of the experience of countless ages of the
+human race, and upon the adherence to which the continuance of the race
+depends. And here was an audience by whom all these principles
+were--not questioned, nor yet disputed, nor yet denied--but to whom the
+denial was the axiom, something which it would be too banal to state
+flatly, but which it was elegant and witty to take for granted. In this
+audience there were elderly people, and married men and women, and
+young men and maidens; and a perfect gale of laughter swept through it
+at a story of a married woman whose lover had left her when he got
+married:--
+
+"She must have been heartbroken," said the leading lady.
+
+"She was desperate," said the leading man, with a grin.
+
+"What did she do?" asked the lady "Go and shoot herself?"
+
+"Worse than that," said the man. "She, went back to her husband and had
+a baby!"
+
+But to complete your understanding of the significance of this play,
+you must bring yourself to realize that it was not merely a play, but a
+kind of a play; it had a name--a "musical comedy"--the meaning of which
+every one understood. Hundreds of such plays were written and produced,
+and "dramatic critics" went to see them and gravely discussed them, and
+many thousands of people made their livings by travelling over the
+country and playing them; stately theatres were built for them, and
+hundreds of thousands of people paid their money every night to see
+them. And all this no joke and no nightmare--but a thing that really
+existed. Men and women were doing these things--actual flesh-and-blood
+human beings.
+
+Montague wondered, in an awestricken sort of way, what kind of human
+being it could be who had flourished the cane and made the grimaces in
+that play. Later on, when he came to know the "Tenderloin," he met this
+same actor, and he found that he had begun life as a little Irish
+"mick" who lived in a tenement, and whose mother stood at the head of
+the stairway and defended him with a rolling-pin against a policeman
+who was chasing him. He had discovered that he could make a living by
+his comical antics; but when he came home and told his mother that he
+had been offered twenty dollars a week by a show manager, she gave him
+a licking for lying to her. Now he was making three thousand dollars a
+week--more than the President of the United States and his Cabinet; but
+he was not happy, as he confided to Montague, because he did not know
+how to read, and this was a cause of perpetual humiliation. The secret
+desire of this little actor's heart was to play Shakespeare; he had
+"Hamlet" read to him, and pondered how to act it--all the time that he
+was flourishing his little cane and making his grimaces! He had chanced
+to be on the stage when a fire had broken out, and five or six hundred
+victims of greed were roasted to death. The actor had pleaded with the
+people to keep their seats, but all in vain; and all his life
+thereafter he went about with this vision of horror in his mind, and
+haunted by the passionate conviction that he had failed because of his
+lack of education--that if only he had been a man of culture, he would
+have been able to think of something to say to hold those
+terror-stricken people!
+
+At three o'clock in the morning the performance came to an end, and
+then there were more refreshments; and Mrs. Vivie Patton came and sat
+by him, and they had a nice comfortable gossip. When Mrs. Vivie once
+got started at talking about people, her tongue ran on like a windmill.
+
+There was Reggie Mann, meandering about and simpering at people. Reggie
+was in his glory at Mrs. de Graffenried's affairs. Reggie had arranged
+all this-he did the designing and the ordering, and contracted for the
+shows with the agents. You could bet that he had got his commission on
+them, too--though sometimes Mrs. de Graffenried got the shows to come
+for nothing, because of the advertising her name would bring.
+Commissions were Reggie's speciality--he had begun life as an auto
+agent. Montague didn't know what that was? An auto agent was a man who
+was for ever begging his friends to use a certain kind of car, so that
+he might make a living; and Reggie had made about thirty thousand a
+year in that way. He had come from Boston, where his reputation had
+been made by the fact that early one morning, as they were driving home
+from a celebration, he had dared a young society matron to take off her
+shoes and stockings, and get out and wade in the public fountain; and
+she had done it, and he had followed her. On the strength of the eclat
+of this he had been taken up by Mrs. Devon; and one day Mrs. Devon had
+worn a white gown, and asked him what he thought of it. "It needs but
+one thing to make it perfect," said Reggie, and taking a red rose, he
+pinned it upon her corsage. The effect was magical; every one exclaimed
+with delight, and so Reggie's reputation as an authority upon dress was
+made for ever. Now he was Mrs. de Graffenried's right-hand man, and
+they made up their pranks together. Once they had walked down the
+street in Newport with a big rag doll between them. And Reggie had
+given a dinner at which the guest of honour had been a monkey--surely
+Montague had heard of that, for it had been the sensation of the
+season. It was really the funniest thing imaginable; the monkey wore a
+suit of broad-cloth with collar and cuffs, and he shook hands with all
+the guests, and behaved himself exactly like a gentleman--except that
+he did not get drunk.
+
+And then Mrs. Vivie pointed out the great Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, who
+was sitting with one of her favourites, a grave, black-bearded
+gentleman who had leaped into fame by inheriting fifty million dollars.
+"Mrs. R.-C." had taken him up, and ordered his engagement book for him,
+and he was solemnly playing the part of a social light. He had
+purchased an old New York mansion, upon the decoration of which three
+million dollars had been spent; and when he came down to business from
+Tuxedo, his private train waited all day for him with steam up. Mrs.
+Vivie told an amusing tale of a woman who had announced her engagement
+to him, and borrowed large sums of money upon the strength of it,
+before his denial came out. That had been a source of great delight to
+Mrs. de Graffenried, who was furiously jealous of "Mrs. R. C."
+
+From the anecdotes that people told, Montague judged that Mrs. de
+Graffenried must be one of those new leaders of Society, who, as Mrs.
+Alden said, were inclined to the bizarre and fantastic. Mrs. de
+Graffenried spent half a million dollars every season to hold the
+position of leader of the Newport set, and you could always count upon
+her for new and striking ideas. Once she had given away as cotillion
+favours tiny globes with goldfish in them; again she had given a dance
+at which everybody got themselves up as different vegetables. She was
+fond of going about at Newport and inviting people haphazard to
+lunch--thirty or forty at a time--and then surprising them with a
+splendid banquet. Again she would give a big formal dinner, and perplex
+people by offering them something which they really cared to eat. "You
+see," explained Mrs. Vivie, "at these dinners we generally get thick
+green turtle soup, and omelettes with some sort of Florida water poured
+over them, and mushrooms cooked under glass, and real hand-made
+desserts; but Mrs. de Graffenried dares to have baked ham and sweet
+potatoes, or even real roast beef. You saw to-night that she had green
+corn; she must have arranged for that months ahead--we can never get it
+from Porto Rico until January. And you see this little dish of wild
+strawberries--they were probably transplanted and raised in a hothouse,
+and every single one wrapped separately before they were shipped."
+
+All these labours had made Mrs. de Graffenried a tremendous power in
+the social world. She had a savage tongue, said Mrs. Vivie, and every
+one lived in terror of her; but once in a while she met her match. Once
+she had invited a comic opera star to sing for her guests, and all the
+men had crowded round this actress, and Mrs. de Graffenried had flown
+into a passion and tried to drive them away; and the actress, lolling
+back in her chair, and gazing up idly at Mrs. de Graffenried, had
+drawled, "Ten years older than God!" Poor Mrs. de Graffenried would
+carry that saying with her until she died.
+
+Something reminiscent of this came under Montague's notice that same
+evening. At about four o'clock Mrs. Vivie wished to go home, and asked
+him to find her escort, the Count St. Elmo de Champignon--the man, by
+the way, for whom her husband was gunning. Montague roamed all about
+the house, and finally went downstairs, where a room had been set apart
+for the theatrical company to partake of refreshments. Mrs. de
+Graffenried's secretary was on guard at the door; but some of the boys
+had got into the room, and were drinking champagne and "making dates"
+with the chorus-girls. And here was Mrs. de Graffenried herself,
+pushing them bodily out of the room, a score and more of them--and
+among them Mrs. Vivie's Count!
+
+Montague delivered his message, and then went upstairs to wait until
+his own party should be ready to leave. In the smoking-room were a
+number of men, also waiting; and among them he noticed Major Venable,
+in conversation with a man whom he did not know. "Come over here," the
+Major called; and Montague obeyed, at the same time noticing the
+stranger.
+
+He was a tall, loose-jointed, powerfully built man, a small head and a
+very striking face: a grim mouth with drooping corners tightly set, and
+a hawk-like nose, and deep-set, peering eyes. "Have you met Mr. Hegan?"
+said the Major. "Hegan, this is Mr. Allan Montague." Jim Hegan!
+Montague repressed a stare and took the chair which they offered him.
+"Have a cigar," said Hegan, holding out his case.
+
+"Mr. Montague has just come to New York," said the Major. "He is a
+Southerner, too."
+
+"Indeed?" said Hegan, and inquired what State he came from. Montague
+replied, and added, "I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter last
+week, at the Horse Show."
+
+That served to start a conversation; for Hegan came from Texas, and
+when he found that Montague knew about horses--real horses--he warmed
+to him. Then the Major's party called him away, and the other two were
+left to carry on the conversation.
+
+It was very easy to chat with Hegan; and yet underneath, in the other's
+mind, there lurked a vague feeling of trepidation, as he realized that
+he was chatting with a hundred millions of dollars. Montague was new
+enough at the game to imagine that there ought to be something strange,
+some atmosphere of awe and mystery, about a man who was master of a
+dozen railroads and of the politics of half a dozen States. He was
+simple and very kindly in his manner, a plain man, interested in plain
+things. There was about him, as he talked, a trace of timidity, almost
+of apology, which Montague noticed and wondered at. It was only later,
+when he had time to think about it, that he realized that Hegan had
+begun as a farmer's boy in Texas, a "poor white"; and could it be that
+after all these years an instinct remained in him, so that whenever he
+met a gentleman of the old South he stood by with a little deference,
+seeming to beg pardon for his hundred millions of dollars?
+
+And yet there was the power of the man. Even chatting about horses, you
+felt it; you felt that there was a part of him which did not chat, but
+which sat behind and watched. And strangest of all, Montague found
+himself fancying that behind the face that smiled was another face,
+that did not smile, but that was grim and set. It was a strange face,
+with its broad, sweeping eyebrows and its drooping mouth; it haunted
+Montague and made him feel ill at ease.
+
+There came Laura Hegan, who greeted them in her stately way; and Mrs.
+Hegan, bustling and vivacious, costumed en grande dame. "Come and see
+me some time," said the man. "You won't be apt to meet me otherwise,
+for I don't go about much." And so they took their departure; and
+Montague sat alone and smoked and thought. The face still stayed with
+him; and now suddenly, in a burst of light, it came to him what it was:
+the face of a bird of prey--of the great wild, lonely eagle! You have
+seen it, perhaps, in a menagerie; sitting high up, submitting
+patiently, biding its time. But all the while the soul of the eagle is
+far away, ranging the wide spaces, ready for the lightning swoop, and
+the clutch with the cruel talons!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+The next week was a busy one for the Montagues. The Robbie Wallings had
+come to town and opened their house, and the time drew near for the
+wonderful d�butante dance at which Alice was to be formally presented
+to Society. And of course Alice must have a new dress for the occasion,
+and it must be absolutely the most beautiful dress ever known. In an
+idle moment her cousin figured out that it was to cost her about five
+dollars a minute to be entertained by the Wallings!
+
+What it would cost the Wallings, one scarcely dared to think. Their
+ballroom would be turned into a flower-garden; and there would be a
+supper for a hundred guests, and still another supper after the dance,
+and costly favours for every figure. The purchasing of these latter had
+been entrusted to Oliver, and Montague heard with dismay what they were
+to cost. "Robbie couldn't afford to do anything second-rate," was the
+younger brother's only reply to his exclamations.
+
+Alice divided her time between the Wallings and her costumiers, and
+every evening she came home with a new tale of important developments.
+Alice was new at the game, and could afford to be excited; and Mrs.
+Robbie liked to see her bright face, and to smile indulgently at her
+eager inquiries. Mrs. Robbie herself had given her orders to her
+steward and her florist and her secretary, and went on her way and
+thought no more about it. That was the way of the great ladies--or, at
+any rate, it was their pose.
+
+The town-house of the Robbies was a stately palace occupying a block
+upon Fifth Avenue--one of the half-dozen mansions of the Walling family
+which were among the show places of the city. It would take a catalogue
+to list the establishments maintained by the Wallings--there was an
+estate in North Carolina, and another in the Adirondacks, and others on
+Long Island and in New Jersey. Also there were several in Newport--one
+which was almost never occupied, and which Mrs. Billy Alden
+sarcastically described as "a three-million-dollar castle on a desert."
+
+Montague accompanied Alice once or twice, and had an opportunity to
+study Mrs. Robbie at home. There were thirty-eight servants in her
+establishment; it was a little state all in itself, with Mrs. Robbie as
+queen, and her housekeeper as prime minister, and under them as many
+different ranks and classes and castes as in a feudal principality.
+There had to be six separate dining-rooms for the various kinds of
+servants who scorned each other; there were servants' servants and
+servants of servants' servants. There were only three to whom the
+mistress was supposed to give orders--the butler, the steward, and the
+housekeeper; she did not even know the names of many of them, and they
+were changed so often, that, as she declared, she had to leave it to
+her detective to distinguish between employees and burglars.
+
+Mrs. Robbie was quite a young woman, but it pleased her to pose as a
+care-worn matron, weary of the responsibilities of her exalted station.
+The ignorant looked on and pictured her as living in the lap of ease,
+endowed with every opportunity: in reality the meanest kitchen-maid was
+freer--she was quite worn thin with the burdens that fell upon her. The
+huge machine was for ever threatening to fall to pieces, and required
+the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job to keep it running. One
+paid one's steward a fortune, and yet he robbed right and left, and
+quarrelled with the chef besides. The butler was suspected of getting
+drunk upon rare and costly vintages, and the new parlour-maid had
+turned out to be a Sunday reporter in disguise. The man who had come
+every day for ten years to wind the clocks of the establishment was
+dead, and the one who took care of the bric-a-brac was sick, and the
+housekeeper was in a panic over the prospect of having to train another.
+
+And even suppose that you escaped from these things, the real problems
+of your life had still to be faced. It was not enough to keep alive;
+you had your career--your duties as a leader of Society. There was the
+daily mail, with all the pitiful letters from people begging
+money--actually in one single week there were demands for two million
+dollars. There were geniuses with patent incubators and stove-lifters,
+and every time you gave a ball you stirred up swarms of anarchists and
+cranks. And then there were the letters you really had to answer, and
+the calls that had to be paid. These latter were so many that people in
+the same neighbourhood had arranged to have the same day at home; thus,
+if you lived on Madison Avenue you had Thursday; but even then it took
+a whole afternoon to leave your cards. And then there were invitations
+to be sent and accepted; and one was always making mistakes and
+offending somebody--people would become mortal enemies overnight, and
+expect all the world to know it the next morning. And now there were so
+many divorces and remarryings, with consequent changing of names; and
+some men knew about their wives' lovers and didn't care, and some did
+care, but didn't know--altogether it was like carrying a dozen chess
+games in your head. And then there was the hairdresser and the
+manicurist and the masseuse, and the tailor and the bootmaker and the
+jeweller; and then one absolutely had to glance through a newspaper,
+and to see one's children now and then.
+
+All this Mrs. Robbie explained at luncheon; it was the rich man's
+burden, about which common people had no conception whatever. A person
+with a lot of money was like a barrel of molasses--all the flies in the
+neighbourhood came buzzing about. It was perfectly incredible, the
+lengths to which people would go to get invited to your house; not only
+would they write and beg you, they might attack your business
+interests, and even bribe your friends. And on the other hand, when
+people thought you needed them, the time you had to get them to come!
+"Fancy," said Mrs. Robbie, "offering to give a dinner to an English
+countess, and having her try to charge you for coming!" And incredible
+as it might seem, some people had actually yielded to her, and the
+disgusting creature had played the social celebrity for a whole season,
+and made quite a handsome income out of it. There seemed to be no limit
+to the abjectness of some of the tuft-hunters in Society.
+
+It was instructive to hear Mrs. Robbie denounce such evils; and
+yet--alas for human frailty--the next time that Montague called, the
+great lady was blazing with wrath over the tidings that a new foreign
+prince was coming to America, and that Mrs. Ridgely-Clieveden had
+stolen a march upon her and grabbed him. He was to be under her
+tutelage the entire time, and all the effulgence of his magnificence
+would be radiated upon that upstart house. Mrs. Robbie revenged herself
+by saying as many disagreeable things about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden as
+she could think of; winding up with the declaration that if she behaved
+with this prince as she had with the Russian grand duke, Mrs. Robbie
+Walling, for one, would cut her dead. And truly the details which Mrs.
+Robbie cited were calculated to suggest that her rival's hospitality
+was a reversion to the customs of primitive savagery.
+
+The above is a fair sample of the kind of conversation that one heard
+whenever one visited any of the Wallings. Perhaps, as Mrs. Robbie said,
+it may have been their millions that made necessary their attitude
+toward other people; certain it was, at any rate, that Montague found
+them all most disagreeable people to know. There was always some
+tempest in a teapot over the latest machinations of their enemies. And
+then there was the whole dead mass of people who sponged upon them and
+toadied to them; and finally the barbarian hordes outside the magic
+circle of their acquaintance--some specimens of whom came up every day
+for ridicule. They had big feet and false teeth; they ate mush and
+molasses; they wore ready-made ties; they said: "Do you wish that I
+should do it?" Their grandfathers had been butchers and pedlars and
+other abhorrent things. Montague tried his best to like the Wallings,
+because of what they were doing for Alice; but after he had sat at
+their lunch-table and listened to a conversation such as this, he found
+himself in need of fresh air.
+
+And then he would begin to wonder about his own relation to these
+people. If they talked about every one else behind their backs,
+certainly they must talk about him behind his. And why did they go out
+of their way to make him at home, and why were they spending their
+money to launch Alice in Society? In the beginning he had assumed that
+they did it out of the goodness of their hearts; but now that he had
+looked into their hearts, he rejected the explanation. It was not their
+way to shower princely gifts upon strangers; in general, the attitude
+of all the Wallings toward a stranger was that of the London
+hooligan--"'Eave a 'arf a brick at 'im!" They considered themselves
+especially appointed by Providence to protect Society from the vulgar
+newly rich who poured into the city, seeking for notoriety and
+recognition. They prided themselves upon this attitude--they called it
+their "exclusiveness"; and the exclusiveness of the younger generations
+of Wallings had become a kind of insanity.
+
+Nor could the reason be that Alice was beautiful and attractive. One
+could have imagined it if Mrs. Robbie had been like--say, Mrs. Winnie
+Duval. It was easy to think of Mrs. Winnie taking a fancy to a girl,
+and spending half her fortune upon her. But from a hundred little
+things that he had seen, Montague had come to realize that the Robbie
+Wallings, with all their wealth and power and grandeur, were actually
+quite stingy. While all the world saw them scattering fortunes in their
+pathway, in reality they were keeping track of every dollar. And Robbie
+himself was liable to panic fits of economy, in which he went to the
+most absurd excesses--Montague once heard him haggling over fifty cents
+with a cabman. Lavish hosts though they both were, it was the literal
+truth that they never spent money upon anyone but themselves--the end
+and aim of their every action was the power and prestige of the Robbie
+Wallings.
+
+"They do it because they are friends of mine," said Oliver, and
+evidently wished that to satisfy his brother. But it only shifted the
+problem and set him to watching Robbie and Oliver, and trying to make
+out the basis of their relationship. There was a very grave question
+concerned in this. Oliver had come to New York comparatively poor, and
+now he was rich--or, at any rate, he lived like a rich man. And his
+brother, whose scent was growing keener with every day of his stay in
+New York, had about made up his mind that Oliver got his money from
+Robbie Walling.
+
+Here, again, the problem would have been simple, if it had been another
+person than Robbie; Montague would have concluded that his brother was
+a "hanger-on." There were many great families whose establishments were
+infested with such parasites. Siegfried Harvey, for instance, was a man
+who had always half a dozen young chaps hanging about him; good-looking
+and lively fellows, who hunted and played bridge, and amused the
+married women while their husbands were at work, and who, if ever they
+dropped a hint that they were hard up, might be reasonably certain of
+being offered a cheque. But if the Robbie Wallings were to write
+cheques, it must be for value received. And what could the value be?
+
+"Ollie" was rather a little god among the ultra-swagger; his taste was
+a kind of inspiration. And yet his brother noticed that in such
+questions he always deferred instantly to the Wallings; and surely the
+Wallings were not people to be persuaded that they needed anyone to
+guide them in matters of taste. Again, Ollie was the very devil of a
+wit, and people were heartily afraid of him; and Montague had noticed
+that he never by any chance made fun of Robbie--that the fetiches of
+the house of Walling were always treated with respect. So he had
+wondered if by any chance Robbie was maintaining his brother in
+princely state for the sake of his ability to make other people
+uncomfortable. But he realized that the Robbies, in their own view of
+it, could have no more need of wit than a battleship has need of
+popguns. Oliver's position, when they were about, was rather that of
+the man who hardly ever dared to be as clever as he might, because of
+the restless jealousy of his friend.
+
+It was a mystery; and it made the elder brother very uncomfortable.
+Alice was young and guileless, and a pleasant person to patronize; but
+he was a man of the world, and it was his business to protect her. He
+had always paid his own way through life, and he was very loath to put
+himself under obligations to people like the Wallings, whom he did not
+like, and who, he felt instinctively, could not like him.
+
+But of course there was nothing he could do about it. The date for the
+great festivity was set; and the Wallings were affable and friendly,
+and Alice all a-tremble with excitement. The evening arrived, and with
+it came the enemies of the Wallings, dressed in their jewels and fine
+raiment. They had been asked because they were too important to be
+skipped, and they had come because the Wallings were too powerful to be
+ignored. They revenged themselves by consuming many courses of
+elaborate and costly viands; and they shook hands with Alice and beamed
+upon her, and then discussed her behind her back as if she were a
+French doll in a show-case. They decided unanimously that her elder
+cousin was a "stick," and that the whole family were interlopers and
+shameless adventurers; but it was understood that since the Robbie
+Wallings had seen fit to take them up, it would be necessary to invite
+them about.
+
+At any rate, that was the way it all seemed to Montague, who had been
+brooding. To Alice it was a splendid festivity, to which exquisite
+people came to take delight in each other's society. There were
+gorgeous costumes and sparkling gems; there was a symphony of perfumes,
+intoxicating the senses, and a golden flood of music streaming by;
+there were laughing voices and admiring glances, and handsome partners
+with whom one might dance through the portals of fairyland.--And then,
+next morning, there were accounts in all the newspapers, with
+descriptions of one's costume and then some of those present, and even
+the complete menus of the supper, to assist in preserving the memories
+of the wonderful occasion.
+
+Now they were really in Society. A reporter called to get Alice's photo
+for the Sunday supplement; and floods of invitations came--and with
+them all the cares and perplexities about which Mrs. Robbie had told.
+Some of these invitations had to be declined, and one must know whom it
+was safe to offend. Also, there was a long letter from a destitute
+widow, and a proposal from a foreign count. Mrs. Robbie's secretary had
+a list of many hundreds of these professional beggars and blackmailers.
+
+Conspicuous at the dance was Mrs. Winnie, in a glorious electric-blue
+silk gown. And she shook her fan at Montague, exclaiming, "You wretched
+man--you promised to come and see me!"
+
+"I've been out of town," Montague protested.
+
+"Well, come to dinner to-morrow night," said Mrs. Winnie. "There'll be
+some bridge fiends."
+
+"You forget I haven't learned to play," he objected.
+
+"Well, come anyhow," she replied. "We'll teach you. I'm no player
+myself, and my husband will be there, and he's good-natured; and my
+brother Dan--he'll have to be whether he likes it or not."
+
+So Montague visited the Snow Palace again, and met Winton Duval, the
+banker,--a tall, military-looking man of about fifty, with a big grey
+moustache, and bushy eyebrows, and the head of a lion. His was one of
+the city's biggest banking-houses, and in alliance with powerful
+interests in the Street. At present he was going in for mines in Mexico
+and South America, and so he was very seldom at home. He was a man of
+most rigid habits--he would come back unexpectedly after a month's
+trip, and expect to find everything ready for him, both at home and in
+his office, as if he had just stepped round the corner. Montague
+observed that he took his menu-card and jotted down his comments upon
+each dish, and then sent it down to the chef. Other people's dinners he
+very seldom attended, and when his wife gave her entertainments, he
+invariably dined at the club.
+
+He pleaded a business engagement for the evening; and as brother Dan
+did not appear, Montague did not learn any bridge. The other four
+guests settled down to the game, and Montague and Mrs. Winnie sat and
+chatted, basking before the fireplace in the great entrance-hall.
+
+"Have you seen Charlie Carter?" was the first question she asked him.
+
+"Not lately," he answered; "I met him at Harvey's."
+
+"I know that," said she. "They tell me he got drunk."
+
+"I'm afraid he did," said Montague.
+
+"Poor boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Winnie. "And Alice saw him! He must be
+heartbroken!"
+
+Montague said nothing. "You know," she went on, "Charlie really means
+well. He has honestly an affectionate nature."
+
+She paused; and Montague Said, vaguely, "I suppose so."
+
+"You don't like him," said the other. "I can see that. And I suppose
+now Alice will have no use for him, either. And I had it all fixed up
+for her to reform him!"
+
+Montague smiled in spite of himself.
+
+"Oh, I know," said she. "It wouldn't have been easy. But you've no idea
+what a beautiful boy Charlie used to be, until all the women set to
+work to ruin him."
+
+"I can imagine it," said Montague; but he did not warm to the subject.
+
+"You're just like my husband," said Mrs. Winnie, sadly. "You have no
+use at all for anything that's weak or unfortunate."
+
+There was a pause. "And I suppose," she said finally, "you'll be
+turning into a business man also--with no time for anybody or anything.
+Have you begun yet?"
+
+"Not yet," he answered. "I'm still looking round."
+
+"I haven't the least idea about business," she confessed. "How does one
+begin at it?"
+
+"I can't say I know that myself as yet," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Would you like to be a protege of my husband's?" she asked.
+
+The proposition was rather sudden, but he answered, with a smile, "I
+should have no objections. What would he do with me?"
+
+"I don't know that. But he can do whatever he wants down town. And he'd
+show you how to make a lot of money if I asked him to." Then Mrs.
+Winnie added, quickly, "I mean it--he could do it, really."
+
+"I haven't the least doubt of it," responded Montague.
+
+"And what's more," she went on, "you don't want to be shy about taking
+advantage of the opportunities that come to you. You'll find you won't
+get along in New York unless you go right in and grab what you can.
+People will be quick enough to take advantage of you."
+
+"They have all been very kind to me so far," said he. "But when I get
+ready for business, I'll harden my heart."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat lost in meditation. "I think business is dreadful," she
+said. "So much hard work and worry! Why can't men learn to get along
+without it?"
+
+"There are bills that have to be paid," Montague replied.
+
+"It's our dreadfully extravagant way of life," exclaimed the other.
+"Sometimes I wish I had never had any money in my life."
+
+"You would soon tire of it," said he. "You would miss this house."
+
+"I should not miss it a bit," said Mrs. Winnie, promptly. "That is
+really the truth--I don't care for this sort of thing at all. I'd like
+to live simply, and without so many cares and responsibilities. And
+some day I'm going to do it, too--I really am. I'm going to get myself
+a little farm, away off somewhere in the country. And I'm going there
+to live and raise chickens and vegetables, and have my own
+flower-gardens, that I can take care of myself. It will all be plain
+and simple--" and then Mrs. Winnie stopped short, exclaiming, "You are
+laughing at me!"
+
+"Not at all!" said Montague. "But I couldn't help thinking about the
+newspaper reporters--"
+
+"There you are!" said she. "One can never have a beautiful dream, or
+try to do anything sensible--because of the newspaper reporters!"
+
+If Montague had been meeting Mrs. Winnie Duval for the first time, he
+would have been impressed by her yearnings for the simple life; he
+would have thought it an important sign of the times. But alas, he knew
+by this time that his charming hostess had more flummery about her than
+anybody else he had encountered--and all of her own devising! Mrs.
+Winnie smoked her own private brand of cigarettes, and when she offered
+them to you, there were the arms of the old ducal house of Montmorenci
+on the wrappers! And when you got a letter from Mrs. Winnie, you
+observed a three-cent stamp upon the envelope--for lavender was her
+colour, and two-cent stamps were an atrocious red! So one might feel
+certain that it Mrs. Winnie ever went in for chicken-raising, the
+chickens would be especially imported from China or Patagonia, and the
+chicken-coops would be precise replicas of those in the old Chateau de
+Montmorenci which she had visited in her automobile.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie was beautiful, and quite entertaining to talk to, and
+so he was respectfully sympathetic while she told him about her
+pastoral intentions. And then she told him about Mrs. Caroline Smythe,
+who had called a meeting of her friends at one of the big hotels, and
+organized a society and founded the "Bide-a-Wee Home" for destitute
+cats. After that she switched off into psychic research--somebody had
+taken her to a seance, where grave college professors and ladies in
+spectacles sat round and waited for ghosts to materialize. It was Mrs.
+Winnie's first experience at this, and she was as excited as a child
+who has just found the key to the jam-closet. "I hardly knew whether to
+laugh or to be afraid," she said. "What would you think?"
+
+"You may have the pleasure of giving me my first impressions of it,"
+said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+"Well," said she, "they had table-tipping--and it was the most uncanny
+thing to see the table go jumping about the room! And then there were
+raps--and one can't imagine how strange it was to see people who really
+believed they were getting messages from ghosts. It positively made my
+flesh creep. And then this woman--Madame Somebody-or-other--went into a
+trance--ugh! Afterward I talked with one of the men, and he told me
+about how his father had appeared to him in the night and told him he
+had just been drowned at sea. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"
+
+"We have such a tradition in our family," said he.
+
+"Every family seems to have," said Mrs. Winnie. "But, dear me, it made
+me so uncomfortable--I lay awake all night expecting to see my own
+father. He had the asthma, you know; and I kept fancying I heard him
+breathing."
+
+They had risen and were strolling into the conservatory; and she
+glanced at the man in armour. "I got to fancying that his ghost might
+come to see me," she said. "I don't think I shall attend any more
+seances. My husband was told that I promised them some money, and he
+was furious--he's afraid it'll get into the papers." And Montague shook
+with inward laughter, picturing what a time the aristocratic and
+stately old banker must have, trying to keep his wife out of the papers!
+
+Mrs. Winnie turned on the lights in the fountain, and sat by the edge,
+gazing at her fish. Montague was half expecting her to inquire whether
+he thought that they had ghosts; but she spared him this, going off on
+another line.
+
+"I asked Dr. Parry about it," she said. "Have you met him?"
+
+Dr. Parry was the rector of St. Cecilia's, the fashionable Fifth Avenue
+church which most of Montague's acquaintances attended. "I haven't been
+in the city over Sunday yet," he answered. "But Alice has met him."
+
+"You must go with me some time," said she. "But about the ghosts--"
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"He seemed to be shy of them," laughed Mrs. Winnie. "He said it had a
+tendency to lead one into dangerous fields. But oh! I forgot--I asked
+my swami also, and it didn't startle him. They are used to ghosts; they
+believe that souls keep coming back to earth, you know. I think if it
+was his ghost, I wouldn't mind seeing it--for he has such beautiful
+eyes. He gave me a book of Hindu legends--and there was such a sweet
+story about a young princess who loved in vain, and died of grief; and
+her soul went into a tigress; and she came in the night-time where her
+lover lay sleeping by the firelight, and she carried him off into the
+ghost-world. It was a most creepy thing--I sat out here and read it,
+and I could imagine the terrible tigress lurking in the shadows, with
+its stripes shining in the firelight, and its green eyes gleaming. You
+know that poem--we used to read it in school--'Tiger, tiger, burning
+bright!'"
+
+It was not very easy for Montague to imagine a tigress in Mrs. Winnie's
+conservatory; unless, indeed, one were willing to take the proposition
+in a metaphorical sense. There are wild creatures which sleep in the
+heart of man, and which growl now and then, and stir their tawny limbs,
+and cause one to start and turn cold. Mrs. Winnie wore a dress of filmy
+softness, trimmed with red flowers which paled beside her own intenser
+colouring. She had a perfume of her own, with a strange exotic
+fragrance which touched the chorus of memory as only an odour can. She
+leaned towards him, speaking eagerly, with her soft white arms lying
+upon the basin's rim. So much loveliness could not be gazed at without
+pain; and a faint trembling passed through Montague, like a breeze
+across a pool. Perhaps it touched Mrs. Winnie also, for she fell
+suddenly silent, and her gaze wandered off into the darkness. For a
+minute or two there was stillness, save for the pulse of the fountain,
+and the heaving of her bosom keeping time with it.
+
+And then in the morning Oliver inquired, "Where were you, last night?"
+And when his brother answered, "At Mrs. Winnie's," he smiled and said,
+"Oh!" Then he added, gravely, "Cultivate Mrs. Winnie--you can't do
+better at present."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Montague accepted his friend's invitation to share her pew at St.
+Cecilia's, and next Sunday morning he and Alice went, and found Mrs.
+Winnie with her cousin. Poor Charlie had evidently been scrubbed and
+shined, both physically and morally, and got ready to appeal for "one
+more chance." While he shook hands with Alice, he was gazing at her
+with dumb and pleading eyes; he seemed to be profoundly grateful that
+she did not refuse to enter the pew with him.
+
+A most interesting place was St. Cecilia's. Church-going was another of
+the customs of men and women which Society had taken up, like the
+Opera, and made into a state function. Here was a magnificent temple,
+with carved marble and rare woods, and jewels gleaming decorously in a
+dim religious light. At the door of this edifice would halt the
+carriages of Society, and its wives and daughters would alight,
+rustling with new silk petticoats and starched and perfumed linen, each
+one a picture, exquisitely gowned and bonneted and gloved, and carrying
+a demure little prayer-book. Behind them followed the patient men, all
+in new frock-coats and shiny silk hats; the men of Society were always
+newly washed and shaved, newly groomed and gloved, but now they seemed
+to be more so--they were full of the atmosphere of Sunday. Alas for
+those unregenerate ones, the infidels and the heathen who scoff in
+outer darkness, and know not the delicious feeling of Sunday--the joy
+of being washed and starched and perfumed, and made to be clean and
+comfortable and good, after all the really dreadful wickedness of six
+days of fashionable life!--And afterward the parade upon the Avenue,
+with the congregations of several score additional churches, and such a
+show of stylish costumes that half the city came to see!
+
+Amid this exquisite assemblage at St. Cecilia's, the revolutionary
+doctrines of the Christian religion produced neither perplexity nor
+alarm. The chance investigator might have listened in dismay to solemn
+pronouncements of everlasting damnation, to statements about rich men
+and the eyes of needles, and the lilies of the field which did not
+spin. But the congregation of St. Cecilia's understood that these
+things were to be taken in a quixotic sense; sharing the view of the
+French marquis that the Almighty would think twice before damning a
+gentleman like him.
+
+One had heard these phrases ever since childhood, and one accepted them
+as a matter of course. After all, these doctrines had come from the
+lips of a divine being, whom it would be presumptuous in a mere mortal
+to attempt to imitate. Such points one could but leave to those whose
+business it was to interpret them--the doctors and dignitaries of the
+church; and when one met them, one's heart was set at rest--for they
+were not iconoclasts and alarmists, but gentlemen of culture and tact.
+The bishop who presided in this metropolitan district was a stately
+personage, who moved in the best Society and belonged to the most
+exclusive clubs.
+
+The pews in St. Cecilia's were rented, and they were always in great
+demand; it was one of the customs of those who hung upon the fringe of
+Society to come every Sunday, and bow and smile, and hope against hope
+for some chance opening. The stranger who came was dependent upon
+hospitality; but there were soft-footed and tactful ushers, who would
+find one a seat, if one were a presentable person. The contingency of
+an unpresentable person seldom arose, for the proletariat did not swarm
+at the gates of St. Cecilia's. Out of its liberal income the church
+maintained a "mission" upon the East Side, where young curates wrestled
+with the natural depravity of the lower classes--meantime cultivating a
+soul-stirring tone, and waiting until they should be promoted to a real
+church. Society was becoming deferential to its religious guides, and
+would have been quite shocked at the idea that it exerted any pressure
+upon them; but the young curates were painfully aware of a process of
+unnatural selection, whereby those whose manner and cut of coat were
+not pleasing were left a long time in the slums.--On one occasion there
+had been an amusing blunder; a beautiful new church was built at
+Newport, and an eloquent young minister was installed, and all Society
+attended the opening service--and sat and listened in consternation to
+an arraignment of its own follies and vices! The next Sunday, needless
+to say, Society was not present; and within half a year the church was
+stranded, and had to be dismantled and sold!
+
+They had elaborate music at St. Cecilia's, so beautiful that Alice felt
+uncomfortable, and thought that it was perilously "high." At this Mrs.
+Winnie laughed, offering to take her to an afternoon service around the
+corner, where they had a full orchestra, and a harp, and opera music,
+and incense and genuflexions and confessionals. There were people, it
+seemed, who like to thrill themselves by dallying with the wickedness
+of "Romanism"; somewhat as a small boy tries to see how near he can
+walk to the edge of a cliff. The "father" at this church had a jewelled
+robe with a train so many yards long, and which had cost some
+incredible number of thousands of dollars; and every now and then he
+marched in a stately procession through the aisles, so that all the
+spectators might have a good look at it. There was a fierce controversy
+about these things in the church, and libraries of pamphlets were
+written, and intrigues and social wars were fought over them.
+
+But Montague and Alice did not attend this service--they had promised
+themselves the very plebeian diversion of a ride in the subway; for so
+far they had not seen this feature of the city. People who lived in
+Society saw Madison and Fifth Avenues, where their homes were, with the
+churches and hotels scattered along them; and the shopping district
+just below, and the theatre district at one side, and the park to the
+north. Unless one went automobiling, that was all of the city one need
+ever see. When visitors asked about the Aquarium, and the Stock
+Exchange, and the Museum of Art, and Tammany Hall, and Ellis Island,
+where the immigrants came, the old New Yorkers would look perplexed,
+and say: "Dear me, do you really want to see those tilings? Why, I have
+been here all my life, and have never seen them!"
+
+For the hordes of sightseers there had been provided a special
+contrivance, a huge automobile omnibus which seated thirty or forty
+people, and went from the Battery to Harlem with a young man shouting
+through a megaphone a description of the sights. The irreverent had
+nicknamed this the "yap-wagon"; and declared that the company
+maintained a fake "opium-joint" in Chinatown, and a fake "dive" in the
+Bowery, and hired tough-looking individuals to sit and be stared at by
+credulous excursionists from Oklahoma and Kalamazoo. Of course it would
+never have done for people who had just been passed into Society to
+climb upon a "yap-wagon"; but they were permitted to get into the
+subway, and were whirled with a deafening clatter through a long tunnel
+of steel and stone. And then they got out and climbed a steep hill like
+any common mortals, and stood and gazed at Grant's tomb: a huge white
+marble edifice upon a point overlooking the Hudson. Architecturally it
+was not a beautiful structure--but one was consoled by reflecting that
+the hero himself would not have cared about that. It might have been
+described as a soap-box with a cheese-box on top of it; and these
+homely and familiar articles were perhaps not altogether out of keeping
+with the character of the humblest great man who ever lived.
+
+The view up the river was magnificent, quite the finest which the city
+had to offer; but it was ruined by a hideous gas-tank, placed squarely
+in the middle of it. And this, again, was not inappropriate--it was
+typical of all the ways of the city. It was a city which had grown up
+by accident, with nobody to care about it or to help it; it was huge
+and ungainly, crude, uncomfortable, and grotesque. There was nowhere in
+it a beautiful sight upon which a man could rest his eyes, without
+having them tortured by something ugly near by. At the foot of the
+slope of the River Drive ran a hideous freight-railroad; and across the
+river the beautiful Palisades were being blown to pieces to make paving
+stone--and meantime were covered with advertisements of land-companies.
+And if there was a beautiful building, there, was sure to be a tobacco
+advertisement beside it; if there was a beautiful avenue, there were
+trucks and overworked horses toiling in the harness; if there was a
+beautiful park, it was filled with wretched, outcast men. Nowhere was
+any order or system--everything was struggling for itself, and jarring
+and clashing with everything else; and this broke the spell of power
+which the Titan city would otherwise have produced. It seemed like a
+monstrous heap of wasted energies; a mountain in perpetual labour, and
+producing an endless series of abortions. The men and women in it were
+wearing themselves out with toil; but there was a spell laid upon them,
+so that, struggle as they might, they accomplished nothing.
+
+Coming out of the church, Montague had met Judge Ellis; and the Judge
+had said, "I shall soon have something to talk over with you." So
+Montague gave him his address, and a day or two later came an
+invitation to lunch with him at his club.
+
+The Judge's club took up a Fifth Avenue block, and was stately and
+imposing. It had been formed in the stress of the Civil War days; lean
+and hungry heroes had come home from battle and gone into business, and
+those who had succeeded had settled down here to rest. To see them now,
+dozing in huge leather-cushioned arm-chairs, you would have had a hard
+time to guess that they had ever been lean and hungry heroes. They were
+diplomats and statesmen, bishops and lawyers, great merchants and
+financiers--the men who had made the city's ruling-class for a century.
+Everything here was decorous and grave, and the waiters stole about
+with noiseless feet.
+
+Montague talked with the Judge about New York and what he had seen of
+it, and the people he had met; and about his father, and the war; and
+about the recent election and the business outlook. And meantime they
+ordered luncheon; and when they had got to the cigars, the Judge
+coughed and said, "And now I have a matter of business to talk over
+with you."
+
+Montague settled himself to listen. "I have a friend," the Judge
+explained--"a very good friend, who has asked me to find him a lawyer
+to undertake an important case. I talked the matter over with General
+Prentice, and he agreed with me that it would be a good idea to lay the
+matter before you."
+
+"I am very much obliged to you," said Montague.
+
+"The matter is a delicate one," continued the other. "It has to do with
+life insurance. Are you familiar with the insurance business?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"I had supposed not," said the Judge. "There are some conditions which
+are not generally known about, but which I may say, to put it mildly,
+are not altogether satisfactory. My friend is a large policy-holder in
+several companies, and he is not satisfied with the management of them.
+The delicacy of the situation, so far as I am concerned, is that the
+company with which he has the most fault to find is one in which I
+myself am a director. You understand?"
+
+"Perfectly," said Montague. "What company is it?"
+
+"The Fidelity," replied the other--and his companion thought in a flash
+of Freddie Vandam, whom he had met at Castle Havens! For the Fidelity
+was Freddie's company.
+
+"The first thing that I have to ask you," continued the Judge, "is
+that, whether you care to take the case or not, you will consider my
+own intervention in the matter absolutely entre nous. My position is
+simply this: I have protested at the meetings of the directors of the
+company against what I consider an unwise policy--and my protests have
+been ignored. And when my friend asked me for advice, I gave it to him;
+but at the same time I am not in a position to be publicly quoted in
+connexion with the matter. You follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said the other. "I will agree to what you ask."
+
+"Very good. Now then, the condition is, in brief, this: the companies
+are accumulating an enormous surplus, which, under the law, belongs to
+the policy-holders; but the administrations of the various companies
+are withholding these dividends, for the sake of the banking-power
+which these accumulated funds afford to them and their associates. This
+is, as I hold, a very manifest injustice, and a most dangerous
+condition of affairs."
+
+"I should say so!" responded Montague. He was amazed at such a
+statement, coming from such a source. "How could this continue?" he
+asked.
+
+"It has continued for a long time," the Judge answered.
+
+"But why is it not known?"
+
+"It is perfectly well known to every one in the insurance business,"
+was the answer. "The matter has never been taken up or published,
+simply because the interests involved have such enormous and widely
+extended power that no one has ever dared to attack them."
+
+Montague sat forward, with his eyes riveted upon the Judge. "Go on," he
+said.
+
+"The situation is simply this," said the other. "My friend, Mr.
+Hasbrook, wishes to bring a suit against the Fidelity Company to compel
+it to pay to him his proper share of its surplus. He wishes the suit
+pressed, and followed to the court of last resort."
+
+"And do you mean to tell me," asked Montague, "that you would have any
+difficulty to find a lawyer in New York to undertake such a case?"
+
+"No," said the other, "not exactly that. There are lawyers in New York
+who would undertake anything. But to find a lawyer of standing who
+would take it, and withstand all the pressure that would be brought to
+bear upon him--that might take some time."
+
+"You astonish me, Judge."
+
+"Financial interests in this city are pretty closely tied together, Mr.
+Montague. Of course there are law firms which are identified with
+interests opposed to those who control the company. It would be very
+easy to get them to take the case, but you can see that in that event
+my friend would be accused of bringing the suit in their interest;
+whereas he wishes it to appear, as it really is, a suit of an
+independent person, seeking the rights of the vast body of the
+policy-holders. For that reason, he wished to find a lawyer who was
+identified with no interest of any sort, and who was free to give his
+undivided attention to the issue. So I thought of you."
+
+"I will take the case," said Montague instantly.
+
+"It is my duty to warn you," said the Judge, gravely, "that you will be
+taking a very serious step. You must be prepared to face powerful, and,
+I am afraid, unscrupulous enemies. You may find that you have made it
+impossible for other and very desirable clients to deal with you. You
+may find your business interests, if you have any, embarrassed--your
+credit impaired, and so on. You must be prepared to have your character
+assailed, and your motives impugned in the public press. You may find
+that social pressure will be brought to bear on you. So it is a step
+from which most young men who have their careers to make would shrink."
+
+Montague's face had turned a shade paler as he listened. "I am
+assuming," he said, "that the facts are as you have stated them to
+me--that an unjust condition exists."
+
+"You may assume that."
+
+"Very well." And Montague clenched his hand, and put it down upon the
+table. "I will take the case," he said.
+
+For a few moments they sat in silence.
+
+"I will arrange," said the Judge, at last, "for you and Mr. Hasbrook to
+meet. I must explain to you, as a matter of fairness, that he is a rich
+man, and will be able to pay you for your services. He is asking a
+great deal of you, and he should expect to pay for it."
+
+Montague sat in thought. "I have not really had time to get my bearings
+in New York," he said at last. "I think I had best leave it to you to
+say what I should charge him."
+
+"If I were in your position," the Judge answered, "I think that I
+should ask a retaining-fee of fifty thousand dollars. I believe he will
+expect to pay at least that."
+
+Montague could scarcely repress a start. Fifty thousand dollars! The
+words made his head whirl round. But then, all of a sudden, he recalled
+his half-jesting resolve to play the game of business sternly. So he
+nodded his head gravely, and said, "Very well; I am much obliged to
+you."
+
+After a pause, he added, "I hope that I may prove able to handle the
+case to your friend's satisfaction."
+
+"Your ability remains for you to prove," said the Judge. "I have only
+been in position to assure him of your character."
+
+"He must understand, of course," said Montague, "that I am a stranger,
+and that it will take me a while to study the situation."
+
+"Of course he knows that. But you will find that Mr. Hasbrook knows a
+good deal about the law himself. And he has already had a lot of work
+done. You must understand that it is very easy to get legal advice
+about such a matter--what is sought is some one to take the conduct of
+the case."
+
+"I see," said Montague; and the Judge added, with a smile, "Some one to
+get up on horseback, and draw the fire of the enemy!"
+
+And then the great man was, as usual, reminded of a story; and then of
+more stories; until at last they rose from the table, and shook hands
+upon their bargain, and parted.
+
+Fifty thousand dollars! Fifty thousand dollars! It was all Montague
+could do to keep from exclaiming it aloud on the street. He could
+hardly believe that it was a reality--if it had been a less-known
+person than Judge Ellis, he would have suspected that some one must be
+playing a joke upon him. Fifty thousand dollars was more than many a
+lawyer made at home in a lifetime; and simply as a retaining-fee in one
+case! The problem of a living had weighed on his soul ever since the
+first day in the city, and now suddenly it was solved; all in a few
+minutes, the way had been swept clear before him. He walked home as if
+upon air.
+
+And then there was the excitement of telling the family about it. He
+had an idea that his brother might be alarmed if he were told about the
+seriousness of the case; and so he simply said that the Judge had
+brought him a rich client, and that it was an insurance case. Oliver,
+who knew and cared nothing about law, asked no questions, and contented
+himself with saying, "I told you how easy it was to make money in New
+York, if only you knew the right people!" As for Alice, she had known
+all along that her cousin was a great man, and that clients would come
+to him as soon as he hung out his sign.
+
+His sign was not out yet, by the way; that was the next thing to be
+attended to. He must get himself an office at once, and some books, and
+begin to read up insurance law; and so, bright and early the next
+morning, he took the subway down town.
+
+And here, for the first time, Montague saw the real New York. All the
+rest was mere shadow--the rest was where men slept and played, but
+there was where they fought out the battle of their lives. Here the
+fierce intensity of it smote him in the face--he saw the cruel waste
+and ruin of it, the wreckage of the blind, haphazard strife.
+
+It was a city caught in a trap. It was pent in at one end of a narrow
+little island. It had been no one's business to foresee that it must
+some day outgrow this space; now men were digging a score of tunnels to
+set it free, but they had not begun these until the pressure had become
+unendurable, and now it had reached its climax. In the financial
+district, land had been sold for as much as four dollars a square inch.
+Huge blocks of buildings shot up to the sky in a few months--fifteen,
+twenty, twenty-five stories of them, and with half a dozen stories hewn
+out of the solid rock beneath; there was to be one building of
+forty-two stories, six hundred and fifty feet in height. And between
+them were narrow chasms of streets, where the hurrying crowds
+overflowed the sidewalks. Yet other streets were filled with trucks and
+heavy vehicles, with electric cars creeping slowly along, and little
+swirls and eddies of people darting across here and there.
+
+These huge buildings were like beehives, swarming with life and
+activity, with scores of elevators shooting through them at bewildering
+speed. Everywhere was the atmosphere of rush; the spirit of it seized
+hold of one, and he began to hurry, even though he had no place to go.
+The man who walked slowly and looked about him was in the way--he was
+jostled here and there, and people eyed him with suspicion and
+annoyance.
+
+Elsewhere on the island men did the work of the city; here they did the
+work of the world. Each room in these endless mazes of buildings was a
+cell in a mighty brain; the telephone wires were nerves, and by the
+whole huge organism the thinking and willing of a continent were done.
+It was a noisy place to the physical ear; but to the ear of the mind it
+roared with the roaring of a thousand Niagaras. Here was the Stock
+Exchange, where the scales of trade were held before the eyes of the
+country. Here was the clearing-house, where hundreds of millions of
+dollars were exchanged every day. Here were the great banks, the
+reservoirs into which the streams of the country's wealth were poured.
+Here were the brains of the great railroad systems, of the telegraph
+and telephone systems, of mines and mills and factories. Here were the
+centres of the country's trade; in one place the shipping trade, in
+another the jewellery trade, the grocery trade, the leather trade. A
+little farther up town was the clothing district, where one might see
+the signs of more Hebrews than all Jerusalem had ever held; in yet
+other districts were the newspaper offices, and the centre of the
+magazine and book-publishing business of the whole country. One might
+climb to the top of one of the great "sky-scrapers," and gaze down upon
+a wilderness of houses, with roofs as innumerable as tree-tops, and
+people looking like tiny insects below. Or one might go out into the
+harbour late upon a winter afternoon, and see it as a city of a million
+lights, rising like an incantation from the sea. Round about it was an
+unbroken ring of docks, with ferry-boats and tugs darting everywhere,
+and vessels which had come from every port in the world, emptying their
+cargoes into the huge maw of the Metropolis.
+
+And of all this, nothing had been planned! All lay just as it had
+fallen, and men bore the confusion and the waste as best they could.
+Here were huge steel vaults, in which lay many billions of dollars'
+worth of securities, the control of the finances of the country; and a
+block or two in one direction were warehouses and gin-mills, and in
+another direction cheap lodging-houses and sweating-dens. And at a
+certain hour all this huge machine would come to a halt, and its
+millions of human units would make a blind rush for their homes. Then
+at the entrances to bridges and ferries and trams, would be seen sights
+of madness and terror; throngs of men and women swept hither and
+thither, pushing and struggling, shouting, cursing--fighting, now and
+then, in sudden panic fear. All decency was forgotten here--people
+would be mashed into cars like football players in a heap, and guards
+and policemen would jam the gates tight--or like as not be swept away
+themselves in the pushing, grunting, writhing mass of human beings.
+Women would faint and be trampled; men would come out with clothing
+torn to shreds, and sometimes with broken arms or ribs. And thinking
+people would gaze at the sight and shudder, wondering--how long a city
+could hold together, when the masses of its population were thus forced
+back, day after day, habitually, upon the elemental brute within them.
+
+In this vast business district Montague would have felt utterly lost
+and helpless, if it had not been for that fifty thousand dollars, and
+the sense of mastery which it gave him. He sought out General Prentice,
+and under his guidance selected his suite of rooms, and got his
+furniture and books in readiness. And a day or two later, by
+appointment, came Mr. Hasbrook.
+
+He was a wiry, nervous little man, who did not impress one as much of a
+personality; but he had the insurance situation at his fingers'
+ends--his grievance had evidently wrought upon him. Certainly, if half
+of what he alleged were true, it was time that the courts took hold of
+the affair.
+
+Montague spent the whole day in consultation, going over every aspect
+of the case, and laying out his course of procedure. And then, at the
+end, Mr. Hasbrook remarked that it would be necessary for them to make
+some financial arrangement. And the other set his teeth together, and
+took a tight grip upon himself, and said, "Considering the importance
+of the case, and all the circumstances, I think I should have a
+retainer of fifty thousand dollars."
+
+And the little man never turned a hair! "That will be perfectly
+satisfactory," he said. "I will attend to it at once." And the other's
+heart gave a great leap.
+
+And sure enough, the next morning's mail brought the money, in the
+shape of a cashier's cheque from one of the big banks. Montague
+deposited it to his own account, and felt that the city was his!
+
+And so he flung himself into the work. He went to his office every day,
+and he shut himself up in his own rooms in the evening. Mrs. Winnie was
+in despair because he would not come and learn bridge, and Mrs. Vivie
+Patton sought him in vain for a week-end party. He could not exactly
+say that while the others slept he was toiling upward in the night, for
+the others did not sleep in the night; but he could say that while they
+were feasting and dancing, he was delving into insurance law. Oliver
+argued in vain to make him realize that he could not live for ever upon
+one client; and that it was as important for a lawyer to be a social
+light as to win his first big case. Montague was so absorbed that he
+even failed to be thrilled when one morning he opened an invitation
+envelope, and read the fateful legend: "Mrs. Devon requests the honour
+of your company"--telling him that he had "passed" on that critical
+examination morning, and that he was definitely and irrevocably in
+Society!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Montague was now a capitalist, and therefore a keeper of the gates of
+opportunity. It seemed as though the seekers for admission must have
+had some occult way of finding it out; almost immediately they began to
+lay siege to him.
+
+About a week after his cheque arrived, Major Thorne, whom he had met
+the first evening at the Loyal Legion, called him up and asked to see
+him; and he came to Montague's room that evening, and after chatting
+awhile about old times, proceeded to unfold a business proposition. It
+seemed that the Major had a grandson, a young mechanical engineer, who
+had been labouring for a couple of years at a very important invention,
+a device for loading coal upon steamships and weighing it automatically
+in the process. It was a very complicated problem, needless to say, but
+it had been solved successfully, and patents had been applied for, and
+a working model constructed. But it had proved unexpectedly difficult
+to interest the officials of the great steamship companies in the
+device. There was no doubt about the practicability of the machine, or
+the economies it would effect; but the officials raised trivial
+objections, and caused delays, and offered prices that were
+ridiculously inadequate. So the young inventor had conceived the idea
+of organizing a company to manufacture the machines, and rent them upon
+a royalty. "I didn't know whether you would have any money," said Major
+Thorne, "--but I thought you might be in touch with others who could be
+got to look into the matter. There is a fortune in it for those who
+take it up."
+
+Montague was interested, and he looked over the plans and descriptions
+which his friend had brought, and said that he would see the working
+model, and talk the proposition over with others. And so the Major took
+his departure.
+
+The first person Montague spoke to about it was Oliver, with whom he
+chanced to be lunching, at the latter's club. This was the "All Night"
+club, a meeting-place of fast young Society men and millionaire
+Bohemians, who made a practice of going to bed at daylight, and had
+taken for their motto the words of Tennyson--"For men may come and men
+may go, but I go on for ever." It was not a proper club for his brother
+to join, Oliver considered; Montague's "game" was the heavy
+respectable, and the person to put him up was General Prentice. But he
+was permitted to lunch there with his brother to chaperon him--and also
+Reggie Mann, who happened in, fresh from talking over the itinerary of
+the foreign prince with Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, and bringing a
+diverting account of how Mrs. R.-C. had had a fisticuffs with her maid.
+
+Montague mentioned the invention casually, and with no idea that his
+brother would have an opinion one way or the other. But Oliver had
+quite a vigorous opinion: "Good God, Allan, you aren't going to let
+yourself be persuaded into a thing like that!"
+
+"But what do you know about it?" asked the other. "It may be a
+tremendous thing."
+
+"Of course!" cried Oliver. "But what can you tell about it? You'll be
+like a child in other people's hands, and they'll be certain to rob
+you. And why in the world do you want to take risks when you don't have
+to?"
+
+"I have to put my money somewhere," said Montague.
+
+"His first fee is burning a hole in his pocket!" put in Reggie Mann,
+with a chuckle. "Turn it over to me, Mr. Montague; and let me spend it
+in a gorgeous entertainment for Alice; and the prestige of it will
+bring you more cases than you can handle in a lifetime!"
+
+"He had much better spend it all for soda water than buy a lot of coal
+chutes with it," said Oliver: "Wait awhile, and let me find you some
+place to put your money, and you'll see that you don't have to take any
+risks."
+
+"I had no idea of taking it up until I'd made certain of it," replied
+the other. "And those whose judgment I took would, of course, go in
+also."
+
+The younger man thought for a moment. "You are going to dine with Major
+Venable to-night, aren't you?" he asked; and when the other answered in
+the affirmative, he continued, "Very well, then, ask him. The Major's
+been a capitalist for forty years, and if you can get him to take it
+up, why, you'll know you're safe."
+
+Major Venable had taken quite a fancy to Montague--perhaps the old
+gentleman liked to have somebody to gossip with, to whom all his
+anecdotes were new. He had seconded Montague's name at the
+"Millionaires'," where he lived, and had asked him there to make the
+acquaintance of some of the other members. Before Montague parted with
+his brother, he promised that he would talk the matter over with the
+Major.
+
+The Millionaires' was the show club of the city, the one which the
+ineffably rich had set apart for themselves. It was up by the park, in
+a magnificent white marble palace which had cost a million dollars.
+Montague felt that he had never really known the Major until he saw him
+here. The Major was excellent at all times and places, but in this club
+he became an edition de luxe of himself. He made his headquarters here,
+keeping his suite of rooms all the year round; and the atmosphere and
+surroundings of the place seemed to be a part of him.
+
+Montague thought that the Major's face grew redder every day, and the
+purple veins in it purpler; or was it that the old gentleman's shirt
+bosom gleamed more brightly in the glare of the lights? The Major met
+him in the stately entrance hall, fifty feet square and all of Numidian
+marble, with a ceiling of gold, and a great bronze stairway leading to
+the gallery above. He apologized for his velvet slippers and for his
+hobbling walk--he was getting his accursed gout again. But he limped
+around and introduced his friend to the other millionaires--and then
+told scandal about them behind their backs.
+
+The Major was the very type of a blue-blooded old aristocrat; he was
+all noblesse oblige to those within the magic circle of his
+intimacy--but alas for those outside it! Montague had never heard
+anyone bully servants as the Major did. "Here you!" he would cry, when
+something went wrong at the table. "Don't you know any better than to
+bring me a dish like that? Go and send me somebody who knows how to set
+a table!" And, strange to say, the servants all acknowledged his
+perfect right to bully them, and flew with terrified alacrity to do his
+bidding. Montague noticed that the whole staff of the club leaped into
+activity whenever the Major appeared; and when he was seated at the
+table, he led off in this fashion--"Now I want two dry Martinis. And I
+want them at once--do you understand me? Don't stop to get me any
+butter plates or finger-bowls--I want two cock-tails, just as quick as
+you can carry them!"
+
+Dinner was an important event to Major Venable--the most important in
+life. The younger man humbly declined to make any suggestions, and sat
+and watched while his friend did all the ordering. They had some very
+small oysters, and an onion soup, and a grouse and asparagus, with some
+wine from the Major's own private store, and then a romaine salad.
+Concerning each one of these courses, the Major gave special
+injunctions, and throughout his conversation he scattered comments upon
+them: "This is good thick soup--lots of nourishment in onion soup. Have
+the rest of this?--I think the Burgundy is too cold. Sixty-five is as
+cold as Burgundy ought ever to be. I don't mind sherry as low as
+sixty.--They always cook a bird too much--Robbie Walling's chef is the
+only person I know who never makes a mistake with game."
+
+All this, of course, was between comments upon the assembled
+millionaires. There was Hawkins, the corporation lawyer; a shrewd
+fellow, cold as a corpse. He was named for an ambassadorship--a very
+efficient man. Used to be old Wyman's confidential adviser and buy
+aldermen for him.--And the man at table with him was Harrison,
+publisher of the Star; administration newspaper, sound and
+conservative. Harrison was training for a cabinet position. He was a
+nice little man, and would make a fine splurge in Washington.--And that
+tall man coming in was Clarke, the steel magnate; and over there was
+Adams, a big lawyer also--prominent reformer--civic righteousness and
+all that sort of stuff. Represented the Oil Trust secretly, and went
+down to Trenton to argue against some reform measure, and took along
+fifty thousand dollars in bills in his valise. "A friend of mine got
+wind of what he was doing, and taxed him with it," said the Major, and
+laughed gleefully over the great lawyer's reply--"How did I know but I
+might have to pay for my own lunch?"--And the fat man with him--that
+was Jimmie Featherstone, the chap who had inherited a big estate. "Poor
+Jimmie's going all to pieces," the Major declared. "Goes down town to
+board meetings now and then--they tell a hair-raising story about him
+and old Dan Waterman. He had got up and started a long argument, when
+Waterman broke in, 'But at the earlier meeting you argued directly to
+the contrary, Mr. Featherstone!' 'Did I?' said Jimmie, looking
+bewildered. 'I wonder why I did that?' 'Well, Mr. Featherstone, since
+you ask me, I'll tell you,' said old Dan--he's savage as a wild boar,
+you know, and won't be delayed at meetings. 'The reason is that the
+last time you were drunker than you are now. If you would adopt a
+uniform standard of intoxication for the directors' meetings of this
+road, it would expedite matters considerably.'"
+
+They had got as far as the romaine salad. The waiter came with a bowl
+of dressing--and at the sight of it, the old gentleman forgot Jimmie
+Featherstone. "Why are you bringing me that stuff?" he cried. "I don't
+want that! Take it away and get me some vinegar and oil."
+
+The waiter fled in dismay, while the Major went on growling under his
+breath. Then from behind him came a voice: "What's the matter with you
+this evening, Venable? You're peevish!"
+
+The Major looked up. "Hello, you old cormorant," said he. "How do you
+do these days?"
+
+The old cormorant replied that he did very well. He was a pudgy little
+man, with a pursed-up, wrinkled face. "My friend Mr. Montague--Mr.
+Symmes," said the Major.
+
+"I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Montague," said Mr. Symmes, peering
+over his spectacles.
+
+"And what are you doing with yourself these days?" asked the Major.
+
+The other smiled genially. "Nothing much," said he. "Seducing my
+friends' wives, as usual."
+
+"And who's the latest?"
+
+"Read the newspapers, and you'll find out," laughed Symmes. "I'm told
+I'm being shadowed."
+
+He passed on down the room, chuckling to himself; and the Major said,
+"That's Maltby Symmes. Have you heard of him?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"He gets into the papers a good deal. He was up in supplementary
+proceedings the other day--couldn't pay his liquor bill."
+
+"A member of the Millionaires'?" laughed Montague.
+
+"Yes, the papers made quite a joke out of it," said the other. "But you
+see he's run through a couple of fortunes; the last was his
+mother's--eleven millions, I believe. He's been a pretty lively old boy
+in his time."
+
+The vinegar and oil had now arrived, and the Major set to work to dress
+the salad. This was quite a ceremony, and Montague took it with amused
+interest. The Major first gathered all the necessary articles together,
+and looked them all over and grumbled at them. Then he mixed the
+vinegar and the pepper and salt, a tablespoonful at a time, and poured
+it over the salad. Then very slowly and carefully the oil had to be
+poured on, the salad being poked and turned about so that it would be
+all absorbed. Perhaps it was because he was so busy narrating the
+escapades of Maltby Symmes that the old gentleman kneaded it about so
+long; all the time fussing over it like a hen-partridge with her
+chicks, and interrupting himself every sentence or two: "It was Lenore,
+the opera star, and he gave her about two hundred thousand dollars'
+worth of railroad shares. (Really, you know, romaine ought not to be
+served in a bowl at all, but in a square, flat dish, so that one could
+keep the ends quite dry.) And when they quarrelled, she found the old
+scamp had fooled her--the shares had never been transferred. (One is
+not supposed to use a fork at all, you know.) But she sued him, and he
+settled with her for about half the value. (If this dressing were done
+properly, there ought not to be any oil in the bottom of the dish at
+all.)"
+
+This last remark meant that the process had reached its climax--that
+the long, crisp leaves were receiving their final affectionate
+overturnings. While the waiter stood at respectful attention, two or
+three pieces at a time were laid carefully upon the little silver plate
+intended for Montague. "And now," said the triumphant host, "try it! If
+it's good, it ought to be neither sweet nor bitter, but just
+right."--And he watched anxiously while Montague tasted it, saying, "If
+it's the least bit bitter, say so; and we'll send it out. I've told
+them about it often enough before."
+
+But it was not bitter, and so the Major proceeded to help himself,
+after which the waiter whisked the bowl away. "I'm told that salad is
+the one vegetable we have from the Romans," said the old boy, as he
+munched at the crisp green leaves. "It's mentioned by Horace, you
+know.--As I was saying, all this was in Symmes's early days. But since
+his son's been grown up, he's married another chorus-girl."
+
+After the salad the Major had another cocktail. In the beginning
+Montague had noticed that his hands shook and his eyes were watery; but
+now, after these copious libations, he was vigorous, and, if possible,
+more full of anecdotes than ever. Montague thought that it would be a
+good time to broach his inquiry, and so when the coffee had been
+served, he asked, "Have you any objections to talking business after
+dinner?"
+
+"Not with you," said the Major. "Why? What is it?"
+
+And then Montague told him about his friend's proposition, and
+described the invention. The other listened attentively to the end; and
+then, after a pause, Montague asked him, "What do you think of it?"
+
+"The invention's no good," said the Major, promptly.
+
+"How do you know?" asked the other.
+
+"Because, if it had been, the companies would have taken it long ago,
+without paying him a cent."
+
+"But he has it patented," said Montague.
+
+"Patented hell!" replied the other. "What's a patent to lawyers of
+concerns of that size? They'd have taken it and had it in use from
+Maine to Texas; and when he sued, they'd have tied the case up in so
+many technicalities and quibbles that he couldn't have got to the end
+of it in ten years--and he'd have been ruined ten times over in the
+process."
+
+"Is that really done?" asked Montague.
+
+"Done!" exclaimed the Major. "It's done so often you might say it's the
+only thing that's done.--The people are probably trying to take you in
+with a fake."
+
+"That couldn't possibly be so," responded the other. "The man is a
+friend--"
+
+"I've found it an excellent rule never to do business with friends,"
+said the Major, grimly.
+
+"But listen," said Montague; and he argued long enough to convince his
+companion that that could not be the true explanation. Then the Major
+sat for a minute or two and pondered; and suddenly he exclaimed, "I
+have it! I see why they won't touch it!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It's the coal companies! They're giving the steamships short weight,
+and they don't want the coal weighed truly!"
+
+"But there's no sense in that," said Montague. "It's the steamship
+companies that won't take the machine."
+
+"Yes," said the Major; "naturally, their officers are sharing the
+graft." And he laughed heartily at Montague's look of perplexity.
+
+"Do you know anything about the business?" Montague asked.
+
+"Nothing whatever," said the Major. "I am like the German who shut
+himself up in his inner consciousness and deduced the shape of an
+elephant from first principles. I know the game of big business from A
+to Z, and I'm telling you that if the invention is good and the
+companies won't take it, that's the reason; and I'll lay you a wager
+that if you were to make an investigation, some such thing as that is
+what you'd find! Last winter I went South on a steamer, and when we got
+near port, I saw them dumping a ton or two of good food overboard; and
+I made inquiries, and learned that one of the officials of the company
+ran a farm, and furnished the stuff--and the orders were to get rid of
+so much every trip!"
+
+Montague's jaw had fallen. "What could Major Thorne do against such a
+combination?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," said the Major, shrugging his shoulders. "It's a case
+to take to a lawyer--one who knows the ropes. Hawkins over there would
+know what to tell you. I should imagine the thing he'd advise would be
+to call a strike of the men who handle the coal, and tie up the
+companies and bring them to terms."
+
+"You're joking now!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Not at all," said the Major, laughing again. "It's done all the time.
+There's a building trust in this city, and the way it put all its
+rivals out of business was by having strikes called on their jobs."
+
+"But how could it do that?"
+
+"Easiest thing in the world. A labour leader is a man with a great deal
+of power, and a very small salary to live on. And even if he won't sell
+out--there are other ways. I could introduce you to a man right in this
+room who had a big strike on at an inconvenient time, and he had the
+president of the union trapped in a hotel with a woman, and the poor
+fellow gave in and called off the strike."'
+
+"I should think the strikers might sometimes get out of hand," said
+Montague.
+
+"Sometimes they do," smiled the other. "There is a regular procedure
+for that case. Then you hire detectives and start violence, and call
+out the militia and put the strike leaders into jail."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that. The programme seemed to
+be complete.
+
+"You see," the Major continued, earnestly, "I'm advising you as a
+friend, and I'm taking the point of view of a man who has money in his
+pocket. I've had some there always, but I've had to work hard to keep
+it there. All my life I've been surrounded by people who wanted to do
+me good; and the way they wanted to do it was to exchange my real money
+for pieces of paper which they'd had printed with fancy scroll-work and
+eagles and flags. Of course, if you want to look at the thing from the
+other side, why, then the invention is most ingenious, and trade is
+booming just now, and this is a great country, and merit is all you
+need in it--and everything else is just as it ought to be. It makes all
+the difference in the world, you know, whether a man is buying a horse
+or selling him!"
+
+Montague had observed with perplexity that such incendiary talk as this
+was one of the characteristics of people in these lofty altitudes. It
+was one of the liberties accorded to their station. Editors and bishops
+and statesmen and all the rest of their retainers had to believe in the
+respectabilities, even in the privacy of their clubs--the people's ears
+were getting terribly sharp these days! But among the real giants of
+business you might have thought yourself in a society of
+revolutionists; they would tear up the mountain tops and hurl them at
+each other. When one of these old war-horses once got started, he would
+tell tales of deviltry to appall the soul of the hardiest muck-rake
+man. It was always the other fellow, of course; but then, if you pinned
+your man down, and if he thought that he could trust you--he would
+acknowledge that he had sometimes fought the enemy with the enemy's own
+weapons!
+
+But of course one must understand that all this radicalism was for
+conversational purposes only. The Major, for instance, never had the
+slightest idea of doing anything about all the evils of which he told;
+when it came to action, he proposed to do just what he had done all his
+life--to sit tight on his own little pile. And the Millionaires' was an
+excellent place to learn to do it!
+
+"See that old money-bags over there in the corner," said the Major.
+"He's a man you want to fix in your mind--old Henry S. Grimes. Have you
+heard of him?"
+
+"Vaguely," said the other.
+
+"He's Laura Hegan's uncle. She'll have his money also some day--but
+Lord, how he does hold on to it meantime! It's quite tragic, if you
+come to know him--he's frightened at his own shadow. He goes in for
+slum tenements, and I guess he evicts more people in a month than you
+could crowd into this building!"
+
+Montague looked at the solitary figure at the table, a man with a
+wizened-up little face like a weasel's, and a big napkin tied around
+his neck. "That's so as to save his shirt-front for to-morrow," the
+Major explained. "He's really only about sixty, but you'd think he was
+eighty. Three times every day he sits here and eats a bowl of graham
+crackers and milk, and then goes out and sits rigid in an arm-chair for
+an hour. That's the regimen his doctors have put him on--angels and
+ministers of grace defend us!"
+
+The old gentleman paused, and a chuckle shook his scarlet jowls. "Only
+think!" he said--"they tried to do that to me! But no, sir--when Bob
+Venable has to eat graham crackers and milk, he'll put in arsenic
+instead of sugar! That's the way with many a one of these rich fellows,
+though--you picture him living in Capuan luxury, when, as a matter of
+fact, he's a man with a torpid liver and a weak stomach, who is put to
+bed at ten o'clock with a hot-water bag and a flannel night-cap!"
+
+The two had got up and were strolling toward the smoking-room; when
+suddenly at one side a door opened, and a group of men came out. At the
+head of them was an extraordinary figure, a big powerful body with a
+grim face. "Hello!" said the Major. "All the big bugs are here
+to-night. There must be a governors' meeting."
+
+"Who is that?" asked his companion; and he answered, "That? Why, that's
+Dan Waterman."
+
+Dan Waterman! Montague stared harder than ever, and now he identified
+the face with the pictures he had seen. Waterman, the Colossus of
+finance, the Croesus of copper and gold! How many trusts had Waterman
+organized! And how many puns had been made upon that name of his!
+
+"Who are the other men?" Montague asked.
+
+"Oh, they're just little millionaires," was the reply.
+
+The "little millionaires" were following as a kind of body-guard; one
+of them, who was short and pudgy, was half running, to keep up with
+Waterman's heavy stride. When they came to the coat-room, they crowded
+the attendants away, and one helped the great man on with his coat, and
+another held his hat, and another his stick, and two others tried to
+talk to him. And Waterman stolidly buttoned his coat, and then seized
+his hat and stick, and without a word to anyone, bolted through the
+door.
+
+It was one of the funniest sights that Montague had ever seen in his
+life, and he laughed all the way into the smoking-room. And, when Major
+Venable had settled himself in a big chair and bitten off the end of a
+cigar and lighted it, what floodgates of reminiscence were opened!
+
+For Dan Waterman was one of the Major's own generation, and he knew all
+his life and his habits. Just as Montague had seen him there, so he had
+been always; swift, imperious, terrible, trampling over all opposition;
+the most powerful men in the city quailed before the glare of his eyes.
+In the old days Wall Street had reeled in the shock of the conflicts
+between him and his most powerful rival.
+
+And the Major went on to tell about Waterman's rival, and his life. He
+had been the city's traction-king, old Wyman had been made by him. He
+was the prince among political financiers; he had ruled the Democratic
+party in state and nation. He would give a quarter of a million at a
+time to the boss of Tammany Hall, and spend a million in a single
+campaign; on "dough-day," when the district leaders came to get the
+election funds, there would be a table forty feet long completely
+covered with hundred-dollar bills. He would have been the richest man
+in America, save that he spent his money as fast as he got it. He had
+had the most famous racing-stable in America; and a house on Fifth
+Avenue that was said to be the finest Italian palace in the world. Over
+three millions had been spent in decorating it; all the ceilings had
+been brought intact from palaces abroad, which he had bought and
+demolished! The Major told a story to show how such a man lost all
+sense of the value of money; he had once been sitting at lunch with
+him, when the editor of one of his newspapers had come in and remarked,
+"I told you we would need eight thousand dollars, and the check you
+send is for ten." "I know it," was the smiling answer--"but somehow I
+thought eight seemed harder to write than ten!"
+
+"Old Waterman's quite a spender, too, when it comes to that," the Major
+went on. "He told me once that it cost him five thousand dollars a day
+for his ordinary expenses. And that doesn't include a million-dollar
+yacht, nor even the expenses of it.
+
+"And think of another man I know of who spent a million dollars for a
+granite pier, so that he could land and see his mistress!--It's a fact,
+as sure as God made me! She was a well-known society woman, but she was
+poor, and he didn't dare to make her rich for fear of the scandal. So
+she had to live in a miserable fifty-thousand-dollar villa; and when
+other people's children would sneer at her children because they lived
+in a fifty-thousand-dollar villa, the answer would be, 'But you haven't
+got any pier!' And if you don't believe that--"
+
+But here suddenly the Major turned, and observed a boy who had brought
+him some cigars, and who was now standing near by, pretending to
+straighten out some newspapers upon the table. "Here, sir!" cried the
+Major, "what do you mean--listening to what I'm saying! Out of the room
+with you now, you rascal!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+Another week-end came, and with it an invitation from the Lester Todds
+to visit them at their country place in New Jersey. Montague was buried
+in his books, but his brother routed him out with strenuous protests.
+His case be damned--was he going to ruin his career for one case? At
+all hazards, he must meet people--"people who counted." And the Todds
+were such, a big money crowd, and a power in the insurance world; if
+Montague were going to be an insurance lawyer, he could not possibly
+decline their invitation. Freddie Vandam would be a guest--and Montague
+smiled at the tidings that Betty Wyman would be there also. He had
+observed that his brother's week-end visits always happened at places
+where Betty was, and where Betty's granddaddy was not.
+
+So Montague's man packed his grips, and Alice's maid her trunks; and
+they rode with a private-car party to a remote Jersey suburb, and were
+whirled in an auto up a broad shell road to a palace upon the top of a
+mountain. Here lived the haughty Lester Todds, and scattered about on
+the neighbouring hills, a set of the ultra-wealthy who had withdrawn to
+this seclusion. They were exceedingly "classy"; they affected to regard
+all the Society of the city with scorn, and had their own
+all-the-year-round diversions--an open-air horse show in summer, and in
+the fall fox-hunting in fancy uniforms.
+
+The Lester Todds themselves were ardent pursuers of all varieties of
+game, and in various clubs and private preserves they followed the
+seasons, from Florida and North Carolina to Ontario, with occasional
+side trips to Norway, and New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Here at
+home they had a whole mountain of virgin forest, carefully preserved;
+and in the Renaissance palace at the summit-which they carelessly
+referred to as a "lodge"--you would find such articles de vertu as a
+ten-thousand-dollar table with a set of two-thousand-dollar chairs, and
+quite ordinary-looking rugs at ten and twenty thousand dollars
+each.--All these prices you might ascertain without any difficulty at
+all, because there were many newspaper articles describing the house to
+be read in an album in the hall. On Saturday afternoons Mrs. Todd
+welcomed the neighbours in a pastel grey reception-gown, the front of
+which contained a peacock embroidered in silk, with jewels in every
+feather, and a diamond solitaire for an eye; and in the evening there
+was a dance, and she appeared in a gown with several hundred diamonds
+sewn upon it, and received her guests upon a rug set with jewels to
+match.
+
+All together, Montague judged this the "fastest" set he had yet
+encountered; they ate more and drank more and intrigued more openly. He
+had been slowly acquiring the special lingo of Society, but these
+people had so much more slang that he felt all lost again. A young lady
+who was gossiping to him about those present remarked that a certain
+youth was a "spasm"; and then, seeing the look of perplexity upon his
+face, she laughed, "I don't believe you know what I mean!" Montague
+replied that he had ventured to infer that she did not like him.
+
+And then there was Mrs. Harper, who came from Chicago by way of London.
+Ten years ago Mrs. Harper had overwhelmed New York with the millions
+brought from her great department-store; and had then moved on, sighing
+for new worlds to conquer. When she had left Chicago, her grammar had
+been unexceptionable; but since she had been in England, she said "you
+ain't" and dropped all her g's; and when Montague brought down a bird
+at long range, she exclaimed, condescendingly, "Why, you're quite a dab
+at it!" He sat in the front seat of an automobile, and heard the great
+lady behind him referring to the sturdy Jersey farmers, whose ancestors
+had fought the British and Hessians all over the state, as "your
+peasantry."
+
+It was an extraordinary privilege to have Mrs. Harper for a guest; "at
+home" she moved about in state recalling that of Queen Victoria, with
+flags and bunting on the way, and crowds of school children cheering.
+She kept up half a dozen establishments, and had a hundred thousand
+acres of game preserves in Scotland. She made a speciality of
+collecting jewels which had belonged to the romantic and picturesque
+queens of history. She appeared at the dance in a breastplate of
+diamonds covering the entire front of her bodice, so that she was
+literally clothed in light; and with her was her English friend, Mrs.
+Percy, who had accompanied her in her triumph through the courts and
+camps of Europe, and displayed a famous lorgnette-chain, containing one
+specimen of every rare and beautiful jewel known. Mrs. Percy wore a
+gown of cloth of gold tissue, covered with a fortune in Venetian lace,
+and made a tremendous sensation--until the rumour spread that it was a
+rehash of the costume which Mrs. Harper had worn at the Duchess of
+London's ball. The Chicago lady herself never by any chance appeared in
+the same costume twice.
+
+Alice had a grand time at the Todds'; all the men fell in love with
+her--one in particular, a young chap named Fayette, quite threw himself
+at her feet. He was wealthy, but unfortunately he had made his money by
+eloping with a rich girl (who was one of the present party), and so,
+from a practical point of view, his attentions were not desirable for
+Alice.
+
+Montague was left with the task of finding these things out for
+himself, for his brother devoted himself exclusively to Betty Wyman.
+The way these two disappeared between meals was a jest of the whole
+company; so that when they were on their way home, Montague felt called
+upon to make paternal inquiries.
+
+"We're as much engaged as we dare to be," Oliver answered him.
+
+"And when do you expect to marry her?"
+
+"God knows," said he, "I don't. The old man wouldn't give her a cent."
+
+"And you couldn't support her?"
+
+"I? Good heavens, Allan--do you suppose Betty would consent to be poor?"
+
+"Have you asked her?" inquired Montague.
+
+"I don't want to ask her, thank you! I've not the least desire to live
+in a hovel with a girl who's been brought up in a palace."
+
+"Then what do you expect to do?"
+
+"Well, Betty has a rich aunt in a lunatic asylum. And then I'm making
+money, you know--and the old boy will have to relent in the end. And
+we're having a very good time in the meanwhile, you know."
+
+"You can't be very much in love," said Montague--to which his brother
+replied cheerfully that they were as much in love as they felt like
+being.
+
+This was on the train Monday morning. Oliver observed that his brother
+relapsed into a brown study, and remarked, "I suppose you're going back
+now to bury yourself in your books. You've got to give me one evening
+this week for a dinner that's important."
+
+"Where's that?" asked the other.
+
+"Oh, it's a long story," said Oliver. "I'll explain it to you some
+time. But first we must have an understanding about next week, also--I
+suppose you've not overlooked the fact that it's Christmas week. And
+you won't be permitted to do any work then."
+
+"But that's impossible!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Nothing else is possible," said Oliver, firmly. "I've made an
+engagement for you with the Eldridge Devons up the Hudson--"
+
+"For the whole week?"
+
+"The whole week. And it'll be the most important thing you've done.
+Mrs. Winnie's going to take us all in her car, and you will make no end
+of indispensable acquaintances."
+
+"Oliver, I don't see how in the world I can do it!" the other protested
+in dismay, and went on for several minutes arguing and explaining what
+he had to do. But Oliver contented himself with the assurance that
+where there's a will, there's a way. One could not refuse an invitation
+to spend Christmas with the Eldridge Devons!
+
+And sure enough, there was a way. Mr. Hasbrook had mentioned to him
+that he had had considerable work done upon the case, and would have
+the papers sent round. And when Montague reached his office that
+morning, he found them there. There was a package of several thousand
+pages; and upon examining them, he found to his utter consternation
+that they contained a complete bill of complaint, with all the
+necessary references and citations, and a preliminary draught of a
+brief--in short, a complete and thoroughgoing preparation of his case.
+There could not have been less than ten or fifteen thousand dollars'
+worth of work in the papers; and Montague sat quite aghast, turning
+over the neatly typewritten sheets. He could indeed afford to attend
+Christmas house parties, if all his clients were to treat him like this!
+
+He felt a little piqued about it--for he had noted some of these points
+for himself, and felt a little proud about them. Apparently he was to
+be nothing but a figure-head in the case! And he turned to the phone
+and called up Mr. Hasbrook, and asked him what he expected him to do
+with these papers. There was the whole case here; and was he simply to
+take them as they stood?
+
+No one could have replied more considerately than did Mr. Hasbrook. The
+papers were for Montague's benefit--he would do exactly as he pleased
+with them. He might use them as they stood, or reject them altogether,
+or make them the basis for his own work--anything that appealed to his
+judgment would be satisfactory. And so Montague turned about and wrote
+an acceptance to the formal invitation which had come from the Eldridge
+Devons.
+
+Later on in the day Oliver called up, and said that he was to go out to
+dinner the following evening, and that he would call for him at eight.
+"It's with the Jack Evanses," Oliver added. "Do you know them?"
+
+Montague had heard the name, as that of the president of a chain of
+Western railroads. "Do you mean him?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "They're a rum crowd, but there's money in it.
+I'll call early and explain it to you."
+
+But it was explained sooner than that. During the next afternoon
+Montague had a caller--none other than Mrs. Winnie Duval. Some one had
+left Mrs. Winnie some more money, it appeared; and there was a lot of
+red tape attached to it, which she wanted the new lawyer to attend to.
+Also, she said, she hoped that he would charge her a lot of money by
+way of encouraging himself. It was a mere bagatelle of a hundred
+thousand or so, from some forgotten aunt in the West.
+
+The business was soon disposed of, and then Mrs. Winnie asked Montague
+if he had any place to go to for dinner that evening: which was the
+occasion of his mentioning the Jack Evanses. "O dear me!" said Mrs.
+Winnie, with a laugh. "Is Ollie going to take you there? What a funny
+time you'll have!"
+
+"Do you know them?" asked the other.
+
+"Heavens, no!" was the answer. "Nobody knows them; but everybody knows
+about them. My husband meets old Evans in business, of course, and
+thinks he's a good sort. But the family--dear me!"
+
+"How much of it is there?"
+
+"Why, there's the old lady, and two grown daughters and a son. The
+son's a fine chap, they say--the old man took him in hand and put him
+at work in the shops. But I suppose he thought that daughters were too
+much of a proposition for him, and so he sent them to a fancy
+school--and, I tell you, they're the most highly polished human
+specimens that ever you encountered!"
+
+It sounded entertaining. "But what does Oliver want with them?" asked
+Montague, wonderingly.
+
+"It isn't that he wants them--they want him. They're cumbers, you
+know--perfectly frantic. They've come to town to get into Society."
+
+"Then you mean that they pay Oliver?" asked Montague.
+
+"I don't know that," said the other, with a laugh. "You'll have to ask
+Ollie. They've a number of the little brothers of the rich hanging
+round them, picking up whatever plunder's in sight."
+
+A look of pain crossed Montague's face; and she saw it, and put out her
+hand with a sudden gesture. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've offended you!"
+
+"No," said he, "it's not that exactly--I wouldn't be offended. But I'm
+worried about my brother."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"He gets a lot of money somehow, and I don't know what it means."
+
+The woman sat for a few moments in silence, watching him. "Didn't he
+have any when he came here?" she asked.
+
+"Not very much," said he.
+
+"Because," she went on, "if he didn't, he certainly managed it very
+cleverly--we all thought he had."
+
+Again there was a pause; then suddenly Mrs. Winnie said: "Do you know,
+you feel differently about money from the way we do in New York. Do you
+realize it?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said he. "How do you mean?"
+
+"You look at it in an old-fashioned sort of way--a person has to earn
+it--it's a sign of something he's done. It came to me just now, all in
+a flash--we don't feel that way about money. We haven't any of us
+earned ours; we've just got it. And it never occurs to us to expect
+other people to earn it--all we want to know is if they have it."
+
+Montague did not tell his companion how very profound a remark he
+considered that; he was afraid it would not be delicate to agree with
+her. He had heard a story of a negro occupant of the "mourners' bench,"
+who was voluble in confession of his sins, but took exception to the
+fervour with which the congregation said "Amen!"
+
+"The Evanses used to be a lot funnier than they are now," continued
+Mrs. Winnie, after a while. "When they came here last year, they were
+really frightful. They had an English chap for social secretary--a
+younger son of some broken-down old family. My brother knew a man who
+had been one of their intimates in the West, and he said it was
+perfectly excruciating--this fellow used to sit at the table and give
+orders to the whole crowd: 'Your ice-cream fork should be at your right
+hand, Miss Mary.--One never asks for more soup, Master Robert.--And
+Miss Anna, always move your soup-spoon from you--that's better!'"
+
+"I fancy I shall feel sorry for them," said Montague.
+
+"Oh, you needn't," said the other, promptly. "They'll get what they
+want."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Why, certainly they will. They've got the money; and they've been
+abroad--they're learning the game. And they'll keep at it until they
+succeed--what else is there for them to do? And then my husband says
+that old Evans is making himself a power here in the East; so that
+pretty soon they won't dare offend him."
+
+"Does that count?" asked the man.
+
+"Well, I guess it counts!" laughed Mrs. Winnie. "It has of late." And
+she went on to tell him of the Society leader who had dared to offend
+the daughters of a great magnate, and how the magnate had retaliated by
+turning the woman's husband out of his high office. That was often the
+way in the business world; the struggles were supposed to be affairs of
+men, but oftener than not the moving power was a woman's intrigue. You
+would see a great upheaval in Wall Street, and it would be two of the
+big men quarrelling over a mistress; you would see some man rush
+suddenly into a high office--and that would be because his wife had
+sold herself to advance him.
+
+Mrs. Winnie took him up town in her auto, and he dressed for dinner;
+and then came Oliver, and his brother asked, "Are you trying to put the
+Evanses into Society?"
+
+"Who's been telling you about them?" asked the other.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," said Montague.
+
+"What did she tell you?"
+
+Montague went over her recital, which his brother apparently found
+satisfactory. "It's not as serious as that," he said, answering the
+earlier question. "I help them a little now and then."
+
+"What do you do?"
+
+"Oh, advise them, mostly--tell them where to go and what to wear. When
+they first came to New York, they were dressed like paraquets, you
+know. And"--here Oliver broke into a laugh--"I refrain from making
+jokes about them. And when I hear other people abusing them, I point
+out that they are sure to land in the end, and will be dangerous
+enemies. I've got one or two wedges started for them."
+
+"And do they pay you for doing it?"
+
+"You'd call it paying me, I suppose," replied the other. "The old man
+carries a few shares of stock for me now and then."
+
+"Carries a few shares?" echoed Montague, and Oliver explained the
+procedure. This was one of the customs which had grown up in a
+community where people did not have to earn their money. The recipient
+of the favour put up nothing and took no risks; but the other person
+was supposed to buy some stock for him, and then, when the stock went
+up, he would send a cheque for the "profits." Many a man who would have
+resented a direct offer of money, would assent pleasantly when a
+powerful friend offered to "carry a hundred shares for him." This was
+the way one offered a tip in the big world; it was useful in the case
+of newspaper men, whose good opinion of a stock was desired, or of
+politicians and legislators, whose votes might help its fortunes. When
+one expected to get into Society, one must be prepared to strew such
+tips about him.
+
+"Of course," added Oliver, "what the family would really like me to do
+is to get the Robbie Wallings to take them up. I suppose I could get
+round half a million of them if I could manage that."
+
+To all of which Montague replied, "I see."
+
+A great light had dawned upon him. So that was the way it was managed!
+That was why one paid thirty thousand a year for one's apartments, and
+thirty thousand more for a girl's clothes! No wonder it was better to
+spend Christmas week at the Eldridge Devons than to labour at one's law
+books!
+
+"One more question," Montague went on. "Why are you introducing me to
+them?"
+
+"Well," his brother answered, "it won't hurt you; you'll find it
+amusing. You see, they'd heard I had a brother; and they asked me to
+bring you. I couldn't keep you hidden for ever, could I?"
+
+All this was while they were driving up town. The Evanses' place was on
+Riverside Drive; and when Montague got out of the cab and saw it
+looming up in the semi-darkness, he emitted an exclamation of wonder.
+It was as big as a jail!
+
+"Oh, yes, they've got room enough," said Oliver, with a laugh. "I put
+this deal through for them--it's the old Lamson palace, you know."
+
+They had the room; and likewise they had all the trappings of
+snobbery--Montague took that fact in at a glance. There were
+knee-breeches and scarlet facings and gold braid--marble balconies and
+fireplaces and fountains--French masters and real Flemish tapestry. The
+staircase of their palace was a winding one, and there was a white
+velvet carpet which had been specially woven for it, and had to be
+changed frequently; at the top of it was a white cashmere rug which had
+a pedigree of six centuries--and so on.
+
+And then came the family: this tall, raw-boned, gigantic man, with
+weather-tanned face and straggling grey moustache--this was Jack Evans;
+and Mrs. Evans, short and pudgy, but with a kindly face, and not too
+many diamonds; and the Misses Evans,--stately and slender and perfectly
+arrayed. "Why, they're all right!" was the thought that came to
+Montague.
+
+They were all right until they opened their mouths. When they spoke,
+you discovered that Evans was a miner, and that his wife had been cook
+on a ranch; also that Anne and Mary had harsh voices, and that they
+never by any chance said or did anything natural.
+
+They were escorted into the stately dining-room--Henri II., with a
+historic mantel taken from the palace of Fontainebleau, and four great
+allegorical paintings of Morning, Evening, Noon, and Midnight upon the
+walls. There were no other guests--the table, set for six, seemed like
+a toy in the vast apartment. And in a sudden flash--with a start of
+almost terror--Montague realized what it must mean not to be in
+Society. To have all this splendour, and nobody to share it! To have
+Henri II. dining-rooms and Louis XVI. parlours and Louis XIV.
+libraries--and see them all empty! To have no one to drive with or talk
+with, no one to visit or play cards with--to go to the theatre and the
+opera and have no one to speak to! Worse than that, to be stared at and
+smiled at! To live in this huge palace, and know that all the horde of
+servants, underneath their cringing deference, were sneering at you! To
+face that--to live in the presence of it day after day! And then,
+outside of your home, the ever widening circles of ridicule and
+contempt--Society, with all its hangers-on and parasites, its imitators
+and admirers!
+
+And some one had defied all that--some one had taken up the sword and
+gone forth to beat down that opposition! Montague looked at this little
+family of four, and wondered which of them was the driving force in
+this most desperate emprise!
+
+He arrived at it by a process of elimination. It could not be Evans
+himself. One saw that the old man was quite hopeless socially; nothing
+could change his big hairy hands or his lean scrawny neck, or his
+irresistible impulse to slide down in his chair and cross his long legs
+in front of him. The face and the talk of Jack Evans brought
+irresistibly to mind the mountain trail and the prospector's pack-mule,
+the smoke of camp-fires and the odour of bacon and beans. Seventeen
+long years the man had tramped in deserts and mountain wildernesses,
+and Nature had graven her impress deep into his body and soul.
+
+He was very shy at this dinner; but Montague came to know him well in
+the course of time. And after he had come to realize that Montague was
+not one of the grafters, he opened up his heart. Evans had held on to
+his mine when he had found it, and he had downed the rivals who had
+tried to take it away from him, and he had bought the railroads who had
+tried to crush him--and now he had come to Wall Street to fight the men
+who had tried to ruin his railroads. But through it all, he had kept
+the heart of a woman, and the sight of real distress was unbearable to
+him. He was the sort of man to keep a roll of ten-thousand-dollar bills
+in his pistol pocket, and to give one away if he thought he could do it
+without offence. And, on the other hand, men told how once when he had
+seen a porter insult a woman passenger on his line, he jumped up and
+pulled the bell-cord, and had the man put out on the roadside at
+midnight, thirty miles from the nearest town!
+
+No, it was the women folks, he said to Montague, with his grim laugh.
+It didn't trouble him at all to be called a "noovoo rich"; and when he
+felt like dancing a shakedown, he could take a run out to God's
+country. But the women folks had got the bee in their bonnet. The old
+man added sadly that one of the disadvantages of striking it rich was
+that it left the women folks with nothing to do.
+
+Nor was it Mrs. Evans, either. "Sarey," as she was called by the head
+of the house, sat next to Montague at dinner; and he discovered that
+with the very least encouragement, the good lady was willing to become
+homelike and comfortable. Montague gave the occasion, because he was a
+stranger, and volunteered the opinion that New York was a shamelessly
+extravagant place, and hard to get along in; and Mrs. Evans took up the
+subject and revealed herself as a good-natured and kindly personage,
+who had wistful yearnings for mush and molasses, and flap-jacks, and
+bread fried in bacon-grease, and similar sensible things, while her
+chef was compelling her to eat _pat� de foie gras_ in aspic, and
+milk-fed guinea-chicks, and _biscuits glac�es Tortoni_. Of course she
+did not say that at dinner,--she made a game effort to play her
+part,--with the result of at least one diverting experience for
+Montague.
+
+Mrs. Evans was telling him what a dreadful place she considered the
+city for young men; and how she feared to bring her boy here. "The men
+here have no morals at all," said she, and added earnestly, "I've come
+to the conclusion that Eastern men are naturally amphibious!"
+
+Then, as Montague knitted his brows and looked perplexed, she added,
+"Don't you think so?" And he replied, with as little delay as possible,
+that he had never really thought of it before.
+
+It was not until a couple of hours later that the light dawned upon
+him, in the course of a conversation with Miss Anne. "We met Lady
+Stonebridge at luncheon to-day," said that young person. "Do you know
+her?"
+
+"No," said Montague, who had never heard of her.
+
+"I think those aristocratic English women use the most abominable
+slang," continued Anne. "Have you noticed it?"
+
+"Yes, I have," he said.
+
+"And so utterly cynical! Do you know, Lady Stonebridge quite shocked
+mother--she told her she didn't believe in marriage at all, and that
+she thought all men were naturally polygamous!"
+
+Later on, Montague came to know "Mrs. Sarey"; and one afternoon,
+sitting in her Petit Trianon drawing-room, he asked her abruptly, "Why
+in the world do you want to get into Society?" And the poor lady caught
+her breath, and tried to be indignant; and then, seeing that he was in
+earnest, and that she was cornered, broke down and confessed. "It isn't
+me," she said, "it's the gals." (For along with the surrender went a
+reversion to natural speech.) "It's Mary, and more particularly Anne."
+
+They talked it over confidentially--which was a great relief to Mrs.
+Sarey's soul, for she was cruelly lonely. So far as she was concerned,
+it was not because she wanted Society, but because Society didn't want
+her. She flashed up in sudden anger, and clenched her fists, declaring
+that Jack Evans was as good a man as walked the streets of New
+York--and they would acknowledge it before he got through with them,
+too! After that she intended to settle down at home and be comfortable,
+and mend her husband's socks.
+
+She went on to tell him what a hard road was the path of glory. There
+were hundreds of people ready to know them--but oh, such a riffraff!
+They might fill up their home with the hangers-on and the yellow, but
+no, they could wait. They had learned a lot since they set out. One
+very aristocratic lady had invited them to dinner, and their hopes had
+been high--but alas, while they were sitting by the fireplace, some one
+admired a thirty-thousand-dollar emerald ring which Mrs. Evans had on
+her finger, and she had taken it off and passed it about among the
+company, and somewhere it had vanished completely! And another person
+had invited Mary to a bridge-party, and though she had played hardly at
+all, her hostess had quietly informed her that she had lost a thousand
+dollars. And the great Lady Stonebridge had actually sent for her and
+told her that she could introduce her in some of the very best circles,
+if only she was willing to lose always! Mrs. Evans had possessed a very
+homely Irish name before she was married; and Lady Stonebridge had got
+five thousand dollars from her to use some great influence she
+possessed in the Royal College of Heralds, and prove that she was
+descended directly from the noble old family of Magennis, who had been
+the lords of Iveagh, way back in the fourteenth century. And now Oliver
+had told them that this imposing charter would not help them in the
+least!
+
+In the process of elimination, there were the Misses Evans left.
+Montague's friends made many jests when they heard that he had met
+them--asking him if he meant to settle down. Major Venable went so far
+as to assure him that there was not the least doubt that either of the
+girls would take him in a second. Montague laughed, and answered that
+Mary was not so bad--she had a sweet face and was good-natured; but
+also, she was two years younger than Anne; and he could not get over
+the thought that two more years might make another Anne of her.
+
+For it was Anne who was the driving force of the family! Anne who had
+planned the great campaign, and selected the Lamson palace, and pried
+the family loose from the primeval rocks of Nevada! She was cold as an
+iceberg, tireless, pitiless to others as to herself; for seventeen
+years her father had wandered and dug among the mountains; and for
+seventeen years, if need be, she would dig beneath the walls of the
+fortress of Society!
+
+After Montague had had his heart to heart talk with the mother, Miss
+Anne Evans became very haughty toward him; whereby he knew that the old
+lady had told about it, and that the daughter resented his presumption.
+But to Oliver she laid bare her soul, and Oliver would come and tell
+his brother about it: how she plotted and planned and studied, and
+brought new schemes to him every week. She had some of the real people
+bought over to secret sympathy with her; if there was some especial
+favour which she asked for, she would set to work with the good-natured
+old man, and the person would have some important money service done
+him. She had the people of Society all marked--she was learning all
+their weaknesses, and the underground passages of their lives, and
+working patiently to find the key to her problem--some one family which
+was socially impregnable, but whose finances were in such a shape that
+they would receive the proposition to take up the Evanses, and
+definitely put them in. Montague used to look back upon all this with
+wonder and amusement--from those days in the not far distant future,
+when the papers had cable descriptions of the gowns of the Duchess of
+Arden, nee Evans, who was the bright particular star of the London
+social season!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Montague had written a reluctant letter to Major Thorne, telling him
+that he had been unable to interest anyone in his proposition, and that
+he was not in position to undertake it himself. Then, according to his
+brother's injunction, he left his money in the bank, and waited. There
+would be "something doing" soon, said Oliver.
+
+And as they drove home from the Evanses', Oliver served notice upon him
+that this event might be expected any day. He was very mysterious about
+it, and would answer none of his brother's questions--except to say
+that it had nothing to do with the people they had just visited.
+
+"I suppose," Montague remarked, "you have not failed to realize that
+Evans might play you false."
+
+And the other laughed, echoing the words, "Might do it!" Then he went
+on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West, whose
+daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and some of the
+young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental mood, had
+asked him for his views about the market. He advised them to buy the
+stock of his road; and they formed a pool and bought, and as fast as
+they bought, he sold--until the little venture cost the boys a total of
+seven million and a half!
+
+"No, no," Oliver added. "I have never put up a dollar for anything of
+Evans's, and I never shall.--They are simply a side issue, anyway," he
+added carelessly.
+
+A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his
+brother called him up and said that he was coming round, and would go
+down town with him. Montague knew at once that that meant something
+serious, for he had never before known his brother to be awake so early.
+
+They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had arrived--the
+time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He could not tell
+much about it, for it was a matter upon which he stood pledged to
+absolute secrecy. There were but four people in the country who knew
+about it. It was the chance of a lifetime--and in four or five hours it
+would be gone. Three times before it had come to Oliver, and each time
+he had multiplied his capital several times; that he had not made
+millions was simply because he did not have enough money. His brother
+must take his word for this and simply put himself into his hands.
+
+"What is it you want me to do?" asked Montague, gravely.
+
+"I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your
+hands on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with."
+
+"To buy on margin, you mean?"
+
+"Of course I mean that," said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother
+frown, he added, "Understand me, I have absolutely certain information
+as to how a certain stock will behave to-day."
+
+"The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters," said
+Montague.
+
+"It is not a question of any person's judgment," was the reply. "It is
+a question of knowledge. The stock is to be MADE to behave so."
+
+"But how can you know that the person who intends to make it behave may
+not be lying to you?"
+
+"My information does not come from that person, but from a person who
+has no such interest--who, on the contrary, is in on the deal with me,
+and gains only as I gain."
+
+"Then, in other words," said Montague, "your information is stolen?"
+
+"Everything in Wall Street is stolen," was Oliver's concise reply.
+
+There was a long silence, while the cab rolled swiftly on its way.
+"Well?" Oliver asked at last.
+
+"I can imagine," said Montague, "how a man might intend to move a
+certain stock, and think that he had the power, and yet find that he
+was mistaken. There are so many forces, so many chances to be
+considered--it seems to me you must be taking a risk."
+
+Oliver laughed. "You talk like a child," was his reply. "Suppose that I
+were in absolute control of a corporation, and that I chose to run it
+for purposes of market manipulation, don't you think I might come
+pretty near knowing what its stock was going to do?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, slowly, "if such a thing as that were
+conceivable."
+
+"If it were conceivable!" laughed his brother. "And now suppose that I
+had a confidential man--a secretary, we'll say--and I paid him twenty
+thousand a year, and he saw chances to make a hundred thousand in an
+hour--don't you think he might conceivably try it?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "he might. But where do you come in?"
+
+"Well, if the man were going to do anything worth while, he'd need
+capital, would he not? And he'd hardly dare to look for any money in
+the Street, where a thousand eyes would be watching him. What more
+natural than to look out for some person who is in Society and has the
+ear of private parties with plenty of cash?"
+
+And Montague sat in deep thought. "I see," he said slowly; "I see!"
+Then, fixing his eyes upon Oliver, he exclaimed, earnestly, "One thing
+more!"
+
+"Don't ask me any more," protested the other. "I told you I was
+pledged--"
+
+"You must tell me this," said Montague. "Does Bobbie Walling know about
+it?"
+
+"He does not," was the reply. But Montague had known his brother long
+and intimately, and he could read things in his eyes. He knew that that
+was a lie. He had solved the mystery at last!
+
+Montague knew that he had come to a parting of the ways. He did not
+like this kind of thing--he had not come to New York to be a
+stock-gambler. But what a difficult thing it would be to say so; and
+how unfair it was to be confronted with such an issue, and compelled to
+decide in a few minutes in a cab!
+
+He had put himself in his brother's hands, and now he was under
+obligations to him, which he could not pay off. Oliver had paid all his
+expenses; he was doing everything for him. He had made all his
+difficulties his own, and all in frankness and perfect trust--upon the
+assumption that his brother would play the game with him. And now, at
+the critical moment, he was to face about, and say; "I do not like the
+game. I do not approve of your life!" Such a painful thing it is to
+have a higher moral code than one's friends!
+
+If he refused, he saw that he would have to face a complete break; he
+could not go on living in the world to which he had been introduced.
+Fifty thousand had seemed an enormous fee, yet even a week or two had
+sufficed for it to come to seem inadequate. He would have to have many
+such fees, if they were to go on living at their present rate; and if
+Alice were to have a social career, and entertain her friends. And to
+ask Alice to give up now, and retire, would be even harder than to face
+his brother here in the cab.
+
+Then came the temptation. Life was a battle, and this was the way it
+was being fought. If he rejected the opportunity, others would seize
+it; in fact, by refusing, he would be handing it to them. This great
+man, whoever he might be, who was manipulating stocks for his own
+convenience--could anyone in his senses reject a chance to wrench from
+him some part of his spoils? Montague saw the impulse of refusal dying
+away within him.
+
+"Well?" asked his brother, finally.
+
+"Oliver," said the other, "don't you think that I ought to know more
+about it, so that I can judge?"
+
+"You could not judge, even if I told you all," said Oliver. "It would
+take you a long time to become familiar with the circumstances, as I
+am. You must take my word; I know it is certain and safe."
+
+Then suddenly he unbuttoned his coat, and took out some papers, and
+handed his brother a telegram. It was dated Chicago, and read, "Guest
+is expected immediately.--HENRY." "That means, 'Buy Transcontinental
+this morning,'" said Oliver.
+
+"I see," said the other. "Then the man is in Chicago?"
+
+"No," was the reply. "That is his wife. He wires to her."
+
+"--How much money have you?" asked Oliver, after a pause.
+
+"I've most of the fifty thousand," the other answered, "and about
+thirty thousand we brought with us."
+
+"How much can you put your hands on?"
+
+"Why, I could get all of it; but part of the money is mother's, and I
+would not touch that."
+
+The younger man was about to remonstrate, but Montague stopped him, "I
+will put up the fifty thousand I have earned," he said. "I dare not
+risk any more."
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "As you please," he said. "You may never
+have another such chance in your life."
+
+He dropped the subject, or at least he probably tried to. Within a few
+minutes, however, he was back at it again, with the result that by the
+time they reached the banking-district, Montague had agreed to draw
+sixty thousand.
+
+They stopped at his bank. "It isn't open yet,--" said Oliver, "but the
+paying teller will oblige you. Tell him you want it before the Exchange
+opens."
+
+Montague went in and got his money, in six new, crisp,
+ten-thousand-dollar bills. He buttoned them up in his inmost pocket,
+wondering a little, incidentally, at the magnificence of the place, and
+at the swift routine manner in which the clerk took in and paid out
+such sums as this. Then they drove to Oliver's bank, and he drew a
+hundred and twenty thousand; and then he paid off the cab, and they
+strolled down Broadway into Wall Street. It lacked a quarter of an hour
+of the time of the opening of the Exchange; and a stream of
+prosperous-looking men were pouring in from all the cars and ferries to
+their offices.
+
+"Where are your brokers?" Montague inquired.
+
+"I don't have any brokers--at least not for a matter such as this,"
+said Oliver. And he stopped in front of one of the big buildings. "In
+there," he said, "are the offices of Hammond and Streeter--second floor
+to your left. Go there and ask for a member of the firm, and introduce
+yourself under an assumed name--"
+
+"What!" gasped Montague.
+
+"Of course, man--you would not dream of giving your own name! What
+difference will that make?"
+
+"I never thought of doing such a thing," said the other.
+
+"Well, think of it now."
+
+But Montague shook his head. "I would not do that," he said.
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "All right," he said; "tell him you
+don't care to give your name. They're a little shady--they'll take your
+money."
+
+"Suppose they won't?" asked the other.
+
+"Then wait outside for me, and I'll take you somewhere else."
+
+"What shall I buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand shares of Transcontinental Common at the opening price;
+and tell them to buy on the scale up, and to raise the stop; also to
+take your orders to sell over the 'phone. Then wait there until I come
+for you."
+
+Montague set his teeth together and obeyed orders. Inside the door
+marked Hammond and Streeter a pleasant-faced young man advanced to meet
+him, and led him to a grey-haired and affable gentleman, Mr. Streeter.
+And Montague introduced himself as a stranger in town, from the South,
+and wishing to buy some stock. Mr. Streeter led him into an inner
+office and seated himself at a desk and drew some papers in front of
+him. "Your name, please?" he asked.
+
+"I don't care to give my name," replied the other. And Mr. Streeter put
+down his pen.
+
+"Not give your name?" he said.
+
+"No," said Montague quietly.
+
+"Why?"--said Mr. Streeter--"I don't understand--"
+
+"I am a stranger in town," said Montague, "and not accustomed to
+dealing in stocks. I should prefer to remain unknown."
+
+The man eyed him sharply. "Where do you come from?" he asked.
+
+"From Mississippi," was the reply.
+
+"And have you a residence in New York?"
+
+"At a hotel," said Montague.
+
+"You have to give some name," said the other.
+
+"Any will do," said Montague. "John Smith, if you like."
+
+"We never do anything like this," said the broker.
+
+"We require that our customers be introduced. There are rules of the
+Exchange--there are rules--"
+
+"I am sorry," said Montague; "this would be a cash transaction."
+
+"How many shares do you want to buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand," was the reply.
+
+Mr. Streeter became more serious. "That is a large order," he said.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+"What do you wish to buy?" was the next question.
+
+"Transcontinental Common," he replied.
+
+"Well," said the other, after another pause-,-"we will try to
+accommodate you. But you will have to consider it--er--"
+
+"Strictly confidential," said Montague.
+
+So Mr. Streeter made out the papers, and Montague, looking them over,
+discovered that they called for one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+"That is a mistake," he said. "I have only sixty thousand."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "we shall certainly have to charge you a ten per
+cent, margin."
+
+Montague was not prepared for this contingency; but he did some mental
+arithmetic. "What is the present price of the stock?" he asked.
+
+"Fifty-nine and five-eighths," was the reply.
+
+"Then sixty thousand dollars is more than ten per cent, of the market
+price," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Streeter. "But in dealing with a stranger we shall
+certainly have to put a 'stop loss' order at four points above, and
+that would leave you only two points of safety--surely not enough."
+
+"I see," said Montague--and he had a sudden appalling realization of
+the wild game which his brother had planned for him.
+
+"Whereas," Mr. Streeter continued, persuasively, "if you put up ten per
+cent., you will have six points."
+
+"Very well," said the other promptly. "Then please buy me six thousand
+shares."
+
+So they closed the deal, and the papers were signed, and Mr. Streeter
+took the six new, crisp ten-thousand-dollar bills.
+
+Then he escorted him to the outer office, remarking pleasantly on the
+way, "I hope you're well advised. We're inclined to be bearish upon
+Transcontinental ourselves--the situation looks rather squally."
+
+These words were not worth the breath it took to say them; but Montague
+was not aware of this, and felt a painful start within. But he
+answered, carelessly, that one must take his chance, and sat down in
+one of the customer's chairs. Hammond and Streeter's was like a little
+lecture-hall, with rows of seats and a big blackboard in front, with
+the initials of the most important stocks in columns, and yesterday's
+closing prices above, on little green cards. At one side was a ticker,
+with two attendants awaiting the opening click.
+
+In the seats were twenty or thirty men, old and young; most of them
+regular habitues, victims of the fever of the Street. Montague watched
+them, catching snatches of their whispered conversation, with its
+intricate and disagreeable slang. He felt intensely humiliated and
+uncomfortable--for he had got the fever of the Street into his own
+veins, and he could not conquer it. There were nasty shivers running up
+and down his spine, and his hands were cold.
+
+He stared at the little figures, fascinated; they stood for some vast
+and tremendous force outside, which could not be controlled or even
+comprehended,--some merciless, annihilating force, like the lightning
+or the tornado. And he had put himself at the mercy of it; it might do
+its will with him! "Tr. C. 59 5/8" read the little pasteboard; and he
+had only six points of safety. If at any time in the day that figure
+should be changed to read "53 5/8"--then every dollar of Montague's
+sixty thousand would be gone for ever! The great fee that he had worked
+so hard for and rejoiced so greatly over--that would be all gone, and a
+slice out of his inheritance besides!
+
+A boy put into his hand a little four-page paper--one of the countless
+news-sheets which different houses and interests distributed free for
+advertising or other purposes; and a heading "Transcontinental" caught
+his eye, among the paragraphs in the Day's Events. He read: "The
+directors' meeting of the Transcontinental R.R. will be held at noon.
+It is confidently predicted that the quarterly dividend will be passed,
+as it has been for the last three quarters. There is great
+dissatisfaction among the stock-holders. The stock has been decidedly
+weak, with no apparent inside support; it fell off three points just
+before closing yesterday, upon the news of further proceedings by
+Western state officials, and widely credited rumours of dissensions
+among the directors, with renewed opposition to the control of the
+Hopkins interests."
+
+Ten o'clock came and went, and the ticker began its long journey. There
+was intense activity in Transcontinental, many thousands of shares
+changing hands, and the price swaying back and forth. When Oliver came
+in, in half an hour, it stood at 59 3/8.
+
+"That's all right," said he. "Our time will not come till afternoon."
+
+"But suppose we are wiped out before afternoon?" said the other.
+
+"That is impossible," answered Oliver. "There will be big buying all
+the morning."
+
+They sat for a while, nervous and restless. Then, by way of breaking
+the monotony, Oliver suggested that his brother might like to see the
+"Street." They went around the corner to Broad Street. Here at the head
+stood the Sub-treasury building, with all the gold of the government
+inside, and a Gatling gun in the tower. The public did not know it was
+there, but the financial men knew it, and it seemed as if they had
+huddled all their offices and banks and safe-deposit vaults under its
+shelter. Here, far underground, were hidden the two hundred millions of
+securities of the Oil Trust--in a huge six-hundred-ton steel vault,
+with a door so delicately poised that a finger could swing it on its
+hinges. And opposite to this was the white Grecian building of the
+Stock Exchange. Down the street were throngs of men within a roped
+arena, pushing, shouting, jostling; this was "the curb," where one
+could buy or sell small blocks of stock, and all the wild-cat mining
+and oil stocks which were not listed by the Exchange. Rain or shine,
+these men were always here; and in the windows of the neighbouring
+buildings stood others shouting quotations to them through megaphones,
+or signalling in deaf and dumb language. Some of these brokers wore
+coloured hats, so that they could be distinguished; some had offices
+far off, where men sat all day with strong glasses trained upon them.
+Everywhere was the atmosphere of speculation--the restless, feverish
+eyes; the quick, nervous gestures; the haggard, care-worn faces. For in
+this game every man was pitted against every other man; and the dice
+were loaded so that nine out of every ten were doomed in advance to
+ruin and defeat. They procured passes to the visitors' gallery of the
+Exchange. From here one looked down into a room one or two hundred feet
+square, its floor covered with a snowstorm of torn pieces of paper, and
+its air a babel of shouts and cries. Here were gathered perhaps two
+thousand men and boys; some were lounging and talking, but most were
+crowded about the various trading-posts, pushing, climbing over each
+other, leaping up, waving their hands and calling aloud. A "seat" in
+this exchange was worth about ninety-five thousand dollars, and so no
+one of these men was poor; but yet they came, day after day, to play
+their parts in this sordid arena, "seeking in sorrow for each other's
+joy": inventing a thousand petty tricks to outwit and deceive each
+other; rejoicing in a thousand petty triumphs; and spending their
+lives, like the waves upon the shore, a very symbol of human futility.
+Now and then a sudden impulse would seize them, and they would become
+like howling demons, surging about one spot, shrieking, gasping,
+clawing each other's clothing to pieces; and the spectator shuddered,
+seeing them as the victims of some strange and dreadful enchantment,
+which bound them to struggle and torment each other until they were
+worn out and grey.
+
+But one felt these things only dimly, when he had put all his fortune
+into Transcontinental Common. For then he had sold his own soul to the
+enchanter, and the spell was upon him, and he hoped and feared and
+agonized with the struggling throng. Montague had no need to ask which
+was his "post"; for a mob of a hundred men were packed about it, with
+little whirls and eddies here and there on the outside. "Something
+doing to-day all right," said a man in his ear.
+
+It was interesting to watch; but there was one difficulty--there were
+no quotations provided for the spectators. So the sight of this
+activity merely set them on edge with anxiety--something must be
+happening to their stock! Even Oliver was visibly nervous--after all,
+in the surest cases, the game was a dangerous one; there might be a big
+failure, or an assassination, or an earthquake! They rushed out and
+made for the nearest broker's office, where a glance at the board
+showed them Transcontinental at 60. They drew a long breath, and sat
+down again to wait.
+
+That was about half-past eleven. At a quarter to twelve the stock went
+up an eighth, and then a quarter, and then another eighth. The two
+gripped their hands in excitement. Had the time come?
+
+Apparently it had. A minute later the stock leaped to 61, on large
+buying. Then it went three-eighths more. A buzz of excitement ran
+through the office, and the old-timers sat up in their seats. The stock
+went another quarter.
+
+Montague heard a man behind him say to his neighbour, "What does it
+mean?"
+
+"God knows," was the answer; but Oliver whispered in his brother's ear,
+"I know what it means. The insiders are buying."
+
+Somebody was buying, and buying furiously. The ticker seemed to set all
+other business aside and give its attention to the trading in
+Transcontinental. It was like a base-ball game, when one side begins to
+pile up runs, and the man in the coacher's box chants exultantly, and
+the dullest spectator is stirred--since no man can be indifferent to
+success. And as the stock went higher and higher, a little wave of
+excitement mounted with it, a murmur running through the room, and a
+thrill passing from person to person. Some watched, wondering if it
+would last, and if they had not better take on a little; then another
+point would be scored, and they would wish they had done it, and
+hesitate whether to do it now. But to others, like the Montagues, who
+"had some," it was victory, glorious and thrilling; their pulses leaped
+faster with every new change of the figures; and between times they
+reckoned up their gains, and hung between hope and dread for the new
+gains which were on the way, but not yet in sight.
+
+There was little lull, and the boys who tended the board had a chance
+to rest. The stock was above 66; at which price, owing to the device of
+"pyramiding." Montague was on "velvet," to use the picturesque phrase
+of the Street. His earnings amounted to sixty thousand dollars, and
+even if the stock were to fall and he were to be sold out, he would
+lose nothing.
+
+He wished to sell and realize his profits; but his brother gripped him
+fast by the arm. "No! no!" he said. "It hasn't really come yet!"
+
+Some went out to lunch--to a restaurant where they could have a
+telephone on their table, so as to keep in touch with events. But the
+Montagues had no care about eating; they sat picturing the directors in
+session, and speculating upon a score of various eventualities. Things
+might yet go wrong, and all their profits would vanish like early
+snow-flakes--and all their capital with them. Oliver shook like a leaf,
+but he would not stir. "Stay game!" he whispered.
+
+He took out his watch, and glanced at it. It was after two o'clock. "It
+may go over till to-morrow!" he muttered.--But then suddenly came the
+storm.
+
+The ticker recorded a rise in the price of Transcontinental of a point
+and a half, upon a purchase of five thousand shares; and then half a
+point for two thousand more. After that it never stopped. It went a
+point at a time; it went ten points in about fifteen minutes. And babel
+broke loose in the office, and in several thousand other offices in the
+street, and spread to others all over the world. Montague had got up,
+and was moving here and there, because the tension was unendurable; and
+at the door of an inner office he heard some one at the telephone
+exclaiming, "For the love of God, can't you find out what's the
+matter?"--A moment later a man rushed in, breathless and wild-eyed, and
+his voice rang through the office, "The directors have declared a
+quarterly dividend of three per cent, and an extra dividend of two!"
+
+And Oliver caught his brother by the arm and started for the door with
+him. "Get to your broker's," he said. "And if the stock has stopped
+moving, sell; and sell in any case before the close." And then he
+dashed away to his own headquarters.
+
+At about half after three o'clock, Oliver came into Hammond and
+Streeter's, breathless, and with his hair and clothing dishevelled. He
+was half beside himself with exultation; and Montague was scarcely less
+wrought up--in fact he felt quite limp after the strain he had been
+through.
+
+"What price did you get?" his brother inquired; and he answered, "An
+average of 78 3/8." There had been another sharp rise at the end, and
+he had sold all his stock without checking the advance.
+
+"I got five-eighths," said Oliver. "O ye gods!"
+
+There were some unhappy "shorts" in the office; Mr. Streeter was one of
+them. It was bitterness and gall to them to see the radiant faces of
+the two lucky ones; but the two did not even see this. They went out,
+half dancing, and had a drink or two to steady their nerves.
+
+They would not actually get their money until the morrow; but Montague
+figured a profit of a trifle under a quarter of a million for himself.
+Of this about twenty thousand would go to make up the share of his
+unknown informant; the balance he considered would be an ample reward
+for his six hours' work that day.
+
+His brother had won more than twice as much. But as they drove up home,
+talking over it in awe-stricken whispers, and pledging themselves to
+absolute secrecy, Oliver suddenly clenched his fist and struck his knee.
+
+"By God!" he exclaimed. "If I hadn't been a fool and tried to save an
+extra margin, I could have had a million!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas festivities,--for
+music and dancing and all beautiful and happy things.
+
+Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet him;
+clad in her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy ermine, so
+truly gorgeous that wherever she went, people turned and stared and
+caught their breath. Mrs. Winnie was a picture of joyful health, with a
+glow in her rich complexion, and a sparkle in her black eyes.
+
+She sat in her big touring-car--in which one could afford to wear
+ermine. It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine
+were seats for six persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths for
+sleeping, and a writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful electric
+chandelier to light it at night. Its trimmings were of South American
+mahogany, and its upholstering of Spanish and Morocco leathers; it had
+a telephone with which one spoke to the driver; an ice-box and a lunch
+hamper--in fact, one might have spent an hour discovering new gimcracks
+in this magic automobile. It had been made especially for Mrs. Winnie a
+couple of years ago, and the newspapers said it had cost thirty
+thousand dollars; it had then been quite a novelty, but now "everybody"
+was getting them. In this car one might sit at ease, and laugh and
+chat, and travel at the rate of an express train; and with never a jar
+or a quiver, nor the faintest sound of any sort.
+
+The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went
+through the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road which
+runs out of Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a macadamized
+avenue, lined with beautiful and stately homes. As one went farther
+yet, he came to the great country estates-a whole district of hundreds
+of square miles given up to them. There were forests and lakes and
+streams; there were gardens and greenhouses filled with rare plants and
+flowers, and parks with deer browsing, and peacocks and lyre-birds
+strutting about. The road wound in and out among hills, the surfaces of
+which would be one unbroken lawn; and upon the highest points stood
+palaces of every conceivable style and shape.
+
+One might find these great domains anywhere around the city, at a
+distance of from thirty to sixty miles; there were two or three hundred
+of them, and incredible were the sums of money which had been spent
+upon their decoration. One saw an artificial lake of ten thousand
+acres, made upon land which had cost several hundred dollars an acre;
+one saw gardens with ten thousand rose-bushes, and a quarter of a
+million dollars' worth of lilies from Japan; there was one estate in
+which had been planted a million dollars' worth of rare trees, imported
+from all over the world. Some rich men, who had nothing else to amuse
+them, would make their estates over and over again, changing the view
+about their homes as one changes the scenery in a play. Over in New
+Jersey the Hegans were building a castle upon a mountain-top, and had
+built a special railroad simply to carry the materials. Here, also, was
+the estate of the tobacco king, upon which three million dollars had
+been spent before the plans of the mansion had even been drawn; there
+were artificial lakes and streams, and fantastic bridges and statuary,
+and scores of little model plantations and estates, according to the
+whim of the owner. And here in the Pocantico Hills was the estate of
+the oil king, about four square miles, with thirty miles of model
+driveways; many car-loads of rare plants had been imported for its
+gardens, and it took six hundred men to keep it in order. There was a
+golf course, a little miniature Alps, upon which the richest man in the
+world pursued his lost health, with armed guards and detectives
+patrolling the place all day, and a tower with a search-light, whereby
+at night he could flood the grounds with light by pressing a button.
+
+In one of these places lived the heir of the great house of Devon. His
+cousin dwelt in Europe, saying that America was not a fit place for a
+gentleman to live in. Each of them owned a hundred million dollars'
+worth of New York real estate, and drew their tribute of rents from the
+toil of the swarming millions of the city. And always, according to the
+policy of the family, they bought new real estate. They were directors
+of the great railroads tributary to the city, and in touch with the
+political machines, and in every other way in position to know what was
+under way: if a new subway were built to set the swarming millions
+free, the millions would find the land all taken up, and
+apartment-houses newly built for them--and the Devons were the owners.
+They had a score of the city's greatest hotels--and also slum
+tenements, and brothels and dives in the Tenderloin. They did not even
+have to know what they owned; they did not have to know anything, or do
+anything--they lived in their palaces, at home or abroad, and in their
+offices in the city the great rent-gathering machine ground on.
+
+Eldridge Devon's occupation was playing with his country-place and his
+automobiles. He had recently sold all his horses, and turned his
+stables into a garage equipped with a score or so of cars; he was
+always getting a new one, and discussing its merits. As to Hudson
+Cliff, the estate, he had conceived the brilliant idea of establishing
+a gentleman's country-place which should be self-supporting--that is to
+say, which should furnish the luxuries and necessities of its owner's
+table for no more than it would have cost to buy them. Considering the
+prices usually paid, this was no astonishing feat, but Devon took a
+child's delight in it; he showed Montague his greenhouses, filled with
+rare flowers and fruits, and his model dairy, with marble stables and
+nickel plumbing, and attendants in white uniforms and rubber gloves. He
+was a short and very stout gentleman with red cheeks, and his
+conversation was not brilliant.
+
+To Hudson Cliff came many of Montague's earlier acquaintances, and
+others whom he had not met before. They amused themselves in all the
+ways with which-he had become familiar at house-parties; likewise on
+Christmas Eve there were festivities for the children, and on Christmas
+night a costume ball, very beautiful and stately. Many came from New
+York to attend this, and others from the neighbourhood; and in
+returning calls, Montague saw others of these hill-top mansions.
+
+Also, and most important of all, they played bridge--as they had played
+at every function which he had attended so far. Here Mrs. Winnie, who
+had rather taken him up, and threatened to supplant Oliver as his
+social guide and chaperon, insisted that no more excuses would be
+accepted; and so for two mornings he sat with her in one of the
+sun-parlours, and diligently put his mind upon the game. As he proved
+an apt pupil, he was then advised that he might take a trial plunge.
+
+And so Montague came into touch with a new social phenomenon; perhaps
+on the whole the most significant and soul-disturbing phenomenon which
+Society had exhibited to him. He had just had the experience of getting
+a great deal of money without earning it, and was fresh from the
+disagreeable memories of it--the trembling and suspense, the burning
+lustful greed, the terrible nerve-devouring excitement. He had hoped
+that he would not soon have to go through such an experience again-and
+here was the prospect of an endless dalliance with it!
+
+For that was the meaning of bridge; it was a penalty which people were
+paying for getting their money without earning it. The disease got into
+their blood, and they could no longer live without the excitement of
+gain and the hope of gain. So after their labours were over, when they
+were supposed to be resting and enjoying themselves, they would get
+together and torment themselves with an imitation struggle, mimicking
+the grim and dreadful gamble of business. Down in the Street, Oliver
+had pointed out to his brother a celebrated "plunger," who had
+sometimes won six or eight millions in a single day; and that man would
+play at stocks all morning, and "play the ponies" in the afternoon, and
+then spend the evening in a millionaires' gambling-house. And so it was
+with the bridge fiends.
+
+It was a social plague; it had run through all Society, high and low.
+It had destroyed conversation and all good-fellowship--it would end by
+destroying even common decency, and turning the best people into vulgar
+gamblers.--Thus spoke Mrs. Billy Alden, who was one of the guests; and
+Montague thought that Mrs. Billy ought to know, for she herself was
+playing all the time.
+
+Mrs. Billy did not like Mrs. Winnie Duval; and the beginning of the
+conversation was her inquiry why he let that woman corrupt him. Then
+the good lady went on to tell him what bridge had come to be; how
+people played it on the trains all the way from New York to San
+Francisco; how they had tables in their autos, and played while they
+were touring over the world. "Once," said she, "I took a party to see
+the America's Cup races off Sandy Hook; and when we got back to the
+pier, some one called, 'Who won?' And the answer was, 'Mrs. Billy's
+ahead, but we're going on this evening.' I took a party of friends
+through the Mediterranean and up the Nile, and we passed Venice and
+Cairo and the Pyramids and the Suez Canal, and they never once looked
+up--they were playing bridge. And you think I'm joking, but I mean just
+literally what I say. I know a man who was travelling from New York to
+Philadelphia, and got into a game with some strangers, and rode all the
+way to Palm Beach to finish it!"
+
+Montague heard later of a well-known Society leader who was totally
+incapacitated that winter, from too much bridge at Newport; and she was
+passing the winter at Hot Springs and Palm Beach--and playing bridge
+there. They played it even in sanitariums, to which they had been
+driven by nervous breakdown. It was an occupation so exhausting to the
+physique of women that physicians came to know the symptoms of it, and
+before they diagnosed a case, they would ask, "Do you play bridge?" It
+had destroyed the last remnants of the Sabbath--it was a universal
+custom to have card-parties on that day.
+
+It was a very expensive game, as they played it in Society; one might
+easily win or lose several thousand dollars in an evening, and there
+were many who could not afford this. If one did not play, he would be
+dropped from the lists of those invited; and when one entered a game,
+etiquette required him to stay in until it was finished. So one heard
+of young girls who had pawned their family plate, or who had sold their
+honour, to pay their bills at the game; and all Society knew of one
+youth who had robbed his hostess of her jewels and pawned them, and
+then taken her the tickets--telling her that her guests had robbed him.
+There were women received in the best Society, who lived as
+adventuresses pure and simple, upon their skill at the game; hostesses
+would invite rich guests and fleece them. Montague never forgot the
+sense of amazement and dismay with which he listened while first Mrs.
+Winnie and then his brother warned him that he must avoid playing with
+a certain aristocratic dame whom he met in this most aristocratic
+household--because she was such a notorious cheater!
+
+"My dear fellow," laughed his brother, when he protested, "we have a
+phrase 'to cheat at cards like a woman.'" And then Oliver went on to
+tell him of his own first experience at cards in Society, when he had
+played poker with several charming young d�butantes; they would call
+their hands and take the money without showing their cards, and he had
+been too gallant to ask to see them. But later he learned that this was
+a regular practice, and so he never played poker with women. And Oliver
+pointed out one of these girls to his brother--sitting, as beautiful as
+a picture and as cold as marble, with a half-smoked cigarette on the
+edge of the table, and whisky and soda and glasses of cracked ice
+beside her. Later on, as he chanced to be reading a newspaper, his
+brother leaned over his shoulder and pointed out another of the
+symptoms of the craze--an advertisement headed, "Your luck will
+change." It gave notice that at Rosenstein's Parlours, just off Fifth
+Avenue, one might borrow money upon expensive gowns and furs!
+
+All during the ten days of this house-party, Mrs. Winnie devoted
+herself to seeing that Montague had a good time; Mrs. Winnie sat beside
+him at table--he found that somehow a convention had been established
+which assigned him to Mrs. Winnie as a matter of course. Nobody said
+anything to him about it, but knowing how relentlessly the affairs of
+other people were probed and analyzed, he began to feel exceedingly
+uncomfortable.
+
+There came a time when he felt quite smothered by Mrs. Winnie; and
+immediately after lunch one day he broke away and went for a long walk
+by himself. This was the occasion of his meeting with an adventure.
+
+An inch or two of snow had fallen, and lay gleaming in the sunlight.
+The air was keen, and he drank deep draughts of it, and went striding
+away over the hills for an hour or so. There was a gale blowing, and as
+he came over the summits it would strike him, and he would see the
+river white with foam. And then down in the valleys again all would be
+still.
+
+Here, in a thickly wooded place, Montague's attention was arrested
+suddenly by a peculiar sound, a heavy thud, which seemed to shake the
+earth. It suggested a distant explosion, and he stopped for a moment
+and then went on, gazing ahead. He passed a turn, and then he saw a
+great tree which had fallen directly across the road.
+
+He went on, thinking that this was what he had heard. But as he came
+nearer, he saw his mistake. Beyond the tree lay something else, and he
+began to run toward it. It was two wheels of an automobile, sticking up
+into the air.
+
+He sprang upon the tree-trunk, and in one glance he saw the whole
+story. A big touring-car had swept round the sharp turn, and swerved to
+avoid the unexpected obstruction, and so turned a somersault into the
+ditch.
+
+Montague gave a thrill of horror, for there was the form of a man
+pinned beneath the body of the car. He sprang toward it, but a second
+glance made him stop--he saw that blood had gushed from the man's mouth
+and soaked the snow all about. His chest was visibly crushed flat, and
+his eyes were dreadful, half-started from their sockets.
+
+For a moment Montague stood staring, as if turned to stone. Then from
+the other side of the car came a moan, and he ran toward the sound. A
+second man lay in the ditch, moving feebly. Montague sprang to help him.
+
+The man wore a heavy bearskin coat. Montague lifted him, and saw that
+he was a very elderly person, with a cut across his forehead, and a
+face as white as chalk. The other helped him to a position with his
+back against the bank, and he opened his eyes and groaned.
+
+Montague knelt beside him, watching his breathing. He had a sense of
+utter helplessness--there was nothing he could think of to do, save to
+unbutton the man's coat and keep wiping the blood from his face.
+
+"Some whisky," the stranger moaned. Montague answered that he had none;
+but the other replied that there was some in the car.
+
+The slope of the bank was such that Montague could crawl under, and
+find the compartment with the bottle in it. The old man drank some, and
+a little colour came back to his face. As the other watched him, it
+came to him that this face was familiar; but he could not place it.
+
+"How many were there with you?" Montague asked; and the man answered,
+"Only one."
+
+Montague went over and made certain that the other man--who was
+obviously the chauffeur--was dead. Then he hurried down the road, and
+dragged some brush out into the middle of it, where it could be seen
+from a distance by any other automobile that came along; after which he
+went back to the stranger, and bound his handkerchief about his
+forehead to stop the bleeding from the cut.
+
+The old man's lips were tightly set, as if he were suffering great
+pain. "I'm done for!" he moaned, again and again.
+
+"Where are you hurt?" Montague asked.
+
+"I don't know," he gasped. "But it's finished me! I know it--it's the
+last straw."
+
+Then he closed his eyes and lay back. "Can't you get a doctor?" he
+asked.
+
+"There are no houses very near," said Montague. "But I can run--"
+
+"No, no!" the other interrupted, anxiously. "Don't leave me! Some one
+will come.--Oh, that fool of a chauffeur--why couldn't he go slow when
+I told him? That's always the way with them--they're always trying to
+show off."
+
+"The man is dead," said Montague, quietly.
+
+The other started upon his elbow. "Dead!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "He's under the car."
+
+The old man's eyes had started wild with fright; and he caught Montague
+by the arm. "Dead!" he said. "O my God--and it might have been me!"
+
+There was a moment's pause. The stranger caught his breath, and
+whispered again: "I'm done for! I can't stand it! it's too much!"
+
+Montague had noticed when he lifted the man that he was very frail and
+slight of build. Now he could feel that the hand that held his arm was
+trembling violently. It occurred to him that perhaps the man was not
+really hurt, but that his nerves had been upset by the shock.
+
+And he felt certain of this a moment later, when the stranger suddenly
+leaned forward, clutching him with redoubled intensity, and staring at
+him with wide, horror-stricken eyes.
+
+"Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?" he panted. "Do you
+know what it means to be afraid of death?"
+
+Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed on--"No, no! You can't!
+you can't! I don't believe any man knows it as I do! Think of it--for
+ten years I've never known a minute when I wasn't afraid of death! It
+follows me around--it won't let me be! It leaps out at me in places,
+like this! And when I escape it, I can hear it laughing at me--for it
+knows I can't get away!"
+
+The old man caught his breath with a choking sob. He was clinging to
+Montague like a frightened child, and staring with a wild, hunted look
+upon his face. Montague sat transfixed.
+
+"Yes," the other rushed on, "that's the truth, as God hears me! And
+it's the first time I've ever spoken it in my life! I have to hide
+it--because men would laugh at me--they pretend they're not afraid! But
+I lie awake all night, and it's like a fiend that sits by my bedside! I
+lie and listen to my own heart--I feel it beating, and I think how weak
+it is, and what thin walls it has, and what a wretched, helpless thing
+it is to have your life depend on that!--You don't know what that is, I
+suppose."
+
+Montague shook his head.
+
+"You're young, you see," said the other. "You have health--everybody
+has health, except me! And everybody hates me--I haven't got a friend
+in the world!"
+
+Montague was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this outburst. He
+tried to stop it, for he felt almost indecent in listening--it was not
+fair to take a man off his guard like this. But the stranger could not
+be stopped--he was completely unstrung, and his voice grew louder and
+louder.
+
+"It's every word of it true," he exclaimed wildly. "And I can't stand
+it any more. I can't stand anything any more. I was young and strong
+once--I could take care of myself; and I said: I'll make money, I'll be
+master of other men! But I was a fool--I forgot my health. And now all
+the money on earth can't do me any good! I'd give ten million dollars
+to-day for a body like any other man's--and this--this is what I have!"
+
+He struck his hands against his bosom. "Look at it!" he cried,
+hysterically. "This is what I've got to live in! It won't digest any
+food, and I can't keep it warm--there's nothing right with it! How
+would you like to lie awake at night and say to yourself that your
+teeth were decaying and you couldn't help it--your hair was falling
+out, and nobody could stop it? You're old and worn out--falling to
+pieces; and everybody hates you--everybody's waiting for you to die, so
+that they can get you out of the way. The doctors come, and they're all
+humbugs! They shake their heads and use long words--they know they
+can't do you any good, but they want their big fees! And all they do is
+to frighten you worse, and make you sicker than ever!"
+
+There was nothing that Montague could do save to sit and listen to this
+outburst of wretchedness. His attempts to soothe the old man only had
+the effect of exciting him more.
+
+"Why does it all have to fall on me?" he moaned. "I want to be like
+other people--I want to live! And instead, I'm like a man with a pack
+of hungry wolves prowling round him--that's what it's like! It's like
+Nature--hungry and cruel and savage! You think you know what life is;
+it seems so beautiful and gentle and pleasant--that's when you're on
+top! But now I'm down, and I KNOW what it is--it's a thing like a
+nightmare, that reaches out for you to clutch you and crush you! And
+you can't get away from it--you're helpless as a rat in a
+corner--you're damned--you're damned!" The miserable man's voice broke
+in a cry of despair, and he sank down in a heap in front of Montague,
+shaking and sobbing. The other was trembling slightly, and stricken
+with awe.
+
+There was a long silence, and then the stranger lifted his tear-stained
+face, and Montague helped to support him. "Have a little more of the
+whisky," said he.
+
+"No," the other answered feebly, "I'd better not."
+
+"--My doctors won't let me have whisky," he added, after a while.
+"That's my liver. I've so many don'ts, you know, that it takes a
+note-book to keep track of them. And all of them together do me no
+good! Think of it--I have to live on graham crackers and
+milk--actually, not a thing has passed my lips for two years but graham
+crackers and milk."
+
+And then suddenly, with a start, it came to Montague where he had seen
+this wrinkled old face before. It was Laura Hegan's uncle, whom the
+Major had pointed out to him in the dining-room of the Millionaires'
+Club! Old Henry S. Grimes, who was really only sixty, but looked
+eighty; and who owned slum tenements, and evicted more people in a
+month than could be crowded into the club-house!
+
+Montague gave no sign, but sat holding the man in his arms. A little
+trickle of blood came from under the handkerchief and ran down his
+cheek; Montague felt him tremble as he touched this with his ringer.
+
+"Is it much of a cut?" he asked.
+
+"Not much," said Montague; "two or three stitches, perhaps."
+
+"Send for my family physician," the other added. "If I should faint, or
+anything, you'll find his name in my card-case. What's that?"
+
+There was the sound of voices down the road. "Hello!"' Montague
+shouted; and a moment later two men in automobile costume came running
+toward him. They stopped, staring in dismay at the sight which
+confronted them.
+
+At Montague's suggestion they made haste to find a log by means of
+which they lifted the auto sufficiently to drag out the body of the
+chauffeur. Montague saw that it was quite cold.
+
+He went back to old Grimes. "Where do you wish to go?" he asked.
+
+The other hesitated. "I was bound for the Harrisons'--" he said.
+
+"The Leslie Harrisons?" asked Montague. (They were people he had met at
+the Devons'.)
+
+The other noticed his look of recognition. "Do you know them?" he asked.
+
+"I do," said Montague.
+
+"It isn't far," said the old man. "Perhaps I had best go there."--And
+then he hesitated for a moment; and catching Montague by the arm, and
+pulling him toward him, whispered, "Tell me--you-you won't tell--"
+
+Montague, comprehending what he meant, answered, "It will be between
+us." At the same time he felt a new thrill of revulsion for this most
+miserable old creature.
+
+They lifted him into the car; and because they delayed long enough to
+lay a blanket over the body of the chauffeur, he asked peevishly why
+they did not start. During the ten or fifteen minutes' trip he sat
+clinging to Montague, shuddering with fright every time they rounded a
+turn in the road.
+
+They reached the Harrisons' place; and the footman who opened the door
+was startled out of his studied impassivity by the sight of a big
+bundle of bearskin in Montague's arms. "Send for Mrs. Harrison," said
+Montague, and laid the bundle upon a divan in the hall. "Get a doctor
+as quickly as you can," he added to a second attendant.
+
+Mrs. Harrison came. "It's Mr. Grimes," said Montague; and then he heard
+a frightened exclamation, and turned and saw Laura Hegan, in a walking
+costume, fresh from the cold outside.
+
+"What is it?" she cried. And he told her, as quickly as he could, and
+she ran to help the old man. Montague stood by, and later carried him
+upstairs, and waited below until the doctor came.
+
+It was only when he set out for home again that he found time to think
+about Laura Hegan, and how beautiful she had looked in her furs. He
+wondered if it would always be his fate to meet her under circumstances
+which left her no time to be aware of his own existence.
+
+At home he told about his adventure, and found himself quite a hero for
+the rest of the day. He was obliged to give interviews to several
+newspaper reporters, and to refuse to let one of them take his picture.
+Every one at the Devons' seemed to know old Harry Grimes, and Montague
+thought to himself that if the comments of this particular group of
+people were a fair sample, the poor wretch was right in saying that he
+had not a friend in the world.
+
+When he came downstairs the next morning, he found elaborate accounts
+of the accident in the papers, and learned that Grimes had nothing
+worse than a scalp wound and a severe shock. Even so, he felt it was
+incumbent upon him to pay a visit of inquiry, and rode over shortly
+before lunch.
+
+Laura Hegan came down to see him, wearing a morning gown of white. She
+confirmed the good news of the papers, and said that her uncle was
+resting quietly. (She did not say that his physician had come
+post-haste, with two nurses, and taken up his residence in the house,
+and that the poor old millionaire was denied even his graham crackers
+and milk). Instead she said that he had mentioned Montague's kindness
+particularly, and asked her to thank him. Montague was cynical enough
+to doubt this.
+
+It was the first time that he had ever had any occasion to talk with
+Miss Hegan. He noticed her gentle and caressing voice, with the least
+touch of the South in it; and he was glad to find that it was possible
+for her to talk without breaking the spell of her serene and noble
+beauty. Montague stayed as long as he had any right to stay.
+
+And all the way as he rode home he was thinking about Laura Hegan. Here
+for the first time was a woman whom he felt he should like to know; a
+woman with reserve and dignity, and some ideas in her life. And it was
+impossible for him to know her--because she was rich!
+
+There was no dodging this fact--Montague did not even try. He had met
+women with fortunes already, and he knew how they felt about
+themselves, and how the rest of the world felt about them. They might
+wish in their hearts to be something else besides the keepers of a
+treasure-chest, but their wishes were futile; the money went with them,
+and they had to defend it against all comers. Montague recalled one
+heiress after another--d�butantes, some of them, exquisite and delicate
+as butterflies--but under the surface as hard as chain-armour. All
+their lives they had been trained to think of themselves as
+representing money, and of every one who came near them as adventurers
+seeking money. In every word they uttered, in every glance and motion,
+one might read this meaning. And then he thought of Laura Hegan, with
+the fortune she would inherit; and he pictured what her life must
+be--the toadies and parasites and flatterers who would lay siege to
+her--the scheming mammas and the affectionate sisters and cousins who
+would plot to gain her confidence! For a man who was poor, and who
+meant to keep his self-respect, was there any possible conclusion
+except that she was entirely unknowable to him?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+Montague came back to the city, and dug into his books again; while
+Alice gave her spare hours to watching the progress of the new gown in
+which she was to uphold the honour of the family at Mrs. Devon's
+opening ball. The great event was due in the next week and Society was
+as much excited about it as a family of children before Christmas. All
+whom Montague met were invited and all were going unless they happened
+to be in mourning. Their gossip was all of the disappointed ones, and
+their bitterness and heartburning.
+
+Mrs. Devon's mansion was thrown open early on the eventful evening, but
+few would come until midnight. It was the fashion to attend the Opera
+first, and previous to that half a dozen people would give big dinners.
+He was a fortunate person who did not hear from his liver after this
+occasion; for at one o'clock came Mrs. Devon's massive supper, and then
+again at four o'clock another supper. To prepare these repasts a dozen
+extra chefs had been imported into the Devon establishment for a
+week--for it was part of the great lady's pride to permit no outside
+caterer to prepare anything for her guests.
+
+Montague had never been able to get over his wonder at the social
+phenomenon known as Mrs. Devon. He came and took his chances in the
+jostling throngs; and except that he got into casual conversation with
+one of the numerous detectives whom he took for a guest he came off
+fairly well. But all the time that he was being passed about and
+introduced and danced with, he was looking about him and wondering. The
+grand staircase and the hall and parlours had been turned into tropical
+gardens, with palms and trailing vines, and azaleas and roses, and
+great vases of scarlet poinsettia, with hundreds of lights glowing
+through them. (It was said that this ball had exhausted the flower
+supply of the country as far south as Atlanta.) And then in the
+reception room one came upon the little old lady, standing' beneath a
+bower of orchids. She was clad in a robe of royal purple trimmed with
+silver, and girdled about with an armour-plate of gems. If one might
+credit the papers, the diamonds that were worn at one of these balls
+were valued at twenty million dollars.
+
+The stranger was quite overwhelmed by all the splendour. There was a
+cotillion danced by two hundred gorgeously clad women and their
+partners--a scene so gay that one could only think of it as happening
+in a fairy legend, or some old romance of knighthood. Four sets of
+favours were given during this function, and jewels and objects of art
+were showered forth as if from a magician's wand. Mrs. Devon herself
+soon disappeared, but the riot of music and merry-making went on until
+near morning, and during all this time the halls and rooms of the great
+mansion were so crowded that one could scarcely move about.
+
+Then one went home, and realized that all this splendour, and the human
+effort which it represented, had been for nothing but a memory! Nor
+would he get the full meaning of it if he failed to realize that it was
+simply one of thousands--a pattern which every one there would strive
+to follow in some function of his own. It was a signal bell, which told
+the world that the "season" was open. It loosed the floodgates of
+extravagance, and the torrent of dissipation poured forth. From then on
+there would be a continuous round of gaieties; one might have three
+banquets every single night--for a dinner and two suppers was now the
+custom, at entertainments! And filling the rest of one's day were
+receptions and teas and musicales--a person might take his choice among
+a score of opportunities, and never leave the circle he met at Mrs.
+Devon's. Nor was this counting the tens of thousands of aspirants and
+imitators all over the city; nor in a host of other cities, each with
+thousands of women who had nothing to do save to ape the ways of the
+Metropolis. The mind could not realize the volume of this deluge of
+destruction--it was a thing which stunned the senses, and thundered in
+one's ears like Niagara.
+
+The meaning of it all did not stop with the people who poured it forth;
+its effects were to be traced through the whole country. There were
+hordes of tradesmen and manufacturers who supplied what Society bought,
+and whose study it was to induce people to buy as much as possible. And
+so they devised what were called "fashions"--little eccentricities of
+cut and material, which made everything go out of date quickly. There
+had once been two seasons, but now there were four; and through window
+displays and millions of advertisements the public was lured into the
+trap. The "yellow" journals would give whole pages to describing "What
+the 400 are wearing"; there were magazines with many millions of
+readers, which existed for nothing save to propagate these ideas. And
+everywhere, in all classes of Society, men and women were starving
+their minds and hearts, and straining their energies to follow this
+phantom of fashion; the masses were kept poor because of it, and the
+youth and hope of the world was betrayed by it. In country villages
+poor farmers' wives were trimming their bonnets over to be "stylish";
+and servant-girls in the cities were wearing imitation sealskins, and
+shop-clerks and sempstresses selling themselves into brothels for the
+sake of ribbons and gilt jewellery.
+
+It was the instinct of decoration, perverted by the money-lust. In the
+Metropolis the sole test of excellence was money, and the possession of
+money was the proof of power; and every natural desire of men and women
+had been tainted by this influence. The love of beauty, the impulse to
+hospitality, the joys of music and dancing and love--all these things
+had become simply means to the demonstration of money-power! The men
+were busy making more money--but their idle women had nothing in life
+save this mad race in display. So it had come about that the woman who
+could consume wealth most conspicuously--who was the most effective
+instrument for the destroying of the labour and the lives of other
+people--this was the woman who was most applauded and most noticed.
+
+The most appalling fact about Society was this utter blind materialism.
+Such expectations as Montague had brought with him had been derived
+from the literature of Europe; in a grand monde such as this, he
+expected to meet diplomats and statesmen, scientists and explorers,
+philosophers and poets and painters. But one never heard anything about
+such people in Society. It was a mark of eccentricity to be interested
+in intellectual affairs, and one might go about for weeks and not meet
+a person with an idea. When these people read, it was a sugar-candy
+novel, and when they went to the play, it was a musical comedy. The one
+single intellectual product which it could point to as its own, was a
+rancid scandal-sheet, used mainly as a means of blackmail. Now and then
+some aspiring young matron of the "elite" would try to set up a salon
+after the fashion of the continent, and would gather a few feeble wits
+about her for a time. But for the most part the intellectual workers of
+the city held themselves severely aloof; and Society was left a little
+clique of people whose fortunes had become historic in a decade or two,
+and who got together in each other's palaces and gorged themselves, and
+gambled and gossiped about each other, and wove about their
+personalities a veil of awful and exclusive majesty.
+
+Montague found himself thinking that perhaps it was not they who were
+to blame. It was not they who had set up wealth as the end and goal of
+things--it was the whole community, of which they were a part. It was
+not their fault that they had been left with power and nothing to use
+it for; it was not their fault that their sons and daughters found
+themselves stranded in the world, deprived of all necessity, and of the
+possibility of doing anything useful.
+
+The most pitiful aspect of the whole thing to Montague was this "second
+generation" who were coming upon the scene, with their lives all
+poisoned in advance. No wrong which they could do to the world would
+ever equal the wrong which the world had done them, in permitting them
+to have money which they had not earned. They were cut off for ever
+from reality, and from the possibility of understanding life; they had
+big, healthy bodies, and they craved experience--and they had
+absolutely nothing to do. That was the real meaning of all this orgy of
+dissipation--this "social whirl" as it was called; it was the frantic
+chase of some new thrill, some excitement that would stir the senses of
+people who had nothing in the world to interest them. That was why they
+were building palaces, and flinging largesses of banquets and balls,
+and tearing about the country in automobiles, and travelling over the
+earth in steam yachts and private trains.
+
+And first and last, the lesson of their efforts was, that the chase
+was futile; the jaded nerves would not thrill. The most conspicuous
+fact about Society was its unutterable and agonizing boredom; of its
+great solemn functions the shop-girl would read with greedy envy, but
+the women who attended them would be half asleep behind their jewelled
+fans. It was typified to Montague by Mrs. Billy Alden's yachting party
+on the Nile; yawning in the face of the Sphinx, and playing bridge
+beneath the shadow of the pyramids--and counting the crocodiles and
+proposing to jump in by way of "changing the pain"!
+
+People attended these ceaseless rounds of entertainments, simply
+because they dreaded to be left alone. They wandered from place to
+place, following like a herd of sheep whatever leader would inaugurate
+a new diversion. One could have filled a volume with the list of their
+"fads." There were new ones every week--if Society did not invent them,
+the yellow journals invented them. There was a woman who had her teeth
+filled with diamonds; and another who was driving a pair of zebras. One
+heard of monkey dinners and pyjama dinners at Newport, of horseback
+dinners and vegetable dances in New York. One heard of fashion-albums
+and autograph-fans and talking crows and rare orchids and reindeer
+meat; of bracelets for men and ankle rings for women; of "vanity-boxes"
+at ten and twenty thousand dollars each; of weird and repulsive pets,
+chameleons and lizards and king-snakes--there was one young woman who
+wore a cat-snake as a necklace. One would take to slumming and another
+to sniffing brandy through the nose; one had a table-cover made of
+woven roses, and another was wearing perfumed flannel at sixteen
+dollars a yard; one had inaugurated ice-skating in August, and another
+had started a class for the study of Plato. Some were giving tennis
+tournaments in bathing-suits, and playing leap-frog after dinner;
+others had got dispensations from the Pope, so that they might have
+private chapels and confessors; and yet others were giving "progressive
+dinners," moving from one restaurant to another--a cocktail and
+blue-points at Sherry's, a soup and Madeira at Delmonico's, some
+terrapin with amontillado at the Waldorf--and so on.
+
+One of the consequences of the furious pace was that people's health
+broke down very quickly; and there were all sorts of bizarre ways of
+restoring it. One person would be eating nothing but spinach, and
+another would be living on grass. One would chew a mouthful of soup
+thirty-two times; another would eat every two hours, and another only
+once a week. Some went out in the early morning and walked bare-footed
+in the grass, and others went hopping about the floor on their hands
+and knees to take off fat. There were "rest cures" and "water cures,"
+"new thought" and "metaphysical healing" and "Christian Science"; there
+was an automatic horse, which one might ride indoors, with a register
+showing the distance travelled. Montague met one man who had an
+electric machine, which cost thirty thousand dollars, and which took
+hold of his arms and feet and exercised him while he waited. He met a
+woman who told him she was riding an electric camel!
+
+Everywhere one went there were new people, spending their money in new
+and incredible ways. Here was a man who had bought a chapel and turned
+it into a theatre, and hired professional actors, and persuaded his
+friends to come and see him act Shakespeare. Here was a woman who
+costumed herself after figures in famous paintings, with arrangements
+of roses and cherry leaves, and wreaths of ivy and laurel--and with
+costumes for her pet dogs to match! Here was a man who paid six dollars
+a day for a carnation four inches across; and a girl who wore a hat
+trimmed with fresh morning-glories, and a ball costume with swarms of
+real butterflies tied with silk threads; and another with a hat made of
+woven silver, with ostrich plumes forty inches long made entirely of
+silver films. Here was a man who hired a military company to drill all
+day long to prepare a floor for dancing; and another who put up a
+building at a cost of thirty thousand dollars to give a d�butante dance
+for his daughter, and then had it torn down the day after. Here was a
+man who bred rattlesnakes and turned them loose by thousands, and had
+driven everybody away from the North Carolina estate of one of the
+Wallings. Here was a man who was building himself a yacht with a model
+dairy and bakery on board, and a French laundry and a brass band. Here
+was a million-dollar racing-yacht with auto-boats on it and a platoon
+of marksmen, and some Chinese laundrymen, and two physicians for its
+half-insane occupant. Here was a man who had bought a Rhine castle for
+three-quarters of a million, and spent as much in restoring it, and
+filled it with servants dressed in fourteenth-century costumes. Here
+was a five-million-dollar art collection hidden away where nobody ever
+saw it!
+
+One saw the meaning of this madness most clearly in the young men of
+Society. Some were killing themselves and other people in automobile
+races at a hundred and twenty miles an hour. Some went in for
+auto-boats, mere shells of things, shaped like a knife-blade, that tore
+through the water at forty miles an hour. Some would hire professional
+pugilists to knock them out; others would get up dog-fights and
+bear-fights, and boxing matches with kangaroos. Montague was taken to
+the home of one young man who had given his life to hunting wild game
+in every corner of the globe, and would travel round the world for a
+new species to add to his museum of trophies. He had heard that Baron
+Rothschild had offered a thousand pounds for a "bongo," a huge
+grass-eating animal, which no white man had ever seen; and he had taken
+a year's trip into the interior, with a train of a hundred and thirty
+natives, and had brought out the heads of forty different species,
+including a bongo--which the Baron did not get! He met another who had
+helped to organize a balloon club, and two twenty-four-hour trips in
+the clouds. (This, by the way, was the latest sport--at Tuxedo they had
+races between balloons and automobiles; and Montague met one young lady
+who boasted that she had been up five times.) There was another young
+millionaire who sat and patiently taught Sunday School, in the presence
+of a host of reporters; there was another who set up a chain of
+newspapers all over the country and made war upon his class. There were
+others who went in for settlement work and Russian
+revolutionists--there were even some who called themselves Socialists!
+Montague thought that this was the strangest fad of all; and when he
+met one of these young men at an afternoon tea, he gazed at him with
+wonder and perplexity--thinking of the man he had heard ranting on the
+street-corner.
+
+This was the "second generation." Appalling as it was to think of,
+there was a third growing up, and getting ready to take the stage. And
+with wealth accumulating faster than ever, who could guess what they
+might do? There were still in Society a few men and women who had
+earned their money, and had some idea of the toil and suffering that it
+stood for; but when the third generation had taken possession, these
+would all be dead or forgotten, and there would no longer be any link
+to connect them with reality!
+
+In the light of this thought one was moved to watch the children of the
+rich. Some of these had inherited scores of millions of dollars while
+they were still in the cradle; now and then one of them would be
+presented with a million-dollar house for a birthday gift. When such a
+baby was born, the newspapers would give pages to describing its
+layette, with baby dresses at a hundred dollars each, and lace
+handkerchiefs at five dollars, and dressing-sets with tiny gold brushes
+and powder-boxes; one might see a picture of the precious object in a
+"Moses basket," covered with rare and wonderful Valenciennes lace.
+
+This child would grow up in an atmosphere of luxury and
+self-indulgence; it would be bullying the servants at the age of six,
+and talking scandal and smoking cigarettes at twelve. It would be
+petted and admired and stared at, and paraded about in state, dressed
+up like a French doll; it would drink in snobbery and hatefulness with
+the very air it breathed. One might meet in these great houses little
+tots not yet in their teens whose talk was all of the cost of things,
+and of the inferiority of their neighbours. There was nothing in the
+world too good for them.--They had little miniature automobiles to ride
+about the country in, and blooded Arabian ponies, and doll-houses in
+real Louis Seize, with jewelled rugs and miniature electric lights. At
+Mrs. Caroline Smythe's, Montague was introduced to a pale and
+anaemic-looking youth of thirteen, who dined in solemn state alone when
+the rest of the family was away, and insisted upon having all the
+footmen in attendance; and his unfortunate aunt brought a storm about
+her ears by forbidding the butler to take champagne upstairs into the
+nursery before lunch.
+
+A little remark stayed in Montague's mind as expressing the attitude of
+Society toward such matters. Major Venable had chanced to remark
+jestingly that children were coming to understand so much nowadays that
+it was necessary for the ladies to be careful. To which Mrs. Vivie
+Patton answered, with a sudden access of seriousness: "I don't know--do
+you find that children have any morals? Mine haven't."
+
+And then the fascinating Mrs. Vivie went on to tell the truth about her
+own children. They were natural-born savages, and that was all there
+was to it. They did as they pleased, and no one could stop them. The
+Major replied that nowadays all the world was doing as it pleased, and
+no one seemed to be able to stop it; and with that jest the
+conversation was turned to other matters. But Montague sat in silence,
+thinking about it--wondering what would happen to the world when it had
+fallen under the sway of this generation of spoiled children, and had
+adopted altogether the religion of doing as one pleased.
+
+In the beginning people had simply done as they pleased spontaneously,
+and without thinking about it; but now, Montague discovered, the custom
+had spread to such an extent that it was developing a philosophy. There
+was springing up a new cult, whose devotees were planning to make over
+the world upon the plan of doing as one pleased. Because its members
+were wealthy, and able to command the talent of the world, the cult was
+developing an art, with a highly perfected technique, and a literature
+which was subtle and exquisite and alluring. Europe had had such a
+literature for a century, and England for a generation or two. And now
+America was having it, too!
+
+Montague had an amusing insight into this one day, when Mrs. Vivie
+invited him to one of her "artistic evenings." Mrs. Vivie was in touch
+with a special set which went in for intellectual things, and included
+some amateur Bohemians and men of "genius." "Don't you come if you'll
+be shocked," she had said to him--"for Strathcona will be there."
+
+Montague deemed himself able to stand a good deal by this time. He
+went, and found Mrs. Vivie and her Count (Mr. Vivie had apparently not
+been invited) and also the young poet of Diabolism, whose work was just
+then the talk of the town. He was a tall, slender youth with a white
+face and melancholy black eyes, and black locks falling in cascades
+about his ears; he sat in an Oriental corner, with a manuscript copied
+in tiny handwriting upon delicately scented "art paper," and tied with
+passionate purple ribbons. A young girl clad in white sat by his side
+and held a candle, while he read from this manuscript his unprinted
+(because unprintable) verses.
+
+And between the readings the young poet talked. He talked about himself
+and his work--apparently that was what he had come to talk about. His
+words flowed like a swift stream, limpid, sparkling, incessant; leaping
+from place to place--here, there, quick as the play of light upon the
+water. Montague laboured to follow the speaker's ideas, until he found
+his mind in a whirl and gave it up. Afterward, when he thought it over,
+he laughed at himself; for Strathcona's ideas were not serious things,
+having relationship to truth--they were epigrams put together to dazzle
+the hearer, studies in paradox, with as much relation to life as
+fireworks. He took the sum-total of the moral experience of the human
+race, and turned it upside down and jumbled it about, and used it as
+bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. And the hearers would gasp, and
+whisper, "Diabolical!"
+
+The motto of this "school" of poets was that there was neither good nor
+evil, but that all things were "interesting." After listening to
+Strathcona for half an hour, one felt like hiding his head, and denying
+that he had ever thought of having any virtue; in a world where all
+things were uncertain, it was presumptuous even to pretend to know what
+virtue was. One could only be what one was; and did not that mean that
+one must do as one pleased?
+
+You could feel a shudder run through the company at his audacity. And
+the worst of it was that you could not dismiss it with a laugh; for the
+boy was really a poet--he had fire and passion, the gift of melodious
+ecstacy. He was only twenty, and in his brief meteor flight he had run
+the gamut of all experience; he had familiarized himself with all human
+achievement--past, present, and future. There was nothing any one could
+mention that he did not perfectly comprehend: the raptures of the
+saints, the consecration of the martyrs--yes, he had known them;
+likewise he had touched the depths of depravity, he had been lost in
+the innermost passages of the caverns of hell. And all this had been
+interesting--in its time; now he was sighing for new worlds of
+experience--say for unrequited love, which should drive him to madness.
+
+It was at this point that Montague dropped out of the race, and took to
+studying from the outside the mechanism of this young poet's
+conversation. Strathcona flouted the idea of a moral sense; but in
+reality he was quite dependent upon it--his recipe for making epigrams
+was to take what other people's moral sense made them respect, and
+identify it with something which their moral sense made them abhor.
+Thus, for instance, the tale which he told about one of the members of
+his set, who was a relative of a bishop. The great man had occasion to
+rebuke him for his profligate ways, declaring in the course of his
+lecture that he was living off the reputation of his father; to which
+the boy made the crushing rejoinder: "It may be bad to live off the
+reputation of one's father, but it's better than living off the
+reputation of God."--This was very subtle and it was necessary to
+ponder it. God was dead; and the worthy bishop did not know it! But let
+him take a new God, who had no reputation, and go out into the world
+and make a living out of him!
+
+Then Strathcona discussed literature. He paid his tribute to the
+"Fleurs de Mal" and the "Songs before Sunrise"; but most, he said, he
+owed to "the divine Oscar." This English poet of many poses and some
+vices the law had seized and flung into jail; and since the law is a
+thing so brutal and wicked that whoever is touched by it is made
+thereby a martyr and a hero, there had grown up quite a cult about the
+memory of "Oscar." All up-to-date poets imitated his style and his
+attitude to life; and so the most revolting of vices had the cloak of
+romance flung about them--were given long Greek and Latin names, and
+discussed with parade of learning as revivals of Hellenic ideals. The
+young men in Strathcona's set referred to each other as their "lovers";
+and if one showed any perplexity over this, he was regarded, not with
+contempt--for it was not aesthetic to feel contempt--but with a slight
+lifting of the eyebrows, intended to annihilate.
+
+One must not forget, of course, that these young people were poets, and
+to that extent were protected from their own doctrines. They were
+interested, not in life, but in making pretty verses about life; there
+were some among them who lived as cheerful ascetics in garret rooms,
+and gave melodious expression to devilish emotions. But, on the other
+hand, for every poet, there were thousands who were not poets, but
+people to whom life was real. And these lived out the creed, and
+wrecked their lives; and with the aid of the poet's magic, the glamour
+of melody and the fire divine, they wrecked the lives with which they
+came into contact. The new generation of boys and girls were deriving
+their spiritual sustenance from the poetry of Baudelaire and Wilde; and
+rushing with the hot impulsiveness of youth into the dreadful traps
+which the traders in vice prepared for them. One's heart bled to see
+them, pink-cheeked and bright-eyed, pursuing the hem of the Muse's robe
+in brothels and dens of infamy!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+The social mill ground on for another month. Montague withdrew himself
+as much as his brother would let him; but Alice, was on the go all
+night and half the day. Oliver had sold his racing automobile to a
+friend--he was a man of family now, he said, and his wild days were
+over. He had got, instead, a limousine car for Alice; though she
+declared she had no need of it--if ever she was going to any place,
+Charlie Carter always begged her to use his. Charlie's siege was as
+persistent as ever, as Montague noticed with annoyance.
+
+The great law case was going forward. After weeks of study and
+investigation, Montague felt that he had the matter well in hand; and
+he had taken Mr. Hasbrook's memoranda as a basis for a new work of his
+own, much more substantial. Bit by bit; as he dug into the subject, he
+had discovered a state of affairs in the Fidelity Company, and, indeed,
+in the whole insurance business and its allied realms of banking and
+finance, which shocked him profoundly. It was impossible for him to
+imagine how such conditions could exist and remain unknown to the
+public--more especially as every one in Wall Street with whom he talked
+seemed to know about them and to take them for granted.
+
+His client's papers had provided him with references to the books;
+Montague had taken this dry material and made of it a protest which had
+the breath of life in it. It was a thing at which he toiled with deadly
+earnestness; it was not merely a struggle of one man to get a few
+thousand dollars, it was an appeal in behalf of millions of helpless
+people whose trust had been betrayed. It was the first step in a long
+campaign, which the young lawyer meant should force a great evil into
+the light of day.
+
+He went over his bill of complaint with Mr. Hasbrook, and he was glad
+to see that the work he had done made its impression upon him. In fact,
+his client was a little afraid that some of his arguments might be too
+radical in tone--from the strictly legal point of view, he made haste
+to explain. But Montague reassured him upon this point.
+
+And then came the day when the great ship was ready for launching. The
+news must have spread quickly, for a few hours after the papers in the
+suit had been filed, Montague received a call from a newspaper
+reporter, who told him of the excitement in financial circles, where
+the thing had fallen like a bomb. Montague explained the purpose of the
+suit, and gave the reporter a number of facts which he felt certain
+would attract attention to the matter. When he picked up the paper the
+next morning, however, he was surprised to find that only a few lines
+had been given to the case, and that his interview had been replaced by
+one with an unnamed official of the Fidelity, to the effect that the
+attack upon the company was obviously for black-mailing purposes.
+
+That was the only ripple which Montague's work produced upon the
+surface of the pool; but there was a great commotion among the fish at
+the bottom, about which he was soon to learn.
+
+That evening, while he was hard at work in his study, he received a
+telephone call from his brother. "I'm coming round to see you," said
+Oliver. "Wait for me."
+
+"All right," said the other, and added, "I thought you were dining at
+the Wallings'."
+
+"I'm there now," was the answer. "I'm leaving."
+
+"What is the matter?" Montague asked.
+
+"There's hell to pay," was the reply--and then silence.
+
+When Oliver appeared, a few minutes later, he did not even stop to set
+down his hat, but exclaimed, "Allan, what in heaven's name have you
+been doing?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Why, that suit!"
+
+"What about it?"
+
+"Good God, man!" cried Oliver. "Do you mean that you really don't know
+what you've done?"
+
+Montague was staring at him. "I'm afraid I don't," said he.
+
+"Why, you're turning the world upside down!" exclaimed the other.
+"Everybody you know is crazy about it."
+
+"Everybody I know!" echoed Montague. "What have they to do with it?"
+
+"Why, you've stabbed them in the back!" half shouted Oliver. "I could
+hardly believe my ears when they told me. Robbie Walling is simply
+wild--I never had such a time in my life."
+
+"I don't understand yet," said Montague, more and more amazed. "What
+has he to do with it?"
+
+"Why, man," cried Oliver, "his brother's a director in the Fidelity!
+And his own interests--and all the other companies! You've struck at
+the whole insurance business!"
+
+Montague caught his breath. "Oh, I see!" he said.
+
+"How could you think of such a thing?" cried the other, wildly. "You
+promised to consult me about things--"
+
+"I told you when I took this case," put in Montague, quickly.
+
+"I know," said his brother. "But you didn't explain--and what did I
+know about it? I thought I could leave it to your common sense not to
+mix up in a thing like this."
+
+"I'm very sorry," said Montague, gravely. "I had no idea of any such
+result."
+
+"That's what I told Robbie," said Oliver. "Good God, what a time I had!"
+
+He took his hat and coat and laid them on the bed, and sat down and
+began to tell about it. "I made him realize the disadvantage you were
+under," he said, "being a stranger and not knowing the ground. I
+believe he had an idea that you tried to get his confidence on purpose
+to attack him. It was Mrs. Robbie, I guess--you know her fortune is all
+in that quarter."
+
+Oliver wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "My!" he said.--"And
+fancy what old Wyman must be saying about this! And what a time poor
+Betty must be having! And then Freddie Vandam--the air will be blue for
+half a mile round his place! I must send him a wire and explain that it
+was a mistake, and that we're getting out of it."
+
+And he got up, to suit the action to the word. But half-way to the desk
+he heard his brother say, "Wait."
+
+He turned, and saw Montague, quite pale. "I suppose by 'getting out of
+it,'" said the latter, "you mean dropping the case."
+
+"Of course," was the answer.
+
+"Well, then," he continued, very gravely,--"I can see that it's going
+to be hard, and I'm sorry. But you might as well understand me at the
+very beginning--I will never drop this case."
+
+Oliver's jaw fell limp. "Allan!" he gasped.
+
+There was a silence; and then the storm broke. Oliver knew his brother
+well enough to realize just how thoroughly he meant what he said; and
+so he got the full force of the shock all at once. He raved and swore
+and wrung his hands, and declaimed at his brother, saying that he had
+betrayed him, that he was ruining him--dumping himself and the whole
+family into the ditch. They would be jeered at and insulted--they would
+be blacklisted and thrown out of Society. Alice's career would be cut
+short--every door would be closed to her. His own career would die
+before it was born; he would never get into the clubs--he would be a
+pariah--he would be bankrupted and penniless. Again and again Oliver
+went over the situation, naming person after person who would be
+outraged, and describing what that person would do; there were the
+Wallings and the Venables and the Havens, the Vandams and the Todds and
+the Wymans--they were all one regiment, and Montague had flung a bomb
+into the centre of them!
+
+It was very terrible to him to see his brother's rage and despair; but
+he had seen his way clear through this matter, and he knew that there
+was no turning back for him. "It is painful to learn that all one's
+acquaintances are thieves," he said. "But that does not change my
+opinion of stealing."
+
+"But my God!" cried Oliver; "did you come to New York to preach
+sermons?"
+
+To which the other answered, "I came to practise law. And the lawyer
+who will not fight injustice is a traitor to his profession."
+
+Oliver threw up his hands in despair. What could one say to a sentiment
+such as that?
+
+--But then again he came to the charge, pointing out to his brother the
+position in which he had placed himself with the Wallings. He had
+accepted their hospitality; they had taken him and Alice in, and done
+everything in the world for them--things for which no money could ever
+repay them. And now he had struck them!
+
+But the only effect of that was to make Montague regret that he had
+ever had anything to do with the Wallings. If they expected to use
+their friendship to tie his hands in such a matter, they were people he
+would have left alone.
+
+"But do you realize that it's not merely yourself you're ruining?"
+cried Oliver. "Do you know what you're doing to Alice?"
+
+"That is harder yet for me," the other replied. "But I am sure that
+Alice would not ask me to stop."
+
+Montague was firmly set in his own mind; but it seemed to be quite
+impossible for his brother to realize that this was the case. He would
+give up; but then, going back into his own mind, and facing the thought
+of this person and that, and the impossibility of the situation which
+would arise, he would return to the attack with new anguish in his
+voice. He implored and scolded, and even wept; and then he would get
+himself together again, and come and sit in front of his brother and
+try to reason with him.
+
+And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale
+and nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his
+brother unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had come
+to see it. It was a city ruled by mighty forces--money-forces; great
+families and fortunes, which had held their sway for generations, and
+regarded the place, with all its swarming millions, as their
+birthright. They possessed it utterly--they held it in the hollow of
+their hands. Railroads and telegraphs and telephones--banks and
+insurance and trust companies--all these they owned; and the political
+machines and the legislatures, the courts and the newspapers, the
+churches and the colleges. And their rule was for plunder; all the
+streams of profit ran into their coffers. The stranger who came to
+their city succeeded as he helped them in their purposes, and failed if
+they could not use him. A great editor or bishop was a man who taught
+their doctrines; a great statesman was a man who made the laws for
+them; a great lawyer was one who helped them to outwit the public. Any
+man who dared to oppose them, they would cast out and trample on, they
+would slander and ridicule and ruin.
+
+And Oliver came down to particulars--he named these powerful men, one
+after one, and showed what they could do. If his brother would only be
+a man of the world, and see the thing! Look at all the successful
+lawyers! Oliver named them, one after one--shrewd devisers of
+corporation trickery, with incomes of hundreds of thousands a year. He
+could not name the men who had refused to play the game--for no one had
+ever heard of them. But it was so evident what would happen in this
+case! His friends would cast him off; his own client would get his
+price--whatever it was--and then leave him in the lurch, and laugh at
+him! "If you can't make up your mind to play the game," cried Oliver,
+frantically, "at least you can give it up! There are plenty of other
+ways of getting a living--if you'll let me, I'll take care of you
+myself, rather than have you disgrace me. Tell me--will you do that?
+Will you quit altogether?"
+
+And Montague suddenly leaped to his feet, and brought his fist down
+upon the desk with a bang. "No!" he cried; "by God, no!"
+
+"Let me make you understand me once for all," he rushed on. "You've
+shown me New York as you see it. I don't believe it's the truth--I
+don't believe it for one single moment! But let me tell you this, I
+shall stay here and find out--and if it is true, it won't stop me! I
+shall stay here and defy those people! I shall stay and fight them till
+the day I die! They may ruin me,--I'll go and live in a garret if I
+have to,--but as sure as there's a God that made me, I'll never stop
+till I've opened the eyes of the people to what they're doing!"
+
+Montague towered over his brother, white-hot and terrible. Oliver
+shrank from him--he never had seen such a burst of wrath from him
+before. "Do you understand me now?" Montague cried; and he answered, in
+a despairing voice, "Yes, yes."
+
+"I see it's all up," he added weakly. "You and I can't pull together."
+
+"No," exclaimed the other, passionately, "we can't. And we might as
+well give up trying. You have chosen to be a time-server and a
+lick-spittle, and I don't choose it! Do you think I've learned nothing
+in the time I've been here? Why, man, you used to be daring and
+clever--and now you never draw a breath without wondering if these rich
+snobs will like the way you do it! And you want Alice to sell herself
+to them--you want me to sell my career to them!"
+
+There was a long pause. Oliver had turned very pale. And then suddenly
+his brother caught himself together, and said: "I'm sorry. I didn't
+mean to quarrel, but you've goaded me too much. I'm grateful for what
+you have tried to do for me, and I'll pay you back as soon as I can.
+But I can't go on with this game. I'll quit, and you can disown me to
+your friends--tell them that I've run amuck, and to forget they ever
+knew me. They'll hardly blame you for it--they know you too well for
+that. And as for Alice, I'll talk it out with her to-morrow, and let
+her decide for herself--if she wants to be a Society queen, she can put
+herself in your hands, and I'll get out of her way. On the other hand,
+if she approves of what I'm doing, why we'll both quit, and you won't
+have to bother with either of us."
+
+That was the basis upon which they parted for the night; but like most
+resolutions taken at white heat, it was not followed literally. It was
+very hard for Montague to have to confront Alice with such a choice;
+and as for Oliver, when he went home and thought it over, he began to
+discover gleams of hope. He might make it clear to every one that he
+was not responsible for his brother's business vagaries, and take his
+chances upon that basis. After all, there were wheels within wheels in
+Society; and if the Robbie Wallings chose to break with him--why, they
+had plenty of enemies. There might even be interests which would be
+benefited by Allan's course, and would take him up.
+
+Montague had resolved to write and break every engagement which he had
+made, and to sever his connection with Society at one stroke. But the
+next day his brother came again, with compromises and new
+protestations. There was no use going to the other extreme: he, Oliver,
+would have it out with the Wallings, and they might all go on their way
+as if nothing had happened.
+
+So Montague made his d�but in the r�le of knight-errant. He went with
+many qualms and misgivings, uncertain how each new person would take
+it. The next evening he was promised for a theatre-party with Siegfried
+Harvey; and they had supper in a private room at Delmonico's, and there
+came Mrs. Winnie, resplendent as an apple tree in early April--and
+murmuring with bated breath, "Oh, you dreadful man, what have you been
+doing?"
+
+"Have I been poaching on YOUR preserves?" he asked promptly.
+
+"No, not mine," she said, "but--" and then she hesitated.
+
+"On Mr. Duval's?" he asked.
+
+"No," she said, "not his--but everybody else's! He was telling me about
+it to-day--there's a most dreadful uproar. He wanted me to try to find
+out what you were up to, and who was behind it."
+
+Montague listened, wonderingly. Did Mrs. Winnie mean to imply that her
+husband had asked her to try to worm his business secrets out of him?
+That was what she seemed to imply. "I told him I never talked business
+with my friends," she said. "He can ask you himself, if he chooses. But
+what DOES it all mean, anyhow?"
+
+Montague smiled at the naive inconsistency.
+
+"It means nothing," said he, "except that I am trying to get justice
+for a client."
+
+"But can you afford to make so many powerful enemies?" she asked.
+
+"I've taken my chances on that," he replied.
+
+Mrs. Winnie answered nothing, but looked at him with wondering
+admiration in her eyes. "You arc different from the men about you," she
+remarked, after a while-and her tone gave Montague to understand that
+there was one person who meant to stand by him.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie Duval was not all Society. Montague was amused to
+notice with what suddenness the stream of invitations slacked up; it
+was necessary for Alice to give her calling list many revisions.
+Freddie Vandam had promised to invite them to his place on Long Island,
+and of course that invitation would never come; likewise they would
+never again see the palace of the Lester Todds, upon the Jersey
+mountain-top.
+
+Oliver put in the next few days in calling upon people to explain his
+embarrassing situation. He washed his hands of his brother's affairs,
+he said; and his friends might do the same, if they saw fit. With the
+Robbie Wallings he had a stormy half hour, about which he thought it
+best to say little to the rest of the family. Robbie did not break with
+him utterly, because of their Wall Street Alliance; but Mrs. Robbie's
+feeling was so bitter, he said, that it would be best if Alice saw
+nothing of her for a while. He had a long talk with Alice, and
+explained the situation. The girl was utterly dumbfounded, for she was
+deeply grateful to Mrs. Robbie, and fond of her as well; and she could
+not believe that a friend could be so cruelly unjust to her.
+
+The upshot of the whole situation was a very painful episode. A few
+days later Alice met Mrs. Robbie at a reception; and she took the lady
+aside, and tried to tell her how distressed and helpless she was. And
+the result was that Mrs. Robbie flew into a passion and railed at her,
+declaring in the presence of several people that she had sponged upon
+her and abused her hospitality! And so poor Alice came home, weeping
+and half hysterical.
+
+All of which, of course, was like oil upon a fire; the heavens were
+lighted up with the conflagration. The next development was a paragraph
+in Society's scandal-sheet--telling with infinite gusto how a certain
+ultra-fashionable matron had taken up a family of stranded waifs from a
+far State, and introduced them into the best circles, and even gone so
+far as to give a magnificent dance in their honour; and how the
+discovery had been made that the head of the family had been secretly
+preparing an attack upon their business interests; and of the tearing
+of hair and gnashing of teeth which had followed--and the violent
+quarrel in a public place. The paragraph concluded with the prediction
+that the strangers would find themselves the centre of a merry social
+war.
+
+Oliver was the first to show them this paper. But lest by any chance
+they should miss it, half a dozen unknown friends were good enough to
+mail them copies, carefully marked.--And then came Reggie Mann, who as
+free-lance and gossip-gatherer sat on the fence and watched the fun;
+Reggie wore a thin veil of sympathy over his naked glee, and brought
+them the latest reports from all portions of the battle-ground. Thus
+they were able to know exactly what everybody was saying about
+them--who was amused and who was outraged, and who proposed to drop
+them and who to take them up.
+
+Montague listened for a while, but then he got tired of it, and went
+for a walk to escape it--but only to run into another trap. It was
+dark, and he was strolling down the Avenue, when out of a brilliantly
+lighted jewellery shop came Mrs. Billy Alden to her carriage. And she
+hailed him with an exclamation.
+
+"You man," she cried, "what have you been doing?"
+
+He tried to laugh it off and escape, but she took him by the arm,
+commanding, "Get in here and tell me about it."
+
+So he found himself moving with the slow stream of vehicles on the
+Avenue, and with Mrs. Billy gazing at him quizzically and asking him if
+he did not feel like a hippopotamus in a frog-pond.
+
+He replied to her raillery by asking her under which flag she stood.
+But there was little need to ask that, for anyone who was fighting a
+Walling became ipso facto a friend of Mrs. Billy's. She told Montague
+that if he felt his social position was imperilled, all he had to do
+was to come to her. She would gird on her armour and take the field.
+
+"But tell me how you came to do it," she said.
+
+He answered that there was very little to tell. He had taken up a case
+which was obviously just, but having no idea what a storm it would
+raise.
+
+Then he noticed that his companion was looking at him sharply. "Do you
+really mean that's all there is to it?" she asked.
+
+"Of course I do," said he, perplexed.
+
+"Do you know," was her unexpected response, "I hardly know what to make
+of you. I'm afraid to trust you, on account of your brother."
+
+Montague was embarrassed. "I don't know what you mean," he said.
+
+"Everybody thinks there's some trickery in that suit," she answered.
+
+"Oh," said Montague, "I see. Well, they will find out. If it will help
+you any to know it, I've been having no end of scenes with my brother."
+
+"I'll believe you," said Mrs. Billy, genially. "But it seems strange
+that a man could have been so blind to a situation! I feel quite
+ashamed because I didn't help you myself!"
+
+The carriage had stopped at Mrs. Billy's home, and she asked him to
+dinner. "There'll be nobody but my brother," she said,--"we're resting
+this evening. And I can make up to you for my negligence!"
+
+Montague had no engagement, and so he went in, and saw Mrs. Billy's
+mansion, which was decorated in imitation of a Doge's palace, and met
+Mr. "Davy" Alden, a mild-mannered little gentleman who obeyed orders
+promptly. They had a comfortable dinner of half-a-dozen courses, and
+then retired to the drawing-room, where Mrs. Billy sank into a huge
+easy chair, with a decanter of whisky and some cracked ice in readiness
+beside it. Then from a tray she selected a thick black cigar, and
+placidly bit off the end and lighted it, and then settled back at her
+ease, and proceeded to tell Montague about New York, and about the
+great families who ruled it, and where and how they had got their
+money, and who were their allies and who their enemies, and what
+particular skeletons were hidden in each of their closets.
+
+It was worth coming a long way to listen to Mrs. Billy tete-a-tete; her
+thoughts were vigorous, and her imagery was picturesque. She spoke of
+old Dan Waterman, and described him as a wild boar rooting chestnuts.
+He was all right, she said, if you didn't come under his tree. And
+Montague asked, "Which is his tree?" and she answered, "Any one he
+happens to be under at the time."
+
+And then she came to the Wallings. Mrs. Billy had been in on the inside
+of that family, and there was nothing she didn't know about it; and she
+brought the members up, one by one, and dissected them, and exhibited
+them for Montague's benefit. They were typical bourgeois people, she
+said. They were burghers. They had never shown the least capacity for
+refinement--they ate and drank, and jostled other people out of the
+way. The old ones had been boors, and the new ones were cads.
+
+And Mrs. Billy sat and puffed at her cigar. "Do you know the history of
+the family?" she asked. "The founder was a rough old ferryman. He
+fought his rivals so well that in the end he owned all the boats; and
+then some one discovered the idea of buying legislatures and building
+railroads, and he went into that. It was a time when they simply
+grabbed things--if you ever look into it, you'll find they're making
+fortunes to-day out of privileges that the old man simply sat down on
+and held. There's a bridge at Albany, for instance, to which they
+haven't the slightest right; my brother knows about it--they've given
+themselves a contract with their railroad by which they're paid for
+every passenger, and their profit every year is greater than the cost
+of the bridge. The son was the head of the family when I came in; and I
+found that he had it all arranged to leave thirty million dollars to
+one of his sons, and only ten million to my husband. I set to work to
+change that, I can tell you. I used to go around to see him, and
+scratch his back and tickle him and make him feel good. Of course the
+family went wild--my, how they hated me! They set old Ellis to work to
+keep me off--have you met Judge Ellis?"
+
+"I have," said Montague.
+
+"Well, there's a pussy-footed old hypocrite for you," said Mrs. Billy.
+"In those days he was Walling's business lackey--used to pass the money
+to the legislators and keep the wheels of the machine greased. One of
+the first things I said to the old man was that I didn't ask him to
+entertain my butler, and he mustn't ask me to entertain his valet--and
+so I forbid Ellis to enter my house. And when I found that he was
+trying to get between the old man and me, I flew into a rage and boxed
+his ears and chased him out of the room!"
+
+Mrs. Billy paused, and laughed heartily over the recollection. "Of
+course that tickled the old man to death," she continued. "The Wallings
+never could make out how I managed to get round him as I did; but it
+was simply because I was honest with him. They'd come snivelling round,
+pretending they were anxious about his health; while I wanted his
+money, and I told him so."
+
+The valiant lady turned to the decanter. "Have some Scotch?" she asked,
+and poured some for herself, and then went on with her story. "When I
+first came to New York," she said, "the rich people's houses were all
+alike--all dreary brownstone fronts, sandwiched in on one or two city
+lots. I vowed that I would have a house with some room all around
+it--and that was the beginning of those palaces that all New York walks
+by and stares at. You can hardly believe it now--those houses were a
+scandal! But the sensation tickled the old man. I remember one day we
+walked up the Avenue to see how they were coming on; and he pointed
+with his big stick to the second floor, and asked, 'What's that?' I
+answered, 'It's a safe I'm building into the house.' (That was a new
+thing, too, in those days.)--'I'm going to keep my money in that,' I
+said. 'Bah!' he growled, 'when you're done with this house, you won't
+have any money left.'--'I'm planning to make you fill it for me,' I
+answered; and do you know, he chuckled all the way home over it!"
+
+Mrs. Billy sat laughing softly to herself. "We had great old battles in
+those days," she said. "Among other things, I had to put the Wallings
+into Society. They were sneaking round on the outside when I
+came--licking people's boots and expecting to be kicked. I said to
+myself, I'll put an end to that--we'll have a show-down! So I gave a
+ball that made the whole country sit up and gasp--it wouldn't be
+noticed particularly nowadays, but then people had never dreamed of
+anything so gorgeous. And I made out a list of all the people I wanted
+to know in New York, and I said to myself: 'If you come, you're a
+friend, and if you don't come, you're an enemy.' And they all came, let
+me tell you! And there was never any question about the Wallings being
+in Society after that."
+
+Mrs. Billy halted; and Montague remarked, with a smile, that doubtless
+she was sorry now that she had done it.
+
+"Oh, no," she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I find that all
+I have to do is to be patient--I hate people, and think I'd like to
+poison them, but if I only wait long enough, something happens to them
+much worse than I ever dreamed of. You'll be revenged on the Robbies
+some day."
+
+"I don't want any revenge," Montague answered. "I've no quarrel with
+them--I simply wish I hadn't accepted their hospitality. I didn't know
+they were such little people. It seems hard to believe it."
+
+Mrs. Billy laughed cynically. "What could you expect?" she said. "They
+know there's nothing to them but their money. When that's gone, they're
+gone--they could never make any more."
+
+The lady gave a chuckle, and added: "Those words make me think of
+Davy's experience when he wanted to go to Congress! Tell him about it,
+Davy."
+
+But Mr. Alden did not warm to the subject; he left the tale to his
+sister.
+
+"He was a Democrat, you know," said she, "and he went to the boss and
+told him he'd like to go to Congress. The answer was that it would cost
+him forty thousand dollars, and he kicked at the price. Others didn't
+have to put up such sums, he said--why should he? And the old man
+growled at him, 'The rest have other things to give. One can deliver
+the letter-carriers, another is paid for by a corporation. But what can
+you do? What is there to you but your money?'--So Davy paid the
+money--didn't you, Davy?" And Davy grinned sheepishly.
+
+"Even so," she went on, "he came off better than poor Devon. They got
+fifty thousand out of him, and sold him out, and he never got to
+Congress after all! That was just before he concluded that America
+wasn't a fit place for a gentleman to live in."
+
+And so Mrs. Billy got started on the Devons! And after that came the
+Havens and the Wymans and the Todds--it was midnight before she got
+through with them all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+The newspapers said nothing more about the Hasbrook suit; but in
+financial circles Montague had attained considerable notoriety because
+of it. And this was the means of bringing him a number of new cases.
+
+But alas, there were no more fifty-thousand-dollar clients! The first
+caller was a destitute widow with a deed which would have entitled her
+to the greater part of a large city in Pennsylvania--only unfortunately
+the deed was about eighty years old. And then there was a poor old man
+who had been hurt in a street-car accident and had been tricked into
+signing away his rights; and an indignant citizen who proposed to bring
+a hundred suits against the traction trust for transfers refused. All
+were contingency cases, with the chances of success exceedingly remote.
+And Montague noticed that the people had come to him as a last resort,
+having apparently heard of him as a man of altruistic temper.
+
+There was one case which interested him particularly, because it seemed
+to fit in so ominously with the grim prognosis of his brother. He
+received a call from an elderly gentleman, of very evident refinement
+and dignity of manner, who proceeded to unfold to him a most amazing
+story. Five or six years ago he had invented a storage-battery, which
+was the most efficient known. He had organised a company with three
+million dollars' capital to manufacture it, himself taking a third
+interest for his patents, and becoming president of the company. Not
+long afterward had come a proposal from a group of men who wished to
+organize a company to manufacture automobiles; they proposed to form an
+alliance which would give them the exclusive use of the battery. But
+these men were not people with whom the inventor cared to deal--they
+were traction and gas magnates widely known for their unscrupulous
+methods. And so he had declined their offer, and set to work instead to
+organize an automobile company himself. He had just got under way when
+he discovered that his rivals had set to work to take his invention
+away from him. A friend who owned another third share in his company
+had hypothecated his stock to help form the new company; and now came a
+call from the bank for more collateral, and he was obliged to sell out.
+And at the next stockholders' meeting it developed that their rivals
+had bought it, and likewise more stock in the open market; and they
+proceeded to take possession of the company, ousting the former
+president--and then making a contract with their automobile company to
+furnish the storage-battery at a price which left no profit for the
+manufacturers! And so for two years the inventor had not received a
+dollar of dividends upon his million dollars' worth of paper; and to
+cap the climax, the company had refused to sell the battery to his
+automobile company, and so that had gone into bankruptcy, and his
+friend was ruined also!
+
+Montague went into the case very carefully, and found that the story
+was true. What interested him particularly in it was the fact that he
+had met a couple of these financial highwaymen in social life; he had
+come to know the son and heir of one of them quite well, at Siegfried
+Harvey's. This gilded youth was engaged to be married in a very few
+days, and the papers had it that the father-in-law had presented the
+bride with a cheque for a million dollars. Montague could not but
+wonder if it was the million that had been taken from his client!
+
+There was to be a "bachelor dinner" at the Millionaires' on the night
+before the wedding, to which he and Oliver had been invited. As he was
+thinking of taking up his case, he went to his brother, saying that he
+wished to decline; but Oliver had been getting back his courage day by
+day, and declared that it was more important than ever now that he
+should hold his ground, and face his enemies--for Alice's sake, if not
+for his own. And so Montague went to the dinner, and saw deeper yet
+into the history of the stolen millions.
+
+It was a very beautiful affair, in the beginning. There was a large
+private dining-room, elaborately decorated, with a string orchestra
+concealed in a bower of plants. But there were cocktails even on the
+side-board at the doorway; and by the time the guests had got to the
+coffee, every one was hilariously drunk. After each toast they would
+hurl their glasses over their shoulders. The purpose of a "bachelor
+dinner," it appeared, was a farewell to the old days and the boon
+companions; so there were sentimental and comic songs which had been
+composed for the occasion, and were received with whirlwinds of
+laughter.
+
+By listening closely and reading between the lines, one might get quite
+a history of the young host's adventurous career. There was a house up
+on the West Side; and there was a yacht, with, orgies in every part of
+the world. There was the summer night in Newport harbour, when some one
+had hit upon the dazzling scheme of freezing twenty-dollar gold pieces
+in tiny blocks of ice, to be dropped down the girls' backs! And there
+was a banquet in a studio in New York, when a huge pie had been brought
+on, from which a half-nude girl had emerged, with a flock of canary
+birds about her! Then there was a damsel who had been wont to dance
+upon the tops of supper tables, clad in diaphanous costume; and who had
+got drunk after a theatre-party, and set out to smash up a Broadway
+restaurant. There was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a
+speciality of this diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
+champagne.--Apparently there were numberless places in the city where
+such orgies were carried on continually; there were private clubs, and
+artists' "studios"--there were several allusions to a high tower, which
+Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters, however, were explained
+to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on his right, and who seemed to
+stay sober, no matter how much he drank. Incidentally he gravely
+advised Montague to meet one of the young host's mistresses, who was a
+"stunning" girl, and was in the market.
+
+Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of wrestling-bouts;
+the young men stripped off their clothing and tore the table to pieces,
+and piled it out of the way in a corner, smashing most of the crockery
+in the process. Between the matches, champagne would be opened by
+knocking off the heads of the bottles; and this went on until four
+o'clock in the morning, when many of the guests were lying in heaps
+upon the floor.
+
+Montague rode home in a cab with the elderly gentleman who had sat next
+to him; and on the way he asked if such affairs as this were common.
+And his companion, who was a "steel man" from the West, replied by
+telling him of some which he had witnessed at home. At Siegfried
+Harvey's theatre-party Montague had seen a popular actress in a musical
+comedy, which was then the most successful play running in New York.
+The house was sold out weeks ahead, and after the matinee you might
+observe the street in front of the stage-entrance blocked by people
+waiting to see the woman come out. She was lithe and supple, like a
+panther, and wore close-fitting gowns to reveal her form. It seemed
+that her play must have been built with one purpose in mind, to see how
+much lewdness could be put upon a stage without interference by the
+police.--And now his companion told him how this woman had been invited
+to sing at a banquet given by the magnates of a mighty Trust, and had
+gone after midnight to the most exclusive club in the town, and sung
+her popular ditty, "Won't you come and play with me?" The merry
+magnates had taken the invitation literally--with the result that the
+actress had escaped from the room with half her clothing torn off her.
+And a little while later an official of this trust had wished to get
+rid of his wife and marry a chorus-girl; and when public clamour had
+forced the directors to ask him to resign, he had replied by
+threatening to tell about this banquet!
+
+The next day--or rather, to be precise, that same morning--Montague and
+Alice attended the gorgeous wedding. It was declared by the newspapers
+to be the most "important" social event of the week; and it took half a
+dozen policemen to hold back the crowds which filled the street. The
+ceremony took place at St. Cecilia's, with the stately bishop
+officiating, in his purple and scarlet robes. Inside the doors were all
+the elect, exquisitely groomed and gowned, and such a medley of
+delicious perfumes as not all the vales in Arcady could equal. The
+groom had been polished and scrubbed, and looked very handsome, though
+somewhat pale; and Montague could not but smile as he observed the best
+man, looking so very solemn, and recollected the drunken wrestler of a
+few hours before, staggering about in a pale blue undershirt ripped up
+the back.
+
+The Montagues knew by this time whom they were to avoid. They were
+graciously taken under the wing of Mrs. Eldridge Devon--whose real
+estate was not affected by insurance suits; and the next morning they
+had the satisfaction of seeing their names in the list of those
+present--and even a couple of lines about Alice's costume. (Alice was
+always referred to as "Miss Montague"; it was very pleasant to be the
+"Miss Montague," and to think of all the other would-be Miss Montagues
+in the city, who were thereby haughtily rebuked!) In the "yellow"
+papers there were also accounts of the trousseau of the bride, and of
+the wonderful gifts which she had received, and of the long honeymoon
+which she was to spend in the Mediterranean upon her husband's yacht.
+Montague found himself wondering if the ghosts of its former occupants
+would not haunt her, and whether she would have been as happy, had she
+known as much as he knew.
+
+He found food for a good deal of thought in the memory of this banquet.
+Among the things which he had gathered from the songs was a hint that
+Oliver, also, had some secrets, which he had not seen fit to tell his
+brother. The keeping of young girls was apparently one of the
+established customs of the "little brothers of the rich"--and, for that
+matter, of many of the big brothers, also. A little later Montague had
+a curious glimpse into the life of this "half-world." He had occasion
+one evening to call up a certain financier whom he had come to know
+quite well-a man of family and a member of the church. There were some
+important papers to be signed and sent off by a steamer; and the great
+man's secretary said that he would try to find him. A minute or two
+later he called up Montague and asked him if he would be good enough to
+go to an address uptown. It was a house not far from Riverside Drive;
+and Montague went there and found his acquaintance, with several other
+prominent men of affairs whom he knew, conversing in a drawing-room
+with one of the most charming ladies he had ever met. She was exquisite
+to look at, and one of the few people in New York whom he had found
+worth listening to. He spent such an enjoyable evening, that when he
+was leaving, he remarked to the lady that he would like his cousin
+Alice to meet her; and then he noticed that she flushed slightly, and
+was embarrassed. Later on he learned to his dismay that the charming
+and beautiful lady did not go into Society.
+
+Nor was this at all rare; on the contrary, if one took the trouble to
+make inquiries, he would find that such establishments were everywhere
+taken for granted. Montague talked about it with Major Venable; and out
+of his gossip storehouse the old gentleman drew forth a string of
+anecdotes that made one's hair stand on end. There was one all-powerful
+magnate, who had a passion for the wife of a great physician; and he
+had given a million dollars or so to build a hospital, and had provided
+that it should be the finest in the world, and that this physician
+should go abroad for three years to study the institutions of Europe!
+No conventions counted with this old man--if he saw a woman whom he
+wanted, he would ask for her; and women in Society felt that it was an
+honour to be his mistress. Not long after this a man who voiced the
+anguish of a mighty nation was turned out of several hotels in New York
+because he was not married according to the laws of South Dakota; but
+this other man would take a woman to any hotel in the city, and no one
+would dare oppose him!
+
+And there was another, a great traction king, who kept mistresses in
+Chicago and Paris and London, as well as in New York; he had one just
+around the corner from his palatial home, and had an underground
+passage leading to it. And the Major told with glee how he had shown
+this to a friend, and the latter had remarked, "I'm too stout to get
+through there."--"I know it," replied the other, "else I shouldn't have
+told you!"
+
+And so it went. One of the richest men in New York was a sexual
+degenerate, with half a dozen women on his hands all the time; he would
+send them cheques, and they would use these to blackmail him. This
+man's young wife had been shut up in a closet for twenty-four hours by
+her mother to compel her to marry him.--And then there was the charming
+tale of how he had gone away upon a mission of state, and had written
+long messages full of tender protestations, and given them to a
+newspaper correspondent to cable home "to his wife." The correspondent
+had thought it such a touching example of conjugal devotion that he
+told about it at a dinner-party when he came back; and he was struck by
+the sudden silence that fell. "The messages had been sent to a code
+address!" chuckled the Major. "And every one at the table knew who had
+got them!"
+
+A few days after this, Montague received a telephone message from
+Siegfried Harvey, who said that he wanted to see him about a matter of
+business. He asked him to lunch at the Noonday Club; and Montague
+went--though not without a qualm. For it was in the Fidelity Building,
+the enemy's bailiwick: a magnificent structure with halls of white
+marble, and a lavish display of bronze. It occurred to Montague that
+somewhere in this structure people were at work preparing an answer to
+his charges; he wondered what they were saying.
+
+The two had lunch, talking meanwhile about the coming events in
+Society, and about politics and wars; and when the coffee was served
+and they were alone in the room, Harvey settled his big frame back in
+his chair, and began:--
+
+"In the first place," he said, "I must explain that I've something to
+say that is devilish hard to get into. I'm so much afraid of your
+jumping to a wrong conclusion in the middle of it--I'd like you to
+agree to listen for a minute or two before you think at all."
+
+"All right," said Montague, with a smile. "Fire away."
+
+And at once the other became grave. "You've taken a case against this
+company," he said. "And Ollie has talked enough to me to make me
+understand that you've done a plucky thing, and that you must be
+everlastingly sick of hearing from cowardly people who want you to drop
+it. I'd be very sorry to be classed with them, for even a moment; and
+you must understand at the outset that I haven't a particle of interest
+in the company, and that it wouldn't matter to me if I had. I don't try
+to use my friends in business, and I don't let money count with me in
+my social life. I made up my mind to take the risk of speaking to you
+about this case, simply because I happen to know one or two things
+about it that I thought you didn't know. And if that's so, you are at a
+great disadvantage; but in any case, please understand that I have no
+motive but friendship, and so if I am butting in, excuse me."
+
+When Siegfried Harvey talked, he looked straight at one with his clear
+blue eyes, and there was no doubting his honesty. "I am very much
+obliged to you," said Montague. "Pray tell me what you have to say."
+
+"All right," said the other. "It can be done very quickly. You have
+taken a case which involves a great many sacrifices upon your part. And
+I wondered if it had ever occurred to you to ask whether you might not
+be taken advantage of?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Do you know the people who are behind you?" inquired the other. "Do
+you know them well enough to be sure what are their motives in the
+case?"
+
+Montague hesitated, and thought. "No," he said, "I couldn't say that I
+do."
+
+"Then it's just as I thought," replied Harvey. "I've been watching
+you--you are an honest man, and you're putting yourself to no end of
+trouble from the best of motives. And unless I'm mistaken, you're being
+used by men who are not honest, and whom you wouldn't work with if you
+knew their purposes."
+
+"What purposes could they have?"
+
+"There are several possibilities. In the first place, it might be a
+'strike' suit--somebody who is hoping to be bought off for a big price.
+That is what nearly every one thinks is the case. But I don't; I think
+it's more likely some one within the company who is trying to put the
+administration in a hole."
+
+"Who could that be?" exclaimed Montague, amazed.
+
+"I don't know that. I'm not familiar enough with the situation in the
+Fidelity--it's changing all the time. I simply know that there are
+factions struggling for the control of it, and hating each other
+furiously, and ready to do anything in the world to cripple each other.
+You know that their forty millions of surplus gives an enormous power;
+I'd rather be able to swing forty millions in the Street than to have
+ten millions in my own right. And so the giants are fighting for the
+control of those companies; and you can't tell who's in and who's
+out--you can never know the real meaning of anything that happens in
+the struggle. All that you can be sure of is that the game is crooked
+from end to end, and that nothing that happens in it is what it
+pretends to be."
+
+Montague listened, half dazed, and feeling as if the ground he stood on
+were caving beneath his feet.
+
+"What do you know about those who brought you this case?" asked his
+companion, suddenly.
+
+"Not much," he said weakly.
+
+Harvey hesitated a moment. "Understand me, please," he said. "I've no
+wish to pry into your affairs, and if you don't care to say any more,
+I'll understand it perfectly. But I've heard it said that the man who
+started the thing was Ellis."
+
+Montague, in his turn, hesitated; then he said, "That is
+correct--between you and me."
+
+"Very good," said Harvey, "and that is what made me suspicious. Do you
+know anything about Ellis?"
+
+"I didn't," said the other. "I've heard a little since."
+
+"I can fancy so," said Harvey. "And I can tell you that Ellis is mixed
+up in life-insurance matters in all sorts of dubious ways. It seems to
+me that you have reason to be most careful where you follow him."
+
+Montague sat with his hands clenched and his brows knitted. His
+friend's talk had been like a flash of lightning; it revealed huge
+menacing forms in the darkness about him. All the structure of his
+hopes seemed to be tottering; his case, that he had worked so hard
+over--his fifty thousand dollars that he had been so proud of! Could it
+be that he had been tricked, and had made a fool of himself?
+
+"How in the world am I to know?" he cried.
+
+"That is more than I can tell," said his friend. "And for that matter,
+I'm not sure that you could do anything now. All that I could do was to
+warn you what sort of ground you were treading on, so that you could
+watch out for yourself in future."
+
+Montague thanked him heartily for that service; and then he went back
+to his office, and spent the rest of the day pondering the matter.
+
+What he had heard had made a vast change in things. Before it
+everything had seemed simple; and now nothing was clear. He was
+overwhelmed with a sense of the utter futility of his efforts; he was
+trying to build a house upon quicksands. There was nowhere a solid spot
+upon which he could set his foot. There was nowhere any truth--there
+were only contending powers who used the phrases of truth for their own
+purposes! And now he saw himself as the world saw him,--a party to a
+piece of trickery,--a knave like all the rest. He felt that he had been
+tripped up at the first step in his career.
+
+The conclusion of the whole matter was that he took an afternoon train
+for Albany; and the next morning he talked the matter out with the
+Judge. Montague had realized the need of going slowly, for, after all,
+he had no definite ground for suspicion; and so, very tactfully and
+cautiously he explained, that it had come to his ears that many people
+believed there were interested parties behind the suit of Mr. Hasbrook;
+and that this had made him uncomfortable, as he knew nothing whatever
+about his client. He had come to ask the Judge's advice in the matter.
+
+No one could have taken the thing more graciously than did the great
+man; he was all kindness and tact. In the first place, he said, he had
+warned him in advance that enemies would attack him and slander him,
+and that all kinds of subtle means would be used to influence him. And
+he must understand that these rumours were part of such a campaign; it
+made no difference how good a friend had brought them to him--how could
+he know who had brought them to that friend?
+
+The Judge ventured to hope that nothing that anyone might say could
+influence him to believe that he, the Judge, would have advised him to
+do anything improper.
+
+"No," said Montague, "but can you assure me that there are no
+interested parties behind Mr. Hasbrook?"
+
+"Interested parties?" asked the other.
+
+"I mean people connected with the Fidelity or other insurance
+companies."
+
+"Why, no," said the Judge; "I certainly couldn't assure you of that."
+
+Montague looked surprised. "You mean you don't know?"
+
+"I mean," was the answer, "that I wouldn't feel at liberty to tell,
+even if I did know."
+
+And Montague stared at him; he had not been prepared for this frankness.
+
+"It never occurred to me," the other continued, "that that was a matter
+which could make any difference to you."
+
+"Why--" began Montague.
+
+"Pray understand me, Mr. Montague," said the Judge. "It seemed to me
+that this was obviously a just case, and it seemed so to you. And the
+only other matter that I thought you had a right to be assured of was
+that it was seriously meant. Of that I felt assured. It did not seem to
+me of any importance that there might be interested individuals behind
+Mr. Hasbrook. Let us suppose, for instance, that there were some
+parties who had been offended by the administration of the Fidelity,
+and were anxious to punish it. Could a lawyer be justified in refusing
+to take a just case, simply because he knew of such private motives?
+Or, let us assume an extreme case--a factional fight within the
+company, as you say has been suggested to you. Well, that would be a
+case of thieves falling out; and is there any reason why the public
+should not reap the advantage of such a situation? The men inside the
+company are the ones who would know first what is going on; and if you
+saw a chance to use such an advantage in a just fight--would you not do
+it?"
+
+So the Judge went on, gracious and plausible--and so subtly and
+exquisitely corrupting! Underneath his smoothly flowing sentences
+Montague could feel the presence of one fundamental thought; it was
+unuttered and even unhinted, but it pervaded the Judge's discourse as a
+mood pervades a melody. The young lawyer had got a big fee, and he had
+a nice easy case; and as a man of the world, he could not really wish
+to pry into it too closely. He had heard gossip, and felt that his
+reputation required him to be disturbed; but he had come, simply to be
+smoothed down the back and made at ease, and enabled to keep his fee
+without losing his good opinion of himself.
+
+Montague quit, because he concluded that it was not worth while to try
+to make himself understood. After all, he was in the case now, and
+there was nothing to be gained by a breach. Two things he felt that he
+had made certain by the interview--first, that his client was a
+"dummy," and that it was really a case of thieves falling out; and
+second, that he had no guarantee that he might not be left in the lurch
+at any moment--except the touching confidence of the Judge in some
+parties unknown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+Montague came home with his mind made up that there was nothing he
+could do except to be more careful next time. For this mistake he would
+have to pay the price.
+
+He had still to learn what the full price was. The day after his return
+there came a caller--Mr. John C. Burton, read his card. He proved to be
+a canvassing agent for the company which published the scandal-sheet of
+Society. They were preparing a de luxe account of the prominent
+families of New York; a very sumptuous affair, with a highly exclusive
+set of subscribers, at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per set.
+Would Mr. Montague by any chance care to have his family included?
+
+And Mr. Montague explained politely that he was a comparative stranger
+in New York, and would not belong properly in such a volume. But the
+agent was not satisfied with this. There might be reasons for his
+subscribing, even so; there might be special cases; Mr. Montague, as a
+stranger, might not realize the important nature of the offer; after he
+had consulted his friends, he might change his mind--and so on. As
+Montague listened to this series of broad hints, and took in the
+meaning of them, the colour mounted, to his cheeks--until at last he
+rose abruptly and bid the man good afternoon.
+
+But then as he sat alone, his anger died away, and there was left only
+discomfort and uneasiness. And three or four days later he bought
+another issue of the paper, and sure enough, there was a new paragraph!
+
+He stood on the street-corner reading it. The social war was raging
+hotly, it said; and added that Mrs. de Graffenried was threatening to
+take up the cause of the strangers. Then it went on to picture a
+certain exquisite young man of fashion who was rushing about among his
+friends to apologize for his brother's indiscretions. Also, it said,
+there was a brilliant social queen, wife of a great banker, who had
+taken up the cudgels.--And then came three sentences more, which made
+the blood leap like flame into Montague's cheeks:
+
+"There have not been lacking comments upon her suspicious ardour. It
+has been noticed that since the advent of the romantic-looking
+Southerner, this restless lady's interest in the Babists and the trance
+mediums has waned; and now Society is watching for the denouement of a
+most interesting situation."
+
+To Montague these words came like a blow in the face. He went on down
+the street, half dazed. It seemed to him the blackest shame that New
+York had yet shown him. He clenched his fists as he walked, whispering
+to himself, "The scoundrels!"
+
+He realized instantly that he was helpless. Down home one would have
+thrashed the editor of such a paper; but here he was in the wolves' own
+country, and he could do nothing. He went back to his office, and sat
+down at the desk.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Winnie," he wrote. "I have just read the enclosed
+paragraph, and I cannot tell you how profoundly pained I am that your
+kindness to us should have made you the victim of such an outrage. I am
+quite helpless in the matter, except to enable you to avoid any further
+annoyance. Please believe me when I say that we shall all of us
+understand perfectly if you think that we had best not meet again at
+present; and that this will make no difference whatever in our
+feelings."
+
+This letter Montague sent by a messenger; and then he went home.
+Perhaps ten minutes after he arrived, the telephone bell rang--and
+there was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+"Your note has come," she said. "Have you an engagement this evening?"
+
+"No," he answered.
+
+"Well," she said, "will you come to dinner?"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he protested.
+
+"Please come," she said. "Please!"
+
+"I hate to have you--" he began.
+
+"I wish you to come!" she said, a third time.
+
+So he answered, "Very well."
+
+He went; and when he entered the house, the butler led him to the
+elevator, saying, "Mrs. Duval says will you please come upstairs, sir."
+And there Mrs. Winnie met him, with flushed cheeks and eager
+countenance.
+
+She was even lovelier than usual, in a soft cream-coloured gown, and a
+crimson rose in her bosom. "I'm all alone to-night," she said, "so
+we'll dine in my apartments. We'd be lost in that big room downstairs."
+
+She led him into her drawing-room, where great armfuls of new roses
+scattered their perfume. There was a table set for two, and two big
+chairs before the fire which blazed in the hearth. Montague noticed
+that her hand trembled a little, as she motioned him to one of them; he
+could read her excitement in her whole aspect. She was flinging down
+the gauntlet to her enemies!
+
+"Let us eat first and talk afterward," she said, hurriedly. "We'll be
+happy for a while, anyway."
+
+And she went on to be happy, in her nervous and eager way. She talked
+about the new opera which was to be given, and about Mrs. de
+Graffenried's new entertainment, and about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden's
+ball; also about the hospital for crippled children which she wanted to
+build, and about Mrs. Vivie Patton's rumoured divorce. And, meantime,
+the sphinx-like attendants moved here and there, and the dinner came
+and went. They took their coffee in the big chairs by the fire; and the
+table was swept clear, and the servants vanished, closing the doors
+behind them.
+
+Then Montague set his cup aside, and sat gazing sombrely into the fire.
+And Mrs. Winnie watched him. There was a long silence.
+
+Suddenly he heard her voice. "Do you find it so easy to give up our
+friendship?" she asked.
+
+"I didn't think about it's being easy or hard," he answered. "I simply
+thought of protecting you."
+
+"And do you think that my friends are nothing to me?" she demanded.
+"Have I so very many as that?" And she clenched her hands with a sudden
+passionate gesture. "Do you think that I will let those wretches
+frighten me into doing what they want? I'll not give in to them--not
+for anything that Lelia can do!"
+
+A look of perplexity crossed Montague's face. "Lelia?" he asked.
+
+"Mrs. Robbie Walling!" she cried. "Don't you suppose that she is
+responsible for that paragraph?"
+
+Montague started.
+
+"That's the way they fight their battles!" cried Mrs. Winnie. "They pay
+money to those scoundrels to be protected. And then they send nasty
+gossip about people they wish to injure."
+
+"You don't mean that!" exclaimed the man.
+
+"Of course I do," cried she. "I know that it's true! I know that Robbie
+Walling paid fifteen thousand dollars for some trumpery volumes that
+they got out! And how do you suppose the paper gets its gossip?"
+
+"I didn't know," said Montague. "But I never dreamed--"
+
+"Why," exclaimed Mrs. Winnie, "their mail is full of blue and gold
+monogram stationery! I've known guests to sit down and write gossip
+about their hostesses in their own homes. Oh, you've no idea of
+people's vileness!"
+
+"I had some idea," said Montague, after a pause.--"That was why I
+wished to protect you."
+
+"I don't wish to be protected!" she cried, vehemently. "I'll not give
+them the satisfaction. They wish to make me give you up, and I'll not
+do it, for anything they can say!"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, gazing into the fire. "When I read
+that paragraph," he said slowly. "I could not bear to think of the
+unhappiness it might cause you. I thought of how much it might disturb
+your husband--"
+
+"My husband!" echoed Mrs. Winnie.
+
+There was a hard tone in her voice, as she went on. "He will fix it up
+with them," she said,--"that's his way. There will be nothing more
+published, you can feel sure of that."
+
+Montague sat in silence. That was not the reply he had expected, and it
+rather disconcerted him.
+
+"If that were all--" he said, with hesitation. "But I could not know. I
+thought that the paragraph might disturb him for another reason--that
+it might be a cause of unhappiness between you and him--"
+
+There was a pause. "You don't understand," said Mrs. Winnie, at last.
+
+Without turning his head he could see her hands, as they lay upon her
+knees. She was moving them nervously. "You don't understand," she
+repeated.
+
+When she began to' speak again, it was in a low, trembling voice. "I
+must tell you," she said; "I have felt sure that you did not know."
+
+There was another pause. She hesitated, and her hands trembled; then
+suddenly she hurried on.--"I wanted you to know. I do not love my
+husband. I am not bound to him. He has nothing to say in my affairs."
+
+Montague sat rigid, turned to stone. He was half dazed by the words. He
+could feel Mrs. Winnie's gaze fixed upon him; and he could feel the hot
+flush that spread over her throat and cheeks.
+
+"It--it was not fair for you not to know," she whispered. And her voice
+died away, and there was again a silence. Montague was dumb.
+
+"Why don't you say something?" she panted, at last; and he caught the
+note of anguish in her voice. Then he turned and stared at her, and saw
+her tightly clenched hands, and the quivering of her lips.
+
+He was shocked quite beyond speech. And he saw her bosom heaving
+quickly, and saw the tears start into her eyes. Suddenly she sank down,
+and covered her face with her hands and broke into frantic sobbing.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie!" he cried; and started to his feet.
+
+Her outburst continued. He saw that she was shuddering violently. "Then
+you don't love me!" she wailed.
+
+He stood trembling and utterly bewildered. "I'm so sorry!" he
+whispered. "Oh, Mrs. Winnie--I had no idea--"
+
+"I know it! I know it!" she cried. "It's my fault! I was a fool! I knew
+it all the time. But I hoped--I thought you might, if you knew--"
+
+And then again her tears choked her; she was convulsed with pain and
+grief.
+
+Montague stood watching her, helpless with distress. She caught hold of
+the arm of the chair, convulsively, and he put his hand upon hers.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he began.
+
+But she jerked her hand away and hid it. "No, no!" she cried, in
+terror. "Don't touch me!"
+
+And suddenly she looked up at him, stretching out her arms. "Don't you
+understand that I love you?" she exclaimed. "You despise me for it, I
+know--but I can't help it. I will tell you, even so! It's the only
+satisfaction I can have. I have always loved you! And I thought--I
+thought it was only that you didn't understand. I was ready to brave
+all the world--I didn't care who knew it, or what anybody said. I
+thought we could be happy--I thought I could be free at last. Oh,
+you've no idea how unhappy I am--and how lonely--and how I longed to
+escape! And I believed that you--that you might--"
+
+And then the tears gushed into Mrs. Winnie's eyes again, and her voice
+became the voice of a little child.
+
+"Don't you think that you might come to love me?" she wailed.
+
+Her voice shook Montague, so that he trembled to the depths of him. But
+his face only became the more grave.
+
+"You despise me because I told you!" she exclaimed.
+
+"No, no, Mrs. Winnie," he said. "I could not possibly do that--"
+
+"Then--then why--" she whispered.--"Would it be so hard to love me?"
+
+"It would be very easy," he said, "but I dare not let myself."
+
+She looked at him piteously. "You are so cold--so merciless!" she cried.
+
+He answered nothing, and she sat trembling. "Have you ever loved a
+woman?" she asked.
+
+There was a long pause. He sat in the chair again. "Listen, Mrs.
+Winnie"--he began at last.
+
+"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed. "Call me Evelyn--please."
+
+"Very well," he said--"Evelyn. I did not intend to make you unhappy--if
+I had had any idea, I should never have seen you again. I will tell
+you--what I have never told anybody before. Then you will understand."
+
+He sat for a few moments, in a sombre reverie.
+
+"Once," he said, "when I was young, I loved a woman--a quadroon girl.
+That was in New Orleans; it is a custom we have there. They have a
+world of their own, and we take care of them, and of the children; and
+every one knows about it. I was very young, only about eighteen; and
+she was even younger. But I found out then what women are, and what
+love means to them. I saw how they could suffer. And then she died in
+childbirth--the child died, too."
+
+Montague's voice was very low; and Mrs. Winnie sat with her hands
+clasped, and her eyes riveted upon his face. "I saw her die," he said.
+"And that was all. I have never forgotten it. I made up my mind then
+that I had done wrong; and that never again while I lived would I offer
+my love to a woman, unless I could devote all my life to her. So you
+see, I am afraid of love. I do not wish to suffer so much, or to make
+others suffer. And when anyone speaks to me as you did, it brings it
+all back to me--it makes me shrink up and wither."
+
+He paused, and the other caught her breath.
+
+"Understand me," she said, her voice trembling. "I would not ask any
+pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay--I am not
+afraid to suffer."
+
+"I do not wish you to suffer," he said. "I do not wish to take
+advantage of any woman."
+
+"But I have nothing in the world that I value!" she cried. "I would go
+away--I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I have no
+ties--no duties--"
+
+He interrupted her. "You have your husband--" he said.
+
+And she cried out in sudden fury--"My husband!"
+
+"Has no one ever told you about my husband?" she asked, after a pause.
+
+"No one," he said.
+
+"Well, ask them!" she exclaimed. "Meantime, take my word for it--I owe
+nothing to my husband."
+
+Montague sat staring into the fire. "But consider my own case," he
+said. "_I_ have duties--my mother and my cousin--"
+
+"Oh, don't say any more!" cried the woman, with a break in her voice.
+"Say that you don't love me--that is all there is to say! And you will
+never respect me again! I have been a fool--I have ruined everything! I
+have flung away your friendship, that I might have kept!"
+
+"No," he said.
+
+But she rushed on, vehemently--"At least, I have been honest--give me
+credit for that! That is how all my troubles come--I say what is in my
+mind, and I pay the price for my blunders. It is not as if I were cold
+and calculating--so don't despise me altogether."
+
+"I couldn't despise you," said Montague. "I am simply pained, because I
+have made you unhappy. And I did not mean to."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat staring ahead of her in a sombre reverie. "Don't think
+any more about it," she said, bitterly. "I will get over it. I am not
+worth troubling about. Don't you suppose I know how you feel about this
+world that I live in? And I'm part of it--I beat my wings, and try to
+get out, but I can't. I'm in it, and I'll stay in till I die; I might
+as well give up. I thought that I could steal a little joy--you have no
+idea how hungry I am for a little joy! You have no idea how lonely I
+am! And how empty my life is! You talk about your fear of making me
+unhappy; it's a grim jest--but I'll give you permission, if you can!
+I'll ask nothing--no promises, no sacrifices! I'll take all the risks,
+and pay all the penalties!"
+
+She smiled through her tears, a sardonic smile. He was watching her,
+and she turned again, and their eyes met; again he saw the blood mount
+from her throat to her cheeks. At the same time came the old stirring
+of the wild beasts within him. He knew that the less time he spent in
+sympathizing with Mrs. Winnie, the better for both of them.
+
+He had started to rise, and words of farewell were on his lips; when
+suddenly there came a knock upon the door.
+
+Mrs. Winnie sprang to her feet. "Who is that?" she cried.
+
+And the door opened, and Mr. Duval entered.
+
+"Good evening," he said pleasantly, and came toward her.
+
+Mrs. Winnie flushed angrily, and stared at him. "Why do you come here
+unannounced?" she cried.
+
+"I apologize," he said--"but I found this in my mail--"
+
+And Montague, in the act of rising to greet him, saw that he had the
+offensive clipping in his hand. Then he saw Duval give a start, and
+realized that the man had not been aware of his presence in the room.
+
+Duval gazed from Montague to his wife, and noticed for the first time
+her tears, and her agitation. "I beg pardon," he said. "I am evidently
+trespassing."
+
+"You most certainly are," responded Mrs. Winnie.
+
+He made a move to withdraw; but before he could take a step, she had
+brushed past him and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
+
+And Duval stared after her, and then he stared at Montague, and
+laughed. "Well! well! well!" he said.
+
+Then, checking his amusement, he added, "Good evening, sir."
+
+"Good evening," said Montague.
+
+He was trembling slightly, and Duval noticed it; he smiled genially.
+"This is the sort of material out of which scenes are made," said he.
+"But I beg you not to be embarrassed--we won't have any scenes."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that.
+
+"I owe Evelyn an apology," the other continued. "It was entirely an
+accident--this clipping, you see. I do not intrude, as a rule. You may
+make yourself at home in future."
+
+Montague flushed scarlet at the words.
+
+"Mr. Duval," he said, "I have to assure you that you are mistaken--"
+
+The other stared at him. "Oh, come, come!" he said, laughing. "Let us
+talk as men of the world."
+
+"I say that you are mistaken," said Montague again.
+
+The other shrugged his shoulders. "Very well," he said genially. "As
+you please. I simply wish to make matters clear to you, that's all. I
+wish you joy with Evelyn. I say nothing about her--you love her.
+Suffice it that I've had her, and I'm tired of her; the field is yours.
+But keep her out of mischief, and don't let her make a fool of herself
+in public, if you can help it. And don't let her spend too much
+money--she costs me a million a year already.--Good evening, Mr.
+Montague."
+
+And he went out. Montague, who stood like a statue, could hear him
+chuckling all the way down the hall.
+
+At last Montague himself started to leave. But he heard Mrs. Winnie
+coming back, and he waited for her. She came in and shut the door, and
+turned toward him.
+
+"What did he say?" she asked.
+
+"He--was very pleasant," said Montague.
+
+And she smiled grimly. "I went out on purpose," she said. "I wanted you
+to see him--to see what sort of a man he is, and how much 'duty' I owe
+him! You saw, I guess."
+
+"Yes, I saw," said he.
+
+Then again he started to go. But she took him by the arm. "Come and
+talk to me," she said. "Please!"
+
+And she led him back to the fire. "Listen," she said. "He will not come
+here again. He is going away to-night--I thought he had gone already.
+And he does not return for a month or two. There will be no one to
+disturb us again."
+
+She came close to him and gazed up into his face. She had wiped her
+tears away, and her happy look had come back to her; she was lovelier
+than ever.
+
+"I took you by surprise," she said, smiling. "You didn't know what to
+make of it. And I was ashamed--I thought you would hate me. But I'm not
+going to be unhappy any more--I don't care at all. I'm glad that I
+spoke!"
+
+And Mrs. Winnie put up her hands and took him by the lapels of his
+coat. "I know that you love me," she said; "I saw it in your eyes just
+now, before he came in: It is simply that you won't let yourself go.
+You have so many doubts and so many fears. But you will see that I am
+right; you will learn to love me. You won't be able to help it--I shall
+be so kind and good! Only don't go away--"
+
+Mrs. Winnie was so close to him that her breath touched his cheek.
+"Promise me, dear," she whispered--"promise me that you won't stop
+seeing me--that you will learn to love me. I can't do without you!"
+
+Montague was trembling in every nerve; he felt like a man caught in a
+net. Mrs. Winnie had had everything she ever wanted in her life; and
+now she wanted him! It was impossible for her to face any other thought.
+
+"Listen," he began gently.
+
+But she saw the look of resistance in his eyes, and she cried "No
+no--don't! I cannot do without you! Think! I love you! What more can I
+say to you? I cannot believe that you don't care for me--you HAVE been
+fond of me--I have seen it in your face. Yet you're afraid of me--why?
+Look at me--am I not beautiful to look at! And is a woman's love such a
+little thing--can you fling it away and trample upon it so easily? Why
+do you wish to go? Don't you understand--no one knows we are here--no
+one cares! You can come here whenever you wish--this is my place--mine!
+And no one will think anything about it. They all do it. There is
+nothing to be afraid of!"
+
+She put her arms about him, and clung to him so that he could feel the
+beating of her heart upon his bosom. "Oh, don't leave me here alone
+to-night!" she cried.
+
+To Montague it was like the ringing of an alarm-bell deep within his
+soul. "I must go," he said.
+
+She flung back her head and stared at him, and he saw the terror and
+anguish in her eyes. "No, no!" she cried, "don't say that to me! I
+can't bear it--oh, see what I have done! Look at me! Have mercy on me!"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," he said, "you must have mercy on ME!"
+
+But he only felt her clasp him more tightly. He took her by the wrists,
+and with quiet force he broke her hold upon him; her hands fell to her
+sides, and she stared at him, aghast.
+
+"I must go," he said, again.
+
+And he started toward the door. She followed him dumbly with her eyes.
+
+"Good-bye," he said. He knew that there was no use of any more words;
+his sympathy had been like oil upon flames. He saw her move, and as he
+opened the door, she flung herself down in a chair and burst into
+frantic weeping. He shut the door softly and went away.
+
+He found his way down the stairs, and got his hat and coat, and went
+out, unseen by anyone. He walked down the Avenue-and there suddenly was
+the giant bulk of St. Cecilia's lifting itself into the sky. He stopped
+and looked at it--it seemed a great tumultuous surge of emotion. And
+for the first time in his life it seemed to him that he understood why
+men had put together that towering heap of stone!
+
+Then he went on home.
+
+He found Alice dressing for a ball, and Oliver waiting for her. He went
+to his room, and took off his coat; and Oliver came up to him, and with
+a sudden gesture reached over to his shoulder, and held up a trophy.
+
+He drew it out carefully, and measured the length of it, smiling
+mischievously in the meanwhile. Then he held it up to the light, to see
+the colour of it.
+
+"A black one!" he cried. "Coal black!" And he looked at his brother,
+with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, Allan!" he chuckled.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+It was about a week from the beginning of Lent, when there would be a
+lull in the city's gaieties, and Society would shift the scene of its
+activities to the country clubs, and to California and Hot Springs and
+Palm Beach. Mrs. Caroline Smythe invited Alice to join her in an
+expedition to the last-named place; but Montague interposed, because he
+saw that Alice had been made pale and nervous by three months of
+night-and-day festivities. Also, a trip to Florida would necessitate
+ten or fifteen thousand dollars' worth of new clothes; and these would
+not do for the summer, it appeared--they would be faded and passe by
+that time.
+
+So Alice settled back to rest; but she was too popular to be let
+alone--a few days later came another invitation, this time from General
+Prentice and his family. They were planning a railroad trip--to be gone
+for a month; they would have a private train, and twenty five people in
+the party, and would take in California and Mexico--"swinging round the
+circle," as it was called. Alice was wild to go, and Montague gave his
+consent. Afterward he learned to his dismay that Charlie Carter was one
+of those invited, and he would have liked to have Alice withdraw; but
+she did not wish to, and he could not make up his mind to insist.
+
+These train trips were the very latest diversion of the well-to-do; a
+year ago no one had heard of them, and now fifty parties were leaving
+New York every month. You might see a dozen of such hotel-trains at
+once at Palm Beach; there were some people who lived on board all the
+time, having special tracks built for them in pleasant locations
+wherever they stopped. One man had built a huge automobile railroad
+car, shaped like a ram, and having accommodation for sixty people. The
+Prentice train had four cars, one of them a "library car," finished in
+St. Iago mahogany, and provided with a pipe-organ. Also there were
+bath-rooms and a barber-shop, and a baggage car with two autos on board
+for exploring purposes.
+
+Since the episode of Mrs. Winnie, Oliver had apparently concluded that
+his brother was one of the initiated. Not long afterward he permitted
+him to a glimpse into that side of his life which had been hinted at in
+the songs at the bachelors' dinner.
+
+Oliver had planned to take Betty Wyman to the theatre; but Betty's
+grandfather had come home from the West unexpectedly, and so Oliver
+came round and took his brother instead.
+
+"I was going to play a joke on her," he said. "We'll go to see one of
+my old flames."
+
+It was a translation of a French farce, in which the marital
+infidelities of two young couples were the occasion of many mishaps.
+One of the characters was a waiting-maid, who was in love with a
+handsome young soldier, and was pursued by the husband of one of the
+couples. It was a minor part, but the young Jewish girl who played it
+had so many pretty graces and such a merry laugh that she made it quite
+conspicuous. When the act was over, Oliver asked him whose acting he
+liked best, and he named her.
+
+"Come and be introduced to her," Oliver said.
+
+He opened a door near their box. "How do you do, Mr. Wilson," he said,
+nodding to a man in evening dress, who stood near by. Then he turned
+toward the dressing-rooms, and went down a corridor, and knocked upon
+one of the doors. A voice called, "Come in," and he opened the door;
+and there was a tiny room, with odds and ends of clothing scattered
+about, and the girl, clad in corsets and underskirt, sitting before a
+mirror. "Hello, Rosalie," said he.
+
+And she dropped her powder-puff, and sprang up with a cry--"Ollie!" 'In
+a moment more she had her arms about his neck.
+
+"Oh, you wretched man," she cried. "Why don't you come to see me any
+more? Didn't you get my letters?"
+
+"I got some," said he. "But I've been busy. This is my brother, Mr.
+Allan Montague."
+
+The other nodded to Montague, and said, "How do you do?"--but without
+letting go of Oliver. "Why don't you come to see me?" she exclaimed.
+
+"There, there, now!" said Oliver, laughing good-naturedly. "I brought
+my brother along so that you'd have to behave yourself."
+
+"I don't care about your brother!" exclaimed the girl, without even
+giving him another glance. Then she held Oliver at arm's length, and
+gazed into his face. "How can you be so cruel to me?" she asked.
+
+"I told you I was busy," said he, cheerfully. "And I gave you fair
+warning, didn't I? How's Toodles?"
+
+"Oh, Toodles is in raptures," said Rosalie. "She's got a new fellow."
+And then, her manner changing to one of merriment, she added: "Oh,
+Ollie! He gave her a diamond brooch! And she looks like a
+countess--she's hoping for a chance to wear it in a part!"
+
+"You've seen Toodles," said Oliver, to his brother "She's in 'The
+Kaliph of Kamskatka.'".
+
+"They're going on the road next week," said Rosalie. "And then I'll be
+all alone." She added, in a pleading voice: "Do, Ollie, be a good boy
+and take us out to-night. Think how long it's been since I've seen you!
+Why, I've been so good I don't know myself in the looking-glass.
+Please, Ollie!"
+
+"All right," said he, "maybe I will."
+
+"I'm not going to let you get away from me," she cried. "I'll come
+right over the footlights after you!"
+
+"You'd better get dressed," said Oliver. "You'll be late."
+
+He pushed aside a tray with some glasses on it, and seated himself upon
+a trunk; and Montague stood in a corner and watched Rosalie, while she
+powdered and painted herself, and put on an airy summer dress, and
+poured out a flood of gossip about "Toodles" and "Flossie" and "Grace"
+and some others. A few minutes later came a stentorian voice in the
+hallway: "Second act!" There were more embraces, and then Ollie brushed
+the powder from his coat, and went away laughing.
+
+Montague stood for a few moments in the wings, watching the
+scene-shifters putting the final touches to the new set, and the
+various characters taking their positions. Then they went out to their
+seats. "Isn't she a jewel?" asked Oliver.
+
+"She's very pretty," the other admitted.
+
+"She came right out of the slums," said Oliver--"over on Rivington
+Street. That don't happen very often."
+
+"How did you come to know her?" asked his brother.
+
+"Oh, I picked her out. She was in a chorus, then. I got her first
+speaking part."
+
+"Did you?" said the other, in surprise. "How did you do that?"
+
+"Oh, a little money," was the reply. "Money will do most anything. And
+I was in love with her--that's how I got her."
+
+Montague said nothing, but sat in thought.
+
+"We'll take her out to supper and make her happy," added Oliver, as the
+curtain started up. "She's lonesome, I guess. You see, I promised Betty
+I'd reform."
+
+All through that scene and the next one Rosalie acted for them; she was
+so full of verve and merriment that there was quite a stir in the
+audience, and she got several rounds of applause. Then, when the play
+was over, she extricated herself from the arms of the handsome young
+soldier, and fled to her dressing-room, and when Oliver and Montague
+arrived, she was half ready for the street.
+
+They went up Broadway, and from a group of people coming out of another
+stage-entrance a young girl came to join them--an airy little creature
+with the face of a doll-baby, and a big hat with a purple feather on
+top. This was "Toodles"--otherwise known as Helen Gwynne; and she took
+Montague's arm, and they fell in behind Oliver and his companion.
+
+Montague wondered what one said to a chorus-girl on the way to supper.
+Afterward his brother told him that Toodles had been the wife of a
+real-estate agent in a little town in Oklahoma, and had run away from
+respectability and boredom with a travelling theatrical company. Now
+she was tripping her part in the musical comedy which Montague had seen
+at Mrs. Lane's; and incidentally swearing devotion to a handsome young
+"wine-agent." She confided to Montague that she hoped the latter might
+see her that evening--he needed to be made jealous.
+
+"The Great White Way" was the name which people had given to this part
+of Broadway; and at the head of it stood a huge hotel with flaming
+lights, and gorgeous marble and bronze, and famous paintings upon the
+walls and ceilings inside. At this hour every one of its many
+dining-rooms was thronged with supper-parties, and the place rang with
+laughter and the rattle of dishes, and the strains of several
+orchestras which toiled heroically in the midst of the uproar. Here
+they found a table, and while Oliver was ordering frozen poached eggs
+and quails in aspic, Montague sat and gazed about him at the revelry,
+and listened to the prattle of the little ex-sempstress from Rivington
+Street.
+
+His brother had "got her," he said, by buying a speaking part in a play
+for her; and Montague recalled the orgies of which he had heard at the
+bachelors' dinner, and divined that here he was at the source of the
+stream from which they were fed. At the table next to them was a young
+Hebrew, whom Toodles pointed out as the son and heir of a great
+clothing manufacturer. He was "keeping" several girls, said she; and
+the queenly creature who was his vis-a-vis was one of the chorus in
+"The Maids of Mandalay." And a little way farther down the room was a
+boy with the face of an angel and the air of a prince of the blood--he
+had inherited a million and run away from school, and was making a name
+for himself in the Tenderloin. The pretty little girl all in green who
+was with him was Violet Pane, who was the artist's model in a new play
+that had made a hit. She had had a full-page picture of herself in the
+Sunday supplement of the "sporting paper" which was read here--so
+Rosalie remarked.
+
+"Why don't you ever do that for me?" she added, to Oliver.
+
+"Perhaps I will," said he, with a laugh. "What does it cost?"
+
+And when he learned that the honour could be purchased for only fifteen
+hundred dollars, he said, "I'll do it, if you'll be good." And from
+that time on the last trace of worriment vanished from the face and the
+conversation of Rosalie.
+
+As the champagne cocktails disappeared, she and Oliver became
+confidential. Then Montague turned to Toodles, to learn more about how
+the "second generation" was preying upon the women of the stage.
+
+"A chorus-girl got from ten to twenty dollars a week," said Toodles;
+and that was hardly enough to pay for her clothes. Her work was very
+uncertain--she would spend weeks at rehearsal, and then if the play
+failed, she would get nothing. It was a dog's life; and the keys of
+freedom and opportunity were in the keeping of rich men, who haunted
+the theatres and laid siege to the girls. They would send in notes to
+them, or fling bouquets to them, with cards, or perhaps money, hidden
+in them. There were millionaire artists and bohemians who kept a
+standing order for seats in the front rows at opening performances;
+they had accounts with florists and liverymen and confectioners, and
+gave carte blanche to scores of girls who lent themselves to their
+purposes. Sometimes they were in league with the managers, and a girl
+who held back would find her chances imperilled; sometimes these men
+would even finance shows to give a chance to some favourite.
+
+Afterward Toodles turned to listen to Oliver and his companion; and
+Montague sat back and gazed about the room. Next to him was a long
+table with a dozen, people at it; and he watched the buckets of
+champagne and the endless succession of fantastic-looking dishes of
+food, and the revellers, with their flushed faces and feverish eyes and
+loud laughter. Above all the tumult was the voice of the orchestra,
+calling, calling, like the storm wind upon the mountains; the music was
+wild and chaotic, and produced an indescribable sense of pain and
+confusion. When one realized that this same thing was going on in
+thousands of places in this district it seemed that here was a flood of
+dissipation that out-rivalled even that of Society.
+
+It was said that the hotels of New York, placed end to end, would reach
+all the way to London; and they took care of a couple of hundred
+thousand people a day--a horde which had come from all over the world
+in search of pleasure and excitement. There were sight-seers and
+"country customers" from forty-five states; ranchers from Texas, and
+lumber kings from Maine, and mining men from Nevada. At home they had
+reputations, and perhaps families to consider; but once plunged into
+the whirlpool of the Tenderloin, they were hidden from all the world.
+They came with their pockets full of money; and hotels and restaurants,
+gambling-places and pool-rooms and brothels--all were lying in wait for
+them! So eager had the competition become that there was a tailoring
+establishment and a bank that were never closed the year round, except
+on Sunday.
+
+Everywhere about one's feet the nets of vice were spread. The head
+waiter in one's hotel was a "steerer" for a "dive," and the house
+detective was "touting" for a gambling-place. The handsome woman who
+smiled at one in "Peacock Alley" was a "madame"; the pleasant-faced
+young man who spoke to one at the bar was on the look-out for customers
+for a brokerage-house next door. Three times in a single day in another
+of these great caravanserais Montague was offered "short change"; and
+so his eyes were opened to a new kind of plundering. He was struck by
+the number of attendants in livery who swarmed about him, and to whom
+he gave tips for their services. He did not notice that the boys in the
+wash-rooms and coat-rooms could not speak a word of English; he could
+not know that they were searched every night, and had everything taken
+from them, and that the Greek who hired them had paid fifteen thousand
+dollars a year to the hotel for the privilege.
+
+So far had the specialization in evil proceeded that there were places
+of prostitution which did a telephone-business exclusively, and would
+send a woman in a cab to any address; and there were high-class
+assignation-houses, which furnished exquisite apartments and the
+services of maids and valets. And in this world of vice the modern
+doctrine of the equality of the sexes was fully recognized; there were
+gambling-houses and pool-rooms and opium-joints for women, and
+drinking-places which catered especially for them. In the "orange room"
+of one of the big hotels, you might see rich women of every rank and
+type, fingering the dainty leather-bound and gold-embossed wine cards.
+In this room alone were sold over ten thousand drinks every day; and
+the hotel paid a rental of a million a year to the Devon estate. Not
+far away the Devons also owned negro-dives, where, in the early hours
+of the morning, you might see richly-gowned white women drinking.
+
+In this seething caldron of graft there were many strange ways of
+making money, and many strange and incredible types of human beings to
+be met. Once, in "Society," Montague had pointed out to him a woman who
+had been a "tattooed lady" in a circus; there was another who had been
+a confederate of gamblers upon the ocean steamships, and another who
+had washed dishes in a mining-camp. There was one of these great hotels
+whose proprietor had been a successful burglar; and a department-store
+whose owner had begun life as a "fence." In any crowd of these
+revellers you might have such strange creatures pointed out to you; a
+multimillionaire who sold rotten jam to the people; another who had
+invented opium soothing-syrup for babies; a convivial old gentleman who
+disbursed the "yellow dog fund" of several railroads; a handsome
+chauffeur who had run away with an heiress. 'Once a great scientist had
+invented a new kind of underwear, and had endeavoured to make it a gift
+to humanity; and here was a man who had seized upon it and made
+millions out of it! Here was a "trance medium," who had got a fortune
+out of an imbecile old manufacturer; here was a great newspaper
+proprietor, who published advertisements of assignations at a dollar a
+line; here was a cigar manufacturer, whose smug face was upon every
+billboard--he had begun as a tin manufacturer, and to avoid the duty,
+he had had his raw material cast in the form of statues, and brought
+them in as works of art!
+
+And terrible and vile as were the sources from which the fortunes had
+been derived, they were no viler nor more terrible than the purposes
+for which they had been spent. Mrs. Vivie Patton had hinted to Montague
+of a "Decameron Club," whose members gathered in each others' homes and
+vied in the telling of obscene stories; Strathcona had told him about
+another set of exquisite ladies and gentlemen who gave elaborate
+entertainments, in which they dressed in the costumes of bygone
+periods, and imitated famous characters in history, and the vices and
+orgies of courts and camps. One heard of "Cleopatra nights" on board of
+yachts at Newport. There was a certain Wall Street "plunger," who had
+begun life as a mining man in the West; and when his customers came in
+town, he would hire a trolley-car, and take a load of champagne and
+half a dozen prostitutes, and spend the night careering about the
+country. This man was now quartered in one of the great hotels in New
+York; and in his apartments he would have prize fights and chicken
+fights; and bloodthirsty exhibitions called "purring matches," in which
+men tried to bark each other's shins; or perhaps a "battle royal," with
+a diamond scarf-pin dangling from the ceiling, and half a dozen negroes
+in a free-for-all fight for the prize.
+
+No picture of the ways of the Metropolis would be complete which did
+not force upon the reluctant reader some realization of the extent to
+which new and hideous incitements to vice were spreading. To say that
+among the leisured classes such practices were raging like a pestilence
+would be no exaggeration. Ten years ago they were regarded with
+aversion by even the professionally vicious; but now the commonest
+prostitute accepted them as part of her fate. And there was no height
+to which they had not reached--ministers of state were enslaved by
+them; great fortunes and public events were controlled by them. In
+Washington there had been an ambassador whose natural daughter taught
+them in the houses of the great, until the scandal forced the
+minister's recall. Some of these practices were terrible in their
+effects, completely wrecking the victim in a short time; and physicians
+who studied their symptoms would be horrified to see them appearing in
+the homes of their friends.
+
+And from New York, the centre of the wealth and culture of the country,
+these vices spread to every corner of it. Theatrical companies and
+travelling salesmen carried them; visiting merchants and sightseers
+acquired them. Pack-pedlers sold vile pictures and books--the
+manufacturing or importing of which was now quite an industry; one
+might read catalogues printed abroad in English, the contents of which
+would make one's flesh creep. There were cheap weeklies, costing ten
+cents a year, which were thrust into area-windows for servant-girls;
+there were yellow-covered French novels of unbelievable depravity for
+the mistress of the house. It was a curious commentary upon the morals
+of Society that upon the trains running to a certain suburban community
+frequented by the ultra-fashionable, the newsboys did a thriving
+business in such literature; and when the pastor of the fashionable
+church eloped with a Society girl, the bishop publicly laid the blame
+to the morals of his parishioners!
+
+The theory was that there were two worlds, and that they were kept
+rigidly separate. There were two sets of women; one to be toyed with
+and flung aside, and the other to be protected and esteemed. Such
+things as prostitutes and kept women might exist, but people of
+refinement did not talk about them, and were not concerned with them.
+But Montague was familiar with the saying, that if you follow the chain
+of the slave, you will find the other end about the wrist of the
+master; and he discovered that the Tenderloin was wreaking its
+vengeance upon Fifth Avenue. It was not merely that the men of wealth
+were carrying to their wives and children the diseases of vice; they
+were carrying also the manners and the ideals.
+
+Montague had been amazed by the things he had found in New York
+Society; the smoking and drinking and gambling of women, their hard and
+cynical views of life, their continual telling of coarse stories. And
+here, in this under-world, he had come upon the fountain head of the
+corruption. It was something which came to him in a sudden flash of
+intuition;--the barriers between the two worlds were breaking down!
+
+He could picture the process in a hundred different forms. There was
+Betty Wyman. His brother had meant to take her to the theatre, to let
+her see Rosalie, by way of a joke! So, of course, Betty knew of his
+escapades, and of those of his set; she and her girl friends were
+whispering and jesting about them. Here sat Oliver, smiling and
+cynical, toying with Rosalie as a cat might toy with a mouse; and
+to-morrow he would be with Betty--and could anyone doubt any longer
+whence Betty had derived her attitude towards life? And the habits of
+mind that Oliver had taught her as a girl she would not forget as a
+wife; he might be anxious to keep her to himself, but there would be
+others whose interest was different.
+
+And Montague recalled other things that he had seen or heard in
+Society, that he could put his finger upon, as having come out of this
+under-world. The more he thought of the explanation, the more it seemed
+to explain. This "Society," which had perplexed him--now he could
+describe it: its manners and ideals of life were those which he would
+have expected to find in the "fast" side of stage life.
+
+It was, of course, the women who made Society, and gave it its tone;
+and the women of Society were actresses. They were actresses in their
+love of notoriety and display; in their taste in clothes and jewels,
+their fondness for cigarettes and champagne. They made up like
+actresses; they talked and thought like actresses. The only obvious
+difference was that the women of the stage were carefully
+selected--were at least up to a certain standard of physical
+excellence; whereas the women of Society were not selected at all, and
+some were lean, and some were stout, and some were painfully homely.
+
+Montague recalled cases where the two sets had met as at some of the
+private entertainments. It was getting to be the fashion to hobnob with
+the stage people on such occasions; and he recalled how naturally the
+younger people took to this. Only the older women held aloof; looking
+down upon the women of the stage from an ineffable height, as belonging
+to a lower caste--because they were obliged to work for their livings.
+But it seemed to Montague, as he sat and talked with this poor
+chorus-girl, who had sold herself for a little pleasure, that it was
+easier to pardon her than the woman who had been born to luxury, and
+scorned those who produced her wealth.
+
+But most of all, one's sympathies went out to a person who was not to
+be met in either of these sets; to the girl who had not sold herself,
+but was struggling for a living in the midst of this ravening
+corruption. There were thousands of self-respecting women, even on the
+stage; Toodles herself had been among them, she told Montague. "I kept
+straight for a long time," she said, laughing cheerfully--"and on ten
+dollars a week! I used to go out on the road, and then they paid me
+sixteen; and think of trying to live on one-night stands--to board
+yourself and stop at hotels and dress for the theatre--on sixteen a
+week, and no job half the year! And all that time--do you know Cyril
+Chambers, the famous church painter?"
+
+"I've heard of him," said Montague.
+
+"Well, I was with a show here on Broadway the next winter; and every
+night for six months he sent me a bunch of orchids that couldn't have
+cost less than seventy-five dollars! And he told me he'd open accounts
+for me in all the stores I chose, if I'd spend the next summer in
+Europe with him. He said I could take my mother or my sister with
+me--and I was so green in those days, I thought that must mean he
+didn't intend anything wrong!"
+
+Toodles smiled at the memory. "Did you go?" asked the man.
+
+"No," she answered. "I stayed here with a roof-garden show that failed.
+And I went to my old manager for a job, and he said to me, 'I can only
+pay you ten a week. But why are you so foolish?' 'How do you mean?' I
+asked; and he answered, 'Why don't you get a rich sweetheart? Then I
+could pay you sixty.' That's what a girl hears on the stage!"
+
+"I don't understand," said Montague, perplexed. "Did he mean he could
+get money out of the man?"
+
+"Not directly," said Toodles; "but tickets--and advertising. Why, men
+will hire front-row seats for a whole season, if they're interested in
+a girl in the show. And they'll take all their friends to see her, and
+she'll be talked about--she'll be somebody, instead of just nobody, as
+I was."
+
+"Then it actually helps her on the stage!" said Montague.
+
+"Helps her!" exclaimed Toodles. "My God! I've known a girl who'd been
+abroad with a tip-top swell--and had the gowns and the jewels to prove
+it--to come home and get into the front row of a chorus at a hundred
+dollars a week."
+
+Toodles was cheerful and all unaware; and that only made the tragedy of
+it all one shade more black to Montague. He sat lost in sombre reverie,
+forgetting his companions, and the blare and glare of the place.
+
+In the centre of this dining-room was a great cone-shaped stand,
+containing a display of food; and as they strolled out, Montague
+stopped to look at it. There were platters garnished with flowers and
+herbs, and containing roast turkeys and baked hams, jellied meats and
+game in aspic, puddings and tarts and frosted cakes--every kind of
+food-fantasticality imaginable. One might have spent an hour in
+studying it, and from top to bottom he would have found nothing simple,
+nothing natural. The turkeys had paper curls and rosettes stuck over
+them; the hams were covered with a white gelatine, the devilled crabs
+with a yellow mayonnaise-and all painted over in pink and green and
+black with landscapes and marine views--with "ships and shoes and
+sealing-wax and cabbages and kings." The jellied meats and the puddings
+were in the shape of fruits and flowers; and there were elaborate works
+of art in pink and white confectionery--a barn-yard, for instance, with
+horses and cows, and a pump, and a dairymaid--and one or two alligators.
+
+And all this was changed every day! Each morning you might see a
+procession of a score of waiters bearing aloft a new supply. Montague
+remembered Betty Wyman's remark at their first interview, apropos of
+the whipped cream made into little curleques; how his brother had said,
+"If Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the man who fixed that
+cream, and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading
+'The Simple Life'!"
+
+He thought of that now; he stood here and gazed, and wondered about all
+the slaves of the lamp who served in this huge temple of luxury. He
+looked at the waiters--pale, hollow-chested, harried-looking men: he
+imagined the hordes of servants of yet lower kinds, who never emerged
+into the light of day; the men who washed the dishes, the men who
+carried the garbage, the men who shovelled the coal into the furnaces,
+and made the heat and light and power. Pent up in dim cellars, many
+stories under ground, and bound for ever to the service of
+sensuality--how terrible must be their fate, how unimaginable their
+corruption! And they were foreigners; they had come here seeking
+liberty. And the masters of the new country had seized them and pent
+them here!
+
+From this as a starting-point his thought went on, to the hordes of
+toilers in every part of the world, whose fate it was to create the
+things which these blind revellers destroyed; the women and children in
+countless mills and sweatshops, who spun the cloth, and cut and sewed
+it; the girls who made the artificial flowers, who rolled the
+cigarettes, who gathered the grapes from the vines; the miners who dug
+the coal and the precious metals out of the earth; the men who watched
+in ten thousand signal-towers and engines, who fought the elements from
+the decks of ten thousand ships--to bring all these things here to be
+destroyed. Step by step, as the flood of extravagance rose, and the
+energies of the men were turned to the creation of futility and
+corruption--so, step by step, increased the misery and degradation of
+all these slaves of Mammon. And who could imagine what they would think
+about it--if ever they came to think?
+
+And then, in a sudden flash, there came back to Montague that speech
+he had heard upon the street-corner, the first evening he had been in
+New York! He could hear again the pounding of the elevated trains, and
+the shrill voice of the orator; he could see his haggard and hungry
+face, and the dense crowd gazing up at him. And there came to him the
+words of Major Thorne:
+
+"It means another civil war!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+Alice had been gone for a couple of weeks, and the day was drawing near
+when the Hasbrook case came up for trial. The Saturday before that
+being the date of the Mi-car�me dance of the Long Island Hunt Club,
+Siegfried Harvey was to have a house-party for the week-end, and
+Montague accepted his invitation. He had been working hard, putting the
+finishing touches to his brief, and he thought that a rest would be
+good for him.
+
+He and his brother went down upon Friday afternoon, and the first
+person he met was Betty Wyman, whom he had not seen for quite a while.
+Betty had much to say, and said it. As Montague had not been seen with
+Mrs. Winnie since the episode in her house, people had begun to notice
+the break, and there was no end of gossip; and Mistress Betty wanted to
+know all about it, and how things stood between them.
+
+But he would not tell her, and so she saucily refused to tell him what
+she had heard. All the while they talked she was eyeing him
+quizzically, and it was evident that she took the worst for granted;
+also that he had become a much more interesting person to her because
+of it. Montague had the strangest sensations when he was talking with
+Betty Wyman; she was delicious and appealing, almost irresistible; and
+yet her views of life were so old! "I told you you wouldn't do for a
+tame cat!" she said to him.
+
+Then she went on to talk to him about his case, and to tease him about
+the disturbance he had made.
+
+"You know," she said, "Ollie and I were in terror--we thought that
+grandfather would be furious, and that we'd be ruined. But somehow, it
+didn't work out that way. Don't you say anything about it, but I've had
+a sort of a fancy that he must be on your side of the fence."
+
+"I'd be glad to know it," said Montague, with a laugh--"I've been
+trying for a long time to find out who is on my side of the fence."
+
+"He was talking about it the other day," said Betty, "and I heard him
+tell a man that he'd read your argument, and thought it was good."
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," said Montague.
+
+"So was I," replied she. "And I said to him afterward, 'I suppose you
+don't know that Allan Montague is my Ollie's brother.' And he did you
+the honour to say that he hadn't supposed any member of Ollie's family
+could have as much sense!"
+
+Betty was staying with an aunt near by, and she went back before
+dinner. In the automobile which came for her was old Wyman himself, on
+his way home from the city; and as a snowstorm had begun, he came in
+and stood by the fire while his car was exchanged for a closed one from
+Harvey's stables. Montague did not meet him, but stood and watched him
+from the shadows-a mite of a man, with a keen and eager face, full of
+wrinkles. It was hard to realize that this little body held one of the
+great driving minds of the country. He was an intensely nervous and
+irritable man, bitter and implacable--by all odds the most hated and
+feared man in Wall Street. He was swift, imperious, savage as a hornet.
+"Directors at meetings that I attend vote first and discuss afterward,"
+was one of his sayings that Montague had heard quoted. Watching him
+here by the fireside, rubbing his hands and chatting pleasantly,
+Montague had a sudden sense of being behind the scenes, of being
+admitted to a privilege denied to ordinary mortals--the beholding of
+royalty in everyday attire!
+
+After dinner that evening Montague had a chat in the smoking-room with
+his host; and he brought up the subject of the Hasbrook case, and told
+about his trip to Washington, and his interview with Judge Ellis.
+
+Harvey also had something to communicate. "I had a talk with Freddie
+Vandam about it," said he.
+
+"What did he say?" asked Montague.
+
+"Well," replied the other, with a laugh, "he's indignant, needless to
+say. You know, Freddie was brought up by his father to regard the
+Fidelity as his property, in a way. He always refers to it as 'my
+company.' And he's very high and mighty about it--it's a personal
+affront if anyone attacks it. But it was evident to me that he doesn't
+know who's behind this case."
+
+"Did he know about Ellis?" asked Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "he had found out that much. It was he who told
+me that originally. He says that Ellis has been sponging off the
+company for years--he has a big salary that he never earns, and has
+borrowed something like a quarter of a million dollars on worthless
+securities."
+
+Montague gave a gasp.
+
+"Yes," laughed Harvey. "But after all, that's a little matter. The
+trouble with Freddie Vandam is that that sort of thing is all he sees;
+and so he'll never be able to make out the mystery. He knows that this
+clique or that in the company is plotting to get some advantage, or to
+use him for their purposes--but he never realizes how the big men are
+pulling the wires behind the scenes. Some day they'll throw him
+overboard altogether, and then he'll realize how they've played with
+him. That's what this Hasbrook case means, you know--they simply want
+to frighten him with a threat of getting the company's affairs into the
+courts and the newspapers."
+
+Montague sat for a while in deep thought.
+
+"What would you think would be Wyman's relation to the matter?" he
+asked, at last.
+
+"I wouldn't know," said Harvey. "He's supposed to be Freddie's
+backer--but what can you tell in such a tangle?"
+
+"It is certainly a mess," said Montague.
+
+"There's no bottom to it," said the other. "Absolutely--it would take
+your breath away! Just listen to what Vandam told me to-day!"
+
+And then Harvey named one of the directors of the Fidelity who was well
+known as a philanthropist. Having heard that the wife of one of his
+junior partners had met with an accident in childbirth, and that the
+doctor had told her husband that if she ever had another child, she
+would die, this man had asked, "Why don't you have her life insured?"
+The other replied that he had tried, and the companies had refused her.
+"I'll fix it for you," said he; and so they put in another application,
+and the director came to Freddie Vandam and had the policy put through
+"by executive order." Seven months later the woman died, and the
+Fidelity had paid her husband in full--a hundred thousand or two!
+
+"That's what's going on in the insurance world!" said Siegfried Harvey.
+
+And that was the story which Montague took with him to add to his
+enjoyment of the festivities at the country club. It was a very
+gorgeous affair; but perhaps the sombreness of his thoughts was to
+blame; the flowers and music and beautiful gowns failed entirely in
+their appeal, and he saw only the gluttony and drunkenness--more of it
+than ever before, it seemed to him.
+
+Then, too, he had an unpleasant experience. He met Laura Hegan; and
+presuming upon her cordial reception of his visit, he went up and spoke
+to her pleasantly. And she greeted him with frigid politeness; she was
+so brief in her remarks and turned away so abruptly as almost to snub
+him. He went away quite bewildered. But later on he recalled the gossip
+about himself and Mrs. Winnie, and he guessed that that was the
+explanation of Miss Hegar's action.
+
+The episode threw a shadow over his whole visit. On Sunday he went out
+into the country and tramped through a snowstorm by himself, filled
+with a sense of disgust for all the past, and of foreboding for the
+future. He hated this money-world, in which all that was worst in human
+beings was brought to the surface; he hated it, and wished that he had
+never set foot within its bounds. It was only by tramping until he was
+too tired to feel anything that he was able to master himself.
+
+And then, toward dark, he came back, and found a telegram which had
+been forwarded from New York.
+
+"Meet me at the Penna depot, Jersey City, at nine to-night. Alice."
+
+This message, of course, drove all other thoughts from his mind. He had
+no time even to tell Oliver about it--he had to jump into an automobile
+and rush to catch the next train for the city. And all through the
+long, cold ride in ferry-boats and cabs he pondered this mystery.
+Alice's party had not been expected for two weeks yet; and only two
+days before there had come a letter from Los Angeles, saying that they
+would probably be a week over time. And here she was home again!
+
+He found there was an express from the West due at the hour named;
+apparently, therefore, Alice had not come in the Prentice's train at
+all. The express was half an hour late, and so he paced up and down the
+platform, controlling his impatience as best he could. And finally the
+long train pulled in, and he saw Alice coming down the platform. She
+was alone!
+
+"What does it mean?" were the first words he said to her.
+
+"It's a long story," she answered. "I wanted to come home.";
+
+"You mean you've come all the way from the coast by yourself!" he
+gasped.
+
+"Yes," she said, "all the way."
+
+"What in the world--" he began.
+
+"I can't tell you here, Allan," she said. "Wait till we get to some
+quiet place."
+
+"But," he persisted. "The Prentice? They let you come home alone?"
+
+"They didn't know it," she said. "I ran away."
+
+He was more bewildered than ever. But as he started to ask more
+questions, she laid a hand upon his arm. "Please wait, Allan," she
+said. "It upsets me to talk about it. It was Charlie Carter."
+
+And so the light broke. He caught his breath and gasped, "Oh!"
+
+He said not another word until they had crossed the ferry and settled
+themselves in a cab, and started. "Now," he said, "tell me."
+
+Alice began. "I was very much upset," she said. "But you must
+understand, Allan, that I've had nearly a week to think it over, and I
+don't mind it now. So I want you please not to get excited about it; it
+wasn't poor Charlie's fault--he can't help himself. It was my mistake.
+I ought to have taken your advice and had nothing to do with him."
+
+"Go on," said he; and Alice told her story.
+
+The party had gone sight-seeing, and she had had a headache and had
+stayed in the car. And Charlie Carter had come and begun making love to
+her. "He had asked me to marry him already--that was at the beginning
+of the trip," she said. "And I told him no. After that he would never
+let me alone. And this time he went on in a terrible way--he flung
+himself down on his knees, and wept, and said he couldn't live without
+me. And nothing I could say did any good. At last he--he caught hold of
+me--and he wouldn't let me go. I was furious with him, and frightened.
+I had to threaten to call for help before he would stop. And so--you
+see how it was."
+
+"I see," said Montague, gravely. "Go on."
+
+"Well, after that I made up my mind that I couldn't stay anywhere where
+I had to see him. And I knew he would never go away without a scene. If
+I had asked Mrs. Prentice to send him away, there would have been a
+scandal, and it would have spoiled everybody's trip. So I went out, and
+found there was a train for the East in a little while, and I packed up
+my things, and left a note for Mrs. Prentice. I told her a story--I
+said I'd had a telegram that your mother was ill, and that I didn't
+want to spoil their good time, and had gone by myself. That was the
+best thing I could think of. I wasn't afraid to travel, so long as I
+was sure that Charlie couldn't catch up with me."
+
+Montague said nothing; he sat with his hands gripped tightly.
+
+"It seemed like a desperate thing to do," said Alice, nervously. "But
+you see, I was upset and unhappy. I didn't seem to like the party any
+more--I wanted to be home. Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I understand. And I'm glad you are here."
+
+They reached home, and Montague called up Harvey's and told his brother
+what had happened. He could hear Oliver gasp with astonishment. "That's
+a pretty how-do-you-do!" he said, when he had got his breath back; and
+then he added, with a laugh, "I suppose that settles poor Charlie's
+chances."
+
+"I'm glad you've come to that conclusion," said the other, as he hung
+up the receiver.
+
+This episode gave Montague quite a shock. But he had little time to
+think about it--the next morning at eleven o'clock his case was to come
+up for trial, and so all his thoughts were called away. This case had
+been the one real interest of his life for the last three months; it
+was his purpose, the thing for the sake of which he endured everything
+else that repelled him. And he had trained himself as an athlete for a
+great race; he was in form, and ready for the effort of his life. He
+went down town that morning with every fibre of him, body and mind,
+alert and eager; and he went into his office, and in his mail was a
+letter from Mr. Hasbrook. He opened it hastily and read a message,
+brief and direct and decisive as a sword-thrust:
+
+"I beg to inform you that I have received a satisfactory proposition
+from the Fidelity Company. I have settled with them, and wish to
+withdraw the suit. Thanking you for your services, I remain, sincerely."
+
+To Montague the thing came like a thunderbolt. He sat utterly
+dumbfounded--his hands went limp, and the letter fell upon the desk in
+front of him.
+
+And at last, when he did move, he picked up the telephone, and told his
+secretary to call up Mr. Hasbrook. Then he sat waiting; and when the
+bell rang, picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Mr. Hasbrook's
+voice, and to demand an explanation. But he heard, instead, the voice
+of his own secretary: "Central says the number's been discontinued,
+sir."
+
+And he hung up the receiver, and sat motionless again. The dummy had
+disappeared!
+
+To Montague this incident meant a change in the prospect of his whole
+life. It was the collapse of all his hopes. He had nothing more to work
+for, nothing more to think about; the bottom had fallen out of his
+career!
+
+He was burning with a sense of outrage. He had been tricked and made a
+fool of; he had been used and flung aside. And now there was nothing he
+could do--he was utterly helpless. What affected him most was his sense
+of the overwhelming magnitude of the powers which had made him their
+puppet; of the utter futility of the efforts that he or any other man
+could make against them. They were like elemental, cosmic forces; they
+held all the world in their grip, and a common man was as much at their
+mercy as a bit of chaff in a tempest.
+
+All day long he sat in his office, brooding and nursing his wrath. He
+had moods when he wished to drop everything, to shake the dust of the
+city from his feet, and go back home and recollect what it was to be a
+gentleman. And then again he had fighting moods, when he wished to
+devote all his life to punishing the men who had made use of him. He
+would get hold of some other policy-holder in the Fidelity, one whom he
+could trust; he would take the case without pay, and carry it through
+to the end! He would force the newspapers to talk about it--he would
+force the people to heed what he said!
+
+And then, toward evening, he went home, bitter and sore. And there was
+his brother sitting in his study, waiting for him.
+
+"Hello," he said, and took off his coat, preparing his mind for one
+more ignominy--the telling of his misfortune to Oliver, and listening
+to his inevitable, "I told you so."
+
+But Oliver himself had something to communicate something that would
+not bear keeping. He broke out at once--"Tell me, Allan! What in the
+world has happened between you and Mrs. Winnie?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Montague, sharply.
+
+"Why," said Oliver, "everybody is talking about some kind of a quarrel."
+
+"There has been no quarrel," said Montague.
+
+"Well, what is it, then?"
+
+"It's nothing."
+
+"It must be something!" exclaimed Oliver. "What do all the stories
+mean?"
+
+"What stories?"
+
+"About you two. I met Mrs. Vivie Patton just now, and she swore me to
+secrecy, and told me that Mrs. Winnie had told some one that you had
+made love to her so outrageously that she had to ask you to leave the
+house."
+
+Montague shrunk as from a blow. "Oh!" he gasped.
+
+"That's what she said," said he.
+
+"It's a lie!" he cried.
+
+"That's what I told Mrs. Vivie," said the other; "it doesn't sound like
+you--"
+
+Montague had flushed scarlet. "I don't mean that!" he cried. "I mean
+that Mrs. Winnie never said any such thing."
+
+"Oh," said Oliver, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe not," he
+added. "But I know she's furious with you about something--everybody's
+talking about it. She tells people that she'll never speak to you
+again. And what I want to know is, why is it that you have to do things
+to make enemies of everybody you know?"
+
+Montague said nothing; he was trembling with anger.
+
+"What in the world did you do to her?" began the other. "Can't you
+trust me---"
+
+And suddenly Montague sprang to his feet. "Oh, Oliver," he exclaimed,
+"let me alone! Go away!"
+
+And he went into the next room and slammed the door, and began pacing
+back and forth like a caged animal.
+
+It was a lie! It was a lie! Mrs. Winnie had never said such a thing! He
+would never believe it--it was a nasty piece of backstairs gossip!
+
+But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did it matter Whether
+it was true or not--whether anything was true or not? What did it
+matter if anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome things that
+everybody else said they had done? It was what everybody was saying! It
+was what everybody believed--what everybody was interested in! It was
+the measure of a whole society--their ideals and their standards! It
+was the way they spent their time, repeating nasty scandals about each
+other; living in an atmosphere of suspicion and cynicism, with endless
+whispering and leering, and gossip of lew intrigue.
+
+A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him, away--rage against
+the world into which he had come, and against himself for the part he
+had played in it. Everything seemed to have come to a head at once; and
+he hated everything--hated the people he had met, and the things they
+did, and the things they had tempted him to do. He hated the way he had
+got his money, and the way he had spent it. He hated the idleness and
+wastefulness, the drunkenness and debauchery, the meanness and the
+snobbishness.
+
+And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of the room where Oliver
+still sat. And he stood in the doorway, exclaiming, "Oliver, I'm done
+with it!"
+
+Oliver stared at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
+
+"I mean," cried his brother, "that I've had all I can stand of
+'Society!' And I'm going to quit. You can go on--but I don't intend to
+take another step with you! I've had enough--and I think Alice has had
+enough, also. We'll take ourselves off your hands--we'll get out!"
+
+"What are you going to do?" gasped Oliver.
+
+"I'm going to give up these expensive apartments--give them up
+to-morrow, when our week is up. And I'm going to stop squandering money
+for things I don't want. I'm going to stop accepting invitations, and
+meeting people I don't like and don't want to know. I've tried your
+game--I've tried it hard, and I don't like it; and I'm going to get out
+before it's too late. I'm going to find some decent and simple place to
+live in; and I'm going down town to find out if there isn't some way in
+New York for a man to earn an honest living!"
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
+
+
+Title: The Metropolis
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Posting Date: March 20, 2009 [EBook #5421]
+Release Date: April, 2004
+First Posted: July 14, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE METROPOLIS
+
+
+BY
+
+UPTON SINCLAIR
+
+
+
+FIRST PUBLISHED 1908
+
+PRINTED BY OFFSET IN GREAT BRITAIN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+"Return at ten-thirty," the General said to his chauffeur, and then
+they entered the corridor of the hotel.
+
+Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little
+with anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The quiet
+uptown hotel would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he was from
+the country; but, he did not see the marble columns and the gilded
+carvings-he was thinking of the men he was to meet. It seemed too much
+to crowd into one day-first the vision of the whirling, seething city,
+the centre of all his hopes of the future; and then, at night, this
+meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories of everything that
+he held precious in the past.
+
+There were groups of men in faded uniforms standing about in the
+corridors. General Prentice bowed here and there as they retired and
+took the elevator to the reception-rooms. In the doorway they passed a
+stout little man with stubby white moustaches, and the General stopped,
+exclaiming, "Hello, Major!" Then he added: "Let me introduce Mr. Allan
+Montague. Montague, this is Major Thorne."
+
+A look of sudden interest flashed across the Major's face. "General
+Montague's son?" he cried. And then he seized the other's hand in both
+of his, exclaiming, "My boy! my boy! I'm glad to see you!"
+
+Now Montague was no boy--he was a man of thirty, and rather sedate in
+his appearance and manner; there was enough in his six feet one to have
+made two of the round and rubicund little Major. And yet it seemed to
+him quite proper that the other should address him so. He was back in
+his boyhood to-night--he was a boy whenever anyone mentioned the name
+of Major Thorne.
+
+"Perhaps you have heard your father speak of me?" asked the Major,
+eagerly; and Montague answered, "A thousand times."
+
+He was tempted to add that the vision that rose before him was of a
+stout gentleman hanging in a grape-vine, while a whole battery of
+artillery made him their target.
+
+Perhaps it was irreverent, but that was what Montague had always
+thought of, ever since he had first laughed over the tale his father
+told. It had happened one January afternoon in the Wilderness, during
+the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, when Montague's father had
+been a rising young staff-officer, and it had fallen to his lot to
+carry to Major Thorne what was surely the most terrifying order that
+ever a cavalry officer received. It was in the crisis of the conflict,
+when the Army of the Potomac was reeling before the onslaught of
+Stonewall Jackson's columns. There was no one to stop them-and yet they
+must be stopped, for the whole right wing of the army was going. So
+that cavalry regiment had charged full tilt through the thickets, and
+into a solid wall of infantry and artillery. The crash of their volley
+was blinding--and horses wore fairly shot to fragments; and the Major's
+horse, with its lower jaw torn off, had plunged madly away and left its
+rider hanging in the aforementioned grape-vine. After he had kicked
+himself loose, it was to find himself in an arena where pain-maddened
+horses and frenzied men raced about amid a rain of minie-balls and
+canister. And in this inferno the gallant Major had captured a horse,
+and rallied the remains of his shattered command, and held the line
+until help came-and then helped to hold it, all through the afternoon
+and the twilight and the night, against charge after charge.--And now
+to stand and gaze at this stout and red-nosed little personage, and
+realize that these mighty deeds had been his!
+
+Then, even while Montague was returning his hand-clasp and telling him
+of his pleasure, the Major's eye caught some one across the room, and
+he called eagerly, "Colonel Anderson! Colonel Anderson!"
+
+And this was the heroic Jack Anderson! "Parson" Anderson, the men had
+called him, because he always prayed before everything he did. Prayers
+at each mess,--a prayer-meeting in the evening,--and then rumour said
+the Colonel prayed on while his men slept. With his battery of
+artillery trained to perfection under three years of divine guidance,
+the gallant Colonel had stood in the line of battle at Cold
+Harbour--name of frightful memory!--and when the enemy had swarmed out
+of their intrenchments and swept back the whole line just beyond him,
+his battery had stood like a cape in a storm-beaten ocean, attacked on
+two sides at once; and for the half-hour that elapsed before infantry
+support came up, the Colonel had ridden slowly up and down his line,
+repeating in calm and godly accents, "Give 'em hell, boys--give 'em
+hell!"--The Colonel's hand trembled now as he held it out, and his
+voice was shrill and cracked as he told what pleasure it gave him to
+meet General Montague's son.
+
+"Why have we never seen you before?" asked Major Thorne. Montague
+replied that he had spent all his life in Mississippi--his father
+having married a Southern woman after the war. Once every year the
+General had come to New York to attend the reunion of the Loyal Legion
+of the State; but some one had had to stay at home with his mother,
+Montague explained.
+
+There were perhaps a hundred men in the room, and he was passed about
+from group to group. Many of them had known his father intimately. It
+seemed almost uncanny to him to meet them in the body; to find them old
+and feeble, white-haired and wrinkled. As they lived in the chambers of
+his memory, they were in their mighty youth-heroes, transfigured and
+radiant, not subject to the power of time.
+
+Life on the big plantation had been a lonely one, especially for a
+Southern-born man who had fought in the Union army. General Montague
+had been a person of quiet tastes, and his greatest pleasure had been
+to sit with his two boys on his knees and "fight his battles o'er
+again." He had collected all the literature of the corps which he had
+commanded--a whole library of it, in which Allan had learned to find
+his way as soon as he could read. He had literally been brought up on
+the war--for hours he would lie buried in some big illustrated history,
+until people came and called him away. He studied maps of campaigns and
+battle-fields, until they became alive with human passion and struggle;
+he knew the Army of the Potomac by brigade and division, with the names
+of commanders, and their faces, and their ways-until they lived and
+spoke, and the bare roll of their names had power to thrill him.--And
+now here were the men themselves, and all these scenes and memories
+crowding upon him in tumultuous throngs. No wonder that he was a little
+dazed, and could hardly find words to answer when he was spoken to.
+
+But then came an incident which called him suddenly back to the world
+of the present. "There is Judge Ellis," said the General.
+
+Judge Ellis! The fame of his wit and eloquence had reached even far
+Mississippi--was there any remotest corner of America where men had not
+heard of the silver tongue of Judge Ellis? "Cultivate him!" Montague's
+brother Oliver had laughed, when it was mentioned that the Judge would
+be present--"Cultivate him--he may be useful."
+
+It was not difficult to cultivate one who was as gracious as Judge
+Ellis. He stood in the doorway, a smooth, perfectly groomed gentleman,
+conspicuous in the uniformed assembly by his evening dress. The Judge
+was stout and jovial, and cultivated Dundreary whiskers and a beaming
+smile. "General Montague's son!" he exclaimed, as he pressed the young
+man's hands. "Why, why--I'm surprised! Why have we never seen you
+before?"
+
+Montague explained that he had only been in New York about six hours.
+"Oh, I see," said the Judge. "And shall you remain long?"
+
+"I have come to stay," was the reply.
+
+"Well, well!" said the other, cordially. "Then we may see more of you.
+Are you going into business?"
+
+"I am a lawyer," said Montague. "I expect to practise."
+
+The Judge's quick glance had been taking the measure of the tall,
+handsome man before him, with his raven-black hair and grave features.
+"You must give us a chance to try your mettle," he said; and then, as
+others approached to meet him, and he was forced to pass on, he laid a
+caressing hand on Montague's arm, whispering, with a sly smile, "I mean
+it."
+
+Montague felt his heart beat a little faster. He had not welcomed his
+brother's suggestion--there was nothing of the sycophant in him; but he
+meant to work and to succeed, and he knew what the favour of a man like
+Judge Ellis would mean to him. For the Judge was the idol of New York's
+business and political aristocracy, and the doorways of fortune yielded
+at his touch.
+
+There were rows of chairs in one of the rooms, and here two or three
+hundred men were gathered. There were stands of battle-flags in the
+corners, each one of them a scroll of tragic history, to one like
+Montague, who understood. His eye roamed over them while the secretary
+was reading minutes of meetings and other routine announcements. Then
+he began to study the assemblage. There were men with one arm and men
+with one leg--one tottering old soldier ninety years of age, stone
+blind, and led about by his friends. The Loyal Legion was an officers'
+organization, and to that extent aristocratic; but worldly success
+counted for nothing in it--some of its members were struggling to exist
+on their pensions, and were as much thought of as a man like General
+Prentice, who was president of one of the city's largest banks, and a
+rich man, even in New York's understanding of that term.
+
+The presiding officer introduced "Colonel Robert Selden, who will read
+the paper of the evening: 'Recollections of Spottsylvania.'" Montague
+started at the name--for "Bob" Selden had been one of his father's
+messmates, and had fought all through the Peninsula Campaign at his
+side.
+
+He was a tall, hawk-faced man with a grey imperial. The room was still
+as he arose, and after adjusting his glasses, he began to read his
+story. He recalled the situation of the Army of the Potomac in the
+spring of 1864; for three years it had marched and fought, stumbling
+through defeat after defeat, a mighty weapon, lacking only a man who
+could wield it. Now at last the man had come--one who would put them
+into the battle and give them a chance to fight. So they had marched
+into the Wilderness, and there Lee struck them, and for three days they
+groped in a blind thicket, fighting hand to hand, amid suffocating
+smoke. The Colonel read in a quiet, unassuming voice; but one could see
+that he had hold of his hearers by the light that crossed their
+features when he told of the army's recoil from the shock, and of the
+wild joy that ran through the ranks when they took up their march to
+the left, and realized that this time they were not going back.--So
+they came to the twelve days' grapple of the Spottsylvania Campaign.
+
+There was still the Wilderness thicket; the enemy's intrenchments,
+covering about eight miles, lay in the shape of a dome, and at the
+cupola of it were breastworks of heavy timbers banked with earth, and
+with a ditch and a tangle of trees in front. The place was the keystone
+of the Confederate arch, and the name of it was "the Angle"--"Bloody
+Angle!" Montague heard the man who sat next to him draw in his breath,
+as if a spasm of pain had shot through him.
+
+At dawn two brigades had charged and captured the place. The enemy
+returned to the attack, and for twenty hours thereafter the two armies
+fought, hurling regiment after regiment and brigade after brigade into
+the trenches. There was a pouring rain, and the smoke hung black about
+them; they could only see the flashes of the guns, and the faces of the
+enemy, here and there.
+
+The Colonel described the approach of his regiment. They lay down for a
+moment in a swamp, and the minie-balls sang like swarming bees, and
+split the blades of the grass above them. Then they charged, over
+ground that ran with human blood. In the trenches the bodies of dead
+and dying men lay three deep, and were trampled out of sight in the mud
+by the feet of those who fought. They would crouch behind the works,
+lifting their guns high over their heads, and firing into the throngs
+on the other side; again and again men sprang upon the breastworks and
+fired their muskets, and then fell dead. They dragged up cannon, one
+after another, and blew holes through the logs, and raked the' ground
+with charges of canister.
+
+While the Colonel read, still in his calm, matter-of-fact voice, you
+might see men leaning forward in their chairs, hands clenched, teeth
+set. They knew! They knew! Had there ever before been a time in history
+when breastworks had been charged by artillery? Twenty-four men in the
+crew of one gun, and only two unhurt! One iron sponge-bucket with
+thirty-nine bullet holes shot through it! And then blasts of canister
+sweeping the trenches, and blowing scores of living and dead men to
+fragments! And into this hell of slaughter new regiments charging, in
+lines four deep! And squad after squad of the enemy striving to
+surrender, and shot to pieces by their own comrades as they clambered
+over the blood-soaked walls! And heavy timbers in the defences shot to
+splinters! Huge oak trees--one of them twenty-four inches in
+diameter--crashing down upon the combatants, gnawed through by
+rifle-bullets! Since the world began had men ever fought like that?
+
+Then the Colonel told of his own wound in the shoulder, and how, toward
+dusk, he had crawled away; and how he became lost, and strayed into the
+enemy's line, and was thrust into a batch of prisoners and marched to
+the rear. And then of the night that he spent beside a hospital camp in
+the Wilderness, where hundreds of wounded and dying men lay about on
+the rain-soaked ground, moaning, screaming, praying to be killed. Again
+the prisoners were moved, having been ordered to march to the railroad;
+and on the way the Colonel went blind from suffering and exhaustion,
+and staggered and fell in the road. You could have heard a pin drop in
+the room, in the pause between sentences in his story, as he told how
+the guard argued with him to persuade him to go on. It was their duty
+to kill him if he refused, but they could not bring themselves to do
+it. In the end they left the job to one, and he stood and cursed the
+officer, trying to get up his courage; and finally fired his gun into
+the air, and went off and left him.
+
+Then he told how an old negro had found him, and how he lay delirious;
+and how, at last, the army marched his way. He ended his narrative the
+simple sentence: "It was not until the siege of Petersburg that I was
+able to rejoin my Command."
+
+There was a murmur of applause; and then silence. Suddenly, from
+somewhere in the room, came the sound of singing--"Mine eyes have seen
+the glory of the coming of the Lord!" The old battle-hymn seemed to
+strike the very mood of the meeting; the whole throng took it up, and
+they sang it, stanza by stanza. It was rolling forth like a mighty
+organ-chant as they came to the fervid closing:--
+
+"He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is
+sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; Oh! be swift,
+my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet,--Our God is marching on!"
+
+There was a pause again; and the presiding officer rose and said that,
+owing to the presence of a distinguished guest, they would forego one
+of their rules, and invite Judge Ellis to say a few words. The Judge
+came forward, and bowed his acknowledgment of their welcome. Then,
+perhaps feeling a need of relief after the sombre recital, the Judge
+took occasion to apologize for his own temerity in addressing a roomful
+of warriors; and somehow he managed to make that remind him of a story
+of an army mule, a very amusing story; and that reminded him of another
+story, until, when he stopped and sat down, every one in the room broke
+into delighted applause.
+
+They went in to dinner. Montague sat by General Prentice, and he, in
+turn, by the Judge; the latter was reminded of more stories during the
+dinner, and kept every one near him laughing. Finally Montague was
+moved to tell a story himself--about an old negro down home, who passed
+himself off for an Indian. The Judge was so good as to consider this an
+immensely funny story, and asked permission to tell it himself. Several
+times after that he leaned over and spoke to Montague, who felt a
+slight twinge of guilt as he recalled his brother's cynical advice,
+"Cultivate him!" The Judge was so willing to be cultivated, however,
+that it gave one's conscience little chance.
+
+They went back to the meeting-room again; chairs were shifted, and
+little groups formed, and cigars and pipes brought out. They moved the
+precious battle-flags forward, and some one produced a bugle and a
+couple of drums; then the walls of the place shook, as the whole
+company burst forth:--
+
+"Bring the good old bugle, boys! we'll sing another song--Sing it with
+a spirit that will start the world along--Sing it as we used to sing
+it, fifty thousand strong,--While we were marching through Georgia!"
+
+It was wonderful to witness the fervour with which they went through
+this rollicking chant--whose spirit we miss because we hear it too
+often. They were not skilled musicians--they could only sing loud; but
+the fire leaped into their eyes, and they swayed with the rhythm, and
+sang! Montague found himself watching the old blind soldier, who sat
+beating his foot in time, upon his face the look of one who sees
+visions.
+
+And then he noticed another man, a little, red-faced Irishman, one of
+the drummers. The very spirit of the drum seemed to have entered into
+him--into his hands and his feet, his eyes and his head, and his round
+little body. He played a long roll between the verses, and it seemed as
+if he must surely be swept away upon the wings of it. Catching
+Montague's eye, he nodded and smiled; and after that, every once in a
+while their eyes would meet and exchange a greeting. They sang "The
+Loyal Legioner" and "The Army Bean" and "John Brown's Body" and "Tramp,
+tramp, tramp, the boys are marching"; all the while the drum rattled
+and thundered, and the little drummer laughed and sang, the very
+incarnation of the care-free spirit of the soldier!
+
+They stopped for a while, and the little man came over and was
+introduced. Lieutenant O'Day was his name; and after he had left,
+General Prentice leaned over to Montague and told him a story. "That
+little man," he said, "began as a drummer-boy in my regiment, and went
+all through the war in my brigade; and two years ago I met him on the
+street one cold winter night, as thin as I am, and shivering in a
+summer overcoat. I took him to dinner with me and watched him eat, and
+I made up my mind there was something wrong. I made him take me home,
+and do you know, the man was starving! He had a little tobacco shop,
+and he'd got into trouble--the trust had taken away his trade. And he
+had a sick wife, and a daughter clerking at six dollars a week!"
+
+The General went on to tell of his struggle to induce the little man to
+accept his aid--to accept a loan of a few hundreds of dollars from
+Prentice, the banker! "I never had anything hurt me so in all my life,"
+he said. "Finally I took him into the bank--and now you can see he has
+enough to eat!"
+
+They began to sing again, and Montague sat and thought over the story.
+It seemed to him typical of the thing that made this meeting beautiful
+to him--of the spirit of brotherhood and service that reigned
+here.--They sang "We are tenting to-night on the old camp ground"; they
+sang "Benny Havens, Oh!" and "A Soldier No More"; they sang other songs
+of tenderness and sorrow, and men felt a trembling in their voices and
+a mist stealing over their eyes. Upon Montague a spell was falling.
+
+Over these men and their story there hung a mystery--a presence of
+wonder, that discloses itself but rarely to mortals, and only to those
+who have dreamed and dared. They had not found it easy to do their
+duty; they had had their wives and children, their homes and friends
+and familiar places; and all these they had left to serve the Republic.
+They had taught themselves a new way of life--they had forged
+themselves into an iron sword of war. They had marched and fought in
+dust and heat, in pouring rains and driving, icy blasts; they had
+become men grim and terrible in spirit-men with limbs of steel, who
+could march or ride for days and nights, who could lie down and sleep
+upon the ground in rain-storms and winter snows, who were ready to leap
+at a word and seize their muskets and rush into the cannon's mouth.
+They had learned to stare into the face of death, to meet its fiery
+eyes; to march and eat and sleep, to laugh and play and sing, in its
+presence--to carry their life in their hands, and toss it about as a
+juggler tosses a ball. And this for Freedom: for the star-crowned
+goddess with the flaming eyes, who trod upon the mountain-tops and
+called to them in the shock and fury of the battle; whose trailing
+robes they followed through the dust and cannon-smoke; for a glimpse of
+whose shining face they had kept the long night vigils and charged upon
+the guns in the morning; for a touch of whose shimmering robe they had
+wasted in prison pens, where famine and loathsome pestilence and raving
+madness stalked about in the broad daylight.
+
+And now this army of deliverance, with its waving banners and its
+prancing horses and its rumbling cannon, had marched into the
+shadow-world. The very ground that it had trod was sacred; and one who
+fingered the dusty volumes which held the record of its deeds would
+feel a strange awe come upon him, and thrill with a sudden fear of
+life--that was so fleeting and so little to be understood. There were
+boyhood memories in Montague's mind, of hours of consecration, when the
+vision had descended upon him, and he had sat with face hidden in his
+hands.
+
+It was for the Republic that these men had suffered; for him and his
+children--that a government of the people, by the people, for the
+people, might not perish from the earth. And with the organ-music of
+the Gettysburg Address echoing within him, the boy laid his soul upon
+the altar of his country. They had done so much for him--and now, was
+there anything that he could do? A dozen years had passed since then,
+and still he knew that deep within him--deeper than all other purposes,
+than all thoughts of wealth and fame and power--was the purpose that
+the men who had died for the Republic should find him worthy of their
+trust.
+
+The singing had stopped, and Judge Ellis was standing before him. The
+Judge was about to go, and in his caressing voice he said that he would
+hope to see Montague again. Then, seeing that General Prentice was also
+standing up, Montague threw off the spell that had gripped him, and
+shook hands with the little drummer, and with Selden and Anderson and
+all the others of his dream people. A few minutes later he found
+himself outside the hotel, drinking deep draughts of the cold November
+air.
+
+Major Thorne had come out with them; and learning that the General's
+route lay uptown, he offered to walk with Montague to his hotel.
+
+They set out, and then Montague told the Major about the figure in the
+grape-vine, and the Major laughed and told how it had felt. There had
+been more adventures, it seemed; while he was hunting a horse he had
+come upon two mules loaded with ammunition and entangled with their
+harness about a tree; he had rushed up to seize them--when a solid shot
+had struck the tree and exploded the ammunition and blown the mules to
+fragments. And then there was the story of the charge late in the
+night, which had recovered the lost ground, and kept Stonewall Jackson
+busy up to the very hour of his tragic death. And there was the story
+of Andersonville, and the escape from prison. Montague could have
+walked the streets all night, exchanging these war-time reminiscences
+with the Major.
+
+Absorbed in their talk, they came to an avenue given up to the poorer
+class of people; with elevated trains rattling by overhead, and rows of
+little shops along it. Montague noticed a dense crowd on one of the
+corners, and asked what it meant.
+
+"Some sort of a meeting," said the Major.
+
+They came nearer, and saw a torch, with a man standing near it, above
+the heads of the crowd.
+
+"It looks like a political meeting," said Montague, "but it can't be,
+now--just after election."
+
+"Probably it's a Socialist," said the Major. "They're at it all the
+time."
+
+They crossed the avenue, and then they could see plainly. The man was
+lean and hungry-looking, and he had long arms, which he waved with
+prodigious violence. He was in a frenzy of excitement, pacing this way
+and that, and leaning over the throng packed about him. Because of a
+passing train the two could not hear a sound.
+
+"A Socialist!" exclaimed Montague, wonderingly. "What do they want?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said the other. "They want to overthrow the government."
+
+The train passed, and then the man's words came to them: "They force
+you to build palaces, and then they put you into tenements! They force
+you to spin fine raiment, and then they dress you in rags! They force
+you to build jails, and then they lock you up in them! They force you
+to make guns, and then they shoot you with them! They own the political
+parties, and they name the candidates, and trick you into voting for
+them--and they call it the law! They herd you into armies and send you
+to shoot your brothers--and they call it order! They take a piece of
+coloured rag and call it the flag and teach you to let yourself be
+shot--and they call it patriotism! First, last, and all the time, you
+do the work and they get the benefit--they, the masters and owners, and
+you--fools--fools--fools!"
+
+The man's voice had mounted to a scream, and he flung his hands into
+the air and broke into jeering laughter. Then came another train, and
+Montague could not hear him; but he could see that he was rushing on in
+the torrent of his denunciation.
+
+Montague stood rooted to the spot; he was shocked to the depths of his
+being--he could scarcely contain himself as he stood there. He longed
+to spring forward to beard the man where he stood, to shout him down,
+to rebuke him before the crowd.
+
+The Major must have seen his agitation, for he took his arm and led him
+back from the throng, saying: "Come! We can't help it."
+
+"But--but--," he protested, "the police ought to arrest him."
+
+"They do sometimes," said the Major, "but it doesn't do any good."
+
+They walked on, and the sounds of the shrill voice died away. "Tell
+me," said Montague, in a low voice, "does that go on very often?"
+
+"Around the corner from where I live," said the other, "it goes on
+every Saturday night."
+
+"And do the people listen?" he asked.
+
+"Sometimes they can't keep the street clear," was the reply.
+
+And again they walked in silence. At last Montague asked, "What does it
+mean?"
+
+The Major shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps another civil war," said he.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Allan Montague's father had died about five years before. A couple of
+years later his younger brother, Oliver, had announced his intention of
+seeking a career in New York. He had no profession, and no definite
+plans; but his father's friends were men of influence and wealth, and
+the doors were open to him. So he had turned his share of the estate
+into cash and departed.
+
+Oliver was a gay and pleasure-loving boy, with all the material of a
+prodigal son in him; his brother had more than half expected to see him
+come back in a year or two with empty pockets. But New York had seemed
+to agree with Oliver. He never told what he was doing--what he wrote
+was simply that he was managing to keep the wolf from the door. But his
+letters hinted at expensive ways of life; and at Christmas time, and at
+Cousin Alice's birthday, he would send home presents which made the
+family stare.
+
+Montague had always thought of himself as a country lawyer and planter.
+But two months ago a fire had swept away the family mansion, and then
+on top of that had come an offer for the land; and with Oliver
+telegraphing several times a day in his eagerness, they had taken the
+sudden resolution to settle up their affairs and move to New York.
+
+There were Montague and his mother, and Cousin Alice, who was nineteen,
+and old "Mammy Lucy," Mrs. Montague's servant. Oliver had met them at
+Jersey City, radiant with happiness. He looked just as much of a boy as
+ever, and just as beautiful; excepting that he was a little paler, New
+York had not changed him at all. There was a man in uniform from the
+hotel to take charge of their baggage, and a big red touring-car for
+them; and now they were snugly settled in their apartments, with the
+younger brother on duty as counsellor and guide.
+
+Montague had come to begin life all over again. He had brought his
+money, and he expected to invest it, and to live upon the income until
+he had begun to earn something. He had worked hard at his profession,
+and he meant to work in New York, and to win his way in the end. He
+knew almost nothing about the city--he faced it with the wide-open eyes
+of a child.
+
+One began to learn quickly, he found. It was like being swept into a
+maelstrom: first the hurrying throngs on the ferry-boat, and then the
+cabmen and the newsboys shouting, and the cars with clanging gongs;
+then the swift motor, gliding between trucks and carriages and around
+corners where big policemen shepherded the scurrying populace; and then
+Fifth Avenue, with its rows of shops and towering hotels; and at last a
+sudden swing round a corner--and their home.
+
+"I have picked a quiet family place for you," Oliver had said, and that
+had greatly pleased his brother. But he had stared in dismay when he
+entered this latest "apartment hotel"--which catered for two or three
+hundred of the most exclusive of the city's aristocracy--and noted its
+great arcade, with massive doors of bronze, and its entrance-hall,
+trimmed with Caen stone and Italian marble, and roofed with a vaulted
+ceiling painted by modern masters. Men in livery bore their wraps and
+bowed the way before them; a great bronze elevator shot them to the
+proper floor; and they went to their rooms down a corridor walled with
+blood-red marble and paved with carpet soft as a cushion. Here were six
+rooms of palatial size, with carpets, drapery, and furniture of a
+splendour quite appalling to Montague.
+
+As soon as the man who bore their wraps had left the room, he turned
+upon his brother.
+
+"Oliver," he said, "how much are we paying for all this?"
+
+Oliver smiled. "You are not paying anything, old man," he replied.
+"You're to be my guests for a month or two, until you get your
+bearings."
+
+"That's very good of you," said the other; "--we'll talk about it
+later. But meantime, tell me what the apartment costs."
+
+And then Montague encountered his first full charge of New York
+dynamite. "Six hundred dollars a week," said Oliver.
+
+He started as if his brother had struck him. "Six hundred dollars a
+week!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," said the other, quietly.
+
+It was fully a minute before he could find his breath. "Brother," he
+exclaimed, "you're mad!"
+
+"It is a very good bargain," smiled the other; "I have some influence
+with them."
+
+Again there was a pause, while Montague groped for words. "Oliver," he
+exclaimed, "I can't believe you! How could you think that we could pay
+such a price?"
+
+"I didn't think it," said Oliver; "I told you I expected to pay it
+myself."
+
+"But how could we let you pay it for us?" cried the other. "Can you
+fancy that _I_ will ever earn enough to pay such a price?"
+
+"Of course you will," said Oliver. "Don't be foolish, Allan--you'll
+find it's easy enough to make money in New York. Leave it to me, and
+wait awhile."
+
+But the other was not to be put off. He sat down on the embroidered
+silk bedspread, and demanded abruptly, "What do you expect my income to
+be a year?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," laughed Oliver; "nobody takes the time to add
+up his income. You'll make what you need, and something over for good
+measure. This one thing you'll know for certain--the more you spend,
+the more you'll be able to make."
+
+And then, seeing that the sober look was not to be expelled from his
+brother's face, Oliver seated himself and crossed his legs, and
+proceeded to set forth the paradoxical philosophy of extravagance. His
+brother had come into a city of millionaires. There was a certain group
+of people--"the right set," was Oliver's term for them--and among them
+he would find that money was as free as air. So far as his career was
+concerned, he would find that there was nothing in all New York so
+costly as economy. If he did not live like a gentleman, he would find
+himself excluded from the circle of the elect--and how he would manage
+to exist then was a problem too difficult for his brother to face.
+
+And so, as quickly as he could, he was to bring himself to a state of
+mind where things did not surprise him; where he did what others did
+and paid what others paid, and did it serenely, as if he had done it
+all his life. He would soon find his place; meantime all he had to do
+was to put himself into his brother's charge. "You'll find in time that
+I have the strings in my hands," the latter added. "Just take life
+easy, and let me introduce you to the right people."
+
+All of which sounded very attractive. "But are you sure," asked
+Montague, "that you understand what I'm here for? I don't want to get
+into the Four Hundred, you know--I want to practise law."
+
+"In the first place," replied Oliver, "don't talk about the Four
+Hundred--it's vulgar and silly; there's no such thing. In the next
+place, you're going to live in New York, and you want to know the right
+people. If you know them, you can practise law, or practise billiards,
+or practise anything else that you fancy. If you don't know them, you
+might as well go practise in Dahomey, for all you can accomplish. You
+might come on here and start in for yourself, and in twenty years you
+wouldn't get as far as you can get in two weeks, if you'll let me
+attend to it."
+
+Montague was nearly five years his brother's senior, and at home had
+taken a semi-paternal attitude toward him. Now, however, the situation
+seemed to have reversed itself. With a slight smile of amusement, he
+subsided, and proceeded to put himself into the attitude of a docile
+student of the mysteries of the Metropolis.
+
+They agreed that they would say nothing about these matters to the
+others. Mrs. Montague was half blind, and would lead her placid, indoor
+existence with old Mammy Lucy. As for Alice, she was a woman, and would
+not trouble herself with economics; if fairy godmothers chose to shower
+gifts upon her, she would take them.
+
+Alice was built to live in a palace, anyway, Oliver said. He had cried
+out with delight when he first saw her. She had been sixteen when he
+left, and tall and thin; now she was nineteen, and with the pale tints
+of the dawn in her hair and face. In the auto, Oliver had turned and,
+stared at her, and pronounced the cryptic judgment, "You'll go!"
+
+Just now she was wandering about the rooms, exclaiming with wonder.
+Everything here was so quiet and so harmonious that at first one's
+suspicions were lulled. It was simplicity, but of a strange and
+perplexing kind--simplicity elaborately studied. It was luxury, but
+grown assured of itself, and gazing down upon itself with aristocratic
+disdain. And after a while this began to penetrate the vulgarest mind,
+and to fill it with awe; one cannot remain long in an apartment which
+is trimmed and furnished in rarest Circassian walnut, and "papered"
+with hand-embroidered silk cloth, without feeling some excitement--even
+though there be no one to mention that the furniture has cost eight
+thousand dollars per room, and that the wall covering has been imported
+from Paris at a cost of seventy dollars per yard.
+
+Montague also betook himself to gazing about. He noted the great double
+windows, with sashes of bronze; the bronze fire-proof doors; the bronze
+electric candles and chandeliers, from which the room was flooded with
+a soft radiance at the touch of a button; the "duchesse" and "marquise"
+chairs, with upholstery matching the walls; the huge leather
+"slumber-couch," with adjustable lamp at its head. When one opened the
+door of the dressing-room closet, it was automatically filled with
+light; there was an adjustable three-sided mirror, at which one could
+study his own figure from every side. There was a little bronze box
+near the bed, in which one might set his shoes, and with a locked door
+opening out into the hall, so that the floor-porter could get them
+without disturbing one. Each of the bath-rooms was the size of an
+ordinary man's parlour, with floor and walls of snow-white marble, and
+a door composed of an imported plate-glass mirror. There was a great
+porcelain tub, with glass handles upon the wall by which you could help
+yourself out of it, and a shower-bath with linen duck curtains, which
+were changed every day; and a marble slab upon which you might lie to
+be rubbed by the masseur who would come at the touch of a button.
+
+There was no end to the miracles of this establishment, as Montague
+found in the course of time. There was no chance that the antique
+bronze clock on the mantel might go wrong, for it was electrically
+controlled from the office. You did not open the window and let in the
+dust, for the room was automatically ventilated, and you turned a
+switch marked "hot" and "cold." The office would furnish you a guide
+who would show you the establishment; and you might see your bread
+being kneaded by electricity, upon an opal glass table, and your eggs
+being tested by electric light; you might peer into huge refrigerators,
+ventilated by electric fans, and in which each tiny lamb chop reposed
+in a separate holder. Upon your own floor was a pantry, provided with
+hot and cold storage-rooms and an air-tight dumb-waiter; you might have
+your own private linen and crockery and plate, and your own family
+butler, if you wished. Your children, however, would not be permitted
+in the building, even though you were dying--this was a small
+concession which you made to a host who had invested a million dollars
+and a half in furniture alone.
+
+A few minutes later the telephone bell rang, and Oliver answered it and
+said, "Send him up."
+
+"Here's the tailor," he remarked, as he hung up the receiver.
+
+"Whose tailor?" asked his brother.
+
+"Yours," said he.
+
+"Do I have to have some new clothes?" Montague asked.
+
+"You haven't any clothes at present," was the reply.
+
+Montague was standing in front of the "costumer," as the elaborate
+mirror was termed. He looked himself over, and then he looked at his
+brother. Oliver's clothing was a little like the Circassian walnut; at
+first you thought that it was simple, and even a trifle careless--it
+was only by degrees you realized that it was original and
+distinguished, and very expensive.
+
+"Won't your New York friends make allowance for the fact that I am
+fresh from the country?" asked Montague, quizzically.
+
+"They might," was the reply. "I know a hundred who would lend me money,
+if I asked them. But I don't ask them."
+
+"Then how soon shall I be able to appear?" asked Montague, with visions
+of himself locked up in the room for a week or two.
+
+"You are to have three suits to-morrow morning," said Oliver. "Genet
+has promised."
+
+"Suits made to order?" gasped the other, in perplexity.
+
+"He never heard of any other sort of suits," said Oliver, with grave
+rebuke in his voice.
+
+M. Genet had the presence of a Russian grand duke, and the manner of a
+court chamberlain. He brought a subordinate to take Montague's measure,
+while he himself studied his colour-scheme. Montague gathered from the
+conversation that he was going to a house-party in the country the next
+morning, and that he would need a dress-suit, a hunting-suit, and a
+"morning coat." The rest might wait until his return. The two discussed
+him and his various "points" as they might have discussed a horse; he
+possessed distinction, he learned, and a great deal could be done with
+him--with a little skill he might be made into a personality. His
+French was not in training, but he managed to make out that it was M.
+Genet's opinion that the husbands of New York would tremble when he
+made his appearance among them.
+
+When the tailor had left, Alice came in, with her face shining from a
+cold bathing. "Here you are decking yourselves out!" she cried. "And
+what about me?"
+
+"Your problem is harder," said Oliver, with a laugh; "but you begin
+this afternoon. Reggie Mann is going to take you with him, and get you
+some dresses."
+
+"What!" gasped Alice. "Get me some dresses! A man?"
+
+"Of course," said the other. "Reggie Mann advises half the women in New
+York about their clothes."
+
+"Who is he? A tailor?" asked the girl.
+
+Oliver was sitting on the edge of the canape, swinging one leg over the
+other; and he stopped abruptly and stared, and then sank back, laughing
+softly to himself. "Oh, dear me!" he said. "Poor Reggie!"
+
+Then, realizing that he would have to begin at the beginning, he
+proceeded to explain that Reggie Mann was a cotillion leader, the idol
+of the feminine side of society. He was the special pet and protege of
+the great Mrs. de Graffenried, of whom they had surely heard--Mrs. de
+Graffenried, who was acknowledged to be the mistress of society at
+Newport, and was destined some day to be mistress in New York. Reggie
+and Oliver were "thick," and he had stayed in town on purpose to attend
+to her attiring--having seen her picture, and vowed that he would make
+a work of art out of her. And then Mrs. Robbie Walling would give her a
+dance; and all the world would come to fall at her feet.
+
+"You and I are going out to 'Black Forest,' the Wallings'
+shooting-lodge, to-morrow," Oliver added to his brother. "You'll meet
+Mrs. Robbie there. You've heard of the Wallings, I hope."
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I'm not that ignorant."
+
+"All right," said the other, "we're to motor down. I'm going to take
+you in my racing-car, so you'll have an experience. We'll start early."
+
+"I'll be ready," said Montague; and when his brother replied that he
+would be at the door at eleven, he made another amused note as to the
+habits of New Yorkers.
+
+The price which he paid at the hotel included the services of a valet
+or a maid for each of them, and so when their baggage arrived they had
+nothing to do. They went to lunch in one of the main dining-rooms of
+the hotel, a room with towering columns of dark-green marble and a maze
+of palms and flowers. Oliver did the ordering; his brother noticed that
+the simple meal cost them about fifteen dollars, and he wondered if
+they were to eat at that rate all the time.
+
+Then Montague mentioned the fact that before leaving home he had
+received a telegram from General Prentice, asking him to go with him
+that evening to the meeting of the Loyal Legion. Montague wondered,
+half amused, if his brother would deem his old clothing fit for such a
+function. But Oliver replied that it would not matter what he wore
+there; he would not meet anyone who counted, except Prentice himself.
+The General and his family were prominent in society, it appeared, and
+were to be cultivated. But Oliver shrewdly forbore to elaborate upon
+this, knowing that his brother would be certain to talk about old
+times, which would be the surest possible method of lodging himself in
+the good graces of General Prentice.
+
+After luncheon came Reggie Mann, dapper and exquisite, with slender
+little figure and mincing gait, and the delicate hands and soft voice
+of a woman. He was dressed for the afternoon parade, and wore a
+wonderful scarlet orchid in his buttonhole. Montague's hand he shook at
+his shoulder's height; but when Alice came in he did not shake hands
+with her. Instead, he stood and gazed, and gazed again, and lifting his
+hands a little with excess of emotion, exclaimed, "Oh, perfect!
+perfect!"
+
+"And Ollie, I told you so!" he added, eagerly. "She it tall enough to
+wear satin! She shall have the pale blue Empire gown--she shall have
+the pale blue Empire gown if I have to pay for it myself! And oh, what
+times we shall have with that hair! And the figure--Reval will simply
+go wild!"
+
+So Reggie prattled on, with his airy grace; he took her hand and
+studied it, and then turned her about to survey her figure, while Alice
+blushed and strove to laugh to hide her embarrassment. "My dear Miss
+Montague," he exclaimed, "I bring all Gotham and lay it at your feet!
+Ollie, your battle is won! Won without firing a shot! I know the very
+man for her--his father is dying, and he will have four millions in
+Transcontinental alone. And he is as handsome as Antinous and as
+fascinating as Don Juan! Allons! we may as well begin with the
+trousseau this afternoon!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+Oliver was not rooming with them; he had his own quarters at the club,
+which he did not wish to leave. But the next morning, about twenty
+minutes after the hour he had named, he was at the door, and Montague
+went down.
+
+Oliver's car was an imported French racer. It had only two seats, open
+in front, with a rumble behind for the mechanic. It was long and low
+and rakish, a most wicked-looking object; whenever it stopped on the
+street a crowd gathered to stare at it. Oliver was clad in a black
+bearskin coat, covering his feet, and with cap and gloves to match; he
+wore goggles, pushed up over his forehead. A similar costume lay ready
+in his brother's seat.
+
+The suits of clothing had come, and were borne in his grips by his
+valet. "We can't carry them with us," said Oliver. "He'll have to take
+them down by train." And while his brother was buttoning up the coat,
+he gave the address; then Montague clambered in, and after a quick
+glance over his shoulder, Oliver pressed a lever and threw over the
+steering-wheel, and they whirled about and sped down the street.
+
+Sometimes, at home in Mississippi, one would meet automobiling parties,
+generally to the damage of one's harness and temper. But until the day
+before, when he had stepped off the ferry, Montague had never ridden in
+a motor-car. Riding in this one was like travelling in a dream--it slid
+along without a sound, or the slightest trace of vibration; it shot
+forward, it darted to right or to left, it slowed up, it stopped, as if
+of its own will--the driver seemed to do nothing. Such things as car
+tracks had no effect upon it at all, and serious defects in the
+pavement caused only the faintest swelling motion; it was only when it
+leaped ahead like a living thing that one felt the power of it, by the
+pressure upon his back.
+
+They went at what seemed to Montague a breakneck pace through the city
+streets, dodging among trucks and carriages, grazing cars, whirling
+round corners, taking the wildest of chances. Oliver seemed always to
+know what the other fellow would do; but the thought that he might do
+something different kept his companion's heart pounding in a painful
+way. Once the latter cried out as a man leapt for his life; Oliver
+laughed, and said, without turning his head, "You'll get used to it by
+and by."
+
+They went down Fourth Avenue and turned into the Bowery. Elevated
+trains pounded overhead, and a maze of gin-shops, dime-museums, cheap
+lodging-houses, and clothing-stores sped past them. Once or twice
+Oliver's hawk-like glance detected a blue uniform ahead, and then they
+slowed down to a decorous pace, and the other got a chance to observe
+the miserable population of the neighbourhood. It was a cold November
+day, and an "out of work" time, and wretched outcast men walked with
+shoulders drawn forward and hands in their pockets.
+
+"Where in the world are we going?" Montague asked.
+
+"To Long Island," said the other. "It's a beastly ride--this part of
+it--but it's the only way. Some day we'll have an overhead speedway of
+our own, and we won't have to drive through this mess."
+
+They turned off at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, and found
+the street closed for repairs. They had to make a detour of a block,
+and they turned with a vicious sweep and plunged into the very heart of
+the tenement district. Narrow, filthy streets, with huge, canon-like
+blocks of buildings, covered with rusty iron fire-escapes and decorated
+with soap-boxes and pails and laundry and babies; narrow stoops,
+crowded with playing children; grocery-shops, clothing-shops, saloons;
+and a maze of placards and signs in English and German and Yiddish.
+Through the throngs Oliver drove, his brows knitted with impatience and
+his horn honking angrily. "Take it easy,"--protested Montague; but the
+other answered, "Bah!" Children screamed and darted out of the way, and
+men and women started back, scowling and muttering; when a blockade of
+wagons and push-carts forced them to stop, the children gathered about
+and jeered, and a group of hoodlums loafing by a saloon flung ribaldry
+at them; but Oliver never turned his eyes from the road ahead.
+
+And at last they were out on the bridge. "Slow vehicles keep to the
+right," ran the sign, and so there was a lane for them to the left.
+They sped up the slope, the cold air beating upon them like a
+hurricane. Far below lay the river, with tugs and ferry-boats ploughing
+the wind-beaten grey water, and a city spread out on either bank--a
+wilderness of roofs, with chimneys sticking up and white jets of steam
+spouting everywhere. Then they sped down the farther slope, and into
+Brooklyn.
+
+There was an asphalted avenue, lined with little residences. There was
+block upon block of them, mile after mile of them--Montague had never,
+seen so many houses in his life before, and nearly all poured out of
+the same mould.
+
+Many other automobiles were speeding out by this avenue, and they raced
+with one another. The one which was passed the most frequently got the
+dust and smell; and so the universal rule was that when you were behind
+you watched for a clear track, and then put on speed, and went to the
+front; but then just when you had struck a comfortable pace, there was
+a whirring and a puffing at your left, and your rival came stealing
+past you. If you were ugly, you put on speed yourself, and forced him
+to fall back, or to run the risk of trouble with vehicles coming the
+other way. For Oliver there seemed to be but one rule,--pass everything.
+
+They came to the great Ocean Driveway. Here were many automobiles,
+nearly all going one way, and nearly all racing. There were two which
+stuck to Oliver and would not be left behind--one, two, three--one,
+two, three--they passed and repassed. Their dust was blinding, and the
+continual odour was sickening; and so Oliver set his lips tight, and
+the little dial on the indicator began to creep ahead, and they whirled
+away down the drive. "Catch us this time!" he muttered.
+
+A few seconds later Oliver gave a sudden exclamation, as a policeman,
+concealed behind a bush at the roadside, sprang out and hailed them.
+The policeman had a motor-cycle, and Oliver shouted to the mechanic,
+"Pull the cord!" His brother turned, alarmed and perplexed, and saw the
+man reach down to the floor of the car. He saw the policeman leap upon
+the cycle and start to follow. Then he lost sight of him in the clouds
+of dust.
+
+For perhaps five minutes they tore on, tense and silent, at a pace that
+Montague had never equalled in an express train. Vehicles coming the
+other way would leap into sight, charging straight at them, it seemed,
+and shooting past a hand's breadth away. Montague had just about made
+up his mind that one such ride would last him for a lifetime, when he
+noticed that they were slacking up. "You can let go the cord," said
+Oliver. "He'll never catch us now."
+
+"What is the cord?" asked the other.
+
+"It's tied to the tag with our number on, in back. It swings it up so
+it can't be seen."
+
+They were turning off into a country road, and Montague sank back and
+laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. "Is that a common trick?"
+he asked.
+
+"Quite," said the other. "Mrs. Robbie has a trough of mud in their
+garage, and her driver sprinkles the tag every time before she goes
+out. You have to do something, you know, or you'd be taken up all the
+time."
+
+"Have you ever been arrested?"
+
+"I've only been in court once," said Oliver. "I've been stopped a dozen
+times."
+
+"What did they do the other times--warn you?"
+
+"Warn me?" laughed Oliver. "What they did was to get in with me and
+ride a block or two, out of sight of the crowd; and then I slipped them
+a ten-dollar bill and they got out."
+
+To which Montague responded, "Oh, I see!"
+
+They turned into a broad macadamized road, and here were more autos,
+and more dust, and more racing. Now and then they crossed a trolley or
+a railroad track, and here was always a warning sign; but Oliver must
+have had some occult way of knowing that the track was clear, for he
+never seemed to slow up. Now and then they came to villages, and did
+reduce speed; but from the pace at which they went through, the
+villagers could not have suspected it.
+
+And then came another adventure. The road was in repair, and was very
+bad, and they were picking their way, when suddenly a young man who had
+been walking on a side path stepped out before them, and drew a red
+handkerchief from his pocket, and faced them, waving it. Oliver
+muttered an oath.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried his brother.
+
+"We're arrested!" he exclaimed.
+
+"What!" gasped the other. "Why, we were not going at all."
+
+"I know," said Oliver; "but they've got us all the same."
+
+He must have made up his mind at one glance that the case was hopeless,
+for he made no attempt to put on speed, but let the young man step
+aboard as they reached him.
+
+"What is it?" Oliver demanded.
+
+"I have been sent out by the Automobile Association," said the
+stranger, "to warn you that they have a trap set in the next town. So
+watch out."
+
+And Oliver gave a gasp, and said, "Oh! Thank you!" The young man
+stepped off, and they went ahead, and he lay back in his seat and shook
+with laughter.
+
+"Is that common?" his brother asked, between laughs.
+
+"It happened to me once before," said Oliver. "But I'd forgotten it
+completely."
+
+They proceeded very slowly; and when they came to the outskirts of the
+village they went at a funereal pace, while the car throbbed in
+protest. In front of a country store they saw a group of loungers
+watching them, and Oliver said, "There's the first part of the trap.
+They have a telephone, and somewhere beyond is a man with another
+telephone, and beyond that a man to stretch a rope across the road."
+
+"What would they do with you?" asked the other.
+
+"Haul you up before a justice of the peace, and fine you anywhere from
+fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars. It's regular highway
+robbery--there are some places that boast of never levying taxes; they
+get all their money out of us!"
+
+Oliver pulled out his watch. "We're going to be late to lunch, thanks
+to these delays," he said. He added that they were to meet at the
+"Hawk's Nest," which he said was an "automobile joint."
+
+Outside of the town they "hit it up" again; and half an hour later they
+came to a huge sign, "To the Hawk's Nest," and turned off. They ran up
+a hill, and came suddenly out of a pine-forest into view of a hostelry,
+perched upon the edge of a bluff overlooking the Sound. There was a
+broad yard in front, in which automobiles wheeled and sputtered, and a
+long shed that was lined with them.
+
+Half a dozen attendants ran to meet them as they drew up at the steps.
+They all knew Oliver, and two fell to brushing his coat, and one got
+his cap, while the mechanic took the car to the shed. Oliver had a tip
+for each of them; one of the things that Montague observed was that in
+New York you had to carry a pocketful of change, and scatter it about
+wherever you went. They tipped the man who carried their coats and the
+boy who opened the door. In the washrooms they tipped the boys who
+filled the basins for them and those who gave them a second brushing.
+
+The piazzas of the inn were crowded with automobiling parties, in all
+sorts of strange costumes. It seemed to Montague that most of them were
+flashy people--the men had red faces and the women had loud voices; he
+saw one in a sky-blue coat with bright scarlet facing. It occurred to
+him that if these women had not worn such large hats, they would not
+have needed quite such a supply of the bright-coloured veiling which
+they wound over the hats and tied under their chins, or left to float
+about in the breeze.
+
+The dining-room seemed to have been built in sections, rambling about
+on the summit of the cliff. The side of it facing the water was all
+glass, and could be taken down. The ceiling was a maze of streamers and
+Japanese lanterns, and here and there were orange-trees and palms and
+artificial streams and fountains. Every table was crowded, it seemed;
+one was half-deafened by the clatter of plates, the voices and
+laughter, and the uproar of a negro orchestra of banjos, mandolins, and
+guitars. Negro waiters flew here and there, and a huge, stout
+head-waiter, who was pirouetting and strutting, suddenly espied Oliver,
+and made for him with smiles of welcome.
+
+"Yes, sir--just come in, sir," he said, and led the way down the room,
+to where, in a corner, a table had been set for sixteen or eighteen
+people. There was a shout, "Here's Ollie!"--and a pounding of glasses
+and a chorus of welcome--"Hello, Ollie! You're late, Ollie! What's the
+matter--car broke down?"
+
+Of the party, about half were men and half women. Montague braced
+himself for the painful ordeal of being introduced to sixteen people in
+succession, but this was considerately spared him. He shook hands with
+Robbie Walling, a tall and rather hollow-chested young man, with slight
+yellow moustaches; and with Mrs. Robbie, who bade him welcome, and
+presented him with the freedom of the company.
+
+Then he found himself seated between two young ladies, with a waiter
+leaning over him to take his order for the drinks. He said, a little
+hesitatingly, that he would like some whisky, as he was about frozen,
+upon which the girl on his right, remarked, "You'd better try a
+champagne cocktail--you'll get your results quicker." She added, to the
+waiter, "Bring a couple of them, and be quick about it."
+
+"You had a cold ride, no doubt, in that low car," she went on, to
+Montague. "What made you late?"
+
+"We had some delays," he answered. "Once we thought we were arrested."
+
+"Arrested!" she exclaimed; and others took up the word, crying, "Oh,
+Ollie! tell us about it!"
+
+Oliver told the tale, and meantime his brother had a chance to look
+about him. All of the party were young--he judged that he was the
+oldest person there. They were not of the flashily dressed sort, but no
+one would have had to look twice to know that there was money in the
+crowd. They had had their first round of drinks, and started in to
+enjoy themselves. They were all intimates, calling each other by their
+first names. Montague noticed that these names always ended in
+"ie,"--there was Robbie and Freddie and Auggie and Clarrie and Bertie
+and Chappie; if their names could not be made to end properly, they had
+nicknames instead.
+
+"Ollie" told how they had distanced the policeman; and Clarrie Mason
+(one of the younger sons of the once mighty railroad king) told of a
+similar feat which his car had performed. And then the young lady who
+sat beside him told how a fat Irish woman had skipped out of their way
+as they rounded a corner, and stood and cursed them from the
+vantage-point of the sidewalk.
+
+The waiter came with the liquor, and Montague thanked his neighbour,
+Miss Price. Anabel Price was her name, and they called her "Billy"; she
+was a tall and splendidly formed creature, and he learned in due time
+that she was a famous athlete. She must have divined that he would feel
+a little lost in this crowd of intimates, and set to work to make him
+feel at home--an attempt in which she was not altogether successful.
+
+They were bound for a shooting-lodge, and so she asked him if he were
+fond of shooting. He replied that he was; in answer to a further
+question he said that he had hunted chiefly deer and wild turkey. "Ah,
+then you are a real hunter!" said Miss Price. "I'm afraid you'll scorn
+our way."
+
+"What do you do?" he inquired.
+
+"Wait and you'll see," replied she; and added, casually, "When you get
+to be pally with us, you'll conclude we don't furnish."
+
+Montague's jaw dropped just a little. He recovered himself, however,
+and said that he presumed so, or that he trusted not; afterward, when
+he had made inquiries and found out what he should have said, he had
+completely forgotten what he HAD said.--Down in a hotel in Natchez
+there was an old head-waiter, to whom Montague had once appealed to
+seat him next to a friend. At the next meal, learning that the request
+had been granted, he said to the old man, "I'm afraid you have shown me
+partiality"; to which the reply came, "I always tries to show it as
+much as I kin." Montague always thought of this whenever he recalled
+his first encounter with "Billy" Price.
+
+The young lady on the other side of him now remarked that Robbie was
+ordering another "topsy-turvy lunch." He inquired what sort of a lunch
+that was; she told him that Robbie called it a "digestion exercise."
+That was the only remark that Miss de Millo addressed to him during the
+meal (Miss Gladys de Mille, the banker's daughter, known as "Baby" to
+her intimates). She was a stout and round-faced girl, who devoted
+herself strictly to the business of lunching; and Montague noticed at
+the end that she was breathing rather hard, and that her big round eyes
+seemed bigger than ever.
+
+Conversation was general about the table, but it was not easy
+conversation to follow. It consisted mostly of what is known as
+"joshing," and involved acquaintance with intimate details of
+personalities and past events. Also, there was a great deal of slang
+used, which kept a stranger's wits on the jump. However, Montague
+concluded that all his deficiencies were made up for by his brother,
+whose sallies were the cause of the loudest laughter. Just now he
+seemed to the other more like the Oliver he had known of old--for
+Montague had already noted a change in him. At home there had never
+been any end to his gaiety and fun, and it was hard to get him to take
+anything seriously; but now he kept all his jokes for company, and when
+he was alone he was in deadly earnest. Apparently he was working hard
+over his pleasures.
+
+Montague could understand how this was possible. Some one, for
+instance, had worked hard over the ordering of the lunch--to secure the
+maximum of explosive effect. It began with ice-cream, moulded in fancy
+shapes and then buried in white of egg and baked brown. Then there was
+a turtle soup, thick and green and greasy; and then--horror of
+horrors--a great steaming plum-pudding. It was served in a strange
+phenomenon of a platter, with six long, silver legs; and the waiter set
+it in front of Robbie Walling and lifted the cover with a sweeping
+gesture--and then removed it and served it himself. Montague had about
+made up his mind that this was the end, and begun to fill up on
+bread-and-butter, when there appeared cold asparagus, served in
+individual silver holders resembling andirons. Then--appetite now being
+sufficiently whetted--there came quail, in piping hot little
+casseroles--; and then half a grape-fruit set in a block of ice and
+filled with wine; and then little squab ducklings, bursting fat, and an
+artichoke; and then a _cafe parfait_; and then--as if to crown the
+audacity--huge thick slices of roast beef! Montague had given up long
+ago--he could keep no track of the deluge of food which poured forth.
+And between all the courses there were wines of precious brands,
+tumbled helter-skelter,--sherry and port, champagne and claret and
+liqueur. Montague watched poor "Baby" de Mille out of the corner of his
+eye, and pitied her; for it was evident that she could not resist the
+impulse to eat whatever was put before her, and she was visibly
+suffering. He wondered whether he might not manage to divert her by
+conversation, but he lacked the courage to make the attempt.
+
+The meal was over at four o'clock. By that time most of the other
+parties were far on their way to New York, and the inn was deserted.
+They possessed themselves of their belongings, and one by one their
+cars whirled away toward "Black Forest."
+
+Montague had been told that it was a "shooting-lodge." He had a vision
+of some kind of a rustic shack, and wondered dimly how so many people
+would be stowed away. When they turned off the main road, and his
+brother remarked, "Here we are," he was surprised to see a rather large
+building of granite, with an archway spanning the road. He was still
+more surprised when they whizzed through and went on.
+
+"Where are we going?" he asked.
+
+"To 'Black Forest,'" said Oliver.
+
+"And what was that we passed?"
+
+"That was the gate-keeper's lodge," was Oliver's reply.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+They ran for about three miles upon a broad macadamized avenue, laid
+straight as an arrow's flight through the forest; and then the sound of
+the sea came to them, and before them was a mighty granite pile,
+looming grim in the twilight, with a draw-bridge and moat, and four
+great castellated towers. "Black Forest" was built in imitation of a
+famous old fortress in Provence--only the fortress had forty small
+rooms, and its modern prototype had seventy large ones, and now every
+window was blazing with lights. A man does not let himself be caught
+twice in such a blunder; and having visited a "shooting-lodge" which
+had cost three-quarters of a million dollars and was set in a preserve
+of ten thousand acres, he was prepared for Adirondack "camps" which had
+cost half a million and Newport "cottages" which had cost a million or
+two.
+
+Liveried servants took the car, and others opened the door and took
+their coats. The first thing they saw was a huge, fireplace, a
+fireplace a dozen feet across, made of great boulders, and with whole
+sections of a pine tree blazing in it. Underfoot was polished hardwood,
+with skins of bear and buffalo. The firelight flickered upon shields
+and battle-axes and broad-swords, hung upon the oaken pillars; while
+between them were tapestries, picturing the Song of Roland and the
+battle of Roncesvalles. One followed the pillars of the great hall to
+the vaulted roof, whose glass was glowing blood-red in the western
+light. A broad stairway ascended to the second floor, which opened upon
+galleries about the hall.
+
+Montague went to the fire, and stood rubbing his hands before the
+grateful blaze. "Scotch or Irish, sir?" inquired a lackey, hovering at
+his side. He had scarcely given his order when the door opened and a
+second motor load of the party appeared, shivering and rushing for the
+fire. In a couple of minutes they were all assembled--and roaring with
+laughter over "Baby" de Mille's account of how her car had run over a
+dachshund. "Oh, do you know," she cried, "he simply POPPED!"
+
+Half a dozen attendants hovered about, and soon the tables in the hall
+were covered with trays containing decanters and siphons. By this means
+everybody in the party was soon warmed up, and then in groups they
+scattered to amuse themselves.
+
+There was a great hall for indoor tennis, and there were half a dozen
+squash-courts. Montague knew neither of these games, but he was
+interested in watching the water-polo in the swimming-tank, and in
+studying the appointments of this part of the building. The tank, with
+the walls and floor about it, were all of marble; there was a bronze
+gallery running about it, from which one might gaze into the green
+depths of the water. There were luxurious dressing-rooms for men and
+women, with hot and cold needle-baths, steam-rooms with rubbers in
+attendance and weighing and lifting machines, electric machines for
+producing "violet rays," and electric air-blasts for the drying of the
+women's hair.
+
+He watched several games, in which men and women took part; and later
+on, when the tennis and other players appeared, he joined them in a
+plunge. Afterward, he entered one of the electric elevators and was
+escorted to his room, where he found his bag unpacked, and his evening
+attire laid out upon the bed.
+
+It was about nine when the party went into the dining-room, which
+opened upon a granite terrace and loggia facing the sea. The room was
+finished in some rare black wood, the name of which he did not know;
+soft radiance suffused it, and the table was lighted by electric
+candles set in silver sconces, and veiled by silk shades. It gleamed
+with its load of crystal and silver, set off by scattered groups of
+orchids and ferns. The repast of the afternoon had been simply a lunch,
+it seemed--and now they had an elaborate dinner, prepared by Robbie
+Walling's famous ten-thousand-dollar chef. In contrast with the uproar
+of the inn was the cloistral stillness of this dining-room, where the
+impassive footmen seemed to move on padded slippers, and the courses
+appeared and vanished as if by magic. Montague did his best to accustom
+himself to the gowns of the women, which were cut lower than any he had
+ever seen in his life; but he hesitated every time he turned to speak
+to the young lady beside him, because he could look so deep down into
+her bosom, and it was difficult for him to realize that she did not
+mind it.
+
+The conversation was the same as before, except that it was a little
+more general, and louder in tone; for the guests had become more
+intimate, and as Robbie Walling's wines of priceless vintage poured
+forth, they became a little "high." The young lady who sat on
+Montague's right was a Miss Vincent, a granddaughter of one of the
+sugar-kings; she was dark-skinned and slender, and had appeared at a
+recent lawn fete in the costume of an Indian maiden. The company amused
+itself by selecting an Indian name for her; all sorts of absurd ones
+were suggested, depending upon various intimate details of the young
+lady's personality and habits. Robbie caused a laugh by suggesting
+"Little Dewdrop"--it appeared that she had once been discovered writing
+a poem about a dewdrop; some one else suggested "Little Raindrop," and
+then Ollie brought down the house by exclaiming, "Little Raindrop in
+the Mud-puddle!" A perfect gale of laughter swept over the company, and
+it must have been a minute before they could recover their composure;
+in order to appreciate the humour of the sally it was necessary to know
+that Miss Vincent had "come a cropper" at the last meet of the Long
+Island Hunt Club, and been extricated from a slough several feet deep.
+
+This was explained to Montague by the young lady on his left--the one
+whose half-dressed condition caused his embarrassment. She was only
+about twenty, with a wealth of golden hair and the bright, innocent
+face of a child; he had not yet learned her name, for every one called
+her "Cherub." Not long after this she made a remark across the table to
+Baby de Mille, a strange jumble of syllables, which sounded like
+English, yet was not. Miss de Mille replied, and several joined in,
+until there was quite a conversation going on. "Cherub" explained to
+him that "Baby" had invented a secret language, made by transposing
+letters; and that Ollie and Bertie were crazy to guess the key to it,
+and could not.
+
+The dinner lasted until late. The wine-glasses continued to be emptied,
+and to be magically filled again. The laughter was louder, and now and
+then there were snatches of singing; women lolled about in their
+chairs-one beautiful boy sat gazing dreamily across the table at
+Montague, now and then closing his eyes, and opening them more and more
+reluctantly. The attendants moved about, impassive and silent as ever;
+no one else seemed to be cognizant of their existence, but Montague
+could not help noticing them, and wondering what they thought of it all.
+
+When at last the party broke up, it was because the bridge-players
+wished to get settled for the evening. The others gathered in front of
+the fireplace, and smoked and chatted. At home, when one planned a
+day's hunting, he went to bed early and rose before dawn; but here, it
+seemed, there was game a-plenty, and the hunters had nothing to
+consider save their own comfort.
+
+The cards were played in the vaulted "gun-room." Montague strolled
+through it, and his eye ran down the wall, lined with glass cases and
+filled with every sort of firearm known to the hunter. He recalled,
+with a twinge of self-abasement, that he had suggested bringing his
+shotgun along!
+
+He joined a group in one corner, and lounged in the shadows, and
+studied "Billy" Price, whose conversation had so mystified him.
+"Billy," whose father was a banker, proved to be a devotee of horses;
+she was a veritable Amazon, the one passion of whose life was glory.
+Seeing her sitting in this group, smoking cigarettes, and drinking
+highballs, and listening impassively to risque stories, one might
+easily draw base conclusions about Billy Price. But as a matter of fact
+she was made of marble; and the men, instead of falling in love with
+her, made her their confidante, and told her their troubles, and sought
+her sympathy and advice.
+
+Some of this was explained to Montague by a young lady, who, as the
+evening wore on, came in and placed herself beside him. "My name is
+Betty Wyman," she said, "and you and I will have to be friends, because
+Ollie's my side partner."
+
+Montague had to meet her advances; so had not much time to speculate as
+to what the term "side partner" might be supposed to convey. Betty was
+a radiant little creature, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, made of
+some soft and filmy and complicated material; there was a crimson rose
+in her hair, and a living glow of crimson in her cheeks. She was bright
+and quick, like a butterfly, full of strange whims and impulses;
+mischievous lights gleamed in her eyes and mischievous smiles played
+about her adorable little cherry lips. Some strange perfume haunted the
+filmy dress, and completed the bewilderment of the intended victim.
+
+"I have a letter of introduction to a Mr. Wyman in New York," said
+Montague. "Perhaps he is a relative of yours."
+
+"Is he a railroad president?" asked she; and when he answered in the
+affirmative, "Is he a railroad king?" she whispered, in a mocking,
+awe-stricken voice, "Is he rich--oh, rich as Solomon--and is he a
+terrible man, who eats people alive all the time?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague--"that must be the one."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "he has done me the honour to be my granddaddy; but
+don't you take any letter of introduction to him."
+
+"Why not?" asked he, perplexed.
+
+"Because he'll eat YOU," said the girl. "He hates Ollie."
+
+"Dear me," said the other; and the girl asked, "Do you mean that the
+boy hasn't said a word about me?"
+
+"No," said Montague--"I suppose he left it for you to do."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "it's like a fairy story. Do you ever read fairy
+stories? In this story there was a princess--oh, the most beautiful
+princess! Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "She wore a red rose in her hair."
+
+"And then," said the girl, "there was a young courtier--very handsome
+and gay; and they fell in love with each other. But the terrible old
+king--he wanted his daughter to wait a while, until he got through
+conquering his enemies, so that he might have time to pick out some
+prince or other, or maybe some ogre who was wasting his lands--do you
+follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said he. "And then did the beautiful princess pine away?"
+
+"Um--no," said Betty, pursing her lips. "But she had to dance terribly
+hard to keep from thinking about herself." Then she laughed, and
+exclaimed, "Dear me, we are getting poetical!" And next, looking sober
+again, "Do you know, I was half afraid to talk to you. Ollie tells me
+you're terribly serious. Are you?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague--but she broke in with a laugh, "We were
+talking about you at dinner last night. They had some whipped cream
+done up in funny little curliques, and Ollie said, 'Now, if my brother
+Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the man who fixed this cream,
+and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading "The
+Simple Life."' Is that true?"
+
+"It involves a question of literary criticism"--said Montague.
+
+"I don't want to talk about literature," exclaimed the other. In truth,
+she wanted nothing save to feel of his armour and find out if there
+were any weak spots through which he could be teased. Montague was to
+find in time that the adorable Miss Elizabeth was a very thorny species
+of rose--she was more like a gay-coloured wasp, of predatory
+temperament.
+
+"Ollie says you want to go down town and work," she went on. "I think
+you're awfully foolish. Isn't it much nicer to spend your time in an
+imitation castle like this?"
+
+"Perhaps," said he, "but I haven't any castle."
+
+"You might get one," answered Betty. "Stay around awhile and let us
+marry you to a nice girl. They will all throw themselves at your feet,
+you know, for you have such a delicious melting voice, and you look
+romantic and exciting." (Montague made a note to inquire whether it was
+customary in New York to talk about you so frankly to your face.)
+
+Miss Betty was surveying him quizzically meantime. "I don't know," she
+said. "On second thoughts, maybe you'll frighten the girls. Then it'll
+be the married women who'll fall in love with you. You'll have to watch
+out."
+
+"I've already been told that by my tailor," said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+"That would be a still quicker way of making your fortune," said she.
+"But I don't think you'd fit in the role of a tame cat."
+
+"A _what_?" he exclaimed; and Miss Betty laughed.
+
+"Don't you know what that is? Dear me--how charmingly naive! But
+perhaps you'd better get Ollie to explain for you."
+
+That brought the conversation to the subject of slang; and Montague, in
+a sudden burst of confidence, asked for an interpretation of Miss
+Price's cryptic utterance. "She said"--he repeated slowly--"that when I
+got to be pally with her, I'd conclude she didn't furnish."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Miss Wyman. "She just meant that when you knew her,
+you'd be disappointed. You see, she picks up all the race-track
+slang--one can't help it, you know. And last year she took her coach
+over to England, and so she's got all the English slang. That makes it
+hard, even for us."
+
+And then Betty sailed in to entertain him with little sketches of other
+members of the party. A phenomenon that had struck Montague immediately
+was the extraordinary freedom with which everybody in New York
+discussed everybody else. As a matter of fact, one seldom discussed
+anything else; and it made not the least difference, though the person
+were one of your set,--though he ate your bread and salt, and you ate
+his,--still you would amuse yourself by pouring forth the most painful
+and humiliating and terrifying things about him.
+
+There was poor Clarrie Mason: Clarrie, sitting in at bridge, with an
+expression of feverish eagerness upon his pale face. Clarrie always
+lost, and it positively broke his heart, though he had ten millions
+laid by on ice. Clarrie went about all day, bemoaning his brother, who
+had been kidnapped. Had Montague not heard about it? Well, the
+newspapers called it a marriage, but it was really a kidnapping. Poor
+Larry Mason was good-natured and weak in the knees, and he had been
+carried off by a terrible creature, three times as big as himself, and
+with a temper like--oh, there were no words for it! She had been an
+actress; and now she had carried Larry away in her talons, and was
+building a big castle to keep him in--for he had ten millions too, alas!
+
+And then there was Bertie Stuyvesant, beautiful and winning--the boy
+who had sat opposite Montague at dinner. Bertie's father had been a
+coal man, and nobody knew how many millions he had left. Bertie was
+gay; last week he had invited them to a brook-trout breakfast--in
+November--and that had been a lark! Somebody had told him that trout
+never really tasted good unless you caught them yourself, and Bertie
+had suddenly resolved to catch them for that breakfast. "They have a
+big preserve up in the Adirondacks," said Betty; "and Bertie ordered
+his private train, and he and Chappie de Peyster and some others
+started that night; they drove I don't know how many miles the next
+day, and caught a pile of trout--and we had them for breakfast the next
+morning! The best joke of all is that Chappie vows they were so full
+they couldn't fish, and that the trout were caught with nets! Poor
+Bertie--somebody'll have to separate him from that decanter now!"
+
+From the hall there came loud laughter, with sounds of scuffling, and
+cries, "Let me have it!"--"That's Baby de Mille," said Miss Wyman.
+"She's always wanting to rough-house it. Robbie was mad the last time
+she was down here; she got to throwing sofa-cushions, and upset a vase."
+
+"Isn't that supposed to be good form?" asked Montague.
+
+"Not at Robbie's," said she. "Have you had a chance to talk with Robbie
+yet? You'll like him--he's serious, like you."
+
+"What's he serious about?"
+
+"About spending his money," said Betty. "That's the only thing he has
+to be serious about."
+
+"Has he got so very much?"
+
+"Thirty or forty millions," she replied; "but then, you see, a lot of
+it's in the inner companies of his railroad system, and it pays him
+fabulously. And his wife has money, too--she was a Miss Mason, you
+know, her father's one of the steel crowd. We've a saying that there
+are millionaires, and then multi-millionaires, and then Pittsburg
+millionaires. Anyhow, the two of them spend all their income in
+entertaining. It's Robbie's fad to play the perfect host--he likes to
+have lots of people round him. He does put up good times--only he's so
+very important about it, and he has so many ideas of what is proper! I
+guess most of his set would rather go to Mrs. Jack Warden's any day;
+I'd be there to-night, if it hadn't been for Ollie."
+
+"Who's Mrs. Jack Warden?" asked Montague.
+
+"Haven't you ever heard of her?" said Betty. "She used to be Mrs. van
+Ambridge, and then she got a divorce and married Warden, the big lumber
+man. She used to give 'boy and girl' parties, in the English fashion;
+and when we went there we'd do as we please--play tag all over the
+house, and have pillow-fights, and ransack the closets and get up
+masquerades! Mrs. Warden's as good-natured as an old cow. You'll meet
+her sometime--only don't you let her fool you with those soft eyes of
+hers. You'll find she doesn't mean it; it's just that she likes to have
+handsome men hanging round her."
+
+At one o'clock a few of Robbie's guests went to bed, Montague among
+them. He left two tables of bridge fiends sitting immobile, the women
+with flushed faces and feverish hands, and the men with cigarettes
+dangling from their lips. There were trays and decanters beside each
+card-table; and in the hall he passed three youths staggering about in
+each other's arms and feebly singing snatches of "coon songs." Ollie
+and Betty had strolled away together to parts unknown.
+
+Montague had entered his name in the order-book to be called at nine
+o'clock. The man who awakened him brought him coffee and cream upon a
+silver tray, and asked him if he would have anything stronger. He was
+privileged to have his breakfast in his room, if he wished; but he went
+downstairs, trying his best to feel natural in his elaborate hunting
+costume. No one else had appeared yet, but he found the traces of last
+night cleared away, and breakfast ready--served in English fashion,
+with urns of tea and coffee upon the buffet. The grave butler and his
+satellites were in attendance, ready to take his order for anything
+else under the sun that he fancied.
+
+Montague preferred to go for a stroll upon the terrace, and to watch
+the sunlight sparkling upon the sea. The morning was
+beautiful--everything about the place was so beautiful that he wondered
+how men and women could live here and not feel the spell of it.
+
+Billy Price came down shortly afterward, clad in a khaki hunting suit,
+with knee kilts and button-pockets and gun-pads and Cossack
+cartridge-loops. She joined him in a stroll down the beach, and talked
+to him about the coming winter season, with its leading personalities
+and events,--the Horse Show, which opened next week, and the prospects
+for the opera, and Mrs. de Graffenried's opening entertainment. When
+they came back it was eleven o'clock, and they found most of the guests
+assembled, nearly all of them looking a little pale and uncomfortable
+in the merciless morning light. As the two came in they observed Bertie
+Stuyvesant standing by the buffet, in the act of gulping down a tumbler
+of brandy. "Bertie has taken up the 'no breakfast fad,'" said Billy
+with an ironical smile.
+
+Then began the hunt. The equipment of "Black Forest" included a granite
+building, steam-heated and elaborately fitted, in which an English
+expert and his assistants raised imported pheasants--magnificent
+bronze-coloured birds with long, floating black tails. Just before the
+opening of the season they were dumped by thousands into the
+covers--fat, and almost tame enough to be fed by hand; and now came the
+"hunters."
+
+First they drew lots, for they were to hunt in pairs, a man and a
+woman. Montague drew Miss Vincent--"Little Raindrop in the Mud-puddle."
+Then Ollie, who was master of ceremonies, placed them in a long line,
+and gave them the direction; and at a signal they moved through the
+forest; Following each person were two attendants, to carry the extra
+guns and reload them; and out in front were men to beat the bushes and
+scare the birds into flight.
+
+Now Montague's idea of hunting had been to steal through the bayou
+forests, and match his eyes against those of the wild turkey, and shoot
+off their heads with a rifle bullet. So, when one of these birds rose
+in front of him, he fired, and the bird dropped; and he could have done
+it for ever, he judged--only it was stupid slaughter, and it sickened
+him. However, if the creatures were not shot, they must inevitably
+perish in the winter snows; and he had heard that Robbie sent the game
+to the hospitals. Also, the score was being kept, and Miss Vincent, who
+was something of a shot herself, was watching him with eager
+excitement, being wild with desire to beat out Billy Price and Chappie
+de Peyster, who were the champion shots of the company. Baby de Mille,
+who was on his left, and who could not shoot at all, was blundering
+along, puffing for breath and eyeing him enviously; and the attendants
+at his back were trembling with delight and murmuring their applause.
+So he shot on, as long as the drive lasted, and again on their way
+back, over a new stretch of the country. Sometimes the birds would rise
+in pairs, and he would drop them both; and twice when a blundering
+flock took flight in his direction he seized a second gun and brought
+down a second pair. When the day's sport came to an end his score was
+fifteen better than his nearest competitor, and he and his partner had
+won the day.
+
+They crowded round to congratulate him; first his partner, and then his
+rivals, and his host and hostess. Montague found that he had suddenly
+become a person of consequence. Some who had previously taken no notice
+of him now became aware of his existence; proud society belles
+condescended to make conversation with him, and Clarrie Mason, who
+hated de Peyster, made note of a way to annoy him. As for Oliver, he
+was radiant with delight. "When it came to horses and guns, I knew
+you'd make good," he whispered.
+
+Leaving the game to be gathered up in carts, they made their way home,
+and there the two victors received their prizes. The man's consisted of
+a shaving set in a case of solid gold, set with diamonds. Montague was
+simply stunned, for the thing could not have cost less than one or two
+thousand dollars. He could not persuade himself that he had a right to
+accept of such hospitality, which he could never hope to return. He was
+to realize in time that Robbie lived for the pleasure of thus
+humiliating his fellow-men.
+
+After luncheon, the party came to an end. Some set out to return as
+they had come; and others, who had dinner engagements, went back with
+their host in his private car, leaving their autos to be returned by
+the chauffeurs. Montague and his brother were among these; and about
+dusk, when the swarms of working people were pouring out of the city,
+they crossed the ferry and took a cab to their hotel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+They found their apartments looking as if they had been struck by a
+snowstorm-a storm of red and green and yellow, and all the colours that
+lie between. All day the wagons of fashionable milliners and costumiers
+had been stopping at the door, and their contents had found their way
+to Alice's room. The floors were ankle-deep in tissue paper and tape,
+and beds and couches and chairs were covered with boxes, in which lay
+wonderful symphonies of colour, half disclosed in their wrappings of
+gauze. In the midst of it all stood the girl, her eyes shining with
+excitement.
+
+"Oh, Allan!" she cried, as they entered. "How am I ever to thank you?"
+
+"You're not to thank me," Montague replied. "This is all Oliver's
+doings."
+
+"Oliver!" exclaimed the girl, and turned to him. "How in the world
+could you do it?" she cried. "How will you ever get the money to pay
+for it all?"
+
+"That's my problem," said the man, laughing. "All you have to think
+about is to look beautiful."
+
+"If I don't," was her reply, "it won't be for lack of clothes. I never
+saw so many wonderful things in all my life as I've seen to-day."
+
+"There's quite a show of them," admitted Oliver.
+
+"And Reggie Mann! It was so queer, Allan! I never went shopping with a
+man before. And he's so--so matter-of-fact. You know, he bought
+me--everything!"
+
+"That was what he was told to do," said Oliver. "Did you like him?"
+
+"I don't know," said the girl. "He's queer--I never met a man like that
+before. But he was awfully kind; and the people just turned their
+stores inside out for us--half a dozen people hurrying about to wait on
+you at once!"
+
+"You'll get used to such things," said Oliver; and then, stepping
+toward the bed, "Let's see what you got."
+
+"Most of the things haven't come," said Alice. "The gowns all have to
+be fitted.--That one is for to-night," she added, as he lifted up a
+beautiful object made of rose-coloured chiffon.
+
+Oliver studied it, and glanced once or twice at the girl. "I guess you
+can carry it," he said. "What sort of a cloak are you to wear?"
+
+"Oh, the cloak!" cried Alice. "Oliver, I can't believe it's really to
+belong to me. I didn't know anyone but princesses wore such things."
+
+The cloak was in Mrs. Montague's room, and one of the maids brought it
+in. It was an opera-wrap of grey brocade, lined with unborn baby
+lamb--a thing of a gorgeousness that made Montague literally gasp for
+breath.
+
+"Did you ever see anything like it in your life?" cried Alice. "And
+Oliver, is it true that I have to have gloves and shoes and
+stockings--and a hat--to match every gown?"
+
+"Of course." said Oliver. "If you were doing things right, you ought to
+have a cloak to match each evening gown as well."
+
+"It seems incredible," said the girl. "Can it be right to spend so much
+money for things to wear?"
+
+But Oliver was not discussing questions of ethics; he was examining
+sets of tinted crepe de chine lingerie, and hand-woven hose of spun
+silk. There were boxes upon boxes, and bureau drawers and closet
+shelves already filled up with hand-embroidered and lace-trimmed
+creations-chemises and corset-covers, night-robes of "handkerchief
+linen" lawn, lace handkerchiefs and veils, corsets of French coutil,
+dressing-jackets of pale-coloured silks, and negligees of soft
+batistes, trimmed with Valenciennes lace, or even with fur.
+
+"You must have put in a full day," he said.
+
+"I never looked at so many things in my life," said Alice. "And Mr.
+Mann never stopped to ask the price of a thing."
+
+"I didn't think to tell him to," said Oliver, laughing.
+
+Then the girl went in to dress--and Oliver faced about to find his
+brother sitting and staring hard at him.
+
+"Tell me!" Montague exclaimed. "In God's name, what is all this to
+cost?"
+
+"I don't know," said Oliver, impassively. "I haven't seen the bills.
+It'll be fifteen or twenty thousand, I guess."
+
+Montague's hands clenched involuntarily, and he sat rigid. "How long
+will it all last her?" he asked.
+
+"Why," said the other, "when she gets enough, it'll last her until
+spring, of course--unless she goes South during the winter."
+
+"How much is it going to take to dress her for a year?"
+
+"I suppose thirty or forty thousand," was the reply. "I don't expect to
+keep count."
+
+Montague sat in silence. "You don't want to shut her up and keep her at
+home, do you?" inquired his brother, at last.
+
+"Do you mean that other women spend that much on clothes?" he demanded.
+
+"Of course," said Oliver, "hundreds of them. Some spend fifty
+thousand--I know several who go over a hundred."
+
+"It's monstrous!" Montague exclaimed.
+
+"Fiddlesticks!" was the other's response. "Why, thousands of people
+live by it--wouldn't know anything else to do."
+
+Montague said nothing to that. "Can you afford to have Alice compete
+with such women indefinitely?" he asked.
+
+"I have no idea of her doing it indefinitely," was Oliver's reply. "I
+simply propose to give her a chance. When she's married, her bills will
+be paid by her husband."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "then this layout is just for her to be exhibited
+in."
+
+"You may say that," answered Oliver,--"if you want to be foolish. You
+know perfectly well that parents who launch their daughters in Society
+don't figure on keeping up the pace all their lifetimes."
+
+"We hadn't thought of marrying Alice off," said Montague.
+
+To which his brother replied that the best physicians left all they
+could to nature. "Suppose," said he, "that we just introduce her in the
+right set, and turn her loose and let her enjoy herself--and then cross
+the next bridge when we come to it?"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, pondering.' He was beginning to see a
+little daylight now. "Oliver," he asked suddenly, "are you sure the
+stakes in this game aren't too big?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Will you be able to stay in until the show-down? Until either Alice or
+myself begins to bring in some returns?"
+
+"Never worry about that," said the other, with a laugh.
+
+"But hadn't you better take me into your confidence?" Montague
+persisted. "How many weeks can you pay our rent in this place? Have you
+got the money to pay for all these clothes?"
+
+"I've got it," laughed the other--"but that doesn't say I'm going to
+pay it."
+
+"Don't you have to pay your bills? Can we do all this upon credit?"
+
+Oliver laughed again. "You go at me like a prosecuting attorney," he
+said. "I'm afraid you'll have to inquire around and learn some respect
+for your brother." Then he added, seriously, "You see, Allan, people
+like Reggie or myself are in position to bring a great deal of custom
+to tradespeople, and so they are willing to go out of their way to
+oblige us. And we have commissions of all sorts coming to us, so it's
+never any question of cash."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the other, opening his eyes, "I see! Is that the way
+you make money?"
+
+"It's one of the ways we save it," said Oliver. "It comes to the same
+thing."
+
+"Do people know it?"
+
+"Why, of course. Why not?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague. "It sounds a little queer."
+
+"Nothing of the kind," said Oliver. "Some of the best people in New
+York do it. Strangers come to the city, and they want to go to the
+right places, and they ask me, and I send them. Or take Robbie Walling,
+who keeps up five or six establishments, and spends several millions a
+year. He can't see to it all personally--if he did, he'd never do
+anything else. Why shouldn't he ask a friend to attend to things for
+him? Or again, a new shop opens, and they want Mrs. Walling's trade for
+the sake of the advertising, and they offer her a discount and me a
+commission. Why shouldn't I get her to try them?"
+
+"It's quite intricate," commented the other. "The stores have more than
+one price, then?"
+
+"They have as many prices as they have customers," was the answer. "Why
+shouldn't they? New York is full of raw rich people who value things by
+what they pay. And why shouldn't they pay high and be happy? That
+opera-cloak that Alice has--Reval promised it to me for two thousand,
+and I'll wager you she'd charge some woman from Butte, Montana,
+thirty-five hundred for one just like it."
+
+Montague got up suddenly. "Stop," he said, waving his hands. "You take
+all the bloom off the butterfly's wings!"
+
+He asked where they were going that evening, and Oliver said that they
+were invited to an informal dinner-party at Mrs. Winnie Duval's. Mrs.
+Winnie was the young widow who had recently married the founder of the
+great banking-house of Puval and Co.--so Oliver explained; she was a
+chum of his, and they would meet an interesting set there. She was
+going to invite her cousin, Charlie Carter--she wanted him to meet
+Alice. "Mrs. Winnie's always plotting to get Charlie to settle down,"
+said Oliver, with a merry laugh.
+
+He telephoned for his man to bring over his clothes, and he and his
+brother dressed. Then Alice came in, looking like the goddess of the
+dawn in the gorgeous rose-coloured gown. The colour in her cheeks was
+even brighter than usual; for she was staggered to find how low the
+gown was cut, and was afraid she was committing a faux pas. "Tell me
+about it," she stammered. "Mammy Lucy says I'm surely supposed to wear
+some lace, or a bouquet."
+
+"Mammy Lucy isn't a Paris costumier," said Oliver, much amused. "Dear
+me--wait until you have seen Mrs. Winnie!"
+
+Mrs. Winnie had kindly sent her limousine car for them, and it stood
+throbbing in front of the hotel-entrance, its acetylenes streaming far
+up the street. Mrs. Winnie's home was on Fifth Avenue, fronting the
+park. It occupied half a block, and had cost two millions to build and
+furnish. It was known as the "Snow Palace," being all of white marble.
+
+At the curb a man in livery opened the door of the car, and in the
+vestibule another man in livery bowed the way. Lined up just inside the
+door was a corps of imposing personages, clad in scarlet waistcoats and
+velvet knee-breeches, with powdered wigs, and gold buttons, and gold
+buckles on their patent-leather pumps. These splendid creatures took
+their wraps, and then presented to Montague and Oliver a bouquet of
+flowers upon a silver salver, and upon another salver a tiny envelope
+bearing the name of their partner at this strictly "informal"
+dinner-party. Then the functionaries stood out of the way and permitted
+them to view the dazzling splendour of the entrance hall of the Snow
+Palace. There was a great marble staircase running up from the centre
+of the hall, with a carved marble gallery above, and a marble fireplace
+below. To decorate this mansion a real palace in the Punjab had been
+bought outright and plundered; there were mosaics of jade, and
+wonderful black marble, and rare woods, and strange and perplexing
+carvings.
+
+The head butler stood at the entrance to the salon, pronouncing their
+names; and just inside was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+Montague never forgot that first vision of her; she might have been a
+real princess out of the palace in the Punjab. She was a brunette,
+rich-coloured, full-throated and deep-bosomed, with scarlet lips, and
+black hair and eyes. She wore a court-gown of cloth of silver, with
+white kid shoes embroidered with jewelled flowers. All her life she had
+been collecting large turquoises, and these she had made into a tiara,
+and a neck ornament spreading over her chest, and a stomacher. Each of
+these stones was mounted with diamonds, and set upon a slender wire. So
+as she moved they quivered and shimmered, and the effect was dazzling,
+barbaric.
+
+She must have seen that Montague was staggered, for she gave him a
+little extra pressure of the hand, and said, "I'm so glad you came.
+Ollie has told me all about you." Her voice was soft and melting, not
+so forbidding as her garb.
+
+Montague ran the gauntlet of the other guests: Charlie Carter, a
+beautiful, dark-haired boy, having the features of a Greek god, but a
+sallow and unpleasant complexion; Major "Bob" Venable, a stout little
+gentleman with a red face and a heavy jowl; Mrs. Frank Landis, a
+merry-eyed young widow with pink cheeks and auburn hair; Willie Davis,
+who had been a famous half-back, and was now junior partner in the
+banking-house; and two young married couples, whose names Montague
+missed.
+
+The name written on his card was Mrs. Alden. She came in just after
+him--a matron of about fifty, of vigorous aspect and ample figure,
+approaching what he had not yet learned to call embonpoint. She wore
+brocade, as became a grave dowager, and upon her ample bosom there lay
+an ornament the size of a man's hand, and made wholly out of blazing
+diamonds--the most imposing affair that Montague had ever laid eyes
+upon. She gave him her hand to shake, and made no attempt to disguise
+the fact that she was looking him over in the meantime.
+
+"Madam, dinner is served," said the stately butler; and the glittering
+procession moved into the dining-room--a huge state apartment, finished
+in some lustrous jet-black wood, and with great panel paintings
+illustrating the Romaunt de la Rose. The table was covered with a cloth
+of French embroidery, and gleaming with its load of crystal and gold
+plate. At either end there were huge candlesticks of solid gold, and in
+the centre a mound of orchids and lilies of the valley, matching in
+colour the shades of the candelabra and the daintily painted menu cards.
+
+"You are fortunate in coming to New York late in life," Mrs. Alden was
+saying to him. "Most of our young men are tired out before they have
+sense enough to enjoy anything. Take my advice and look about
+you--don't let that lively brother of yours set the pace for you."
+
+In front of Mrs. Alden there was a decanter of Scotch whisky. "Will you
+have some?" she asked, as she took it up.
+
+"No, I thank you," said he, and then wondered if perhaps he should not
+have said yes, as he watched the other select the largest of the
+half-dozen wine-glasses clustered at her place, and pour herself out a
+generous libation.
+
+"Have you seen much of the city?" she asked, as she tossed it
+off--without as much as a quiver of an eyelash.
+
+"No," said he. "They have not given me much time. They took me off to
+the country--to the Robert Wallings'."
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Alden; and Montague, struggling to make conversation,
+inquired, "Do you know Mr. Walling?"
+
+"Quite well," said the other, placidly. "I used to be a Walling myself,
+you know."
+
+"Oh," said Montague, taken aback; and then added, "Before you were
+married?"
+
+"No," said Mrs. Alden, more placidly than ever, "before I was divorced."
+
+There was a dead silence, and Montague sat gasping to catch his breath.
+Then suddenly he heard a faint subdued chuckle, which grew into open
+laughter; and he stole a glance at Mrs. Alden, and saw that her eyes
+were twinkling; and then he began to laugh himself. They laughed
+together, so merrily that others at the table began to look at them in
+perplexity.
+
+So the ice was broken between them; which filled Montague with a vast
+relief. But he was still dimly touched with awe--for he realized that
+this must be the great Mrs. Billy Alden, whose engagement to the Duke
+of London was now the topic of the whole country. And that huge diamond
+ornament must be part of Mrs. Alden's million-dollar outfit of
+jewellery!
+
+The great lady volunteered not to tell on him; and added generously
+that when he came to dinner with her she would post him concerning the
+company. "It's awkward for a stranger, I can understand," said she; and
+continued, grimly: "When people get divorces it sometimes means that
+they have quarrelled--and they don't always make it up afterward,
+either. And sometimes other people quarrel--almost as bitterly as if
+they had been married. Many a hostess has had her reputation ruined by
+not keeping track of such things."
+
+So Montague made the discovery that the great Mrs. Billy, though.
+forbidding of aspect, was good-natured when she chose to be, and with a
+pretty wit. She was a woman with a mind of her own--a hard-fighting
+character, who had marshalled those about her, and taken her place at
+the head of the column. She had always counted herself a personage
+enough to do exactly as she pleased; through the course of the dinner
+she would take up the decanter of Scotch, and make a pass to help
+Montague--and then, when he declined, pour out imperturbably what she
+wanted. "I don't like your brother," she said to him, a little later.
+"He won't last; but he tells me you're different, so maybe I will like
+you. Come and see me sometime, and let me tell you what not to do in
+New York."
+
+Then Montague turned to talk with his hostess, who sat on his right.
+
+"Do you play bridge?" asked Mrs. Winnie, in her softest and most
+gracious tone.
+
+"My brother has given me a book to study from," he answered. "But if he
+takes me about day and night, I don't know how I'm to manage it."
+
+"Come and let me teach you," said Mrs. Winnie. "I mean it, really," she
+added. "I've nothing to do--at least that I'm not tired of. Only I
+don't believe you'd take long to learn all that I know."
+
+"Aren't you a successful player?" he asked sympathetically.
+
+"I don't believe anyone wants me to learn," said Mrs. Winnie.--"They'd
+rather come and get my money. Isn't that true, Major?"
+
+Major Venable sat on her other hand, and he paused in the act of
+raising a spoonful of soup to his lips, and laughed, deep down in his
+throat--a queer little laugh that shook his fat cheeks and neck. "I may
+say," he said, "that I know several people to whom the status quo is
+satisfactory."
+
+"Including yourself," said the lady, with a little moue. "The wretched
+man won sixteen hundred dollars from me last night; and he sat in his
+club window all afternoon, just to have the pleasure of laughing at me
+as I went by. I don't believe I'll play at all to-night--I'm going to
+make myself agreeable to Mr. Montague, and let you win from Virginia
+Landis for a change."
+
+And then the Major paused again in his attack upon the soup. "My dear
+Mrs. Winnie," he said, "I can live for much more than one day upon
+sixteen hundred dollars!"
+
+The Major was a famous club-man and bon vivant, as Montague learned
+later on. "He's an uncle of Mrs. Bobbie Walling's," said Mrs. Alden, in
+his ear. "And incidentally they hate each other like poison."
+
+"That is so that I won't repeat my luckless question again?" asked
+Montague, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, they meet," said the other. "You wouldn't be supposed to know
+that. Won't you have any Scotch?"
+
+Montague's thoughts were so much taken up with the people at this
+repast that he gave little thought to the food. He noticed with
+surprise that they had real spring lamb--it being the middle of
+November. But he could not know that the six-weeks-old creatures from
+which it had come had been raised in cotton-wool and fed on milk with a
+spoon--and had cost a dollar and a half a pound. A little later,
+however, there was placed before him a delicately browned sweetbread
+upon a platter of gold, and then suddenly he began to pay attention.
+Mrs. Winnie had a coat of arms; he had noticed it upon her auto, and
+again upon the great bronze gates of the Snow Palace, and again upon
+the liveries of her footmen, and yet again upon the decanter of Scotch.
+And now--incredible and appalling--he observed it branded upon the
+delicately browned sweetbread!
+
+After that, who would not have watched? There were large dishes of rare
+fruits upon the table--fruits which had been packed in cotton wool and
+shipped in cold storage from every corner of the earth. There were
+peaches which had come from South Africa (they had cost ten dollars
+apiece). There were bunches of Hamburg grapes, dark purple and bursting
+fat, which had been grown in a hot-house, wrapped in paper bags. There
+were nectarines and plums, and pomegranates and persimmons from Japan,
+and later on, little dishes of plump strawberries-raised in pots. There
+were quail which had come from Egypt, and a wonderful thing called
+"crab-flake a la Dewey," cooked in a chafing-dish, and served with
+mushrooms that had been grown in the tunnels of abandoned mines in
+Michigan. There was lettuce raised by electric light, and lima beans
+that had come from Porto Rico, and artichokes brought from France at a
+cost of one dollar each.--And all these extraordinary viands were
+washed down by eight or nine varieties of wines, from the cellar of a
+man who had made collecting them a fad for the last thirty years, who
+had a vineyard in France for the growing of his own champagne, and kept
+twenty thousand quarts of claret in storage all the time--and procured
+his Rhine wine from the cellar of the German Emperor, at a cost of
+twenty-five dollars a quart!
+
+There were twelve people at dinner, and afterward they made two tables
+for bridge, leaving Charlie Carter to talk to Alice, and Mrs. Winnie to
+devote herself to Montague, according to her promise. "Everybody likes
+to see my house," she said. "Would you?" And she led the way from the
+dining-room into the great conservatory, which formed a central court
+extending to the roof of the building. She pressed a button, and a soft
+radiance streamed down from above, in the midst of which Mrs. Winnie
+stood, with her shimmering jewels a very goddess of the fire.
+
+The conservatory was a place in which he could have spent the evening;
+it was filled with the most extraordinary varieties of plants. "They
+were gathered from all over the world," said Mrs. Winnie, seeing that
+he was staring at them. "My husband employed a connoisseur to hunt them
+out for him. He did it before we were married--he thought it would make
+me happy."
+
+In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen
+feet in height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the
+touch of a button the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and one
+might see scores of rare and beautiful fish swimming about.
+
+"Isn't it fine!" said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly, "Do you know, I
+come here at night, sometimes when I can't sleep, and sit for hours and
+gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary forms-some of
+them have faces, and look like human beings! And I wonder what they
+think about, and if life seems as strange to them as it does to me."
+
+She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. "These fish
+were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him Buzzie. Have
+you met him yet?--No, of course not. He's Charlie's brother, and he
+collects art things--the most unbelievable things. Once, a long time
+ago, he took a fad for goldfish--some goldfish are very rare and
+beautiful, you know--one can pay twenty-five and fifty dollars apiece
+for them. He got all the dealers had, and when he learned that there
+were some they couldn't get, he took a trip to Japan and China on
+purpose to get them. You know they raise them there, and some of them
+are sacred, and not allowed to be sold or taken out of the country. And
+he had all sorts of carved ivory receptacles for them, that he brought
+home with him--he had one beautiful marble basin about ten feet long,
+that had been stolen from the Emperor."
+
+Over Montague's shoulder where he sat, there hung an orchid, a most
+curious creation, an explosion of scarlet flame. "That is the
+odonto-glossum," said Mrs. Winnie. "Have you heard of it?"
+
+"Never," said the man.
+
+"Dear me," said the other. "Such is fame!"
+
+"Is it supposed to be famous?" he asked.
+
+"Very," she replied. "There was a lot in the newspapers about it. You
+see Winton--that's my husband, you know--paid twenty-five thousand
+dollars to the man who created it; and that made a lot of foolish
+talk--people come from all over to look at it. I wanted to have it,
+because its shape is exactly like the coronet on my crest. Do you
+notice that?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "It's curious."
+
+"I'm very proud of my crest," continued Mrs. Winnie. "Of course there
+are vulgar rich people who have them made to order, and make them
+ridiculous; but ours is a real one. It's my own--not my husband's; the
+Duvals are an old French family, but they're not noble. I was a Morris,
+you know, and our line runs back to the old French ducal house of
+Montmorenci. And last summer, when we were motoring, I hunted up one of
+their chateaux; and see! I brought over this."
+
+Mrs. Winnie pointed to a suit of armour, placed in a passage leading to
+the billiard-room. "I have had the lights fixed," she added. And she
+pressed a button, and all illumination vanished, save for a faint red
+glow just above the man in armour.
+
+"Doesn't he look real?" said she. (He had his visor down, and a
+battle-axe in his mailed hands.) "I like to imagine that he may have
+been my twentieth great-grandfather. I come and sit here, and gaze at
+him and shiver. Think what a terrible time it must have been to live
+in--when men wore things like that! It couldn't be any worse to be a
+crab."
+
+"You seem to be fond of strange emotions," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Maybe I am," said the other. "I like everything that's old and
+romantic, and makes you forget this stupid society world."
+
+She stood brooding for a moment or two, gazing at the figure. Then she
+asked, abruptly, "Which do you like best, pictures or swimming?"
+
+"Why," replied the man, laughing and perplexed, "I like them both, at
+times."
+
+"I wondered which you'd rather see first," explained his escort; "the
+art gallery or the natatorium. I'm afraid you'll get tired before
+you've seen every thing."
+
+"Suppose we begin with the art-gallery," said he. "There's not much to
+see in a swimming-pool."
+
+"Ah, but ours is a very special one," said the lady.--"And some day, if
+you'll be very good, and promise not to tell anyone, I'll let you see
+my own bath. Perhaps they've told you, I have one in my own apartments,
+cut out of a block of the most wonderful green marble."
+
+Montague showed the expected amount of astonishment.
+
+"Of course that gave the dreadful newspapers another chance to gossip,"
+said Mrs. Winnie, plaintively. "People found out what I had paid for
+it. One can't have anything beautiful without that question being
+asked."
+
+And then followed a silence, while Mrs. Winnie waited for him to ask
+it. As he forebore to do so, she added, "It was fifty thousand dollars."
+
+They were moving towards the elevator, where a small boy in the
+wonderful livery of plush and scarlet stood at attention. "Sometimes,"
+she continued, "it seems to me that it is wicked to pay such prices for
+things. Have you ever thought about it?"
+
+"Occasionally," Montague replied.
+
+"Of course," said she, "it makes work for people; and I suppose they
+can't be better employed than in making beautiful things. But
+sometimes, when I think of all the poverty there is, I get unhappy. We
+have a winter place down South--one of those huge country-houses that
+look like exposition buildings, and have rooms for a hundred guests;
+and sometimes I go driving by myself, down to the mill towns, and go
+through them and talk to the children. I came to know some of them
+quite well--poor little wretches."
+
+They stepped out of the elevator, and moved toward the art-gallery. "It
+used to make me so unhappy," she went on. "I tried to talk to my
+husband about it, but he wouldn't have it. 'I don't see why you can't
+be like other people,' he said--he's always repeating that to me. And
+what could I say?"
+
+"Why not suggest that other people might be like you?" said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"I wasn't clever enough," said she, regretfully.--"It's very hard for a
+woman, you know--with no one to understand. Once I went down to a
+settlement, to see what that was like. Do you know anything about
+settlements?"
+
+"Nothing at all," said Montague.
+
+"Well, they are people who go to live among the poor, and try to reform
+them. It takes a terrible lot of courage, I think. I give them money
+now and then, but I am never sure if it does any good. The trouble with
+poor people, it seems to me, is that there are so many of them."
+
+"There are, indeed," said Montague, thinking of the vision he had seen
+from Oliver's racing-car.
+
+Mrs. Winnie had seated herself upon a cushioned seat near the entrance
+to the darkened gallery. "I haven't been there for some time," she
+continued. "I've discovered something that I think appeals more to my
+temperament. I have rather a leaning toward the occult and the
+mystical, I'm afraid. Did you ever hear of the Babists?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"Well, that's a religious sect--from Persia, I think--and they are
+quite the rage. They are priests, you understand, and they give
+lectures, and teach you all about the immanence of the divine, and
+about reincarnation, and Karma, and all that. Do you believe any of
+those things?"
+
+"I can't say that I know about them," said he.
+
+"It is very beautiful and strange," added the other. "It makes you
+realize what a perplexing thing life is. They teach you how the
+universe is all one, and the soul is the only reality, and so bodily
+things don't matter. If I were a Babist, I believe that I could be
+happy, even if I had to work in a cotton-mill."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie rose up suddenly. "You'd rather look at the pictures,
+I know," she said; and she pressed a button, and a soft radiance
+flooded the great vaulted gallery.
+
+"This is our chief pride in life," she said. "My husband's object has
+been to get one representative work of each of the great painters of
+the world. We got their masterpiece whenever we could. Over there in
+the corner are the old masters--don't you love to look at them?"
+
+Montague would have liked to look at them very much; but he felt that
+he would rather it were some time when he did not have Mrs. Winnie by
+his side. Mrs. Winnie must have had to show the gallery quite
+frequently; and now her mind was still upon the Persian
+transcendentalists.
+
+"That picture of the saint is a Botticelli," she said. "And do you
+know, the orange-coloured robe always makes me think of the swami. That
+is my teacher, you know--Swami Babubanana. And he has the most
+beautiful delicate hands, and great big brown eyes, so soft and
+gentle--for all the world like those of the gazelles in our place down
+South!"
+
+Thus Mrs. Winnie, as she roamed from picture to picture, while the
+souls of the grave old masters looked down upon her in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+Montague had now been officially pronounced complete by his tailor; and
+Reval had sent home the first of Alice's street gowns, elaborately
+plain, but fitting her conspicuously, and costing accordingly. So the
+next morning they were ready to be taken to call upon Mrs. Devon.
+
+Of course Montague had heard of the Devons, but he was not sufficiently
+initiated to comprehend just what it meant to be asked to call. But
+when Oliver came in, a little before noon, and proceeded to examine his
+costume and to put him to rights, and insisted that Alice should have
+her hair done over, he began to realize that this was a special
+occasion. Oliver was in quite a state of excitement; and after they had
+left the hotel, and were driving up the Avenue, he explained to them
+that their future in Society depended upon the outcome of this visit.
+Calling upon Mrs. Devon, it seemed, was the American equivalent to
+being presented at court. For twenty-five years this grand lady had
+been the undisputed mistress of the Society of the metropolis; and if
+she liked them, they would be invited to her annual ball, which took
+place in January, and then for ever after their position would be
+assured. Mrs. Devon's ball was the one great event of the social year;
+about one thousand people were asked, while ten thousand disappointed
+ones gnashed their teeth in outer darkness.
+
+All of which threw Alice into a state of trepidation.
+
+"Suppose we don't suit her!" she said.
+
+To that the other replied that their way had been made smooth by Reggie
+Mann, who was one of Mrs. Devon's favourites.
+
+A century and more ago the founder of the Devon line had come to
+America, and invested his savings in land on Manhattan Island. Other
+people had toiled and built a city there, and generation after
+generation of the Devons had sat by and collected the rents, until now
+their fortune amounted to four or five hundred millions of dollars.
+They were the richest old family in America, and the most famous; and
+in Mrs. Devon, the oldest member of the line, was centred all its
+social majesty and dominion. She lived a stately and formal life,
+precisely like a queen; no one ever saw her save upon her raised chair
+of state, and she wore her jewels even at breakfast. She was the
+arbiter of social destinies, and the breakwater against which the
+floods of new wealth beat in vain. Reggie Mann told wonderful tales
+about the contents of her enormous mail--about wives and daughters of
+mighty rich men who flung themselves at her feet and pleaded abjectly
+for her favour--who laid siege to her house for months, and intrigued
+and pulled wires to get near her, and even bought the favour of her
+servants! If Reggie might be believed, great financial wars had been
+fought, and the stock-markets of the world convulsed more than once,
+because of these social struggles; and women of wealth and beauty had
+offered to sell themselves for the privilege which was so freely
+granted to them.
+
+They came to the old family mansion and rang the bell, and the solemn
+butler ushered them past the grand staircase and into the front
+reception-room to wait. Perhaps five minutes later he came in and
+rolled back the doors, and they stood up, and beheld a withered old
+lady, nearly eighty years of age, bedecked with diamonds and seated
+upon a sort of throne. They approached, and Oliver introduced them, and
+the old lady held out a lifeless hand; and then they sat down.
+
+Mrs. Devon asked them a few questions as to how much of New York they
+had seen, and how they liked it, and whom they had met; but most of the
+time she simply looked them over, and left the making of conversation
+to Oliver. As for Montague, he sat, feeling perplexed and
+uncomfortable, and wondering, deep down in him, whether it could really
+be America in which this was happening.
+
+"You see," Oliver explained to them, when they were seated in their
+carriage again, "her mind is failing, and it's really quite difficult
+for her to receive."
+
+"I'm glad I don't have to call on her more than once," was Alice's
+comment. "When do we know the verdict?"
+
+"When you get a card marked 'Mrs. Devon at home,'" said Oliver. And he
+went on to tell them about the war which had shaken Society long ago,
+when the mighty dame had asserted her right to be "Mrs. Devon," and the
+only "Mrs. Devon." He told them also about her wonderful dinner-set of
+china, which had cost thirty thousand dollars, and was as fragile as a
+humming-bird's wing. Each piece bore her crest, and she had a china
+expert to attend to washing and packing it--no common hand was ever
+allowed to touch it. He told them, also, how Mrs. Devon's housekeeper
+had wrestled for so long, trying to teach the maids to arrange the
+furniture in the great reception-rooms precisely as the mistress
+ordered; until finally a complete set of photographs had been taken, so
+that the maids might do their work by chart.
+
+Alice went back to the hotel, for Mrs. Robbie Walling was to call and
+take her home to lunch; and Montague and his brother strolled round to
+Reggie Mann's apartments, to report upon their visit.
+
+Reggie received them in a pair of pink silk pyjamas, decorated with
+ribbons and bows, and with silk-embroidered slippers, set with
+pearls--a present from a feminine adorer. Montague noticed, to his
+dismay, that the little man wore a gold bracelet upon one arm! He
+explained that he had led a cotillion the night before--or rather this
+morning; he had got home at five o'clock. He looked quite white and
+tired, and there were the remains of a breakfast of brandy-and-soda on
+the table.
+
+"Did you see the old girl?" he asked. "And how does she hold up?"
+
+"She's game," said Oliver.
+
+"I had the devil's own time getting you in," said the other. "It's
+getting harder every day."
+
+"You'll excuse me," Reggie added, "if I get ready. I have an
+engagement." And he turned to his dressing-table, which was covered
+with an array of cosmetics and perfumes, and proceeded, in a
+matter-of-fact way, to paint his face. Meanwhile his valet was flitting
+silently here and there, getting ready his afternoon costume; and
+Montague, in spite of himself, followed the man with his eyes. A
+haberdasher's shop might have been kept going for quite a while upon
+the contents of Reggie's dressers. His clothing was kept in a room
+adjoining the dressing-room; Montague, who was near the door, could see
+the rosewood wardrobes, each devoted to a separate article of
+clothing-shirts, for instance, laid upon sliding racks, tier upon tier
+of them, of every material and colour. There was a closet fitted with
+shelves and equipped like a little shoe store--high shoes and low
+shoes, black ones, brown ones, and white ones, and each fitted over a
+last to keep its shape perfect. These shoes were all made to order
+according to Reggie's designs, and three or-four times a year there was
+a cleaning out, and those which had gone out of fashion became the prey
+of his "man." There was a safe in one closet, in which Reggie's
+jewellery was kept.
+
+The dressing-room was furnished like a lady's boudoir, the furniture
+upholstered with exquisite embroidered silk, and the bed hung with
+curtains of the same material. There was a huge bunch of roses on the
+centre-table, and the odour of roses hung heavy in the room.
+
+The valet stood at attention with a rack of neckties, from which Reggie
+critically selected one to match his shirt. "Are you going to take
+Alice with you down to the Havens's?" he was asking; and he added,
+"You'll meet Vivie Patton down there--she's had another row at home."
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Oliver.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "Frank waited up all night for her, and he wept
+and tore his hair and vowed he would kill the Count. Vivie told him to
+go to hell."
+
+"Good God!" said Oliver. "Who told you that?"
+
+"The faithful Alphonse," said Reggie, nodding toward his valet. "Her
+maid told him. And Frank vows he'll sue--I half expected to see it in
+the papers this morning."
+
+"I met Vivie on the street yesterday," said Oliver. "She looked as
+chipper as ever."
+
+Reggie shrugged his shoulders. "Have you seen this week's paper?" he
+asked. "They've got another of Ysabel's suppressed poems in."--And then
+he turned toward Montague to explain that "Ysabel" was the pseudonym of
+a young debutante who had fallen under the spell of Baudelaire and
+Wilde, and had published a volume of poems of such furious eroticism
+that her parents were buying up stray copies at fabulous prices.
+
+Then the conversation turned to the Horse Show, and for quite a while
+they talked about who was going to wear what. Finally Oliver rose,
+saying that they would have to get a bite to eat before leaving for the
+Havens's. "You'll have a good time," said Reggie. "I'd have gone
+myself, only I promised to stay and help Mrs. de Graffenried design a
+dinner. So long!"
+
+Montague had heard nothing about the visit to the Havens's; but now, as
+they strolled down the Avenue, Oliver explained that they were to spend
+the weekend at Castle Havens. There was quite a party going up this
+Friday afternoon, and they would find one of the Havens's private cars
+waiting. They had nothing to do meantime, for their valets would attend
+to their packing, and Alice and her maid would meet them at the depot.
+
+"Castle Havens is one of the show places of the country," Oliver added.
+"You'll see the real thing this time." And while they lunched, he went
+on to entertain his brother with particulars concerning the place and
+its owners. John had inherited the bulk of the enormous Havens fortune,
+and he posed as his father's successor in the Steel Trust. Some day
+some one of the big men would gobble him up; meantime he amused himself
+fussing over the petty details of administration. Mrs. Havens had taken
+a fancy to a rural life, and they had built this huge palace in the
+hills of Connecticut, and she wrote verses in which she pictured
+herself as a simple shepherdess--and all that sort of stuff. But no one
+minded that, because the place was grand, and there was always so much
+to do. They had forty or fifty polo ponies, for instance, and every
+spring the place was filled with polo men.
+
+At the depot they caught sight of Charlie Carter, in his big red
+touring-car. "Are you going to the Havens's?" he said. "Tell them we're
+going to pick up Chauncey on the way."
+
+"That's Chauncey Venable, the Major's nephew," said Oliver, as they
+strolled to the train. "Poor Chauncey--he's in exile!"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Why, he daren't come into New York," said the other. "Haven't you read
+about it in the papers? He lost one or two hundred thousand the other
+night in a gambling place, and the district attorney's trying to catch
+him."
+
+"Does he want to put him in jail?" asked Montague.
+
+"Heavens, no!" said Oliver. "Put a Venable in jail? He wants him for a
+witness against the gambler; and poor Chauncey is flitting about the
+country hiding with his friends, and wailing because he'll miss the
+Horse Show."
+
+They boarded the palatial private car, and were introduced to a number
+of other guests. Among them was Major Venable; and while Oliver buried
+himself in the new issue of the fantastic-covered society journal,
+which contained the poem of the erotic "Ysabel," his brother chatted
+with the Major. The latter had taken quite a fancy to the big handsome
+stranger, to whom everything in the city was so new and interesting."
+
+"Tell me what you thought of the Snow Palace," said he. "I've an idea
+that Mrs. Winnie's got quite a crush on you. You'll find her dangerous,
+my boy--she'll make you pay for your dinners before you get through!"
+
+After the train was under way, the Major got himself surrounded with
+some apollinaris and Scotch, and then settled back to enjoy himself.
+"Did you see the 'drunken kid' at the ferry?" he asked. "(That's what
+our abstemious district attorney terms my precious young
+heir-apparent.) You'll meet him at the Castle--the Havens are good to
+him. They know how it feels, I guess; when John was a youngster his
+piratical uncle had to camp in Jersey for six months or so, to escape
+the strong arm of the law."
+
+"Don't you know about it?" continued the Major, sipping at his
+beverage. "Sic transit gloria mundi! That was when the great Captain
+Kidd Havens was piling up the millions which his survivors are spending
+with such charming insouciance. He was plundering a railroad, and the
+original progenitor of the Wallings tried to buy the control away from
+him, and Havens issued ten or twenty millions of new stock overnight,
+in the face of a court injunction, and got away with most of his money.
+It reads like opera bouffe, you know--they had a regular armed camp
+across the river for about six months--until Captain Kidd went up to
+Albany with half a million dollars' worth of greenbacks in a satchel,
+and induced the legislature to legalize the proceedings. That was just
+after the war, you know, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. It
+seems strange to think that anyone shouldn't know about it."
+
+"I know about Havens in a general way," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the Major. "But I know in a particular way, because I've
+carried some of that railroad's paper all these years, and it's never
+paid any dividends since. It has a tendency to interfere with my
+appreciation of John's lavish hospitality."
+
+Montague was reminded of the story of the Roman emperor who pointed out
+that money had no smell.
+
+"Maybe not," said the Major. "But all the same, if you were
+superstitious, you might make out an argument from the Havens fortune.
+Take that poor girl who married the Count."
+
+And the Major went on to picture the denouement of that famous
+international alliance, which, many years ago, had been the sensation
+of two continents. All Society had attended the gorgeous wedding, an
+archbishop had performed the ceremony, and the newspapers had devoted
+pages to describing the gowns and the jewels and the presents and all
+the rest of the magnificence. And the Count was a wretched little
+degenerate, who beat and kicked his wife, and flaunted his mistresses
+in her face, and wasted fourteen million dollars of her money in a
+couple of years. The mind could scarcely follow the orgies of this
+half-insane creature--he had spent two hundred thousand dollars on a
+banquet, and half as much again for a tortoise-shell wardrobe in which
+Louis the Sixteenth had kept his clothes! He had charged a diamond
+necklace to his wife, and taken two of the four rows of diamonds out of
+it before he presented it to her! He had paid a hundred thousand
+dollars a year to a jockey whom the Parisian populace admired, and a
+fortune for a palace in Verona, which he had promptly torn down, for
+the sake of a few painted ceilings. The Major told about one outdoor
+fete, which he had given upon a sudden whim: ten thousand Venetian
+lanterns, ten thousand metres of carpet; three thousand gilded chairs,
+and two or three hundred waiters in fancy costumes; two palaces built
+in a lake, with sea-horses and dolphins, and half a dozen orchestras,
+and several hundred chorus--girls from the Grand Opera! And in between
+adventures such as these, he bought a seat in the Chamber of Deputies,
+and made speeches and fought duels in defence of the Holy Catholic
+Church--and wrote articles for the yellow journals of America. "And
+that's the fate of my lost dividends!" growled the Major.
+
+There were several automobiles to meet the party at the depot, and they
+were whirled through a broad avenue up a valley, and past a little
+lake, and so to the gates of Castle Havens.
+
+It was a tremendous building, a couple of hundred feet long. One
+entered into a main hall, perhaps fifty feet wide, with a great
+fireplace arid staircase of marble and bronze, and furniture of gilded
+wood and crimson velvet, and a huge painting, covering three of the
+walls, representing the Conquest of Peru. Each of the rooms was
+furnished in the style of a different period--one Louis Quatorze, one
+Louis Quinze, one Marie Antoinette, and so on. There was a drawing-room
+and a regal music-room; a dining-room in the Georgian style, and a
+billiard-room, also in the English fashion, with high wainscoting and
+open beams in the ceiling; and a library, and a morning-room and
+conservatory. Upstairs in the main suite of rooms was a royal bedstead,
+which alone was rumoured to have cost twenty-five thousand dollars; and
+you might have some idea of the magnificence of things when you learned
+that underneath the gilding of the furniture was the rare and precious
+Circassian walnut.
+
+All this was beautiful. But what brought the guests to Castle Havens
+was the casino, so the Major had remarked. It was really a private
+athletic club--with tan-bark hippodrome, having a ring the size of that
+in Madison Square Garden, and a skylight roof, and thirty or forty
+arc-lights for night events. There were bowling-alleys, billiard and
+lounging-rooms, hand-ball, tennis and racket-courts, a completely
+equipped gymnasium, a shooting-gallery, and a swimming-pool with
+Turkish and Russian baths. In this casino alone there were rooms for
+forty guests.
+
+Such was Castle Havens; it had cost three or four millions of dollars,
+and within the twelve-foot wall which surrounded its grounds lived two
+world-weary people who dreaded nothing so much as to be alone. There
+were always guests, and on special occasions there might be three or
+four score. They went whirling about the country in their autos; they
+rode and drove; they played games, outdoor and indoor, or gambled, or
+lounged and chatted, or wandered about at their own sweet will. Coming
+to one of these places was not different from staying at a great hotel,
+save that the company was selected, and instead of paying a bill, you
+gave twenty or thirty dollars to the servants when you left.
+
+It was a great palace of pleasure, in which beautiful and graceful men
+and women played together in all sorts of beautiful and graceful ways.
+In the evenings great logs blazed in the fireplace in the hall, and
+there might be an informal dance--there was always music at hand. Now
+and then there would be a stately ball, with rich gowns and flashing
+jewels, and the grounds ablaze with lights, and a full orchestra, and
+special trains from the city. Or a whole theatrical company would be
+brought down to give an entertainment in the theatre; or a minstrel
+show, or a troupe of acrobats, or a menagerie of trained animals. Or
+perhaps there would be a great pianist, or a palmist, or a trance
+medium. Anyone at all would be welcome who could bring a new thrill--it
+mattered nothing at all, though the price might be several hundred
+dollars a minute.
+
+Montague shook hands with his host and hostess, and with a number of
+others; among them Billy Price who forthwith challenged him, and
+carried him off to the shooting-gallery. Here he took a rifle, and
+proceeded to satisfy her as to his skill. This brought him to the
+notice of Siegfried Harvey, who was a famous cross-country rider and
+"polo-man." Harvey's father owned a score of copper-mines, and had
+named him after a race-horse; he was a big broad-shouldered fellow, a
+favourite of every one; and next morning, when he found that Montague
+sat a horse like one who was born to it, he invited him to come out to
+his place on Long Island, and see some of the fox-hunting.
+
+Then, after he had dressed for dinner, Montague came downstairs, and
+found Betty Wyman, shining like Aurora in an orange-coloured cloud. She
+introduced him to Mrs. Vivie Patton, who was tall and slender and
+fascinating, and had told her husband to go to hell. Mrs. Vivie had
+black eyes that snapped and sparkled, and she was a geyser of animation
+in a perpetual condition of eruption. Montague wondered if she would
+have talked with him so gaily had she known what he knew about her
+domestic entanglements.
+
+The company moved into the dining-room, where there was served another
+of those elaborate and enormously expensive meals which he concluded he
+was fated to eat for the rest of his life. Only, instead of Mrs. Billy
+Alden with her Scotch, there was Mrs. Vivie, who drank champagne in
+terrifying quantities; and afterward there was the inevitable grouping
+of the bridge fiends.
+
+Among the guests there was a long-haired and wild-looking foreign
+personage, who was the "lion" of the evening, and sat with half a dozen
+admiring women about him. Now he was escorted to the music-room, and
+revealed the fact that he was a violin virtuoso. He played what was
+called "salon music"--music written especially for ladies and gentlemen
+to listen to after dinner; and also a strange contrivance called a
+concerto, put together to enable the player to exhibit within a brief
+space the utmost possible variety of finger gymnastics. To learn to
+perform these feats one had to devote his whole lifetime to practising
+them, just like any circus acrobat; and so his mind became atrophied,
+and a naive and elemental vanity was all that was left to him.
+
+Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
+company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
+Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
+Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
+smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of young
+bloods about him to play "Klondike." This was a game of deadly hazards,
+which they played without limit; the players themselves were silent and
+impassive, but the spectators who gathered about were tense with
+excitement.
+
+In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty in
+his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens's
+jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday, and
+there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
+prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled about
+with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who would
+take part in it.
+
+And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed him
+the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended in
+laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared with
+an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas of
+green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
+staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian walk,
+leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with a basin
+sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses. There were
+sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of France, and
+Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and other treasures of
+art.
+
+And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a
+perfectly equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy; a
+polo-field, and an enclosed riding-ring for the children; and
+dog-kennels and pigeon-houses, greenhouses and deer-parks--one was
+prepared for bear-pits and a menagerie. Finally, on their way back,
+they passed the casino, where musical chimes pealed out the
+quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower from which
+the sounds had come.
+
+The more he gazed, the more he found to gaze at The roof of this
+building had many gables, in the Queen Anne style; and from the midst
+of them shot up the tower, which was octagonal and solid, suggestive of
+the Normans. It was decorated with Christmas-wreaths in white stucco,
+and a few miscellaneous ornaments like the gilded tassels one sees upon
+plush curtains. Overtopping all of this was the dome of a Turkish
+mosque. Rising out of the dome was something that looked like a
+dove-cot; and out of this rose the slender white steeple of a Methodist
+country church. On top of that was a statue of Diana.
+
+"What are you looking at?" asked the Major.
+
+"Nothing," said Montague, as he moved on. "Has there ever been any
+insanity in the Havens family?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the other, puzzled. "They say the old man never
+could sleep at night, and used to wander about alone in the park. I
+suppose he had things on his conscience."
+
+They strolled away; and the Major's flood-gates of gossip were opened.
+There was an old merchant in New York, who had been Havens's private
+secretary. And Havens was always in terror of assassination, and so
+whenever they travelled abroad he and the secretary exchanged places.
+"The old man is big and imposing," said the Major, "and it's funny to
+hear him tell how he used to receive the visitors and be stared at by
+the crowds, while Havens, who was little and insignificant, would
+pretend to make himself useful. And then one day a wild-looking
+creature came into the Havens office, and began tearing the wrappings
+off some package that shone like metal--and quick as a flash he and
+Havens flung themselves down on the floor upon their faces. Then, as
+nothing happened, they looked up, and saw the puzzled stranger gazing
+over the railing at them. He had a patent churn, made of copper, which
+he wanted Havens to market for him!"
+
+Montague could have wished that this party might last for a week or
+two, instead of only two days. He was interested in the life, and in
+those who lived it; all whom he met were people prominent in the social
+world, and some in the business world as well, and one could not have
+asked a better chance to study them.
+
+Montague was taking his time and feeling his way slowly. But all the
+time that he was playing and gossiping he never lost from mind his real
+purpose, which was to find a place for himself in the world of affairs;
+and he watched for people from whose conversation he could get a view
+of this aspect of things. So he was interested when Mrs. Smythe
+remarked that among his fellow-guests was Vandam, an official of one of
+the great life-insurance companies. "Freddie" Vandam, as the lady
+called him, was a man of might in the financial world; and Montague
+said to himself that in meeting him he would really be accomplishing
+something. Crack shots and polo-players and four-in-hand experts were
+all very well, but he had his living to earn, and he feared that the
+problem was going to prove complicated.
+
+So he was glad when chance brought him and young Vandam together, and
+Siegfried Harvey introduced them. And then Montague got the biggest
+shock which New York had given him yet.
+
+It was not what Freddie Vandam said; doubtless he had a right to be
+interested in the Horse Show, since he was to exhibit many fine horses,
+and he had no reason to feel called upon to talk about anything more
+serious to a stranger at a house party. But it was the manner of the
+man, his whole personality. For Freddie was a man of fashion, with all
+the exaggerated and farcical mannerisms of the dandy of the comic
+papers. He wore a conspicuous and foppish costume, and posed with a
+little cane; he cultivated a waving pompadour, and his silky moustache
+and beard were carefully trimmed to points, and kept sharp by his
+active fingers. His conversation was full of French phrases and French
+opinions; he had been reared abroad, and had a whole-souled contempt
+for all things American-even dictating his business letters in French,
+and leaving it for his stenographer to translate them. His shirts were
+embroidered with violets and perfumed with violets--and there were
+bunches of violets at his horses' heads, so that he might get the odour
+as he drove!
+
+There was a cruel saying about Freddie Vandam--that if only he had had
+a little more brains, he would have been half-witted. And Montague sat,
+and watched his mannerisms and listened to his inanities, with his mind
+in a state of bewilderment and dismay. When at last he got up and
+walked away, it was with a new sense of the complicated nature of the
+problem that confronted him. Who was there that could give him the key
+to this mystery--who could interpret to him a world in which a man such
+as this was in control of four or five hundred millions of trust funds?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+It was quite futile to attempt to induce anyone to talk about serious
+matters just now--for the coming week all Society belonged to the
+horse. The parties which went to church on Sunday morning talked about
+horses on the way, and the crowds that gathered in front of the church
+door to watch them descend from their automobiles, and to get "points"
+on their conspicuous costumes--these would read about horses all
+afternoon in the Sunday papers, and about the gowns which the women
+would wear at the show.
+
+Some of the party went up on Sunday evening; Montague went with the
+rest on Monday morning, and had lunch with Mrs. Robbie Walling and
+Oliver and Alice. They had arrayed him in a frock coat and silk hat and
+fancy "spats"; and they took him and sat him in the front row of
+Robbie's box.
+
+There was a great tan-bark arena, in which the horses performed; and
+then a railing, and a broad promenade for the spectators; and then,
+raised a few feet above, the boxes in which sat all Society. For the
+Horse Show had now become a great social function. Last year a visiting
+foreign prince had seen fit to attend it, and this year "everybody"
+would come.
+
+Montague was rapidly getting used to things; he observed with a smile
+how easy it was to take for granted embroidered bed and table linen,
+and mural paintings, and private cars, and gold plate. At first it had
+seemed to him strange to be waited upon by a white woman, and by a
+white man quite unthinkable; but he was becoming accustomed to having
+silent and expressionless lackeys everywhere about him, attending to
+his slightest want. So he presumed that if he waited long enough, he
+might even get used to horses which had their tails cut off to stumps,
+and their manes to rows of bristles, and which had been taught to lift
+their feet in strange and eccentric ways, and were driven with burred
+bits in their mouths to torture them and make them step lively.
+
+There were road-horses, coach-horses, saddle-horses and hunters,
+polo-ponies, stud-horses--every kind of horse that is used for
+pleasure, over a hundred different "classes" of them. They were put
+through their paces about the ring, and there was a committee which
+judged them, and awarded blue and red ribbons. Apparently their highly
+artificial kind of excellence was a real thing to the people who took
+part in the show; for the spectators thrilled with excitement, and
+applauded the popular victors. There was a whole set of conventions
+which were generally understood--there was even a new language. You
+were told that these "turnouts" were "nobby" and "natty"; they were
+"swagger" and "smart" and "swell."
+
+However, the horse was really a small part of this show; before one had
+sat out an afternoon he realized that the function was in reality a
+show of Society. For six or seven hours during the day the broad
+promenade would be so packed with human beings that one moved about
+with difficulty; and this throng gazed towards the ring almost
+never--it stared up into the boxes. All the year round the discontented
+millions of the middle classes read of the doings of the "smart set";
+and here they had a chance to come and see them-alive, and real, and
+dressed in their showiest costumes. Here was all the grand monde, in
+numbered boxes, and with their names upon the programmes, so that one
+could get them straight. Ten thousand people from other cities had come
+to New York on purpose to get a look. Women who lived in
+boarding-houses and made their own clothes, had come to get hints; all
+the dressmakers in town were present for the same purpose.. Society
+reporters had come, with notebooks in hand; and next morning the
+imitators of Society all over the United States would read about it, in
+such fashion as this: "Mrs. Chauncey Venable was becomingly gowned in
+mauve cloth, made with an Eton jacket trimmed with silk braid, and
+opening over a chemisette of lace. Her hat was of the same colour,
+draped with a great quantity of mauve and orange tulle, and surmounted
+with birds of paradise to match. Her furs were silver fox."
+
+The most intelligent of the great metropolitan dailies would print
+columns of this sort of material; and as for the "yellow" journals,
+they would have discussions of the costumes by "experts," and half a
+page of pictures of the most conspicuous of the box-holders. While
+Montague sat talking with Mrs. Walling, half a dozen cameras were
+snapped at them; and once a young man with a sketch-book placed himself
+in front of them and went placidly to work.--Concerning such things the
+society dame had three different sets of emotions: first, the one which
+she showed in public, that of bored and contemptuous indifference;
+second, the one which she expressed to her friends, that of outraged
+but helpless indignation; and third, the one which she really felt,
+that of triumphant exultation over her rivals, whose pictures were not
+published and whose costumes were not described.
+
+It was a great dress parade of society women. One who wished to play a
+proper part in it would spend at least ten thousand dollars upon her
+costumes for the week. It was necessary to have a different gown for
+the afternoon and evening of each day; and some, who were adepts at
+quick changes and were proud of it, would wear three or four a day, and
+so need a couple of dozen gowns for the show. And of course there had
+to be hats and shoes and gloves to match. There would be robes of
+priceless fur hung carelessly over the balcony to make a setting; and
+in the evening there would be pyrotechnical displays of jewels. Mrs.
+Virginia Landis wore a pair of simple pearl earrings, which she told
+the reporters had cost twenty thousand dollars; and there were two
+women who displayed four hundred thousand dollars' worth of
+diamonds--and each of them had hired a detective to hover about in the
+crowd and keep watch over her!
+
+Nor must one suppose, because the horse was an inconspicuous part of
+the show, that he was therefore an inexpensive part. One man was to be
+seen here driving a four-in-hand of black stallions which had cost
+forty thousand; there were other men who drove only one horse, and had
+paid forty thousand for that. Half a million was a moderate estimate of
+the cost of the "string" which some would exhibit. And of course these
+horses were useless, save for show purposes, and to breed other horses
+like them. Many of them never went out of their stables except for
+exercise upon a track; and the cumbrous and enormous; expensive coaches
+were never by any possibility used elsewhere--when they were taken from
+place to place they seldom went upon their own wheels.
+
+And there were people here who made their chief occupation in life the
+winning of blue ribbons at these shows. They kept great country estates
+especially for the horses, and had private indoor exhibition rings.
+Robbie Walling and Chauncey Venable were both such people; in the
+summer of next year another of the Wallings took a string across the
+water to teach the horse-show game to Society in London. He took twenty
+or thirty horses, under the charge of an expert manager and a dozen
+assistants; he sent sixteen different kinds of carriages, and two great
+coaches, and a ton of harness and other stuff. It required one whole
+deck of a steamer, and the expedition enabled him to get rid of six
+hundred thousand dollars.
+
+All through the day, of course, Robbie was down in the ring with his
+trainers and his competitors, and Montague sat and kept his wife
+company. There was a steady stream of visitors, who came to
+congratulate her upon their successes, and to commiserate with Mrs.
+Chauncey Venable over the sufferings of the un-happy victim of a
+notoriety-seeking district attorney.
+
+There was just one drawback to the Horse Show, as Montague gathered
+from the conversation that went on among the callers: it was public,
+and there was no way to prevent undesirable people from taking part.
+There were, it appeared, hordes of rich people in New York who were not
+in Society, and of whose existence Society was haughtily unaware; but
+these people might enter horses and win prizes, and even rent a box and
+exhibit their clothes. And they might induce the reporters to mention
+them--and of course the ignorant populace did not know the difference,
+and stared at them just as hard as at Mrs. Robbie or Mrs. Winnie. And
+so for a whole blissful week these people had all the sensations of
+being in Society! "It won't be very long before that will kill the
+Horse Show," said Mrs. Vivie Patton, with a snap of her black eyes.
+
+There was Miss Yvette Simpkins, for instance; Society frothed at the
+mouth when her name was mentioned. Miss Yvette was the niece of a
+stock-broker who was wealthy, and she thought that she was in Society,
+and the foolish public thought so, too. Miss Yvette made a speciality
+of newspaper publicity; you were always seeing her picture, with some
+new "Worth creation," and the picture would be labelled "Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, the best-dressed woman in New York," or "Miss Yvette
+Simpkins, who is known as the best woman whip in Society." It was said
+that Miss Yvette, who was short and stout, and had a rosy German face,
+had paid five thousand dollars at one clip for photographs of herself
+in a new wardrobe; and her pictures were sent to the newspapers in
+bundles of a dozen at a time. Miss Yvette possessed over a million
+dollars' worth of diamonds--the finest in the country, according to the
+newspapers; she had spent a hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars
+this year upon her clothes, and she gave long interviews, in which she
+set forth the fact that a woman nowadays could not really be well
+dressed upon less than a hundred thousand a year. It was Miss Yvette's
+boast that she had never ridden in a street-car in her life.
+
+Montague always had a soft spot in his heart for the unfortunate Miss
+Yvette, who laboured so hard to be a guiding light; for it chanced to
+be while she was in the ring, exhibiting her skill in driving tandem,
+that he met with a fateful encounter. Afterward, when he came to look
+back upon these early days, it seemed strange to him that he should
+have gone about this place, so careless and unsuspecting, while the
+fates were weaving strange destinies about him.
+
+It was on Tuesday afternoon, and he sat in the box of Mrs. Venable, a
+sister-in-law of the Major. The Major, who was a care-free bachelor,
+was there himself, and also Betty Wyman, who was making sprightly
+comments on the passers-by; and there strolled into the box Chappie de
+Peyster, accompanied by a young lady.
+
+So many people had stopped and been introduced and then passed on, that
+Montague merely glanced at her once. He noticed that she was tall and
+graceful, and caught her name, Miss Hegan.
+
+The turnouts in the ring consisted of one horse harnessed in front of
+another; and Montague was wondering what conceivable motive could
+induce a human being to hitch and drive horses in that fashion. The
+conversation turned upon Miss Yvette, who was in the ring; and Betty
+remarked upon the airy grace with which she wielded the long whip she
+carried. "Did you see what the paper said about her this morning?" she
+asked. "' Miss Simpkins was exquisitely clad in purple velvet,' and so
+on! She looked for all the world like the Venus at the Hippodrome!"
+
+"Why isn't she in Society?" asked Montague, curiously.
+
+"She!" exclaimed Betty. "Why, she's a travesty!"
+
+There was a moment's pause, preceding a remark by their young lady
+visitor. "I've an idea," said she, "that the real reason she never got
+into Society was that she was fond of her old father."
+
+And Montague gave a short glance at the speaker, who was gazing fixedly
+into the ring. He heard the Major chuckle, and he thought that he heard
+Betty Wyman give a little sniff. A few moments later the young lady
+arose, and with some remark to Mrs. Venable about how well her costume
+became her, she passed on out of the box.
+
+"Who is that?" asked Montague.
+
+"That," the Major answered, "that's Laura Hegan--Jim Hegan's daughter."
+
+"Oh!" said Montague, and caught his breath. Jim Hegan--Napoleon of
+finance--czar of a gigantic system of railroads, and the power behind
+the political thrones of many states.
+
+"His only daughter, too," the Major added. "Gad, what a juicy morsel
+for somebody!"
+
+"Well, she'll make him pay for all he gets, whoever he is!" retorted
+Betty, vindictively.
+
+"You don't like her?" inquired Montague; and Betty replied promptly, "I
+do not!"
+
+"Her daddy and Betty's granddaddy are always at swords' points," put in
+Major Venable.
+
+"I have nothing to do with my granddaddy's quarrels," said the young
+lady. "I have troubles enough of my own."
+
+"What is the matter with Miss Hegan?" asked Montague, laughing.
+
+"She's an idea she's too good for the world she lives in," said Betty.
+"When you're with her, you feel as you will before the judgment throne."
+
+"Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling," put in the Major.
+
+"She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it," went on
+the girl. "All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my life
+is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to say what
+they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them or not."
+
+"Mostly not," said the Major, grimly; and added, "Anyway, she's
+beautiful."
+
+"Perhaps," said the other. "So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer something
+more comfortable."
+
+"What's Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?" asked Mrs. Venable.
+"Is he a candidate?"
+
+"Maybe his debts are troubling him again," said Mistress Betty. "He
+must be in a desperate plight.--Did you hear how Jack Audubon proposed
+to her?"
+
+"Did Jack propose?" exclaimed the Major.
+
+"Of course he did," said the girl. "His brother told me." Then, for
+Montague's benefit, she explained, "Jack Audubon is the Major's nephew,
+and he's a bookworm, and spends all his time collecting scarabs."
+
+"What did he say to her?" asked the Major, highly amused.
+
+"Why," said Betty, "he told her he knew she didn't love him; but also
+she knew that he didn't care anything about her money, and she might
+like to marry him so that other men would let her alone."
+
+"Gad!" cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. "A masterpiece!"
+
+"Does she have so many suitors?" asked Montague; and the Major replied,
+"My dear boy--she'll have a hundred million dollars some day!"
+
+At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went for a
+stroll with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss Hegan's remark.
+
+"What she said is perfectly true," replied the Major; "only it riled
+Betty. There's many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who has
+stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold."
+
+"What's the matter with old Simpkins?" asked the other.
+
+"Just a queer boy," was the reply. "He has a big pile, and his one joy
+in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he who makes her
+ridiculous--he has a regular press agent for her, a chap he loads up
+with jewellery and cheques whenever he gets her picture into the
+papers."
+
+The Major paused a moment to greet some acquaintance, and then resumed
+the conversation. Apparently he could gossip in this intimate fashion
+about any person whom you named. Old Simpkins had been very poor as a
+boy, it appeared, and he had never got over the memory of it. Miss
+Yvette spent fifty thousand at a clip for Paris gowns; but every day
+her old uncle would save up the lumps of sugar which came with the
+expensive lunch he had brought to his office. And when he had several
+pounds he would send them home by messenger!
+
+This conversation gave Montague a new sense of the complicatedness of
+the world into which he had come. Miss Simpkins was "impossible"; and
+yet there was--for instance--that Mrs. Landis whom he had met at Mrs.
+Winnie Duval's. He had met her several times at the show; and he heard
+the Major and his sister-in-law chuckling over a paragraph in the
+society journal, to the effect that Mrs. Virginia van Rensselaer Landis
+had just returned from a successful hunting-trip in the far West. He
+did not see the humour of this, at least not until they had told him of
+another paragraph which had appeared some time before: stating that
+Mrs. Landis had gone to acquire residence in South Dakota, taking with
+her thirty-five trunks and a poodle; and that "Leanie" Hopkins, the
+handsome young stock-broker, had taken a six months' vow of poverty,
+chastity, and obedience.
+
+And yet Mrs. Landis was "in" Society! And moreover, she spent nearly as
+much upon her clothes as Miss Yvette, and the clothes were quite as
+conspicuous; and if the papers did not print pages about them, it was
+not because Mrs. Landis was not perfectly willing. She was painted and
+made up quite as frankly as any chorus-girl on the stage. She laughed a
+great deal, and in a high key, and she and her friends told stories
+which made Montague wish to move out of the way.
+
+Mrs. Landis had for some reason taken a fancy to Alice, and invited her
+home to lunch with her twice during the show. And after they had got
+home in the evening, the girl sat upon the bed in her fur-trimmed
+wrapper, and told Montague and his mother and Mammy Lucy all about her
+visit.
+
+"I don't believe that woman has a thing to do or to think about in the
+world except to wear clothes!" she said. "Why, she has adjustable
+mirrors on ball-bearings, so that she can see every part of her skirts!
+And she gets all her gowns from Paris, four times a year--she says
+there are four seasons now, instead of two! I thought that my new
+clothes amounted to something, but my goodness, when I saw hers!"
+
+Then Alice went on to describe the unpacking of fourteen trunks, which
+had just come up from the custom-house that day. Mrs. Virginia's
+couturiere had her photograph and her colouring (represented in actual
+paints) and a figure made up from exact measurements; and so every one
+of the garments would fit her perfectly. Each one came stuffed with
+tissue paper and held in place by a lattice-work of tape; and attached
+to each gown was a piece of the fabric, from which her shoemaker would
+make shoes or slippers. There were street-costumes and opera-wraps,
+robes de chambre and tea-gowns, reception-dresses, and wonderful ball
+and dinner gowns. Most of these latter were to be embroidered with
+jewellery before they were worn, and imitation jewels were sewn on, to
+show how the real ones were to be placed. These garments were made of
+real lace or Parisian embroidery, and the prices paid for them were
+almost impossible to credit. Some of them were made of lace so filmy
+that the women who made them had to sit in damp cellars, because the
+sunlight would dry the fine threads and they would break; a single yard
+of the lace represented forty days of labour. There was a pastel
+"batiste de soie" Pompadour robe, embroidered with cream silk flowers,
+which had cost one thousand dollars. There was a hat to go with it,
+which had cost a hundred and twenty-five, and shoes of grey
+antelope-skin, buckled with mother-of-pearl, which had cost forty.
+There was a gorgeous and intricate ball-dress of pale green chiffon
+satin, with orchids embroidered in oxidized silver, and a long court
+train, studded with diamonds--and this had cost six thousand dollars
+without the jewels! And there was an auto-coat which had cost three
+thousand; and an opera-wrap made in Leipsic, of white unborn baby lamb,
+lined with ermine, which had cost twelve thousand--with a thousand
+additional for a hat to match! Mrs. Landis thought nothing of paying
+thirty-five dollars for a lace handkerchief, or sixty dollars for a
+pair of spun silk hose, or two hundred dollars for a pearl and
+gold-handled parasol trimmed with cascades of chiffon, and made, like
+her hats, one for each gown.
+
+"And she insists that these things are worth the money," said Alice.
+"She says it's not only the material in them, but the ideas. Each
+costume is a study, like a picture. 'I pay for the creative genius of
+the artist,' she said to me--'for his ability to catch my ideas and
+apply them to my personality--my complexion and hair and eyes.
+Sometimes I design my own costumes, and so I know what hard work it
+is!'"
+
+Mrs. Landis came from one of New York's oldest families, and she was
+wealthy in her own right; she had a palace on Fifth Avenue, and now
+that she had turned her husband out, she had nothing at all to put in
+it except her clothes. Alice told about the places in which she kept
+them--it was like a museum! There was a gown-room, made dust-proof, of
+polished hardwood, and with tier upon tier of long poles running
+across, and padded skirt-supporters hanging from them. Everywhere there
+was order and system--each skirt was numbered, and in a
+chiffonier-drawer of the same number you would find the waist--and so
+on with hats and stockings and gloves and shoes and parasols. There was
+a row of closets, having shelves piled up with dainty lace-trimmed and
+beribboned lingerie; there were two closets full of hats and three of
+shoes. "When she went West," said Alice, "one of her maids counted, and
+found that she had over four hundred pairs! And she actually has a
+cabinet with a card-catalogue to keep track of them. And all the
+shelves are lined with perfumed silk sachets, and she has tiny sachets
+sewed in every skirt and waist; and she has her own private
+perfume--she gave me some. She calls it Occur de Jeannette, and she
+says she designed it herself, and had it patented!"
+
+And then Alice went on to describe the maid's work-room, which was also
+of polished hardwood, and dust-proof, and had a balcony for brushing
+clothes, and wires upon which to hang them, and hot and cold water, and
+a big ironing-table and an electric stove. "But there can't be much
+work to do," laughed the girl, "for she never wears a gown more than
+two or three times. Just think of paying several thousand dollars for a
+costume, and giving it to your poor relations after you have worn it
+only twice! And the worst of it is that Mrs. Landis says it's all
+nothing unusual; you'll find such arrangements in every home of people
+who are socially prominent. She says there are women who boast of never
+appearing twice in the same gown, and there's one dreadful personage in
+Boston who wears each costume once, and then has it solemnly cremated
+by her butler!"
+
+"It is wicked to do such things," put in old Mrs. Montague, when she
+had heard this tale through. "I don't see how people can get any
+pleasure out of it."
+
+"That's what I said," replied Alice.
+
+"To whom did you say that?" asked Montague. "To Mrs. Landis?"
+
+"No," said Alice, "to a cousin of hers. I was downstairs waiting for
+her, and this girl came in. And we got to talking about it, and I said
+that I didn't think I could ever get used to such things."
+
+"What did she say?" asked the other.
+
+"She answered me strangely," said the girl. "She's tall, and very
+stately, and I was a little bit afraid of her. She said, 'You'll get
+used to it. Everybody you know will be doing it, and if you try to do
+differently they'll take offence; and you won't have the courage to do
+without friends. You'll be meaning every day to stop, but you never
+will, and you'll go on until you die.'"
+
+"What did you say to that?"
+
+"Nothing," answered Alice. "Just then Mrs. Landis came in, and Miss
+Hegan went away."
+
+"Miss Hegan?" echoed Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "That's her name--Laura Hegan. Have you met her?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+The Horse Show was held in Madison Square Garden, a building occupying
+a whole city block. It seemed to Montague that during the four days he
+attended he was introduced to enough people to fill it to the doors.
+Each one of the exquisite ladies and gentlemen extended to him a
+delicately gloved hand, and remarked what perfect weather they were
+having, and asked him how long he had been in New York, and what he
+thought of it. Then they would talk about the horses, and about the
+people who were present, and what they had on.
+
+He saw little of his brother, who was squiring the Walling ladies most
+of the time; and Alice, too, was generally separated from him and taken
+care of by others. Yet he was never alone--there was always some young
+matron ready to lead him to her carriage and whisk him away to lunch or
+dinner.
+
+Many times he wondered why people should be so kind to him, a stranger,
+and one who could do nothing for them in return. Mrs. Billy Alden
+undertook to explain it to him, one afternoon, as he sat in her box.
+There had to be some people to enjoy, it appeared, or there would be no
+fun in the game. "Everything is new and strange to you," said she, "and
+you're delicious and refreshing; you make these women think perhaps
+they oughtn't to be so bored after all! Here's a woman who's bought a
+great painting; she's told that it's great, but she doesn't understand
+it herself--all she knows is that it cost her a hundred thousand
+dollars. And now you come along, and to you it's really a painting--and
+don't you see how gratifying that is to her?"
+
+"Oliver is always telling me it's bad form to admire," said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"Yes?" said the other. "Well, don't you let that brother of yours spoil
+you. There are more than enough of blase people in town--you be
+yourself."
+
+He appreciated the compliment, but added, "I'm afraid that when the
+novelty is worn off, people will be tired of me."
+
+"You'll find your place," said Mrs. Alden--"the people you like and who
+like you." And she went on to explain that here he was being passed
+about among a number of very different "sets," with different people
+and different tastes. Society had become split up in that manner of
+late--each set being jealous and contemptuous of all the other sets.
+Because of the fact that they overlapped a little at the edges, it was
+possible for him to meet here a great many people who never met each
+other, and were even unaware of each other's existence.
+
+And Mrs. Alden went on to set forth the difference between these
+"sets"; they ran from the most exclusive down to the most "yellow,"
+where they shaded off into the disreputable rich--of whom, it seemed,
+there were hordes in the city. These included "sporting" and theatrical
+and political people, some of whom were very rich indeed; and these
+sets in turn shaded off into the criminals and the demi-monde--who
+might also easily be rich. "Some day," said Mrs. Alden "you should get
+my brother to tell you about all these people. He's been in politics,
+you know, and he has a racing-stable."
+
+And Mrs. Alden told him about the subtle little differences in the
+conventions of these various sets of Society. There was the matter of
+women smoking, for instance. All women smoked, nowadays; but some would
+do it only in their own apartments, with their women friends; and some
+would retire to an out-of-the-way corner to do it; while others would
+smoke in their own dining-rooms, or wherever the men smoked. All agreed
+however, in never smoking "in public"--that is, where they would be
+seen by people not of their own set. Such, at any rate, had always been
+the rule, though a few daring ones were beginning to defy even that.
+
+Such rules were very rigid, but they were purely conventional, they had
+nothing to do with right or wrong: a fact which Mrs. Alden set forth
+with her usual incisiveness. A woman, married or unmarried, might
+travel with a man all over Europe, and every one might know that she
+did it, but it would make no difference, so long as she did not do it
+in America. There was one young matron whom Montague would meet, a
+raging beauty, who regularly got drunk at dinner parties, and had to be
+escorted to her carriage by the butler. She moved in the most exclusive
+circles, and every one treated it as a joke. Unpleasant things like
+this did not hurt a person unless they got "out"--that is, unless they
+became a scandal in the courts or the newspapers. Mrs. Alden herself
+had a cousin (whom she cordially hated) who had gotten a divorce from
+her husband and married her lover forthwith and had for this been
+ostracized by Society. Once when she came to some semi-public affair,
+fifty women had risen at once and left the room! She might have lived
+with her lover, both before and after the divorce, and every one might
+have known it, and no one would have cared; but the convenances
+declared that she should not marry him until a year had elapsed after
+the divorce.
+
+One thing to which Mrs. Alden could testify, as a result of a
+lifetime's observation, was the rapid rate at which these conventions,
+even the most essential of them, were giving way, and being replaced by
+a general "do as you please." Anyone could see that the power of women
+like Mrs. Devon, who represented the old regime, and were dignified and
+austere and exclusive, was yielding before the onslaught of new people,
+who were bizarre and fantastic and promiscuous and loud. And the
+younger sets cared no more about anyone--nor about anything under
+heaven, save to have a good time in their own harum-scarum ways. In the
+old days one always received a neatly-written or engraved invitation to
+dinner, worded in impersonal and formal style; but the other day Mrs.
+Alden had found a message which had been taken from the telephone:
+"Please come to dinner, but don't come unless you can bring a man, or
+we'll be thirteen at the table."
+
+And along with this went a perfectly incredible increase in luxury and
+extravagance. "You are surprised at what you see here to-day," said
+she--"but take my word for it, if you were to come back five years
+later, you'd find all our present standards antiquated, and our present
+pace-makers sent to the rear. You'd find new hotels and theatres
+opening, and food and clothing and furniture that cost twice as much as
+they cost now. Not so long ago a private car was a luxury; now it's as
+much a necessity as an opera-box or a private ball-room, and people who
+really count have private trains. I can remember when our girls wore
+pretty muslin gowns in summer, and sent them to wash; now they wear
+what they call lingerie gowns, dimity en princesse, with silk
+embroidery and real lace and ribbons, that cost a thousand dollars
+apiece and won't wash. Years ago when I gave a dinner, I invited a
+dozen friends, and my own chef cooked it and my own servants served it.
+Now I have to pay my steward ten thousand a year, and nothing that I
+have is good enough. I have to ask forty or fifty people, and I call in
+a caterer, and he brings everything of his own, and my servants go off
+and get drunk. You used to get a good dinner for ten dollars a plate,
+and fifteen was something special; but now you hear of dinners that
+cost a thousand a plate! And it's not enough to have beautiful flowers
+on the table--you have to have 'scenery'; there must be a rural
+landscape for a background, and goldfish in the finger-bowls, and five
+thousand dollars' worth of Florida orchids on the table, and floral
+favours of roses that cost a hundred and fifty dollars a dozen. I
+attended a dinner at the Waldorf last year that had cost fifty thousand
+dollars; and when I ask those people to see me, I have to give them as
+good as I got. The other day I paid a thousand dollars for a
+tablecloth!"
+
+"Why do you do it?" asked Montague, abruptly.
+
+"God knows," said the other; "I don't. I sometimes wonder myself. I
+guess it's because I've nothing else to do. It's like the story they
+tell about my brother--he was losing money in a gambling-place in
+Saratoga, and some one said to him, 'Davy, why do you go there--don't
+you know the game is crooked?' 'Of course it's crooked,' said he, 'but,
+damn it, it's the only game in town!'"
+
+"The pressure is more than anyone can stand," said Mrs. Alden, after a
+moment's thought. "It's like trying to swim against a current. You have
+to float, and do what every one expects you to do--your children and
+your friends and your servants and your tradespeople. All the world is
+in a conspiracy against you."
+
+"It's appalling to me," said the man.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "and there's never any end to it. You think you
+know it all, but you find you really know very little. Just think of
+the number of people there are trying to go the pace! They say there
+are seven thousand millionaires in this country, but I say there are
+twenty thousand in New York alone--or if they don't own a million,
+they're spending the income of it, which amounts to the same thing. You
+can figure that a man who pays ten thousand a year for rent is paying
+fifty thousand to live; and there's Fifth Avenue--two miles of it, if
+you count the uptown and downtown parts; and there's Madison Avenue,
+and half a dozen houses adjoining on every side street; and then there
+are the hotels and apartment houses, to say nothing of the West Side
+and Riverside Drive. And you meet these mobs of people in the shops and
+the hotels and the theatres, and they all want to be better dressed
+than you. I saw a woman here to-day that I never saw in my life before,
+and I heard her say she'd paid two thousand dollars for a lace
+handkerchief; and it might have been true, for I've been asked to pay
+ten thousand for a lace shawl at a bargain. It's a common enough thing
+to see a woman walking on Fifth Avenue with twenty or thirty thousand
+dollars' worth of furs on her. Fifty thousand is often paid for a coat
+of sable, and I know of one that cost two hundred thousand. I know
+women who have a dozen sets of furs--ermine, chinchilla, black fox,
+baby lamb, and mink and sable; and I know a man whose chauffeur quit
+him because he wouldn't buy him a ten-thousand-dollar fur coat! And
+once people used to pack their furs away and take care of them; but now
+they wear them about the street, or at the sea-shore, and you can
+fairly see them fade. Or else their cut goes out of fashion, and so
+they have to have new ones!"
+
+All that was material for thought. It was all true--there was no
+question about that. It seemed to be the rule that whenever you
+questioned a tale of the extravagances of New York, you would hear the
+next day of something several times more startling. Montague was
+staggered at the idea of a two-hundred-thousand-dollar fur coat; and
+yet not long afterward there arrived in the city a titled Englishwoman,
+who owned a coat worth a million dollars, which hard-headed insurance
+companies had insured for half a million. It was made of the soft
+plumage of rare Hawaiian birds, and had taken twenty years to make;
+each feather was crescent-shaped, and there were wonderful designs in
+crimson and gold and black. Every day in the casual conversation of
+your acquaintances you heard of similar incredible things; a tiny
+antique Persian rug, which could be folded into an overcoat pocket, for
+ten thousand dollars; a set of five "art fans," each blade painted by a
+famous artist and costing forty-three thousand dollars; a crystal cup
+for eighty thousand; an edition de luxe of the works of Dickens for a
+hundred thousand; a ruby, the size of a pigeon's egg, for three hundred
+thousand. In some of these great New York palaces there were fountains
+which cost a hundred dollars a minute to run; and in the harbour there
+were yachts which cost twenty thousand a month to keep in commission.
+
+And that same day, as it chanced, he learned of a brand-new kind of
+squandering. He went home to lunch with Mrs. Winnie Duval, and there
+met Mrs. Caroline Smythe, with whom he had talked at Castle Havens.
+Mrs. Smythe, whose husband had been a well-known Wall Street plunger,
+was soft and mushy, and very gushing in manner; and she asked him to
+come home to dinner with her, adding, "I'll introduce you to my babies."
+
+From what Montague had so far seen, he judged that babies played a very
+small part in the lives of the women of Society; and so he was
+interested, and asked, "How many have you?"
+
+"Only two, in town," said Mrs. Smythe. "I've just come up, you see."
+
+"How old are they?" he inquired politely; and when the lady added,
+"About two years," he asked, "Won't they be in bed by dinner time?"
+
+"Oh my, no!" said Mrs. Smythe. "The dear little lambs wait up for me. I
+always find them scratching at my chamber door and wagging their little
+tails."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie laughed merrily and said, "Why do you fool him?" and
+went on to inform Montague that Caroline's "babies" were griffons
+Bruxelloises. Griffons suggested to him vague ideas of dragons and
+unicorns and gargoyles; but he said nothing more, save to accept the
+invitation, and that evening he discovered that griffons Bruxelloises
+were tiny dogs, long-haired, yellow, and fluffy; and that for her two
+priceless treasures Mrs. Smythe had an expert nurse, to whom she paid a
+hundred dollars a month, and also a footman, and a special cuisine in
+which their complicated food was prepared. They had a regular dentist,
+and a physician, and gold plate to eat from. Mrs. Smythe also owned two
+long-haired St. Bernards of a very rare breed, and a fierce Great Dane,
+and a very fat Boston bull pup--the last having been trained to go for
+an airing all alone in her carriage, with a solemn coachman and footman
+to drive him.
+
+Montague, deftly keeping the conversation upon the subject of pets,
+learned that all this was quite common. Many women in Society
+artificially made themselves barren, because of the inconvenience
+incidental to pregnancy and motherhood; and instead they lavished their
+affections upon cats and dogs. Some of these animals had elaborate
+costumes, rivalling in expensiveness those of their step-mothers. They
+wore tiny boots, which cost eight dollars a pair--house boots, and
+street boots lacing up to the knees; they had house-coats,
+walking-coats, dusters, sweaters, coats lined with ermine, and
+automobile coats with head and chest-protectors and hoods and
+goggles--and each coat fitted with a pocket for its tiny handkerchief
+of fine linen or lace! And they had collars set with rubies and pearls
+and diamonds--one had a collar that cost ten thousand dollars!
+Sometimes there would be a coat to match every gown of the owner. There
+were dog nurseries and resting-rooms, in which they might be left
+temporarily; and manicure parlours for cats, with a physician in
+charge. When these pets died, there was an expensive cemetery in
+Brooklyn especially for their interment; and they would be duly
+embalmed and buried in plush-lined casket, and would have costly marble
+monuments. When one of Mrs. Smythe's best loved pugs had fallen ill of
+congestion of the liver, she had had tan-bark put upon the street in
+front of her house; and when in spite of this the dog died, she had
+sent out cards edged in black, inviting her friends to a "memorial
+service." Also she showed Montague a number of books with very costly
+bindings, in which were demonstrated the unity, simplicity, and
+immortality of the souls of cats and dogs.
+
+Apparently the sentimental Mrs. Smythe was willing to talk about these
+pets all through dinner; and so was her aunt, a thin and angular
+spinster, who sat on Montague's other side. And he was willing to
+listen--he wanted to know it all. There were umbrellas for dogs, to be
+fastened over their backs in wet weather; there were manicure and
+toilet sets, and silver medicine-chests, and jewel-studded whips. There
+were sets of engraved visiting-cards; there were wheel-chairs in which
+invalid cats and dogs might be taken for an airing. There were shows
+for cats and dogs, with pedigrees and prizes, and nearly as great
+crowds as the Horse Show; Mrs. Smythe's St. Bernards were worth seven
+thousand dollars apiece, and there were bull-dogs worth twice that.
+There was a woman who had come all the way from the Pacific coast to
+have a specialist perform an operation upon the throat of her Yorkshire
+terrier! There was another who had built for her dog a tiny Queen Anne
+cottage, with rooms papered and carpeted and hung with lace curtains!
+Once a young man of fashion had come to the Waldorf and registered
+himself and "Miss Elsie Cochrane"; and when the clerk made the usual
+inquiries as to the relationship of the young lady, it transpired that
+Miss Elsie was a dog, arrayed in a prim little tea-gown, and requiring
+a room to herself. And then there was a tale of a cat which had
+inherited a life-pension from a forty-thousand-dollar estate; it had a
+two-floor apartment and several attendants, and sat at table and ate
+shrimps and Italian chestnuts, and had a velvet couch for naps, and a
+fur-lined basket for sleeping at night!
+
+Four days of horses were enough for Montague, and on Friday morning,
+when Siegfried Harvey called him up and asked if he and Alice would
+come out to "The Roost" for the week-end, he accepted gladly. Charlie
+Carter was going, and volunteered to take them in his car; and so again
+they crossed the Williamsburg Bridge--"the Jewish passover," as Charlie
+called it--and went out on Long Island.
+
+Montague was very anxious to get a "line" on Charlie Carter; for he had
+not been prepared for the startling promptness with which this young
+man had fallen at Alice's feet. It was so obvious, that everybody was
+smiling over it--he was with her every minute that he could arrange it,
+and he turned up at every place to which she was invited. Both Mrs.
+Winnie and Oliver were quite evidently complacent, but Montague was by
+no means the same. Charlie had struck him as a good-natured but rather
+weak youth, inclined to melancholy; he was never without a cigarette in
+his fingers, and there had been signs that he was not quite proof
+against the pitfalls which Society set about him in the shape of
+decanters and wine-cups: though in a world where the fragrance of
+spirits was never out of one's nostrils, and where people drank with
+such perplexing frequency, it was hard to know where to draw a line.
+
+"You won't find my place like Havens's," Siegfried Harvey had said. "It
+is real country." Montague found it the most attractive of all the
+homes he had seen so far. It was a big rambling house, all in rustic
+style, with great hewn logs outside, and rafters within, and a winding
+oak stairway, and any number of dens and cosy corners, and broad
+window-seats with mountains of pillows. Everything here was built for
+comfort--there was a billiard-room and a smoking-room, and a real
+library with readable books and great chairs in which one sank out of
+sight. There were log fires blazing everywhere, and pictures on the
+walls that told of sport, and no end of guns and antlers and trophies
+of all sorts. But you were not to suppose that all this elaborate
+rusticity would be any excuse for the absence of attendants in livery,
+and a chef who boasted the cordon bleu, and a dinner-table resplendent
+with crystal and silver and orchids and ferns. After all, though the
+host called it a "small" place, he had invited twenty guests, and he
+had a hunter in his stables for each one of them.
+
+But the most wonderful thing about "The Roost" was the fact that, at a
+touch of a button, all the walls of the lower rooms vanished into the
+second story, and there was one huge, log-lighted room, with violins
+tuning up and calling to one's feet. They set a fast pace here--the
+dancing lasted until three o'clock, and at dawn again they were dressed
+and mounted, and following the pink-coated grooms and the hounds across
+the frost-covered fields.
+
+Montague was half prepared for a tame fox, but this was spared him.
+There was a real game, it seemed; and soon the pack gave tongue, and
+away went the hunt. It was the wildest ride that Montague ever had
+taken--over ditches and streams and innumerable rail-fences, and
+through thick coverts and densely populated barnyards; but he was in at
+the death, and Alice was only a few yards behind, to the immense
+delight of the company. This seemed to Montague the first real life he
+had met, and he thought to himself that these full-blooded and
+high-spirited men and women made a "set" into which he would have been
+glad to fit--save only that he had to earn his living, and they did not.
+
+In the afternoon there was more riding, and walks in the crisp November
+air; and indoors, bridge and rackets and ping-pong, and a fast and
+furious game of roulette, with the host as banker. "Do I look much like
+a professional gambler?" he asked of Montague; and when the other
+replied that he had not yet met any New York gamblers, young Harvey
+went on to tell how he had gone to buy this apparatus (the sale of
+which was forbidden by law) and had been asked by the dealer how
+"strong" he wanted it!
+
+Then in the evening there was more dancing, and on Sunday another hunt.
+That night a gambling mood seemed to seize the company--there were two
+bridge tables, and in another room the most reckless game of poker that
+Montague had ever sat in. It broke up at three in the morning, and one
+of the company wrote him a cheque for sixty-five hundred dollars; but
+even that could not entirely smooth his conscience, nor reconcile him
+to the fever that was in his blood.
+
+Most important to him, however, was the fact that during the game he at
+last got to know Charlie Carter. Charlie did not play, for the reason
+that he was drunk, and one of the company told him so and refused to
+play with him; which left poor Charlie nothing to do but get drunker.
+This he did, and came and hung over the shoulders of the players, and
+told the company all about himself.
+
+Montague was prepared to allow for the "wild oats" of a youngster with
+unlimited money, but never in his life had he heard or dreamed of
+anything like this boy. For half an hour he wandered about the table,
+and poured out a steady stream of obscenities; his mind was like a
+swamp, in which dwelt loathsome and hideous serpents which came to the
+surface at night and showed their flat heads and their slimy coils. In
+the heavens above or the earth beneath there was nothing sacred to him;
+there was nothing too revolting to be spewed out. And the company
+accepted the performance as an old story--the men would laugh, and push
+the boy away, and say, "Oh, Charlie, go to the devil!"
+
+After it was all over, Montague took one of the company aside and asked
+him what it meant; to which the man replied: "Good God! Do you mean
+that nobody has told you about Charlie Carter?"
+
+It appeared that Charlie was one of the "gilded youths" of the
+Tenderloin, whose exploits had been celebrated in the papers. And after
+the attendants had bundled him off to bed, several of the men gathered
+about the fire and sipped hot punch, and rehearsed for Montague's
+benefit some of his leading exploits.
+
+Charlie was only twenty-three, it seemed; and when he was ten his
+father had died and left eight or ten millions in trust for him, in the
+care of a poor, foolish aunt whom he twisted about his finger. At the
+age of twelve he was a cigarette fiend, and had the run of the
+wine-cellar. When he went to a rich private school he took whole trunks
+full of cigarettes with him, and finally ran away to Europe, to acquire
+the learning of the brothels of Paris. And then he came home and struck
+the Tenderloin; and at three o'clock one morning he walked through a
+plate-glass window, and so the newspapers took him up. That had
+suddenly opened a new vista in life for Charlie--he became a devotee of
+fame; everywhere he went he was followed by newspaper reporters and a
+staring crowd. He carried wads as big round as his arm, and gave away
+hundred-dollar tips to bootblacks, and lost forty thousand dollars in a
+game of poker. He gave a fete to the demi-monde, with a jewelled
+Christmas tree in midsummer, and fifty thousand dollars' worth of
+splendour. But the greatest stroke of all was the announcement that he
+was going to build a submarine yacht and fill it with
+chorus-girls!--Now Charlie had sunk out of public attention, and his
+friends would not see him for days; he would be lying in a "sporting
+house" literally wallowing in champagne.
+
+And all this, Montague realized, his brother must have known! And he
+had said not a word about it--because of the eight or ten millions
+which Charlie would have when he was twenty-five!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+In the morning they went home with others of the party by train. They
+could not wait for Charlie and his automobile, because Monday was the
+opening night of the Opera, and no one could miss that. Here Society
+would appear in its most gorgeous raiment, and, there would be a show
+of jewellery such as could be seen nowhere else in the world.
+
+General Prentice and his wife had opened their town-house, and had
+invited them to dinner and to share their box; and so at about
+half-past nine o'clock Montague found himself seated in a great balcony
+of the shape of a horseshoe, with several hundred of the richest people
+in the city. There was another tier of boxes above, and three galleries
+above that, and a thousand or more people seated and standing below
+him. Upon the big stage there was an elaborate and showy play, the
+words of which were sung to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
+
+Now Montague had never heard an opera, and he was fond of music. The
+second act had just begun when he came in, and all through it he sat
+quite spellbound, listening to the most ravishing strains that ever he
+had heard in his life. He scarcely noticed that Mrs. Prentice was
+spending her time studying the occupants of the other boxes through a
+jewelled lorgnette, or that Oliver was chattering to her daughter.
+
+But after the act was over, Oliver got him alone outside the box, and
+whispered, "For God's sake, Allan, don't make a fool of yourself."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" asked the other.
+
+"What will people think," exclaimed Oliver, "seeing you sitting there
+like a man in a dope dream?"
+
+"Why," laughed the other, "they'll think I'm listening to the music."
+
+To which Oliver responded, "People don't come to the Opera to listen to
+the music."
+
+This sounded like a joke, but it was not. To Society the Opera was a
+great state function, an exhibition of far more exclusiveness and
+magnificence than the Horse Show; and Society certainly had the right
+to say, for it owned the opera-house and ran it. The real music-lovers
+who came, either stood up in the back, or sat in the fifth gallery,
+close to the ceiling, where the air was foul and hot. How much Society
+cared about the play was sufficiently indicated by the fact that all of
+the operas were sung in foreign languages, and sung so carelessly that
+the few who understood the languages could make but little of the
+words. Once there was a world-poet who devoted his life to trying to
+make the Opera an art; and in the battle with Society he all but
+starved to death. Now, after half a century, his genius had triumphed,
+and Society consented to sit for hours in darkness and listen to the
+domestic disputes of German gods and goddesses. But what Society really
+cared for was a play with beautiful costumes and scenery and dancing,
+and pretty songs to which one could listen while one talked; the story
+must be elemental and passionate, so that one could understand it in
+pantomime--say the tragic love of a beautiful and noble-minded
+courtesan for a gallant young man of fashion.
+
+Nearly every one who came to the Opera had a glass, by means of which
+he could bring each gorgeously-clad society dame close to him, and
+study her at leisure. There were said to be two hundred million
+dollars' worth of diamonds in New York, and those that were not in the
+stores were very apt to be at this show; for here was where they could
+accomplish the purpose for which they existed--here was where all the
+world came to stare at them. There were nine prominent Society women,
+who among them displayed five million dollars' worth of jewels. You
+would see stomachers which looked like a piece of a coat of mail, and
+were made wholly of blazing diamonds. You would see emeralds and rubies
+and diamonds and pearls made in tiaras--that is to say, imitation
+crowns and coronets--and exhibited with a stout and solemn dowager for
+a pediment. One of the Wallings had set this fashion, and now every one
+of importance wore them. One lady to whom Montague was introduced made
+a speciality of pearls--two black pearl ear-rings at forty thousand
+dollars, a string at three hundred thousand, a brooch of pink pearls at
+fifty thousand, and two necklaces at a quarter of a million each!
+
+This incessant repetition of the prices of things came to seem very
+sordid; but Montague found that there was no getting away from it. The
+people in Society who paid these prices affected to be above all such
+considerations, to be interested only in the beauty and artistic
+excellence of the things themselves; but one found that they always
+talked about the prices which other people had paid, and that somehow
+other people always knew what they had paid. They took care also to see
+that the public and the newspapers knew what they had paid, and knew
+everything else that they were doing. At this Opera, for instance,
+there was a diagram of the boxes printed upon the programme, and a list
+of all the box-holders, so that anyone could tell who was who. You
+might see these great dames in their gorgeous robes coming from their
+carriages, with crowds staring at them and detectives hovering about.
+And the bosom of each would be throbbing with a wild and wonderful
+vision of the moment when she would enter her box, and the music would
+be forgotten, and all eyes would be turned upon her; and she would lay
+aside her wraps, and flash upon the staring throngs, a vision of
+dazzling splendour.
+
+Some of these jewels were family treasures, well known to New York for
+generations; and in such cases it was becoming the fashion to leave the
+real jewels in the safe-deposit vault, and to wear imitation stones
+exactly like them. From homes where the jewels were kept, detectives
+were never absent, and in many cases there were detectives watching the
+detectives; and yet every once in a while the newspapers would be full
+of a sensational story of a robbery. Then the unfortunates who chanced
+to be suspected would be seized by the police and subjected to what was
+jocularly termed the "third degree," and consisted of tortures as
+elaborate and cruel as any which the Spanish Inquisition had invented.
+The advertising value of this kind of thing was found to be so great
+that famous actresses also had costly jewels, and now and then would
+have them stolen.
+
+That night, when they had got home, Montague had a talk with his cousin
+about Charlie Carter. He discovered a peculiar situation. It seemed
+that Alice already knew that Charlie had been "bad." He was sick and
+miserable; and her beauty and innocence had touched him and made him
+ashamed of himself, and he had hinted darkly at dreadful evils. Thus
+carefully veiled, and tinged with mystery and romance, Montague could
+understand how Charlie made an interesting and appealing figure. "He
+says I'm different from any girl he ever met," said Alice--a remark of
+such striking originality that her cousin could not keep back his smile.
+
+Alice was not the least bit in love with him, and had no idea of being;
+and she said that she would accept no invitations, and never go alone
+with him; but she did not see how she could avoid him when she met him
+at other people's houses. And to this Montague had to assent.
+
+General Prentice had inquired kindly as to what Montague had seen in
+New York, and how he was getting along. He added that he had talked
+about him to Judge Ellis, and that when he was ready to get to work,
+the Judge would perhaps have some suggestions to make to him. He
+approved, however, of Montague's plan of getting his bearings first;
+and said that he would introduce him and put him up at a couple of the
+leading clubs.
+
+All this remained in Montague's mind; but there was no use trying to
+think of it at the moment. Thanksgiving was at hand, and in countless
+country mansions there would be gaieties under way. Bertie Stuyvesant
+had planned an excursion to his Adirondack camp, and had invited a
+score or so of young people, including the Montagues. This would be a
+new feature of the city's life, worth knowing about.
+
+Their expedition began with a theatre-party. Bertie had engaged four
+boxes, and they met there, an hour or so after the performance had
+begun. This made no difference, however, for the play was like the
+opera-a number of songs and dances strung together, and with only plot
+enough to provide occasion for elaborate scenery and costumes. From the
+play they were carried to the Grand Central Station, and a little
+before midnight Bertie's private train set out on its journey.
+
+This train was a completely equipped hotel. There was a baggage
+compartment and a dining-car and kitchen; and a drawing-room and
+library-car; and a bedroom-car--not with berths, such as the ordinary
+sleeping-car provides, but with comfortable bedrooms, furnished in
+white mahogany, and provided with running water and electric light. All
+these cars were built of steel, and automatically ventilated: and they
+were furnished in the luxurious fashion of everything with which Bertie
+Stuyvesant had anything to do. In the library-car there were velvet
+carpets upon the floor, and furniture of South American mahogany, and
+paintings upon the walls over which great artists had laboured for
+years.
+
+Bertie's chef and servants were on board, and a supper was ready in the
+dining-car, which they ate while watching the Hudson by moonlight. And
+the next morning they reached their destination, a little station in
+the mountain wilderness. The train lay upon a switch, and so they had
+breakfast at their leisure, and then, bundled in furs, came out into
+the crisp pine-laden air of the woods. There was snow upon the ground,
+and eight big sleighs waiting; and for nearly three hours they drove in
+the frosty sunlight, through most beautiful mountain scenery. A good
+part of the drive was in Bertie's "preserve," and the road was private,
+as big signs notified one every hundred yards or so.
+
+So at last they reached a lake, winding like a snake among towering
+hills, and with a huge baronial castle standing out upon the rocky
+shore. This imitation fortress was the "camp."
+
+Bertie's father had built it, and visited it only half a dozen times in
+his life. Bertie himself had only been here twice, he said. The deer
+were so plentiful that in the winter they died in scores. Nevertheless
+there were thirty game-keepers to guard the ten thousand acres of
+forest, and prevent anyone's hunting in it. There were many such
+"preserves" in this Adirondack wilderness, so Montague was told; one
+man had a whole mountain fenced about with heavy iron railing, and had
+moose and elk and even wild boar inside. And as for the "camps," there
+were so many that a new style of architecture had been developed
+here--to say nothing of those which followed old styles, like this
+imported Rhine castle. One of Bertie's crowd had a big Swiss chalet;
+and one of the Wallings had a Japanese palace to which he came every
+August--a house which had been built from plans drawn in Japan, and by
+labourers imported especially from Japan. It was full of Japanese
+ware--furniture, tapestry, and mosaics; and the guides remembered with
+wonder the strange silent, brown-skinned little men who had laboured
+for days at carving a bit of wood, and had built a tiny pagoda-like
+tea-house with more bits of wood in it than a man could count in a week.
+
+They had a luncheon of fresh venison and partridges and trout, and in
+the afternoon a hunt. The more active set out to track the deer in the
+snow; but most prepared to watch the lake-shore, while the game-keepers
+turned loose the dogs back in the hills. This "hounding" was against
+the law, but Bertie was his own law here--and at the worst there could
+simply be a small fine, imposed upon some of the keepers. They drove
+eight or ten deer to water; and as they fired as many as twenty shots
+at one deer, they had quite a lively time. Then at dusk they came back,
+in a fine glow of excitement, and spent the evening before the blazing
+logs, telling over their adventures.
+
+The party spent two days and a half here, and on the last evening,
+which was Thanksgiving, they had a wild turkey which Bertie had shot
+the week before in Virginia, and were entertained by a minstrel show
+which had been brought up from New York the night before. The next
+afternoon they drove back to the train.
+
+In the morning, when they reached the city, Alice found a note from
+Mrs. Winnie Duval, begging her and Montague to come to lunch and attend
+a private lecture by the Swami Babubanana, who would tell them all
+about the previous states of their souls. They went--though not without
+a protest from old Mrs. Montague, who declared it was "worse than Bob
+Ingersoll."
+
+And then, in the evening, came Mrs. de Graffenried's opening
+entertainment, which was one of the great events of the social year. In
+the general rush of things Montague had not had a chance properly to
+realize it; but Reggie Mann and Mrs. de Graffenried had been working
+over it for weeks. When the Montagues arrived, they found the Riverside
+mansion--which was decorated in imitation of an Arabian palace--turned
+into a jungle of tropical plants.
+
+They had come early at Reggie's request, and he introduced them to Mrs.
+de Graffenried, a tall and angular lady with a leathern complexion
+painfully painted; Mrs. de Graffenried was about fifty years of age,
+but like all the women of Society she was made up for thirty. Just at
+present there were beads of perspiration upon her forehead; something
+had gone wrong at the last moment, and so Reggie would have no time to
+show them the favours, as he had intended.
+
+About a hundred and fifty guests were invited to this entertainment. A
+supper was served at little tables in the great ball-room, and
+afterward the guests wandered about the house while the tables were
+whisked out of the way and the room turned into a play-house. A company
+from one of the Broadway theatres would be bundled into cabs at the end
+of the performance, and by midnight they would be ready to repeat the
+performance at Mrs. de Graffenried's. Montague chanced to be near when
+this company arrived, and he observed that the guests had crowded up
+too close, and not left room enough for the actors. So the manager had
+placed them in a little ante-room, and when Mrs. de Graffenried
+observed this, she rushed at the man, and swore at him like a dragoon,
+and ordered the bewildered performers out into the main room.
+
+But this was peering behind the scenes, and he was supposed to be
+watching the play. The entertainment was another "musical comedy" like
+the one he had seen a few nights before. On that occasion, however,
+Bertie Stuyvesant's sister had talked to him the whole time, while now
+he was let alone, and had a chance to watch the performance.
+
+This was a very popular play; it had had a long run, and the papers
+told how its author had an income of a couple of hundred thousand
+dollars a year. And here was an audience of the most rich and
+influential people in the city; and they laughed and clapped, and made
+it clear that they were enjoying themselves heartily. And what sort of
+a play was it?
+
+It was called "The Kaliph of Kamskatka." It had no shred of a plot; the
+Kaliph had seventeen wives, and there was an American drummer who
+wanted to sell him another--but then you did not need to remember this,
+for nothing came of it. There was nothing in the play which could be
+called a character--there was nothing which could be connected with any
+real emotion ever felt by human beings. Nor could one say that there
+was any incident--at least nothing happened because of anything else.
+Each event was a separate thing, like the spasmodic jerking in the face
+of an idiot. Of this sort of "action" there was any quantity--at an
+instant's notice every one on the stage would fall simultaneously into
+this condition of idiotic jerking. There was rushing about, shouting,
+laughing, exclaiming; the stage was in a continual uproar of
+excitement, which was without any reason or meaning. So it was
+impossible to think of the actors in their parts; one kept thinking of
+them as human beings--thinking of the awful tragedy of full-grown men
+and women being compelled by the pressure of hunger to dress up and
+paint themselves, and then come out in public and dance, stamp, leap
+about, wring their hands, make faces, and otherwise be "lively."
+
+The costumes were of two sorts: one fantastic, supposed to represent
+the East, and the other a kind of reductio ad absurdum of fashionable
+garb. The leading man wore a "natty" outing-suit, and strutted with a
+little cane; his stock-in-trade was a jaunty air, a kind of perpetual
+flourish, and a wink that suggested the cunning of a satyr. The leading
+lady changed her costume several times in each act; but it invariably
+contained the elements of bare arms and bosom and back, and a skirt
+which did not reach her knees, and bright-coloured silk stockings, and
+slippers with heels two inches high. Upon the least provocation she
+would execute a little pirouette, which would reveal the rest of her
+legs, surrounded by a mass of lace ruffles. It is the nature of the
+human mind to seek the end of things; if this woman had worn a suit of
+tights and nothing else, she would have been as uninteresting as an
+underwear advertisement in a magazine; but this incessant
+not-quite-revealing of herself exerted a subtle fascination. At
+frequent intervals the orchestra would start up a jerky little tune,
+and the two "stars" would begin to sing in nasal voices some words
+expressive of passion; then the man would take the woman about the
+waist and dance and swing her about and bend her backward and gaze into
+her eyes--actions all vaguely suggestive of the relationship of sex. At
+the end of the verse a chorus would come gliding on, clad in any sort
+of costume which admitted of colour and the display of legs; the
+painted women of this chorus were never still for an instant--if they
+were not actually dancing, they were wriggling their legs, and jerking
+their bodies from side to side, and nodding their heads, and in all
+other possible ways being "lively."
+
+But it was not the physical indecency of this show that struck Montague
+so much as its intellectual content. The dialogue of the piece was what
+is called "smart"; that is, it was full of a kind of innuendo which
+implied a secret understanding of evil between the actor and his
+audience--a sort of countersign which passed between them. After all,
+it would have been an error to say that there were no ideas in the
+play--there was one idea upon which all the interest of it was based;
+and Montague strove to analyze this idea and formulate it to himself.
+There are certain life principles-one might call them moral
+axioms--which are the result of the experience of countless ages of the
+human race, and upon the adherence to which the continuance of the race
+depends. And here was an audience by whom all these principles
+were--not questioned, nor yet disputed, nor yet denied--but to whom the
+denial was the axiom, something which it would be too banal to state
+flatly, but which it was elegant and witty to take for granted. In this
+audience there were elderly people, and married men and women, and
+young men and maidens; and a perfect gale of laughter swept through it
+at a story of a married woman whose lover had left her when he got
+married:--
+
+"She must have been heartbroken," said the leading lady.
+
+"She was desperate," said the leading man, with a grin.
+
+"What did she do?" asked the lady "Go and shoot herself?"
+
+"Worse than that," said the man. "She, went back to her husband and had
+a baby!"
+
+But to complete your understanding of the significance of this play,
+you must bring yourself to realize that it was not merely a play, but a
+kind of a play; it had a name--a "musical comedy"--the meaning of which
+every one understood. Hundreds of such plays were written and produced,
+and "dramatic critics" went to see them and gravely discussed them, and
+many thousands of people made their livings by travelling over the
+country and playing them; stately theatres were built for them, and
+hundreds of thousands of people paid their money every night to see
+them. And all this no joke and no nightmare--but a thing that really
+existed. Men and women were doing these things--actual flesh-and-blood
+human beings.
+
+Montague wondered, in an awestricken sort of way, what kind of human
+being it could be who had flourished the cane and made the grimaces in
+that play. Later on, when he came to know the "Tenderloin," he met this
+same actor, and he found that he had begun life as a little Irish
+"mick" who lived in a tenement, and whose mother stood at the head of
+the stairway and defended him with a rolling-pin against a policeman
+who was chasing him. He had discovered that he could make a living by
+his comical antics; but when he came home and told his mother that he
+had been offered twenty dollars a week by a show manager, she gave him
+a licking for lying to her. Now he was making three thousand dollars a
+week--more than the President of the United States and his Cabinet; but
+he was not happy, as he confided to Montague, because he did not know
+how to read, and this was a cause of perpetual humiliation. The secret
+desire of this little actor's heart was to play Shakespeare; he had
+"Hamlet" read to him, and pondered how to act it--all the time that he
+was flourishing his little cane and making his grimaces! He had chanced
+to be on the stage when a fire had broken out, and five or six hundred
+victims of greed were roasted to death. The actor had pleaded with the
+people to keep their seats, but all in vain; and all his life
+thereafter he went about with this vision of horror in his mind, and
+haunted by the passionate conviction that he had failed because of his
+lack of education--that if only he had been a man of culture, he would
+have been able to think of something to say to hold those
+terror-stricken people!
+
+At three o'clock in the morning the performance came to an end, and
+then there were more refreshments; and Mrs. Vivie Patton came and sat
+by him, and they had a nice comfortable gossip. When Mrs. Vivie once
+got started at talking about people, her tongue ran on like a windmill.
+
+There was Reggie Mann, meandering about and simpering at people. Reggie
+was in his glory at Mrs. de Graffenried's affairs. Reggie had arranged
+all this-he did the designing and the ordering, and contracted for the
+shows with the agents. You could bet that he had got his commission on
+them, too--though sometimes Mrs. de Graffenried got the shows to come
+for nothing, because of the advertising her name would bring.
+Commissions were Reggie's speciality--he had begun life as an auto
+agent. Montague didn't know what that was? An auto agent was a man who
+was for ever begging his friends to use a certain kind of car, so that
+he might make a living; and Reggie had made about thirty thousand a
+year in that way. He had come from Boston, where his reputation had
+been made by the fact that early one morning, as they were driving home
+from a celebration, he had dared a young society matron to take off her
+shoes and stockings, and get out and wade in the public fountain; and
+she had done it, and he had followed her. On the strength of the eclat
+of this he had been taken up by Mrs. Devon; and one day Mrs. Devon had
+worn a white gown, and asked him what he thought of it. "It needs but
+one thing to make it perfect," said Reggie, and taking a red rose, he
+pinned it upon her corsage. The effect was magical; every one exclaimed
+with delight, and so Reggie's reputation as an authority upon dress was
+made for ever. Now he was Mrs. de Graffenried's right-hand man, and
+they made up their pranks together. Once they had walked down the
+street in Newport with a big rag doll between them. And Reggie had
+given a dinner at which the guest of honour had been a monkey--surely
+Montague had heard of that, for it had been the sensation of the
+season. It was really the funniest thing imaginable; the monkey wore a
+suit of broad-cloth with collar and cuffs, and he shook hands with all
+the guests, and behaved himself exactly like a gentleman--except that
+he did not get drunk.
+
+And then Mrs. Vivie pointed out the great Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, who
+was sitting with one of her favourites, a grave, black-bearded
+gentleman who had leaped into fame by inheriting fifty million dollars.
+"Mrs. R.-C." had taken him up, and ordered his engagement book for him,
+and he was solemnly playing the part of a social light. He had
+purchased an old New York mansion, upon the decoration of which three
+million dollars had been spent; and when he came down to business from
+Tuxedo, his private train waited all day for him with steam up. Mrs.
+Vivie told an amusing tale of a woman who had announced her engagement
+to him, and borrowed large sums of money upon the strength of it,
+before his denial came out. That had been a source of great delight to
+Mrs. de Graffenried, who was furiously jealous of "Mrs. R. C."
+
+From the anecdotes that people told, Montague judged that Mrs. de
+Graffenried must be one of those new leaders of Society, who, as Mrs.
+Alden said, were inclined to the bizarre and fantastic. Mrs. de
+Graffenried spent half a million dollars every season to hold the
+position of leader of the Newport set, and you could always count upon
+her for new and striking ideas. Once she had given away as cotillion
+favours tiny globes with goldfish in them; again she had given a dance
+at which everybody got themselves up as different vegetables. She was
+fond of going about at Newport and inviting people haphazard to
+lunch--thirty or forty at a time--and then surprising them with a
+splendid banquet. Again she would give a big formal dinner, and perplex
+people by offering them something which they really cared to eat. "You
+see," explained Mrs. Vivie, "at these dinners we generally get thick
+green turtle soup, and omelettes with some sort of Florida water poured
+over them, and mushrooms cooked under glass, and real hand-made
+desserts; but Mrs. de Graffenried dares to have baked ham and sweet
+potatoes, or even real roast beef. You saw to-night that she had green
+corn; she must have arranged for that months ahead--we can never get it
+from Porto Rico until January. And you see this little dish of wild
+strawberries--they were probably transplanted and raised in a hothouse,
+and every single one wrapped separately before they were shipped."
+
+All these labours had made Mrs. de Graffenried a tremendous power in
+the social world. She had a savage tongue, said Mrs. Vivie, and every
+one lived in terror of her; but once in a while she met her match. Once
+she had invited a comic opera star to sing for her guests, and all the
+men had crowded round this actress, and Mrs. de Graffenried had flown
+into a passion and tried to drive them away; and the actress, lolling
+back in her chair, and gazing up idly at Mrs. de Graffenried, had
+drawled, "Ten years older than God!" Poor Mrs. de Graffenried would
+carry that saying with her until she died.
+
+Something reminiscent of this came under Montague's notice that same
+evening. At about four o'clock Mrs. Vivie wished to go home, and asked
+him to find her escort, the Count St. Elmo de Champignon--the man, by
+the way, for whom her husband was gunning. Montague roamed all about
+the house, and finally went downstairs, where a room had been set apart
+for the theatrical company to partake of refreshments. Mrs. de
+Graffenried's secretary was on guard at the door; but some of the boys
+had got into the room, and were drinking champagne and "making dates"
+with the chorus-girls. And here was Mrs. de Graffenried herself,
+pushing them bodily out of the room, a score and more of them--and
+among them Mrs. Vivie's Count!
+
+Montague delivered his message, and then went upstairs to wait until
+his own party should be ready to leave. In the smoking-room were a
+number of men, also waiting; and among them he noticed Major Venable,
+in conversation with a man whom he did not know. "Come over here," the
+Major called; and Montague obeyed, at the same time noticing the
+stranger.
+
+He was a tall, loose-jointed, powerfully built man, a small head and a
+very striking face: a grim mouth with drooping corners tightly set, and
+a hawk-like nose, and deep-set, peering eyes. "Have you met Mr. Hegan?"
+said the Major. "Hegan, this is Mr. Allan Montague." Jim Hegan!
+Montague repressed a stare and took the chair which they offered him.
+"Have a cigar," said Hegan, holding out his case.
+
+"Mr. Montague has just come to New York," said the Major. "He is a
+Southerner, too."
+
+"Indeed?" said Hegan, and inquired what State he came from. Montague
+replied, and added, "I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter last
+week, at the Horse Show."
+
+That served to start a conversation; for Hegan came from Texas, and
+when he found that Montague knew about horses--real horses--he warmed
+to him. Then the Major's party called him away, and the other two were
+left to carry on the conversation.
+
+It was very easy to chat with Hegan; and yet underneath, in the other's
+mind, there lurked a vague feeling of trepidation, as he realized that
+he was chatting with a hundred millions of dollars. Montague was new
+enough at the game to imagine that there ought to be something strange,
+some atmosphere of awe and mystery, about a man who was master of a
+dozen railroads and of the politics of half a dozen States. He was
+simple and very kindly in his manner, a plain man, interested in plain
+things. There was about him, as he talked, a trace of timidity, almost
+of apology, which Montague noticed and wondered at. It was only later,
+when he had time to think about it, that he realized that Hegan had
+begun as a farmer's boy in Texas, a "poor white"; and could it be that
+after all these years an instinct remained in him, so that whenever he
+met a gentleman of the old South he stood by with a little deference,
+seeming to beg pardon for his hundred millions of dollars?
+
+And yet there was the power of the man. Even chatting about horses, you
+felt it; you felt that there was a part of him which did not chat, but
+which sat behind and watched. And strangest of all, Montague found
+himself fancying that behind the face that smiled was another face,
+that did not smile, but that was grim and set. It was a strange face,
+with its broad, sweeping eyebrows and its drooping mouth; it haunted
+Montague and made him feel ill at ease.
+
+There came Laura Hegan, who greeted them in her stately way; and Mrs.
+Hegan, bustling and vivacious, costumed en grande dame. "Come and see
+me some time," said the man. "You won't be apt to meet me otherwise,
+for I don't go about much." And so they took their departure; and
+Montague sat alone and smoked and thought. The face still stayed with
+him; and now suddenly, in a burst of light, it came to him what it was:
+the face of a bird of prey--of the great wild, lonely eagle! You have
+seen it, perhaps, in a menagerie; sitting high up, submitting
+patiently, biding its time. But all the while the soul of the eagle is
+far away, ranging the wide spaces, ready for the lightning swoop, and
+the clutch with the cruel talons!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+The next week was a busy one for the Montagues. The Robbie Wallings had
+come to town and opened their house, and the time drew near for the
+wonderful debutante dance at which Alice was to be formally presented
+to Society. And of course Alice must have a new dress for the occasion,
+and it must be absolutely the most beautiful dress ever known. In an
+idle moment her cousin figured out that it was to cost her about five
+dollars a minute to be entertained by the Wallings!
+
+What it would cost the Wallings, one scarcely dared to think. Their
+ballroom would be turned into a flower-garden; and there would be a
+supper for a hundred guests, and still another supper after the dance,
+and costly favours for every figure. The purchasing of these latter had
+been entrusted to Oliver, and Montague heard with dismay what they were
+to cost. "Robbie couldn't afford to do anything second-rate," was the
+younger brother's only reply to his exclamations.
+
+Alice divided her time between the Wallings and her costumiers, and
+every evening she came home with a new tale of important developments.
+Alice was new at the game, and could afford to be excited; and Mrs.
+Robbie liked to see her bright face, and to smile indulgently at her
+eager inquiries. Mrs. Robbie herself had given her orders to her
+steward and her florist and her secretary, and went on her way and
+thought no more about it. That was the way of the great ladies--or, at
+any rate, it was their pose.
+
+The town-house of the Robbies was a stately palace occupying a block
+upon Fifth Avenue--one of the half-dozen mansions of the Walling family
+which were among the show places of the city. It would take a catalogue
+to list the establishments maintained by the Wallings--there was an
+estate in North Carolina, and another in the Adirondacks, and others on
+Long Island and in New Jersey. Also there were several in Newport--one
+which was almost never occupied, and which Mrs. Billy Alden
+sarcastically described as "a three-million-dollar castle on a desert."
+
+Montague accompanied Alice once or twice, and had an opportunity to
+study Mrs. Robbie at home. There were thirty-eight servants in her
+establishment; it was a little state all in itself, with Mrs. Robbie as
+queen, and her housekeeper as prime minister, and under them as many
+different ranks and classes and castes as in a feudal principality.
+There had to be six separate dining-rooms for the various kinds of
+servants who scorned each other; there were servants' servants and
+servants of servants' servants. There were only three to whom the
+mistress was supposed to give orders--the butler, the steward, and the
+housekeeper; she did not even know the names of many of them, and they
+were changed so often, that, as she declared, she had to leave it to
+her detective to distinguish between employees and burglars.
+
+Mrs. Robbie was quite a young woman, but it pleased her to pose as a
+care-worn matron, weary of the responsibilities of her exalted station.
+The ignorant looked on and pictured her as living in the lap of ease,
+endowed with every opportunity: in reality the meanest kitchen-maid was
+freer--she was quite worn thin with the burdens that fell upon her. The
+huge machine was for ever threatening to fall to pieces, and required
+the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job to keep it running. One
+paid one's steward a fortune, and yet he robbed right and left, and
+quarrelled with the chef besides. The butler was suspected of getting
+drunk upon rare and costly vintages, and the new parlour-maid had
+turned out to be a Sunday reporter in disguise. The man who had come
+every day for ten years to wind the clocks of the establishment was
+dead, and the one who took care of the bric-a-brac was sick, and the
+housekeeper was in a panic over the prospect of having to train another.
+
+And even suppose that you escaped from these things, the real problems
+of your life had still to be faced. It was not enough to keep alive;
+you had your career--your duties as a leader of Society. There was the
+daily mail, with all the pitiful letters from people begging
+money--actually in one single week there were demands for two million
+dollars. There were geniuses with patent incubators and stove-lifters,
+and every time you gave a ball you stirred up swarms of anarchists and
+cranks. And then there were the letters you really had to answer, and
+the calls that had to be paid. These latter were so many that people in
+the same neighbourhood had arranged to have the same day at home; thus,
+if you lived on Madison Avenue you had Thursday; but even then it took
+a whole afternoon to leave your cards. And then there were invitations
+to be sent and accepted; and one was always making mistakes and
+offending somebody--people would become mortal enemies overnight, and
+expect all the world to know it the next morning. And now there were so
+many divorces and remarryings, with consequent changing of names; and
+some men knew about their wives' lovers and didn't care, and some did
+care, but didn't know--altogether it was like carrying a dozen chess
+games in your head. And then there was the hairdresser and the
+manicurist and the masseuse, and the tailor and the bootmaker and the
+jeweller; and then one absolutely had to glance through a newspaper,
+and to see one's children now and then.
+
+All this Mrs. Robbie explained at luncheon; it was the rich man's
+burden, about which common people had no conception whatever. A person
+with a lot of money was like a barrel of molasses--all the flies in the
+neighbourhood came buzzing about. It was perfectly incredible, the
+lengths to which people would go to get invited to your house; not only
+would they write and beg you, they might attack your business
+interests, and even bribe your friends. And on the other hand, when
+people thought you needed them, the time you had to get them to come!
+"Fancy," said Mrs. Robbie, "offering to give a dinner to an English
+countess, and having her try to charge you for coming!" And incredible
+as it might seem, some people had actually yielded to her, and the
+disgusting creature had played the social celebrity for a whole season,
+and made quite a handsome income out of it. There seemed to be no limit
+to the abjectness of some of the tuft-hunters in Society.
+
+It was instructive to hear Mrs. Robbie denounce such evils; and
+yet--alas for human frailty--the next time that Montague called, the
+great lady was blazing with wrath over the tidings that a new foreign
+prince was coming to America, and that Mrs. Ridgely-Clieveden had
+stolen a march upon her and grabbed him. He was to be under her
+tutelage the entire time, and all the effulgence of his magnificence
+would be radiated upon that upstart house. Mrs. Robbie revenged herself
+by saying as many disagreeable things about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden as
+she could think of; winding up with the declaration that if she behaved
+with this prince as she had with the Russian grand duke, Mrs. Robbie
+Walling, for one, would cut her dead. And truly the details which Mrs.
+Robbie cited were calculated to suggest that her rival's hospitality
+was a reversion to the customs of primitive savagery.
+
+The above is a fair sample of the kind of conversation that one heard
+whenever one visited any of the Wallings. Perhaps, as Mrs. Robbie said,
+it may have been their millions that made necessary their attitude
+toward other people; certain it was, at any rate, that Montague found
+them all most disagreeable people to know. There was always some
+tempest in a teapot over the latest machinations of their enemies. And
+then there was the whole dead mass of people who sponged upon them and
+toadied to them; and finally the barbarian hordes outside the magic
+circle of their acquaintance--some specimens of whom came up every day
+for ridicule. They had big feet and false teeth; they ate mush and
+molasses; they wore ready-made ties; they said: "Do you wish that I
+should do it?" Their grandfathers had been butchers and pedlars and
+other abhorrent things. Montague tried his best to like the Wallings,
+because of what they were doing for Alice; but after he had sat at
+their lunch-table and listened to a conversation such as this, he found
+himself in need of fresh air.
+
+And then he would begin to wonder about his own relation to these
+people. If they talked about every one else behind their backs,
+certainly they must talk about him behind his. And why did they go out
+of their way to make him at home, and why were they spending their
+money to launch Alice in Society? In the beginning he had assumed that
+they did it out of the goodness of their hearts; but now that he had
+looked into their hearts, he rejected the explanation. It was not their
+way to shower princely gifts upon strangers; in general, the attitude
+of all the Wallings toward a stranger was that of the London
+hooligan--"'Eave a 'arf a brick at 'im!" They considered themselves
+especially appointed by Providence to protect Society from the vulgar
+newly rich who poured into the city, seeking for notoriety and
+recognition. They prided themselves upon this attitude--they called it
+their "exclusiveness"; and the exclusiveness of the younger generations
+of Wallings had become a kind of insanity.
+
+Nor could the reason be that Alice was beautiful and attractive. One
+could have imagined it if Mrs. Robbie had been like--say, Mrs. Winnie
+Duval. It was easy to think of Mrs. Winnie taking a fancy to a girl,
+and spending half her fortune upon her. But from a hundred little
+things that he had seen, Montague had come to realize that the Robbie
+Wallings, with all their wealth and power and grandeur, were actually
+quite stingy. While all the world saw them scattering fortunes in their
+pathway, in reality they were keeping track of every dollar. And Robbie
+himself was liable to panic fits of economy, in which he went to the
+most absurd excesses--Montague once heard him haggling over fifty cents
+with a cabman. Lavish hosts though they both were, it was the literal
+truth that they never spent money upon anyone but themselves--the end
+and aim of their every action was the power and prestige of the Robbie
+Wallings.
+
+"They do it because they are friends of mine," said Oliver, and
+evidently wished that to satisfy his brother. But it only shifted the
+problem and set him to watching Robbie and Oliver, and trying to make
+out the basis of their relationship. There was a very grave question
+concerned in this. Oliver had come to New York comparatively poor, and
+now he was rich--or, at any rate, he lived like a rich man. And his
+brother, whose scent was growing keener with every day of his stay in
+New York, had about made up his mind that Oliver got his money from
+Robbie Walling.
+
+Here, again, the problem would have been simple, if it had been another
+person than Robbie; Montague would have concluded that his brother was
+a "hanger-on." There were many great families whose establishments were
+infested with such parasites. Siegfried Harvey, for instance, was a man
+who had always half a dozen young chaps hanging about him; good-looking
+and lively fellows, who hunted and played bridge, and amused the
+married women while their husbands were at work, and who, if ever they
+dropped a hint that they were hard up, might be reasonably certain of
+being offered a cheque. But if the Robbie Wallings were to write
+cheques, it must be for value received. And what could the value be?
+
+"Ollie" was rather a little god among the ultra-swagger; his taste was
+a kind of inspiration. And yet his brother noticed that in such
+questions he always deferred instantly to the Wallings; and surely the
+Wallings were not people to be persuaded that they needed anyone to
+guide them in matters of taste. Again, Ollie was the very devil of a
+wit, and people were heartily afraid of him; and Montague had noticed
+that he never by any chance made fun of Robbie--that the fetiches of
+the house of Walling were always treated with respect. So he had
+wondered if by any chance Robbie was maintaining his brother in
+princely state for the sake of his ability to make other people
+uncomfortable. But he realized that the Robbies, in their own view of
+it, could have no more need of wit than a battleship has need of
+popguns. Oliver's position, when they were about, was rather that of
+the man who hardly ever dared to be as clever as he might, because of
+the restless jealousy of his friend.
+
+It was a mystery; and it made the elder brother very uncomfortable.
+Alice was young and guileless, and a pleasant person to patronize; but
+he was a man of the world, and it was his business to protect her. He
+had always paid his own way through life, and he was very loath to put
+himself under obligations to people like the Wallings, whom he did not
+like, and who, he felt instinctively, could not like him.
+
+But of course there was nothing he could do about it. The date for the
+great festivity was set; and the Wallings were affable and friendly,
+and Alice all a-tremble with excitement. The evening arrived, and with
+it came the enemies of the Wallings, dressed in their jewels and fine
+raiment. They had been asked because they were too important to be
+skipped, and they had come because the Wallings were too powerful to be
+ignored. They revenged themselves by consuming many courses of
+elaborate and costly viands; and they shook hands with Alice and beamed
+upon her, and then discussed her behind her back as if she were a
+French doll in a show-case. They decided unanimously that her elder
+cousin was a "stick," and that the whole family were interlopers and
+shameless adventurers; but it was understood that since the Robbie
+Wallings had seen fit to take them up, it would be necessary to invite
+them about.
+
+At any rate, that was the way it all seemed to Montague, who had been
+brooding. To Alice it was a splendid festivity, to which exquisite
+people came to take delight in each other's society. There were
+gorgeous costumes and sparkling gems; there was a symphony of perfumes,
+intoxicating the senses, and a golden flood of music streaming by;
+there were laughing voices and admiring glances, and handsome partners
+with whom one might dance through the portals of fairyland.--And then,
+next morning, there were accounts in all the newspapers, with
+descriptions of one's costume and then some of those present, and even
+the complete menus of the supper, to assist in preserving the memories
+of the wonderful occasion.
+
+Now they were really in Society. A reporter called to get Alice's photo
+for the Sunday supplement; and floods of invitations came--and with
+them all the cares and perplexities about which Mrs. Robbie had told.
+Some of these invitations had to be declined, and one must know whom it
+was safe to offend. Also, there was a long letter from a destitute
+widow, and a proposal from a foreign count. Mrs. Robbie's secretary had
+a list of many hundreds of these professional beggars and blackmailers.
+
+Conspicuous at the dance was Mrs. Winnie, in a glorious electric-blue
+silk gown. And she shook her fan at Montague, exclaiming, "You wretched
+man--you promised to come and see me!"
+
+"I've been out of town," Montague protested.
+
+"Well, come to dinner to-morrow night," said Mrs. Winnie. "There'll be
+some bridge fiends."
+
+"You forget I haven't learned to play," he objected.
+
+"Well, come anyhow," she replied. "We'll teach you. I'm no player
+myself, and my husband will be there, and he's good-natured; and my
+brother Dan--he'll have to be whether he likes it or not."
+
+So Montague visited the Snow Palace again, and met Winton Duval, the
+banker,--a tall, military-looking man of about fifty, with a big grey
+moustache, and bushy eyebrows, and the head of a lion. His was one of
+the city's biggest banking-houses, and in alliance with powerful
+interests in the Street. At present he was going in for mines in Mexico
+and South America, and so he was very seldom at home. He was a man of
+most rigid habits--he would come back unexpectedly after a month's
+trip, and expect to find everything ready for him, both at home and in
+his office, as if he had just stepped round the corner. Montague
+observed that he took his menu-card and jotted down his comments upon
+each dish, and then sent it down to the chef. Other people's dinners he
+very seldom attended, and when his wife gave her entertainments, he
+invariably dined at the club.
+
+He pleaded a business engagement for the evening; and as brother Dan
+did not appear, Montague did not learn any bridge. The other four
+guests settled down to the game, and Montague and Mrs. Winnie sat and
+chatted, basking before the fireplace in the great entrance-hall.
+
+"Have you seen Charlie Carter?" was the first question she asked him.
+
+"Not lately," he answered; "I met him at Harvey's."
+
+"I know that," said she. "They tell me he got drunk."
+
+"I'm afraid he did," said Montague.
+
+"Poor boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Winnie. "And Alice saw him! He must be
+heartbroken!"
+
+Montague said nothing. "You know," she went on, "Charlie really means
+well. He has honestly an affectionate nature."
+
+She paused; and Montague Said, vaguely, "I suppose so."
+
+"You don't like him," said the other. "I can see that. And I suppose
+now Alice will have no use for him, either. And I had it all fixed up
+for her to reform him!"
+
+Montague smiled in spite of himself.
+
+"Oh, I know," said she. "It wouldn't have been easy. But you've no idea
+what a beautiful boy Charlie used to be, until all the women set to
+work to ruin him."
+
+"I can imagine it," said Montague; but he did not warm to the subject.
+
+"You're just like my husband," said Mrs. Winnie, sadly. "You have no
+use at all for anything that's weak or unfortunate."
+
+There was a pause. "And I suppose," she said finally, "you'll be
+turning into a business man also--with no time for anybody or anything.
+Have you begun yet?"
+
+"Not yet," he answered. "I'm still looking round."
+
+"I haven't the least idea about business," she confessed. "How does one
+begin at it?"
+
+"I can't say I know that myself as yet," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Would you like to be a protege of my husband's?" she asked.
+
+The proposition was rather sudden, but he answered, with a smile, "I
+should have no objections. What would he do with me?"
+
+"I don't know that. But he can do whatever he wants down town. And he'd
+show you how to make a lot of money if I asked him to." Then Mrs.
+Winnie added, quickly, "I mean it--he could do it, really."
+
+"I haven't the least doubt of it," responded Montague.
+
+"And what's more," she went on, "you don't want to be shy about taking
+advantage of the opportunities that come to you. You'll find you won't
+get along in New York unless you go right in and grab what you can.
+People will be quick enough to take advantage of you."
+
+"They have all been very kind to me so far," said he. "But when I get
+ready for business, I'll harden my heart."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat lost in meditation. "I think business is dreadful," she
+said. "So much hard work and worry! Why can't men learn to get along
+without it?"
+
+"There are bills that have to be paid," Montague replied.
+
+"It's our dreadfully extravagant way of life," exclaimed the other.
+"Sometimes I wish I had never had any money in my life."
+
+"You would soon tire of it," said he. "You would miss this house."
+
+"I should not miss it a bit," said Mrs. Winnie, promptly. "That is
+really the truth--I don't care for this sort of thing at all. I'd like
+to live simply, and without so many cares and responsibilities. And
+some day I'm going to do it, too--I really am. I'm going to get myself
+a little farm, away off somewhere in the country. And I'm going there
+to live and raise chickens and vegetables, and have my own
+flower-gardens, that I can take care of myself. It will all be plain
+and simple--" and then Mrs. Winnie stopped short, exclaiming, "You are
+laughing at me!"
+
+"Not at all!" said Montague. "But I couldn't help thinking about the
+newspaper reporters--"
+
+"There you are!" said she. "One can never have a beautiful dream, or
+try to do anything sensible--because of the newspaper reporters!"
+
+If Montague had been meeting Mrs. Winnie Duval for the first time, he
+would have been impressed by her yearnings for the simple life; he
+would have thought it an important sign of the times. But alas, he knew
+by this time that his charming hostess had more flummery about her than
+anybody else he had encountered--and all of her own devising! Mrs.
+Winnie smoked her own private brand of cigarettes, and when she offered
+them to you, there were the arms of the old ducal house of Montmorenci
+on the wrappers! And when you got a letter from Mrs. Winnie, you
+observed a three-cent stamp upon the envelope--for lavender was her
+colour, and two-cent stamps were an atrocious red! So one might feel
+certain that it Mrs. Winnie ever went in for chicken-raising, the
+chickens would be especially imported from China or Patagonia, and the
+chicken-coops would be precise replicas of those in the old Chateau de
+Montmorenci which she had visited in her automobile.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie was beautiful, and quite entertaining to talk to, and
+so he was respectfully sympathetic while she told him about her
+pastoral intentions. And then she told him about Mrs. Caroline Smythe,
+who had called a meeting of her friends at one of the big hotels, and
+organized a society and founded the "Bide-a-Wee Home" for destitute
+cats. After that she switched off into psychic research--somebody had
+taken her to a seance, where grave college professors and ladies in
+spectacles sat round and waited for ghosts to materialize. It was Mrs.
+Winnie's first experience at this, and she was as excited as a child
+who has just found the key to the jam-closet. "I hardly knew whether to
+laugh or to be afraid," she said. "What would you think?"
+
+"You may have the pleasure of giving me my first impressions of it,"
+said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+"Well," said she, "they had table-tipping--and it was the most uncanny
+thing to see the table go jumping about the room! And then there were
+raps--and one can't imagine how strange it was to see people who really
+believed they were getting messages from ghosts. It positively made my
+flesh creep. And then this woman--Madame Somebody-or-other--went into a
+trance--ugh! Afterward I talked with one of the men, and he told me
+about how his father had appeared to him in the night and told him he
+had just been drowned at sea. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"
+
+"We have such a tradition in our family," said he.
+
+"Every family seems to have," said Mrs. Winnie. "But, dear me, it made
+me so uncomfortable--I lay awake all night expecting to see my own
+father. He had the asthma, you know; and I kept fancying I heard him
+breathing."
+
+They had risen and were strolling into the conservatory; and she
+glanced at the man in armour. "I got to fancying that his ghost might
+come to see me," she said. "I don't think I shall attend any more
+seances. My husband was told that I promised them some money, and he
+was furious--he's afraid it'll get into the papers." And Montague shook
+with inward laughter, picturing what a time the aristocratic and
+stately old banker must have, trying to keep his wife out of the papers!
+
+Mrs. Winnie turned on the lights in the fountain, and sat by the edge,
+gazing at her fish. Montague was half expecting her to inquire whether
+he thought that they had ghosts; but she spared him this, going off on
+another line.
+
+"I asked Dr. Parry about it," she said. "Have you met him?"
+
+Dr. Parry was the rector of St. Cecilia's, the fashionable Fifth Avenue
+church which most of Montague's acquaintances attended. "I haven't been
+in the city over Sunday yet," he answered. "But Alice has met him."
+
+"You must go with me some time," said she. "But about the ghosts--"
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"He seemed to be shy of them," laughed Mrs. Winnie. "He said it had a
+tendency to lead one into dangerous fields. But oh! I forgot--I asked
+my swami also, and it didn't startle him. They are used to ghosts; they
+believe that souls keep coming back to earth, you know. I think if it
+was his ghost, I wouldn't mind seeing it--for he has such beautiful
+eyes. He gave me a book of Hindu legends--and there was such a sweet
+story about a young princess who loved in vain, and died of grief; and
+her soul went into a tigress; and she came in the night-time where her
+lover lay sleeping by the firelight, and she carried him off into the
+ghost-world. It was a most creepy thing--I sat out here and read it,
+and I could imagine the terrible tigress lurking in the shadows, with
+its stripes shining in the firelight, and its green eyes gleaming. You
+know that poem--we used to read it in school--'Tiger, tiger, burning
+bright!'"
+
+It was not very easy for Montague to imagine a tigress in Mrs. Winnie's
+conservatory; unless, indeed, one were willing to take the proposition
+in a metaphorical sense. There are wild creatures which sleep in the
+heart of man, and which growl now and then, and stir their tawny limbs,
+and cause one to start and turn cold. Mrs. Winnie wore a dress of filmy
+softness, trimmed with red flowers which paled beside her own intenser
+colouring. She had a perfume of her own, with a strange exotic
+fragrance which touched the chorus of memory as only an odour can. She
+leaned towards him, speaking eagerly, with her soft white arms lying
+upon the basin's rim. So much loveliness could not be gazed at without
+pain; and a faint trembling passed through Montague, like a breeze
+across a pool. Perhaps it touched Mrs. Winnie also, for she fell
+suddenly silent, and her gaze wandered off into the darkness. For a
+minute or two there was stillness, save for the pulse of the fountain,
+and the heaving of her bosom keeping time with it.
+
+And then in the morning Oliver inquired, "Where were you, last night?"
+And when his brother answered, "At Mrs. Winnie's," he smiled and said,
+"Oh!" Then he added, gravely, "Cultivate Mrs. Winnie--you can't do
+better at present."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Montague accepted his friend's invitation to share her pew at St.
+Cecilia's, and next Sunday morning he and Alice went, and found Mrs.
+Winnie with her cousin. Poor Charlie had evidently been scrubbed and
+shined, both physically and morally, and got ready to appeal for "one
+more chance." While he shook hands with Alice, he was gazing at her
+with dumb and pleading eyes; he seemed to be profoundly grateful that
+she did not refuse to enter the pew with him.
+
+A most interesting place was St. Cecilia's. Church-going was another of
+the customs of men and women which Society had taken up, like the
+Opera, and made into a state function. Here was a magnificent temple,
+with carved marble and rare woods, and jewels gleaming decorously in a
+dim religious light. At the door of this edifice would halt the
+carriages of Society, and its wives and daughters would alight,
+rustling with new silk petticoats and starched and perfumed linen, each
+one a picture, exquisitely gowned and bonneted and gloved, and carrying
+a demure little prayer-book. Behind them followed the patient men, all
+in new frock-coats and shiny silk hats; the men of Society were always
+newly washed and shaved, newly groomed and gloved, but now they seemed
+to be more so--they were full of the atmosphere of Sunday. Alas for
+those unregenerate ones, the infidels and the heathen who scoff in
+outer darkness, and know not the delicious feeling of Sunday--the joy
+of being washed and starched and perfumed, and made to be clean and
+comfortable and good, after all the really dreadful wickedness of six
+days of fashionable life!--And afterward the parade upon the Avenue,
+with the congregations of several score additional churches, and such a
+show of stylish costumes that half the city came to see!
+
+Amid this exquisite assemblage at St. Cecilia's, the revolutionary
+doctrines of the Christian religion produced neither perplexity nor
+alarm. The chance investigator might have listened in dismay to solemn
+pronouncements of everlasting damnation, to statements about rich men
+and the eyes of needles, and the lilies of the field which did not
+spin. But the congregation of St. Cecilia's understood that these
+things were to be taken in a quixotic sense; sharing the view of the
+French marquis that the Almighty would think twice before damning a
+gentleman like him.
+
+One had heard these phrases ever since childhood, and one accepted them
+as a matter of course. After all, these doctrines had come from the
+lips of a divine being, whom it would be presumptuous in a mere mortal
+to attempt to imitate. Such points one could but leave to those whose
+business it was to interpret them--the doctors and dignitaries of the
+church; and when one met them, one's heart was set at rest--for they
+were not iconoclasts and alarmists, but gentlemen of culture and tact.
+The bishop who presided in this metropolitan district was a stately
+personage, who moved in the best Society and belonged to the most
+exclusive clubs.
+
+The pews in St. Cecilia's were rented, and they were always in great
+demand; it was one of the customs of those who hung upon the fringe of
+Society to come every Sunday, and bow and smile, and hope against hope
+for some chance opening. The stranger who came was dependent upon
+hospitality; but there were soft-footed and tactful ushers, who would
+find one a seat, if one were a presentable person. The contingency of
+an unpresentable person seldom arose, for the proletariat did not swarm
+at the gates of St. Cecilia's. Out of its liberal income the church
+maintained a "mission" upon the East Side, where young curates wrestled
+with the natural depravity of the lower classes--meantime cultivating a
+soul-stirring tone, and waiting until they should be promoted to a real
+church. Society was becoming deferential to its religious guides, and
+would have been quite shocked at the idea that it exerted any pressure
+upon them; but the young curates were painfully aware of a process of
+unnatural selection, whereby those whose manner and cut of coat were
+not pleasing were left a long time in the slums.--On one occasion there
+had been an amusing blunder; a beautiful new church was built at
+Newport, and an eloquent young minister was installed, and all Society
+attended the opening service--and sat and listened in consternation to
+an arraignment of its own follies and vices! The next Sunday, needless
+to say, Society was not present; and within half a year the church was
+stranded, and had to be dismantled and sold!
+
+They had elaborate music at St. Cecilia's, so beautiful that Alice felt
+uncomfortable, and thought that it was perilously "high." At this Mrs.
+Winnie laughed, offering to take her to an afternoon service around the
+corner, where they had a full orchestra, and a harp, and opera music,
+and incense and genuflexions and confessionals. There were people, it
+seemed, who like to thrill themselves by dallying with the wickedness
+of "Romanism"; somewhat as a small boy tries to see how near he can
+walk to the edge of a cliff. The "father" at this church had a jewelled
+robe with a train so many yards long, and which had cost some
+incredible number of thousands of dollars; and every now and then he
+marched in a stately procession through the aisles, so that all the
+spectators might have a good look at it. There was a fierce controversy
+about these things in the church, and libraries of pamphlets were
+written, and intrigues and social wars were fought over them.
+
+But Montague and Alice did not attend this service--they had promised
+themselves the very plebeian diversion of a ride in the subway; for so
+far they had not seen this feature of the city. People who lived in
+Society saw Madison and Fifth Avenues, where their homes were, with the
+churches and hotels scattered along them; and the shopping district
+just below, and the theatre district at one side, and the park to the
+north. Unless one went automobiling, that was all of the city one need
+ever see. When visitors asked about the Aquarium, and the Stock
+Exchange, and the Museum of Art, and Tammany Hall, and Ellis Island,
+where the immigrants came, the old New Yorkers would look perplexed,
+and say: "Dear me, do you really want to see those tilings? Why, I have
+been here all my life, and have never seen them!"
+
+For the hordes of sightseers there had been provided a special
+contrivance, a huge automobile omnibus which seated thirty or forty
+people, and went from the Battery to Harlem with a young man shouting
+through a megaphone a description of the sights. The irreverent had
+nicknamed this the "yap-wagon"; and declared that the company
+maintained a fake "opium-joint" in Chinatown, and a fake "dive" in the
+Bowery, and hired tough-looking individuals to sit and be stared at by
+credulous excursionists from Oklahoma and Kalamazoo. Of course it would
+never have done for people who had just been passed into Society to
+climb upon a "yap-wagon"; but they were permitted to get into the
+subway, and were whirled with a deafening clatter through a long tunnel
+of steel and stone. And then they got out and climbed a steep hill like
+any common mortals, and stood and gazed at Grant's tomb: a huge white
+marble edifice upon a point overlooking the Hudson. Architecturally it
+was not a beautiful structure--but one was consoled by reflecting that
+the hero himself would not have cared about that. It might have been
+described as a soap-box with a cheese-box on top of it; and these
+homely and familiar articles were perhaps not altogether out of keeping
+with the character of the humblest great man who ever lived.
+
+The view up the river was magnificent, quite the finest which the city
+had to offer; but it was ruined by a hideous gas-tank, placed squarely
+in the middle of it. And this, again, was not inappropriate--it was
+typical of all the ways of the city. It was a city which had grown up
+by accident, with nobody to care about it or to help it; it was huge
+and ungainly, crude, uncomfortable, and grotesque. There was nowhere in
+it a beautiful sight upon which a man could rest his eyes, without
+having them tortured by something ugly near by. At the foot of the
+slope of the River Drive ran a hideous freight-railroad; and across the
+river the beautiful Palisades were being blown to pieces to make paving
+stone--and meantime were covered with advertisements of land-companies.
+And if there was a beautiful building, there, was sure to be a tobacco
+advertisement beside it; if there was a beautiful avenue, there were
+trucks and overworked horses toiling in the harness; if there was a
+beautiful park, it was filled with wretched, outcast men. Nowhere was
+any order or system--everything was struggling for itself, and jarring
+and clashing with everything else; and this broke the spell of power
+which the Titan city would otherwise have produced. It seemed like a
+monstrous heap of wasted energies; a mountain in perpetual labour, and
+producing an endless series of abortions. The men and women in it were
+wearing themselves out with toil; but there was a spell laid upon them,
+so that, struggle as they might, they accomplished nothing.
+
+Coming out of the church, Montague had met Judge Ellis; and the Judge
+had said, "I shall soon have something to talk over with you." So
+Montague gave him his address, and a day or two later came an
+invitation to lunch with him at his club.
+
+The Judge's club took up a Fifth Avenue block, and was stately and
+imposing. It had been formed in the stress of the Civil War days; lean
+and hungry heroes had come home from battle and gone into business, and
+those who had succeeded had settled down here to rest. To see them now,
+dozing in huge leather-cushioned arm-chairs, you would have had a hard
+time to guess that they had ever been lean and hungry heroes. They were
+diplomats and statesmen, bishops and lawyers, great merchants and
+financiers--the men who had made the city's ruling-class for a century.
+Everything here was decorous and grave, and the waiters stole about
+with noiseless feet.
+
+Montague talked with the Judge about New York and what he had seen of
+it, and the people he had met; and about his father, and the war; and
+about the recent election and the business outlook. And meantime they
+ordered luncheon; and when they had got to the cigars, the Judge
+coughed and said, "And now I have a matter of business to talk over
+with you."
+
+Montague settled himself to listen. "I have a friend," the Judge
+explained--"a very good friend, who has asked me to find him a lawyer
+to undertake an important case. I talked the matter over with General
+Prentice, and he agreed with me that it would be a good idea to lay the
+matter before you."
+
+"I am very much obliged to you," said Montague.
+
+"The matter is a delicate one," continued the other. "It has to do with
+life insurance. Are you familiar with the insurance business?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"I had supposed not," said the Judge. "There are some conditions which
+are not generally known about, but which I may say, to put it mildly,
+are not altogether satisfactory. My friend is a large policy-holder in
+several companies, and he is not satisfied with the management of them.
+The delicacy of the situation, so far as I am concerned, is that the
+company with which he has the most fault to find is one in which I
+myself am a director. You understand?"
+
+"Perfectly," said Montague. "What company is it?"
+
+"The Fidelity," replied the other--and his companion thought in a flash
+of Freddie Vandam, whom he had met at Castle Havens! For the Fidelity
+was Freddie's company.
+
+"The first thing that I have to ask you," continued the Judge, "is
+that, whether you care to take the case or not, you will consider my
+own intervention in the matter absolutely entre nous. My position is
+simply this: I have protested at the meetings of the directors of the
+company against what I consider an unwise policy--and my protests have
+been ignored. And when my friend asked me for advice, I gave it to him;
+but at the same time I am not in a position to be publicly quoted in
+connexion with the matter. You follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said the other. "I will agree to what you ask."
+
+"Very good. Now then, the condition is, in brief, this: the companies
+are accumulating an enormous surplus, which, under the law, belongs to
+the policy-holders; but the administrations of the various companies
+are withholding these dividends, for the sake of the banking-power
+which these accumulated funds afford to them and their associates. This
+is, as I hold, a very manifest injustice, and a most dangerous
+condition of affairs."
+
+"I should say so!" responded Montague. He was amazed at such a
+statement, coming from such a source. "How could this continue?" he
+asked.
+
+"It has continued for a long time," the Judge answered.
+
+"But why is it not known?"
+
+"It is perfectly well known to every one in the insurance business,"
+was the answer. "The matter has never been taken up or published,
+simply because the interests involved have such enormous and widely
+extended power that no one has ever dared to attack them."
+
+Montague sat forward, with his eyes riveted upon the Judge. "Go on," he
+said.
+
+"The situation is simply this," said the other. "My friend, Mr.
+Hasbrook, wishes to bring a suit against the Fidelity Company to compel
+it to pay to him his proper share of its surplus. He wishes the suit
+pressed, and followed to the court of last resort."
+
+"And do you mean to tell me," asked Montague, "that you would have any
+difficulty to find a lawyer in New York to undertake such a case?"
+
+"No," said the other, "not exactly that. There are lawyers in New York
+who would undertake anything. But to find a lawyer of standing who
+would take it, and withstand all the pressure that would be brought to
+bear upon him--that might take some time."
+
+"You astonish me, Judge."
+
+"Financial interests in this city are pretty closely tied together, Mr.
+Montague. Of course there are law firms which are identified with
+interests opposed to those who control the company. It would be very
+easy to get them to take the case, but you can see that in that event
+my friend would be accused of bringing the suit in their interest;
+whereas he wishes it to appear, as it really is, a suit of an
+independent person, seeking the rights of the vast body of the
+policy-holders. For that reason, he wished to find a lawyer who was
+identified with no interest of any sort, and who was free to give his
+undivided attention to the issue. So I thought of you."
+
+"I will take the case," said Montague instantly.
+
+"It is my duty to warn you," said the Judge, gravely, "that you will be
+taking a very serious step. You must be prepared to face powerful, and,
+I am afraid, unscrupulous enemies. You may find that you have made it
+impossible for other and very desirable clients to deal with you. You
+may find your business interests, if you have any, embarrassed--your
+credit impaired, and so on. You must be prepared to have your character
+assailed, and your motives impugned in the public press. You may find
+that social pressure will be brought to bear on you. So it is a step
+from which most young men who have their careers to make would shrink."
+
+Montague's face had turned a shade paler as he listened. "I am
+assuming," he said, "that the facts are as you have stated them to
+me--that an unjust condition exists."
+
+"You may assume that."
+
+"Very well." And Montague clenched his hand, and put it down upon the
+table. "I will take the case," he said.
+
+For a few moments they sat in silence.
+
+"I will arrange," said the Judge, at last, "for you and Mr. Hasbrook to
+meet. I must explain to you, as a matter of fairness, that he is a rich
+man, and will be able to pay you for your services. He is asking a
+great deal of you, and he should expect to pay for it."
+
+Montague sat in thought. "I have not really had time to get my bearings
+in New York," he said at last. "I think I had best leave it to you to
+say what I should charge him."
+
+"If I were in your position," the Judge answered, "I think that I
+should ask a retaining-fee of fifty thousand dollars. I believe he will
+expect to pay at least that."
+
+Montague could scarcely repress a start. Fifty thousand dollars! The
+words made his head whirl round. But then, all of a sudden, he recalled
+his half-jesting resolve to play the game of business sternly. So he
+nodded his head gravely, and said, "Very well; I am much obliged to
+you."
+
+After a pause, he added, "I hope that I may prove able to handle the
+case to your friend's satisfaction."
+
+"Your ability remains for you to prove," said the Judge. "I have only
+been in position to assure him of your character."
+
+"He must understand, of course," said Montague, "that I am a stranger,
+and that it will take me a while to study the situation."
+
+"Of course he knows that. But you will find that Mr. Hasbrook knows a
+good deal about the law himself. And he has already had a lot of work
+done. You must understand that it is very easy to get legal advice
+about such a matter--what is sought is some one to take the conduct of
+the case."
+
+"I see," said Montague; and the Judge added, with a smile, "Some one to
+get up on horseback, and draw the fire of the enemy!"
+
+And then the great man was, as usual, reminded of a story; and then of
+more stories; until at last they rose from the table, and shook hands
+upon their bargain, and parted.
+
+Fifty thousand dollars! Fifty thousand dollars! It was all Montague
+could do to keep from exclaiming it aloud on the street. He could
+hardly believe that it was a reality--if it had been a less-known
+person than Judge Ellis, he would have suspected that some one must be
+playing a joke upon him. Fifty thousand dollars was more than many a
+lawyer made at home in a lifetime; and simply as a retaining-fee in one
+case! The problem of a living had weighed on his soul ever since the
+first day in the city, and now suddenly it was solved; all in a few
+minutes, the way had been swept clear before him. He walked home as if
+upon air.
+
+And then there was the excitement of telling the family about it. He
+had an idea that his brother might be alarmed if he were told about the
+seriousness of the case; and so he simply said that the Judge had
+brought him a rich client, and that it was an insurance case. Oliver,
+who knew and cared nothing about law, asked no questions, and contented
+himself with saying, "I told you how easy it was to make money in New
+York, if only you knew the right people!" As for Alice, she had known
+all along that her cousin was a great man, and that clients would come
+to him as soon as he hung out his sign.
+
+His sign was not out yet, by the way; that was the next thing to be
+attended to. He must get himself an office at once, and some books, and
+begin to read up insurance law; and so, bright and early the next
+morning, he took the subway down town.
+
+And here, for the first time, Montague saw the real New York. All the
+rest was mere shadow--the rest was where men slept and played, but
+there was where they fought out the battle of their lives. Here the
+fierce intensity of it smote him in the face--he saw the cruel waste
+and ruin of it, the wreckage of the blind, haphazard strife.
+
+It was a city caught in a trap. It was pent in at one end of a narrow
+little island. It had been no one's business to foresee that it must
+some day outgrow this space; now men were digging a score of tunnels to
+set it free, but they had not begun these until the pressure had become
+unendurable, and now it had reached its climax. In the financial
+district, land had been sold for as much as four dollars a square inch.
+Huge blocks of buildings shot up to the sky in a few months--fifteen,
+twenty, twenty-five stories of them, and with half a dozen stories hewn
+out of the solid rock beneath; there was to be one building of
+forty-two stories, six hundred and fifty feet in height. And between
+them were narrow chasms of streets, where the hurrying crowds
+overflowed the sidewalks. Yet other streets were filled with trucks and
+heavy vehicles, with electric cars creeping slowly along, and little
+swirls and eddies of people darting across here and there.
+
+These huge buildings were like beehives, swarming with life and
+activity, with scores of elevators shooting through them at bewildering
+speed. Everywhere was the atmosphere of rush; the spirit of it seized
+hold of one, and he began to hurry, even though he had no place to go.
+The man who walked slowly and looked about him was in the way--he was
+jostled here and there, and people eyed him with suspicion and
+annoyance.
+
+Elsewhere on the island men did the work of the city; here they did the
+work of the world. Each room in these endless mazes of buildings was a
+cell in a mighty brain; the telephone wires were nerves, and by the
+whole huge organism the thinking and willing of a continent were done.
+It was a noisy place to the physical ear; but to the ear of the mind it
+roared with the roaring of a thousand Niagaras. Here was the Stock
+Exchange, where the scales of trade were held before the eyes of the
+country. Here was the clearing-house, where hundreds of millions of
+dollars were exchanged every day. Here were the great banks, the
+reservoirs into which the streams of the country's wealth were poured.
+Here were the brains of the great railroad systems, of the telegraph
+and telephone systems, of mines and mills and factories. Here were the
+centres of the country's trade; in one place the shipping trade, in
+another the jewellery trade, the grocery trade, the leather trade. A
+little farther up town was the clothing district, where one might see
+the signs of more Hebrews than all Jerusalem had ever held; in yet
+other districts were the newspaper offices, and the centre of the
+magazine and book-publishing business of the whole country. One might
+climb to the top of one of the great "sky-scrapers," and gaze down upon
+a wilderness of houses, with roofs as innumerable as tree-tops, and
+people looking like tiny insects below. Or one might go out into the
+harbour late upon a winter afternoon, and see it as a city of a million
+lights, rising like an incantation from the sea. Round about it was an
+unbroken ring of docks, with ferry-boats and tugs darting everywhere,
+and vessels which had come from every port in the world, emptying their
+cargoes into the huge maw of the Metropolis.
+
+And of all this, nothing had been planned! All lay just as it had
+fallen, and men bore the confusion and the waste as best they could.
+Here were huge steel vaults, in which lay many billions of dollars'
+worth of securities, the control of the finances of the country; and a
+block or two in one direction were warehouses and gin-mills, and in
+another direction cheap lodging-houses and sweating-dens. And at a
+certain hour all this huge machine would come to a halt, and its
+millions of human units would make a blind rush for their homes. Then
+at the entrances to bridges and ferries and trams, would be seen sights
+of madness and terror; throngs of men and women swept hither and
+thither, pushing and struggling, shouting, cursing--fighting, now and
+then, in sudden panic fear. All decency was forgotten here--people
+would be mashed into cars like football players in a heap, and guards
+and policemen would jam the gates tight--or like as not be swept away
+themselves in the pushing, grunting, writhing mass of human beings.
+Women would faint and be trampled; men would come out with clothing
+torn to shreds, and sometimes with broken arms or ribs. And thinking
+people would gaze at the sight and shudder, wondering--how long a city
+could hold together, when the masses of its population were thus forced
+back, day after day, habitually, upon the elemental brute within them.
+
+In this vast business district Montague would have felt utterly lost
+and helpless, if it had not been for that fifty thousand dollars, and
+the sense of mastery which it gave him. He sought out General Prentice,
+and under his guidance selected his suite of rooms, and got his
+furniture and books in readiness. And a day or two later, by
+appointment, came Mr. Hasbrook.
+
+He was a wiry, nervous little man, who did not impress one as much of a
+personality; but he had the insurance situation at his fingers'
+ends--his grievance had evidently wrought upon him. Certainly, if half
+of what he alleged were true, it was time that the courts took hold of
+the affair.
+
+Montague spent the whole day in consultation, going over every aspect
+of the case, and laying out his course of procedure. And then, at the
+end, Mr. Hasbrook remarked that it would be necessary for them to make
+some financial arrangement. And the other set his teeth together, and
+took a tight grip upon himself, and said, "Considering the importance
+of the case, and all the circumstances, I think I should have a
+retainer of fifty thousand dollars."
+
+And the little man never turned a hair! "That will be perfectly
+satisfactory," he said. "I will attend to it at once." And the other's
+heart gave a great leap.
+
+And sure enough, the next morning's mail brought the money, in the
+shape of a cashier's cheque from one of the big banks. Montague
+deposited it to his own account, and felt that the city was his!
+
+And so he flung himself into the work. He went to his office every day,
+and he shut himself up in his own rooms in the evening. Mrs. Winnie was
+in despair because he would not come and learn bridge, and Mrs. Vivie
+Patton sought him in vain for a week-end party. He could not exactly
+say that while the others slept he was toiling upward in the night, for
+the others did not sleep in the night; but he could say that while they
+were feasting and dancing, he was delving into insurance law. Oliver
+argued in vain to make him realize that he could not live for ever upon
+one client; and that it was as important for a lawyer to be a social
+light as to win his first big case. Montague was so absorbed that he
+even failed to be thrilled when one morning he opened an invitation
+envelope, and read the fateful legend: "Mrs. Devon requests the honour
+of your company"--telling him that he had "passed" on that critical
+examination morning, and that he was definitely and irrevocably in
+Society!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Montague was now a capitalist, and therefore a keeper of the gates of
+opportunity. It seemed as though the seekers for admission must have
+had some occult way of finding it out; almost immediately they began to
+lay siege to him.
+
+About a week after his cheque arrived, Major Thorne, whom he had met
+the first evening at the Loyal Legion, called him up and asked to see
+him; and he came to Montague's room that evening, and after chatting
+awhile about old times, proceeded to unfold a business proposition. It
+seemed that the Major had a grandson, a young mechanical engineer, who
+had been labouring for a couple of years at a very important invention,
+a device for loading coal upon steamships and weighing it automatically
+in the process. It was a very complicated problem, needless to say, but
+it had been solved successfully, and patents had been applied for, and
+a working model constructed. But it had proved unexpectedly difficult
+to interest the officials of the great steamship companies in the
+device. There was no doubt about the practicability of the machine, or
+the economies it would effect; but the officials raised trivial
+objections, and caused delays, and offered prices that were
+ridiculously inadequate. So the young inventor had conceived the idea
+of organizing a company to manufacture the machines, and rent them upon
+a royalty. "I didn't know whether you would have any money," said Major
+Thorne, "--but I thought you might be in touch with others who could be
+got to look into the matter. There is a fortune in it for those who
+take it up."
+
+Montague was interested, and he looked over the plans and descriptions
+which his friend had brought, and said that he would see the working
+model, and talk the proposition over with others. And so the Major took
+his departure.
+
+The first person Montague spoke to about it was Oliver, with whom he
+chanced to be lunching, at the latter's club. This was the "All Night"
+club, a meeting-place of fast young Society men and millionaire
+Bohemians, who made a practice of going to bed at daylight, and had
+taken for their motto the words of Tennyson--"For men may come and men
+may go, but I go on for ever." It was not a proper club for his brother
+to join, Oliver considered; Montague's "game" was the heavy
+respectable, and the person to put him up was General Prentice. But he
+was permitted to lunch there with his brother to chaperon him--and also
+Reggie Mann, who happened in, fresh from talking over the itinerary of
+the foreign prince with Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, and bringing a
+diverting account of how Mrs. R.-C. had had a fisticuffs with her maid.
+
+Montague mentioned the invention casually, and with no idea that his
+brother would have an opinion one way or the other. But Oliver had
+quite a vigorous opinion: "Good God, Allan, you aren't going to let
+yourself be persuaded into a thing like that!"
+
+"But what do you know about it?" asked the other. "It may be a
+tremendous thing."
+
+"Of course!" cried Oliver. "But what can you tell about it? You'll be
+like a child in other people's hands, and they'll be certain to rob
+you. And why in the world do you want to take risks when you don't have
+to?"
+
+"I have to put my money somewhere," said Montague.
+
+"His first fee is burning a hole in his pocket!" put in Reggie Mann,
+with a chuckle. "Turn it over to me, Mr. Montague; and let me spend it
+in a gorgeous entertainment for Alice; and the prestige of it will
+bring you more cases than you can handle in a lifetime!"
+
+"He had much better spend it all for soda water than buy a lot of coal
+chutes with it," said Oliver: "Wait awhile, and let me find you some
+place to put your money, and you'll see that you don't have to take any
+risks."
+
+"I had no idea of taking it up until I'd made certain of it," replied
+the other. "And those whose judgment I took would, of course, go in
+also."
+
+The younger man thought for a moment. "You are going to dine with Major
+Venable to-night, aren't you?" he asked; and when the other answered in
+the affirmative, he continued, "Very well, then, ask him. The Major's
+been a capitalist for forty years, and if you can get him to take it
+up, why, you'll know you're safe."
+
+Major Venable had taken quite a fancy to Montague--perhaps the old
+gentleman liked to have somebody to gossip with, to whom all his
+anecdotes were new. He had seconded Montague's name at the
+"Millionaires'," where he lived, and had asked him there to make the
+acquaintance of some of the other members. Before Montague parted with
+his brother, he promised that he would talk the matter over with the
+Major.
+
+The Millionaires' was the show club of the city, the one which the
+ineffably rich had set apart for themselves. It was up by the park, in
+a magnificent white marble palace which had cost a million dollars.
+Montague felt that he had never really known the Major until he saw him
+here. The Major was excellent at all times and places, but in this club
+he became an edition de luxe of himself. He made his headquarters here,
+keeping his suite of rooms all the year round; and the atmosphere and
+surroundings of the place seemed to be a part of him.
+
+Montague thought that the Major's face grew redder every day, and the
+purple veins in it purpler; or was it that the old gentleman's shirt
+bosom gleamed more brightly in the glare of the lights? The Major met
+him in the stately entrance hall, fifty feet square and all of Numidian
+marble, with a ceiling of gold, and a great bronze stairway leading to
+the gallery above. He apologized for his velvet slippers and for his
+hobbling walk--he was getting his accursed gout again. But he limped
+around and introduced his friend to the other millionaires--and then
+told scandal about them behind their backs.
+
+The Major was the very type of a blue-blooded old aristocrat; he was
+all noblesse oblige to those within the magic circle of his
+intimacy--but alas for those outside it! Montague had never heard
+anyone bully servants as the Major did. "Here you!" he would cry, when
+something went wrong at the table. "Don't you know any better than to
+bring me a dish like that? Go and send me somebody who knows how to set
+a table!" And, strange to say, the servants all acknowledged his
+perfect right to bully them, and flew with terrified alacrity to do his
+bidding. Montague noticed that the whole staff of the club leaped into
+activity whenever the Major appeared; and when he was seated at the
+table, he led off in this fashion--"Now I want two dry Martinis. And I
+want them at once--do you understand me? Don't stop to get me any
+butter plates or finger-bowls--I want two cock-tails, just as quick as
+you can carry them!"
+
+Dinner was an important event to Major Venable--the most important in
+life. The younger man humbly declined to make any suggestions, and sat
+and watched while his friend did all the ordering. They had some very
+small oysters, and an onion soup, and a grouse and asparagus, with some
+wine from the Major's own private store, and then a romaine salad.
+Concerning each one of these courses, the Major gave special
+injunctions, and throughout his conversation he scattered comments upon
+them: "This is good thick soup--lots of nourishment in onion soup. Have
+the rest of this?--I think the Burgundy is too cold. Sixty-five is as
+cold as Burgundy ought ever to be. I don't mind sherry as low as
+sixty.--They always cook a bird too much--Robbie Walling's chef is the
+only person I know who never makes a mistake with game."
+
+All this, of course, was between comments upon the assembled
+millionaires. There was Hawkins, the corporation lawyer; a shrewd
+fellow, cold as a corpse. He was named for an ambassadorship--a very
+efficient man. Used to be old Wyman's confidential adviser and buy
+aldermen for him.--And the man at table with him was Harrison,
+publisher of the Star; administration newspaper, sound and
+conservative. Harrison was training for a cabinet position. He was a
+nice little man, and would make a fine splurge in Washington.--And that
+tall man coming in was Clarke, the steel magnate; and over there was
+Adams, a big lawyer also--prominent reformer--civic righteousness and
+all that sort of stuff. Represented the Oil Trust secretly, and went
+down to Trenton to argue against some reform measure, and took along
+fifty thousand dollars in bills in his valise. "A friend of mine got
+wind of what he was doing, and taxed him with it," said the Major, and
+laughed gleefully over the great lawyer's reply--"How did I know but I
+might have to pay for my own lunch?"--And the fat man with him--that
+was Jimmie Featherstone, the chap who had inherited a big estate. "Poor
+Jimmie's going all to pieces," the Major declared. "Goes down town to
+board meetings now and then--they tell a hair-raising story about him
+and old Dan Waterman. He had got up and started a long argument, when
+Waterman broke in, 'But at the earlier meeting you argued directly to
+the contrary, Mr. Featherstone!' 'Did I?' said Jimmie, looking
+bewildered. 'I wonder why I did that?' 'Well, Mr. Featherstone, since
+you ask me, I'll tell you,' said old Dan--he's savage as a wild boar,
+you know, and won't be delayed at meetings. 'The reason is that the
+last time you were drunker than you are now. If you would adopt a
+uniform standard of intoxication for the directors' meetings of this
+road, it would expedite matters considerably.'"
+
+They had got as far as the romaine salad. The waiter came with a bowl
+of dressing--and at the sight of it, the old gentleman forgot Jimmie
+Featherstone. "Why are you bringing me that stuff?" he cried. "I don't
+want that! Take it away and get me some vinegar and oil."
+
+The waiter fled in dismay, while the Major went on growling under his
+breath. Then from behind him came a voice: "What's the matter with you
+this evening, Venable? You're peevish!"
+
+The Major looked up. "Hello, you old cormorant," said he. "How do you
+do these days?"
+
+The old cormorant replied that he did very well. He was a pudgy little
+man, with a pursed-up, wrinkled face. "My friend Mr. Montague--Mr.
+Symmes," said the Major.
+
+"I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Montague," said Mr. Symmes, peering
+over his spectacles.
+
+"And what are you doing with yourself these days?" asked the Major.
+
+The other smiled genially. "Nothing much," said he. "Seducing my
+friends' wives, as usual."
+
+"And who's the latest?"
+
+"Read the newspapers, and you'll find out," laughed Symmes. "I'm told
+I'm being shadowed."
+
+He passed on down the room, chuckling to himself; and the Major said,
+"That's Maltby Symmes. Have you heard of him?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"He gets into the papers a good deal. He was up in supplementary
+proceedings the other day--couldn't pay his liquor bill."
+
+"A member of the Millionaires'?" laughed Montague.
+
+"Yes, the papers made quite a joke out of it," said the other. "But you
+see he's run through a couple of fortunes; the last was his
+mother's--eleven millions, I believe. He's been a pretty lively old boy
+in his time."
+
+The vinegar and oil had now arrived, and the Major set to work to dress
+the salad. This was quite a ceremony, and Montague took it with amused
+interest. The Major first gathered all the necessary articles together,
+and looked them all over and grumbled at them. Then he mixed the
+vinegar and the pepper and salt, a tablespoonful at a time, and poured
+it over the salad. Then very slowly and carefully the oil had to be
+poured on, the salad being poked and turned about so that it would be
+all absorbed. Perhaps it was because he was so busy narrating the
+escapades of Maltby Symmes that the old gentleman kneaded it about so
+long; all the time fussing over it like a hen-partridge with her
+chicks, and interrupting himself every sentence or two: "It was Lenore,
+the opera star, and he gave her about two hundred thousand dollars'
+worth of railroad shares. (Really, you know, romaine ought not to be
+served in a bowl at all, but in a square, flat dish, so that one could
+keep the ends quite dry.) And when they quarrelled, she found the old
+scamp had fooled her--the shares had never been transferred. (One is
+not supposed to use a fork at all, you know.) But she sued him, and he
+settled with her for about half the value. (If this dressing were done
+properly, there ought not to be any oil in the bottom of the dish at
+all.)"
+
+This last remark meant that the process had reached its climax--that
+the long, crisp leaves were receiving their final affectionate
+overturnings. While the waiter stood at respectful attention, two or
+three pieces at a time were laid carefully upon the little silver plate
+intended for Montague. "And now," said the triumphant host, "try it! If
+it's good, it ought to be neither sweet nor bitter, but just
+right."--And he watched anxiously while Montague tasted it, saying, "If
+it's the least bit bitter, say so; and we'll send it out. I've told
+them about it often enough before."
+
+But it was not bitter, and so the Major proceeded to help himself,
+after which the waiter whisked the bowl away. "I'm told that salad is
+the one vegetable we have from the Romans," said the old boy, as he
+munched at the crisp green leaves. "It's mentioned by Horace, you
+know.--As I was saying, all this was in Symmes's early days. But since
+his son's been grown up, he's married another chorus-girl."
+
+After the salad the Major had another cocktail. In the beginning
+Montague had noticed that his hands shook and his eyes were watery; but
+now, after these copious libations, he was vigorous, and, if possible,
+more full of anecdotes than ever. Montague thought that it would be a
+good time to broach his inquiry, and so when the coffee had been
+served, he asked, "Have you any objections to talking business after
+dinner?"
+
+"Not with you," said the Major. "Why? What is it?"
+
+And then Montague told him about his friend's proposition, and
+described the invention. The other listened attentively to the end; and
+then, after a pause, Montague asked him, "What do you think of it?"
+
+"The invention's no good," said the Major, promptly.
+
+"How do you know?" asked the other.
+
+"Because, if it had been, the companies would have taken it long ago,
+without paying him a cent."
+
+"But he has it patented," said Montague.
+
+"Patented hell!" replied the other. "What's a patent to lawyers of
+concerns of that size? They'd have taken it and had it in use from
+Maine to Texas; and when he sued, they'd have tied the case up in so
+many technicalities and quibbles that he couldn't have got to the end
+of it in ten years--and he'd have been ruined ten times over in the
+process."
+
+"Is that really done?" asked Montague.
+
+"Done!" exclaimed the Major. "It's done so often you might say it's the
+only thing that's done.--The people are probably trying to take you in
+with a fake."
+
+"That couldn't possibly be so," responded the other. "The man is a
+friend--"
+
+"I've found it an excellent rule never to do business with friends,"
+said the Major, grimly.
+
+"But listen," said Montague; and he argued long enough to convince his
+companion that that could not be the true explanation. Then the Major
+sat for a minute or two and pondered; and suddenly he exclaimed, "I
+have it! I see why they won't touch it!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It's the coal companies! They're giving the steamships short weight,
+and they don't want the coal weighed truly!"
+
+"But there's no sense in that," said Montague. "It's the steamship
+companies that won't take the machine."
+
+"Yes," said the Major; "naturally, their officers are sharing the
+graft." And he laughed heartily at Montague's look of perplexity.
+
+"Do you know anything about the business?" Montague asked.
+
+"Nothing whatever," said the Major. "I am like the German who shut
+himself up in his inner consciousness and deduced the shape of an
+elephant from first principles. I know the game of big business from A
+to Z, and I'm telling you that if the invention is good and the
+companies won't take it, that's the reason; and I'll lay you a wager
+that if you were to make an investigation, some such thing as that is
+what you'd find! Last winter I went South on a steamer, and when we got
+near port, I saw them dumping a ton or two of good food overboard; and
+I made inquiries, and learned that one of the officials of the company
+ran a farm, and furnished the stuff--and the orders were to get rid of
+so much every trip!"
+
+Montague's jaw had fallen. "What could Major Thorne do against such a
+combination?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," said the Major, shrugging his shoulders. "It's a case
+to take to a lawyer--one who knows the ropes. Hawkins over there would
+know what to tell you. I should imagine the thing he'd advise would be
+to call a strike of the men who handle the coal, and tie up the
+companies and bring them to terms."
+
+"You're joking now!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Not at all," said the Major, laughing again. "It's done all the time.
+There's a building trust in this city, and the way it put all its
+rivals out of business was by having strikes called on their jobs."
+
+"But how could it do that?"
+
+"Easiest thing in the world. A labour leader is a man with a great deal
+of power, and a very small salary to live on. And even if he won't sell
+out--there are other ways. I could introduce you to a man right in this
+room who had a big strike on at an inconvenient time, and he had the
+president of the union trapped in a hotel with a woman, and the poor
+fellow gave in and called off the strike."'
+
+"I should think the strikers might sometimes get out of hand," said
+Montague.
+
+"Sometimes they do," smiled the other. "There is a regular procedure
+for that case. Then you hire detectives and start violence, and call
+out the militia and put the strike leaders into jail."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that. The programme seemed to
+be complete.
+
+"You see," the Major continued, earnestly, "I'm advising you as a
+friend, and I'm taking the point of view of a man who has money in his
+pocket. I've had some there always, but I've had to work hard to keep
+it there. All my life I've been surrounded by people who wanted to do
+me good; and the way they wanted to do it was to exchange my real money
+for pieces of paper which they'd had printed with fancy scroll-work and
+eagles and flags. Of course, if you want to look at the thing from the
+other side, why, then the invention is most ingenious, and trade is
+booming just now, and this is a great country, and merit is all you
+need in it--and everything else is just as it ought to be. It makes all
+the difference in the world, you know, whether a man is buying a horse
+or selling him!"
+
+Montague had observed with perplexity that such incendiary talk as this
+was one of the characteristics of people in these lofty altitudes. It
+was one of the liberties accorded to their station. Editors and bishops
+and statesmen and all the rest of their retainers had to believe in the
+respectabilities, even in the privacy of their clubs--the people's ears
+were getting terribly sharp these days! But among the real giants of
+business you might have thought yourself in a society of
+revolutionists; they would tear up the mountain tops and hurl them at
+each other. When one of these old war-horses once got started, he would
+tell tales of deviltry to appall the soul of the hardiest muck-rake
+man. It was always the other fellow, of course; but then, if you pinned
+your man down, and if he thought that he could trust you--he would
+acknowledge that he had sometimes fought the enemy with the enemy's own
+weapons!
+
+But of course one must understand that all this radicalism was for
+conversational purposes only. The Major, for instance, never had the
+slightest idea of doing anything about all the evils of which he told;
+when it came to action, he proposed to do just what he had done all his
+life--to sit tight on his own little pile. And the Millionaires' was an
+excellent place to learn to do it!
+
+"See that old money-bags over there in the corner," said the Major.
+"He's a man you want to fix in your mind--old Henry S. Grimes. Have you
+heard of him?"
+
+"Vaguely," said the other.
+
+"He's Laura Hegan's uncle. She'll have his money also some day--but
+Lord, how he does hold on to it meantime! It's quite tragic, if you
+come to know him--he's frightened at his own shadow. He goes in for
+slum tenements, and I guess he evicts more people in a month than you
+could crowd into this building!"
+
+Montague looked at the solitary figure at the table, a man with a
+wizened-up little face like a weasel's, and a big napkin tied around
+his neck. "That's so as to save his shirt-front for to-morrow," the
+Major explained. "He's really only about sixty, but you'd think he was
+eighty. Three times every day he sits here and eats a bowl of graham
+crackers and milk, and then goes out and sits rigid in an arm-chair for
+an hour. That's the regimen his doctors have put him on--angels and
+ministers of grace defend us!"
+
+The old gentleman paused, and a chuckle shook his scarlet jowls. "Only
+think!" he said--"they tried to do that to me! But no, sir--when Bob
+Venable has to eat graham crackers and milk, he'll put in arsenic
+instead of sugar! That's the way with many a one of these rich fellows,
+though--you picture him living in Capuan luxury, when, as a matter of
+fact, he's a man with a torpid liver and a weak stomach, who is put to
+bed at ten o'clock with a hot-water bag and a flannel night-cap!"
+
+The two had got up and were strolling toward the smoking-room; when
+suddenly at one side a door opened, and a group of men came out. At the
+head of them was an extraordinary figure, a big powerful body with a
+grim face. "Hello!" said the Major. "All the big bugs are here
+to-night. There must be a governors' meeting."
+
+"Who is that?" asked his companion; and he answered, "That? Why, that's
+Dan Waterman."
+
+Dan Waterman! Montague stared harder than ever, and now he identified
+the face with the pictures he had seen. Waterman, the Colossus of
+finance, the Croesus of copper and gold! How many trusts had Waterman
+organized! And how many puns had been made upon that name of his!
+
+"Who are the other men?" Montague asked.
+
+"Oh, they're just little millionaires," was the reply.
+
+The "little millionaires" were following as a kind of body-guard; one
+of them, who was short and pudgy, was half running, to keep up with
+Waterman's heavy stride. When they came to the coat-room, they crowded
+the attendants away, and one helped the great man on with his coat, and
+another held his hat, and another his stick, and two others tried to
+talk to him. And Waterman stolidly buttoned his coat, and then seized
+his hat and stick, and without a word to anyone, bolted through the
+door.
+
+It was one of the funniest sights that Montague had ever seen in his
+life, and he laughed all the way into the smoking-room. And, when Major
+Venable had settled himself in a big chair and bitten off the end of a
+cigar and lighted it, what floodgates of reminiscence were opened!
+
+For Dan Waterman was one of the Major's own generation, and he knew all
+his life and his habits. Just as Montague had seen him there, so he had
+been always; swift, imperious, terrible, trampling over all opposition;
+the most powerful men in the city quailed before the glare of his eyes.
+In the old days Wall Street had reeled in the shock of the conflicts
+between him and his most powerful rival.
+
+And the Major went on to tell about Waterman's rival, and his life. He
+had been the city's traction-king, old Wyman had been made by him. He
+was the prince among political financiers; he had ruled the Democratic
+party in state and nation. He would give a quarter of a million at a
+time to the boss of Tammany Hall, and spend a million in a single
+campaign; on "dough-day," when the district leaders came to get the
+election funds, there would be a table forty feet long completely
+covered with hundred-dollar bills. He would have been the richest man
+in America, save that he spent his money as fast as he got it. He had
+had the most famous racing-stable in America; and a house on Fifth
+Avenue that was said to be the finest Italian palace in the world. Over
+three millions had been spent in decorating it; all the ceilings had
+been brought intact from palaces abroad, which he had bought and
+demolished! The Major told a story to show how such a man lost all
+sense of the value of money; he had once been sitting at lunch with
+him, when the editor of one of his newspapers had come in and remarked,
+"I told you we would need eight thousand dollars, and the check you
+send is for ten." "I know it," was the smiling answer--"but somehow I
+thought eight seemed harder to write than ten!"
+
+"Old Waterman's quite a spender, too, when it comes to that," the Major
+went on. "He told me once that it cost him five thousand dollars a day
+for his ordinary expenses. And that doesn't include a million-dollar
+yacht, nor even the expenses of it.
+
+"And think of another man I know of who spent a million dollars for a
+granite pier, so that he could land and see his mistress!--It's a fact,
+as sure as God made me! She was a well-known society woman, but she was
+poor, and he didn't dare to make her rich for fear of the scandal. So
+she had to live in a miserable fifty-thousand-dollar villa; and when
+other people's children would sneer at her children because they lived
+in a fifty-thousand-dollar villa, the answer would be, 'But you haven't
+got any pier!' And if you don't believe that--"
+
+But here suddenly the Major turned, and observed a boy who had brought
+him some cigars, and who was now standing near by, pretending to
+straighten out some newspapers upon the table. "Here, sir!" cried the
+Major, "what do you mean--listening to what I'm saying! Out of the room
+with you now, you rascal!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+Another week-end came, and with it an invitation from the Lester Todds
+to visit them at their country place in New Jersey. Montague was buried
+in his books, but his brother routed him out with strenuous protests.
+His case be damned--was he going to ruin his career for one case? At
+all hazards, he must meet people--"people who counted." And the Todds
+were such, a big money crowd, and a power in the insurance world; if
+Montague were going to be an insurance lawyer, he could not possibly
+decline their invitation. Freddie Vandam would be a guest--and Montague
+smiled at the tidings that Betty Wyman would be there also. He had
+observed that his brother's week-end visits always happened at places
+where Betty was, and where Betty's granddaddy was not.
+
+So Montague's man packed his grips, and Alice's maid her trunks; and
+they rode with a private-car party to a remote Jersey suburb, and were
+whirled in an auto up a broad shell road to a palace upon the top of a
+mountain. Here lived the haughty Lester Todds, and scattered about on
+the neighbouring hills, a set of the ultra-wealthy who had withdrawn to
+this seclusion. They were exceedingly "classy"; they affected to regard
+all the Society of the city with scorn, and had their own
+all-the-year-round diversions--an open-air horse show in summer, and in
+the fall fox-hunting in fancy uniforms.
+
+The Lester Todds themselves were ardent pursuers of all varieties of
+game, and in various clubs and private preserves they followed the
+seasons, from Florida and North Carolina to Ontario, with occasional
+side trips to Norway, and New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Here at
+home they had a whole mountain of virgin forest, carefully preserved;
+and in the Renaissance palace at the summit-which they carelessly
+referred to as a "lodge"--you would find such articles de vertu as a
+ten-thousand-dollar table with a set of two-thousand-dollar chairs, and
+quite ordinary-looking rugs at ten and twenty thousand dollars
+each.--All these prices you might ascertain without any difficulty at
+all, because there were many newspaper articles describing the house to
+be read in an album in the hall. On Saturday afternoons Mrs. Todd
+welcomed the neighbours in a pastel grey reception-gown, the front of
+which contained a peacock embroidered in silk, with jewels in every
+feather, and a diamond solitaire for an eye; and in the evening there
+was a dance, and she appeared in a gown with several hundred diamonds
+sewn upon it, and received her guests upon a rug set with jewels to
+match.
+
+All together, Montague judged this the "fastest" set he had yet
+encountered; they ate more and drank more and intrigued more openly. He
+had been slowly acquiring the special lingo of Society, but these
+people had so much more slang that he felt all lost again. A young lady
+who was gossiping to him about those present remarked that a certain
+youth was a "spasm"; and then, seeing the look of perplexity upon his
+face, she laughed, "I don't believe you know what I mean!" Montague
+replied that he had ventured to infer that she did not like him.
+
+And then there was Mrs. Harper, who came from Chicago by way of London.
+Ten years ago Mrs. Harper had overwhelmed New York with the millions
+brought from her great department-store; and had then moved on, sighing
+for new worlds to conquer. When she had left Chicago, her grammar had
+been unexceptionable; but since she had been in England, she said "you
+ain't" and dropped all her g's; and when Montague brought down a bird
+at long range, she exclaimed, condescendingly, "Why, you're quite a dab
+at it!" He sat in the front seat of an automobile, and heard the great
+lady behind him referring to the sturdy Jersey farmers, whose ancestors
+had fought the British and Hessians all over the state, as "your
+peasantry."
+
+It was an extraordinary privilege to have Mrs. Harper for a guest; "at
+home" she moved about in state recalling that of Queen Victoria, with
+flags and bunting on the way, and crowds of school children cheering.
+She kept up half a dozen establishments, and had a hundred thousand
+acres of game preserves in Scotland. She made a speciality of
+collecting jewels which had belonged to the romantic and picturesque
+queens of history. She appeared at the dance in a breastplate of
+diamonds covering the entire front of her bodice, so that she was
+literally clothed in light; and with her was her English friend, Mrs.
+Percy, who had accompanied her in her triumph through the courts and
+camps of Europe, and displayed a famous lorgnette-chain, containing one
+specimen of every rare and beautiful jewel known. Mrs. Percy wore a
+gown of cloth of gold tissue, covered with a fortune in Venetian lace,
+and made a tremendous sensation--until the rumour spread that it was a
+rehash of the costume which Mrs. Harper had worn at the Duchess of
+London's ball. The Chicago lady herself never by any chance appeared in
+the same costume twice.
+
+Alice had a grand time at the Todds'; all the men fell in love with
+her--one in particular, a young chap named Fayette, quite threw himself
+at her feet. He was wealthy, but unfortunately he had made his money by
+eloping with a rich girl (who was one of the present party), and so,
+from a practical point of view, his attentions were not desirable for
+Alice.
+
+Montague was left with the task of finding these things out for
+himself, for his brother devoted himself exclusively to Betty Wyman.
+The way these two disappeared between meals was a jest of the whole
+company; so that when they were on their way home, Montague felt called
+upon to make paternal inquiries.
+
+"We're as much engaged as we dare to be," Oliver answered him.
+
+"And when do you expect to marry her?"
+
+"God knows," said he, "I don't. The old man wouldn't give her a cent."
+
+"And you couldn't support her?"
+
+"I? Good heavens, Allan--do you suppose Betty would consent to be poor?"
+
+"Have you asked her?" inquired Montague.
+
+"I don't want to ask her, thank you! I've not the least desire to live
+in a hovel with a girl who's been brought up in a palace."
+
+"Then what do you expect to do?"
+
+"Well, Betty has a rich aunt in a lunatic asylum. And then I'm making
+money, you know--and the old boy will have to relent in the end. And
+we're having a very good time in the meanwhile, you know."
+
+"You can't be very much in love," said Montague--to which his brother
+replied cheerfully that they were as much in love as they felt like
+being.
+
+This was on the train Monday morning. Oliver observed that his brother
+relapsed into a brown study, and remarked, "I suppose you're going back
+now to bury yourself in your books. You've got to give me one evening
+this week for a dinner that's important."
+
+"Where's that?" asked the other.
+
+"Oh, it's a long story," said Oliver. "I'll explain it to you some
+time. But first we must have an understanding about next week, also--I
+suppose you've not overlooked the fact that it's Christmas week. And
+you won't be permitted to do any work then."
+
+"But that's impossible!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Nothing else is possible," said Oliver, firmly. "I've made an
+engagement for you with the Eldridge Devons up the Hudson--"
+
+"For the whole week?"
+
+"The whole week. And it'll be the most important thing you've done.
+Mrs. Winnie's going to take us all in her car, and you will make no end
+of indispensable acquaintances."
+
+"Oliver, I don't see how in the world I can do it!" the other protested
+in dismay, and went on for several minutes arguing and explaining what
+he had to do. But Oliver contented himself with the assurance that
+where there's a will, there's a way. One could not refuse an invitation
+to spend Christmas with the Eldridge Devons!
+
+And sure enough, there was a way. Mr. Hasbrook had mentioned to him
+that he had had considerable work done upon the case, and would have
+the papers sent round. And when Montague reached his office that
+morning, he found them there. There was a package of several thousand
+pages; and upon examining them, he found to his utter consternation
+that they contained a complete bill of complaint, with all the
+necessary references and citations, and a preliminary draught of a
+brief--in short, a complete and thoroughgoing preparation of his case.
+There could not have been less than ten or fifteen thousand dollars'
+worth of work in the papers; and Montague sat quite aghast, turning
+over the neatly typewritten sheets. He could indeed afford to attend
+Christmas house parties, if all his clients were to treat him like this!
+
+He felt a little piqued about it--for he had noted some of these points
+for himself, and felt a little proud about them. Apparently he was to
+be nothing but a figure-head in the case! And he turned to the phone
+and called up Mr. Hasbrook, and asked him what he expected him to do
+with these papers. There was the whole case here; and was he simply to
+take them as they stood?
+
+No one could have replied more considerately than did Mr. Hasbrook. The
+papers were for Montague's benefit--he would do exactly as he pleased
+with them. He might use them as they stood, or reject them altogether,
+or make them the basis for his own work--anything that appealed to his
+judgment would be satisfactory. And so Montague turned about and wrote
+an acceptance to the formal invitation which had come from the Eldridge
+Devons.
+
+Later on in the day Oliver called up, and said that he was to go out to
+dinner the following evening, and that he would call for him at eight.
+"It's with the Jack Evanses," Oliver added. "Do you know them?"
+
+Montague had heard the name, as that of the president of a chain of
+Western railroads. "Do you mean him?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "They're a rum crowd, but there's money in it.
+I'll call early and explain it to you."
+
+But it was explained sooner than that. During the next afternoon
+Montague had a caller--none other than Mrs. Winnie Duval. Some one had
+left Mrs. Winnie some more money, it appeared; and there was a lot of
+red tape attached to it, which she wanted the new lawyer to attend to.
+Also, she said, she hoped that he would charge her a lot of money by
+way of encouraging himself. It was a mere bagatelle of a hundred
+thousand or so, from some forgotten aunt in the West.
+
+The business was soon disposed of, and then Mrs. Winnie asked Montague
+if he had any place to go to for dinner that evening: which was the
+occasion of his mentioning the Jack Evanses. "O dear me!" said Mrs.
+Winnie, with a laugh. "Is Ollie going to take you there? What a funny
+time you'll have!"
+
+"Do you know them?" asked the other.
+
+"Heavens, no!" was the answer. "Nobody knows them; but everybody knows
+about them. My husband meets old Evans in business, of course, and
+thinks he's a good sort. But the family--dear me!"
+
+"How much of it is there?"
+
+"Why, there's the old lady, and two grown daughters and a son. The
+son's a fine chap, they say--the old man took him in hand and put him
+at work in the shops. But I suppose he thought that daughters were too
+much of a proposition for him, and so he sent them to a fancy
+school--and, I tell you, they're the most highly polished human
+specimens that ever you encountered!"
+
+It sounded entertaining. "But what does Oliver want with them?" asked
+Montague, wonderingly.
+
+"It isn't that he wants them--they want him. They're cumbers, you
+know--perfectly frantic. They've come to town to get into Society."
+
+"Then you mean that they pay Oliver?" asked Montague.
+
+"I don't know that," said the other, with a laugh. "You'll have to ask
+Ollie. They've a number of the little brothers of the rich hanging
+round them, picking up whatever plunder's in sight."
+
+A look of pain crossed Montague's face; and she saw it, and put out her
+hand with a sudden gesture. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've offended you!"
+
+"No," said he, "it's not that exactly--I wouldn't be offended. But I'm
+worried about my brother."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"He gets a lot of money somehow, and I don't know what it means."
+
+The woman sat for a few moments in silence, watching him. "Didn't he
+have any when he came here?" she asked.
+
+"Not very much," said he.
+
+"Because," she went on, "if he didn't, he certainly managed it very
+cleverly--we all thought he had."
+
+Again there was a pause; then suddenly Mrs. Winnie said: "Do you know,
+you feel differently about money from the way we do in New York. Do you
+realize it?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said he. "How do you mean?"
+
+"You look at it in an old-fashioned sort of way--a person has to earn
+it--it's a sign of something he's done. It came to me just now, all in
+a flash--we don't feel that way about money. We haven't any of us
+earned ours; we've just got it. And it never occurs to us to expect
+other people to earn it--all we want to know is if they have it."
+
+Montague did not tell his companion how very profound a remark he
+considered that; he was afraid it would not be delicate to agree with
+her. He had heard a story of a negro occupant of the "mourners' bench,"
+who was voluble in confession of his sins, but took exception to the
+fervour with which the congregation said "Amen!"
+
+"The Evanses used to be a lot funnier than they are now," continued
+Mrs. Winnie, after a while. "When they came here last year, they were
+really frightful. They had an English chap for social secretary--a
+younger son of some broken-down old family. My brother knew a man who
+had been one of their intimates in the West, and he said it was
+perfectly excruciating--this fellow used to sit at the table and give
+orders to the whole crowd: 'Your ice-cream fork should be at your right
+hand, Miss Mary.--One never asks for more soup, Master Robert.--And
+Miss Anna, always move your soup-spoon from you--that's better!'"
+
+"I fancy I shall feel sorry for them," said Montague.
+
+"Oh, you needn't," said the other, promptly. "They'll get what they
+want."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Why, certainly they will. They've got the money; and they've been
+abroad--they're learning the game. And they'll keep at it until they
+succeed--what else is there for them to do? And then my husband says
+that old Evans is making himself a power here in the East; so that
+pretty soon they won't dare offend him."
+
+"Does that count?" asked the man.
+
+"Well, I guess it counts!" laughed Mrs. Winnie. "It has of late." And
+she went on to tell him of the Society leader who had dared to offend
+the daughters of a great magnate, and how the magnate had retaliated by
+turning the woman's husband out of his high office. That was often the
+way in the business world; the struggles were supposed to be affairs of
+men, but oftener than not the moving power was a woman's intrigue. You
+would see a great upheaval in Wall Street, and it would be two of the
+big men quarrelling over a mistress; you would see some man rush
+suddenly into a high office--and that would be because his wife had
+sold herself to advance him.
+
+Mrs. Winnie took him up town in her auto, and he dressed for dinner;
+and then came Oliver, and his brother asked, "Are you trying to put the
+Evanses into Society?"
+
+"Who's been telling you about them?" asked the other.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," said Montague.
+
+"What did she tell you?"
+
+Montague went over her recital, which his brother apparently found
+satisfactory. "It's not as serious as that," he said, answering the
+earlier question. "I help them a little now and then."
+
+"What do you do?"
+
+"Oh, advise them, mostly--tell them where to go and what to wear. When
+they first came to New York, they were dressed like paraquets, you
+know. And"--here Oliver broke into a laugh--"I refrain from making
+jokes about them. And when I hear other people abusing them, I point
+out that they are sure to land in the end, and will be dangerous
+enemies. I've got one or two wedges started for them."
+
+"And do they pay you for doing it?"
+
+"You'd call it paying me, I suppose," replied the other. "The old man
+carries a few shares of stock for me now and then."
+
+"Carries a few shares?" echoed Montague, and Oliver explained the
+procedure. This was one of the customs which had grown up in a
+community where people did not have to earn their money. The recipient
+of the favour put up nothing and took no risks; but the other person
+was supposed to buy some stock for him, and then, when the stock went
+up, he would send a cheque for the "profits." Many a man who would have
+resented a direct offer of money, would assent pleasantly when a
+powerful friend offered to "carry a hundred shares for him." This was
+the way one offered a tip in the big world; it was useful in the case
+of newspaper men, whose good opinion of a stock was desired, or of
+politicians and legislators, whose votes might help its fortunes. When
+one expected to get into Society, one must be prepared to strew such
+tips about him.
+
+"Of course," added Oliver, "what the family would really like me to do
+is to get the Robbie Wallings to take them up. I suppose I could get
+round half a million of them if I could manage that."
+
+To all of which Montague replied, "I see."
+
+A great light had dawned upon him. So that was the way it was managed!
+That was why one paid thirty thousand a year for one's apartments, and
+thirty thousand more for a girl's clothes! No wonder it was better to
+spend Christmas week at the Eldridge Devons than to labour at one's law
+books!
+
+"One more question," Montague went on. "Why are you introducing me to
+them?"
+
+"Well," his brother answered, "it won't hurt you; you'll find it
+amusing. You see, they'd heard I had a brother; and they asked me to
+bring you. I couldn't keep you hidden for ever, could I?"
+
+All this was while they were driving up town. The Evanses' place was on
+Riverside Drive; and when Montague got out of the cab and saw it
+looming up in the semi-darkness, he emitted an exclamation of wonder.
+It was as big as a jail!
+
+"Oh, yes, they've got room enough," said Oliver, with a laugh. "I put
+this deal through for them--it's the old Lamson palace, you know."
+
+They had the room; and likewise they had all the trappings of
+snobbery--Montague took that fact in at a glance. There were
+knee-breeches and scarlet facings and gold braid--marble balconies and
+fireplaces and fountains--French masters and real Flemish tapestry. The
+staircase of their palace was a winding one, and there was a white
+velvet carpet which had been specially woven for it, and had to be
+changed frequently; at the top of it was a white cashmere rug which had
+a pedigree of six centuries--and so on.
+
+And then came the family: this tall, raw-boned, gigantic man, with
+weather-tanned face and straggling grey moustache--this was Jack Evans;
+and Mrs. Evans, short and pudgy, but with a kindly face, and not too
+many diamonds; and the Misses Evans,--stately and slender and perfectly
+arrayed. "Why, they're all right!" was the thought that came to
+Montague.
+
+They were all right until they opened their mouths. When they spoke,
+you discovered that Evans was a miner, and that his wife had been cook
+on a ranch; also that Anne and Mary had harsh voices, and that they
+never by any chance said or did anything natural.
+
+They were escorted into the stately dining-room--Henri II., with a
+historic mantel taken from the palace of Fontainebleau, and four great
+allegorical paintings of Morning, Evening, Noon, and Midnight upon the
+walls. There were no other guests--the table, set for six, seemed like
+a toy in the vast apartment. And in a sudden flash--with a start of
+almost terror--Montague realized what it must mean not to be in
+Society. To have all this splendour, and nobody to share it! To have
+Henri II. dining-rooms and Louis XVI. parlours and Louis XIV.
+libraries--and see them all empty! To have no one to drive with or talk
+with, no one to visit or play cards with--to go to the theatre and the
+opera and have no one to speak to! Worse than that, to be stared at and
+smiled at! To live in this huge palace, and know that all the horde of
+servants, underneath their cringing deference, were sneering at you! To
+face that--to live in the presence of it day after day! And then,
+outside of your home, the ever widening circles of ridicule and
+contempt--Society, with all its hangers-on and parasites, its imitators
+and admirers!
+
+And some one had defied all that--some one had taken up the sword and
+gone forth to beat down that opposition! Montague looked at this little
+family of four, and wondered which of them was the driving force in
+this most desperate emprise!
+
+He arrived at it by a process of elimination. It could not be Evans
+himself. One saw that the old man was quite hopeless socially; nothing
+could change his big hairy hands or his lean scrawny neck, or his
+irresistible impulse to slide down in his chair and cross his long legs
+in front of him. The face and the talk of Jack Evans brought
+irresistibly to mind the mountain trail and the prospector's pack-mule,
+the smoke of camp-fires and the odour of bacon and beans. Seventeen
+long years the man had tramped in deserts and mountain wildernesses,
+and Nature had graven her impress deep into his body and soul.
+
+He was very shy at this dinner; but Montague came to know him well in
+the course of time. And after he had come to realize that Montague was
+not one of the grafters, he opened up his heart. Evans had held on to
+his mine when he had found it, and he had downed the rivals who had
+tried to take it away from him, and he had bought the railroads who had
+tried to crush him--and now he had come to Wall Street to fight the men
+who had tried to ruin his railroads. But through it all, he had kept
+the heart of a woman, and the sight of real distress was unbearable to
+him. He was the sort of man to keep a roll of ten-thousand-dollar bills
+in his pistol pocket, and to give one away if he thought he could do it
+without offence. And, on the other hand, men told how once when he had
+seen a porter insult a woman passenger on his line, he jumped up and
+pulled the bell-cord, and had the man put out on the roadside at
+midnight, thirty miles from the nearest town!
+
+No, it was the women folks, he said to Montague, with his grim laugh.
+It didn't trouble him at all to be called a "noovoo rich"; and when he
+felt like dancing a shakedown, he could take a run out to God's
+country. But the women folks had got the bee in their bonnet. The old
+man added sadly that one of the disadvantages of striking it rich was
+that it left the women folks with nothing to do.
+
+Nor was it Mrs. Evans, either. "Sarey," as she was called by the head
+of the house, sat next to Montague at dinner; and he discovered that
+with the very least encouragement, the good lady was willing to become
+homelike and comfortable. Montague gave the occasion, because he was a
+stranger, and volunteered the opinion that New York was a shamelessly
+extravagant place, and hard to get along in; and Mrs. Evans took up the
+subject and revealed herself as a good-natured and kindly personage,
+who had wistful yearnings for mush and molasses, and flap-jacks, and
+bread fried in bacon-grease, and similar sensible things, while her
+chef was compelling her to eat _pate de foie gras_ in aspic, and
+milk-fed guinea-chicks, and _biscuits glacees Tortoni_. Of course she
+did not say that at dinner,--she made a game effort to play her
+part,--with the result of at least one diverting experience for
+Montague.
+
+Mrs. Evans was telling him what a dreadful place she considered the
+city for young men; and how she feared to bring her boy here. "The men
+here have no morals at all," said she, and added earnestly, "I've come
+to the conclusion that Eastern men are naturally amphibious!"
+
+Then, as Montague knitted his brows and looked perplexed, she added,
+"Don't you think so?" And he replied, with as little delay as possible,
+that he had never really thought of it before.
+
+It was not until a couple of hours later that the light dawned upon
+him, in the course of a conversation with Miss Anne. "We met Lady
+Stonebridge at luncheon to-day," said that young person. "Do you know
+her?"
+
+"No," said Montague, who had never heard of her.
+
+"I think those aristocratic English women use the most abominable
+slang," continued Anne. "Have you noticed it?"
+
+"Yes, I have," he said.
+
+"And so utterly cynical! Do you know, Lady Stonebridge quite shocked
+mother--she told her she didn't believe in marriage at all, and that
+she thought all men were naturally polygamous!"
+
+Later on, Montague came to know "Mrs. Sarey"; and one afternoon,
+sitting in her Petit Trianon drawing-room, he asked her abruptly, "Why
+in the world do you want to get into Society?" And the poor lady caught
+her breath, and tried to be indignant; and then, seeing that he was in
+earnest, and that she was cornered, broke down and confessed. "It isn't
+me," she said, "it's the gals." (For along with the surrender went a
+reversion to natural speech.) "It's Mary, and more particularly Anne."
+
+They talked it over confidentially--which was a great relief to Mrs.
+Sarey's soul, for she was cruelly lonely. So far as she was concerned,
+it was not because she wanted Society, but because Society didn't want
+her. She flashed up in sudden anger, and clenched her fists, declaring
+that Jack Evans was as good a man as walked the streets of New
+York--and they would acknowledge it before he got through with them,
+too! After that she intended to settle down at home and be comfortable,
+and mend her husband's socks.
+
+She went on to tell him what a hard road was the path of glory. There
+were hundreds of people ready to know them--but oh, such a riffraff!
+They might fill up their home with the hangers-on and the yellow, but
+no, they could wait. They had learned a lot since they set out. One
+very aristocratic lady had invited them to dinner, and their hopes had
+been high--but alas, while they were sitting by the fireplace, some one
+admired a thirty-thousand-dollar emerald ring which Mrs. Evans had on
+her finger, and she had taken it off and passed it about among the
+company, and somewhere it had vanished completely! And another person
+had invited Mary to a bridge-party, and though she had played hardly at
+all, her hostess had quietly informed her that she had lost a thousand
+dollars. And the great Lady Stonebridge had actually sent for her and
+told her that she could introduce her in some of the very best circles,
+if only she was willing to lose always! Mrs. Evans had possessed a very
+homely Irish name before she was married; and Lady Stonebridge had got
+five thousand dollars from her to use some great influence she
+possessed in the Royal College of Heralds, and prove that she was
+descended directly from the noble old family of Magennis, who had been
+the lords of Iveagh, way back in the fourteenth century. And now Oliver
+had told them that this imposing charter would not help them in the
+least!
+
+In the process of elimination, there were the Misses Evans left.
+Montague's friends made many jests when they heard that he had met
+them--asking him if he meant to settle down. Major Venable went so far
+as to assure him that there was not the least doubt that either of the
+girls would take him in a second. Montague laughed, and answered that
+Mary was not so bad--she had a sweet face and was good-natured; but
+also, she was two years younger than Anne; and he could not get over
+the thought that two more years might make another Anne of her.
+
+For it was Anne who was the driving force of the family! Anne who had
+planned the great campaign, and selected the Lamson palace, and pried
+the family loose from the primeval rocks of Nevada! She was cold as an
+iceberg, tireless, pitiless to others as to herself; for seventeen
+years her father had wandered and dug among the mountains; and for
+seventeen years, if need be, she would dig beneath the walls of the
+fortress of Society!
+
+After Montague had had his heart to heart talk with the mother, Miss
+Anne Evans became very haughty toward him; whereby he knew that the old
+lady had told about it, and that the daughter resented his presumption.
+But to Oliver she laid bare her soul, and Oliver would come and tell
+his brother about it: how she plotted and planned and studied, and
+brought new schemes to him every week. She had some of the real people
+bought over to secret sympathy with her; if there was some especial
+favour which she asked for, she would set to work with the good-natured
+old man, and the person would have some important money service done
+him. She had the people of Society all marked--she was learning all
+their weaknesses, and the underground passages of their lives, and
+working patiently to find the key to her problem--some one family which
+was socially impregnable, but whose finances were in such a shape that
+they would receive the proposition to take up the Evanses, and
+definitely put them in. Montague used to look back upon all this with
+wonder and amusement--from those days in the not far distant future,
+when the papers had cable descriptions of the gowns of the Duchess of
+Arden, nee Evans, who was the bright particular star of the London
+social season!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+Montague had written a reluctant letter to Major Thorne, telling him
+that he had been unable to interest anyone in his proposition, and that
+he was not in position to undertake it himself. Then, according to his
+brother's injunction, he left his money in the bank, and waited. There
+would be "something doing" soon, said Oliver.
+
+And as they drove home from the Evanses', Oliver served notice upon him
+that this event might be expected any day. He was very mysterious about
+it, and would answer none of his brother's questions--except to say
+that it had nothing to do with the people they had just visited.
+
+"I suppose," Montague remarked, "you have not failed to realize that
+Evans might play you false."
+
+And the other laughed, echoing the words, "Might do it!" Then he went
+on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West, whose
+daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and some of the
+young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental mood, had
+asked him for his views about the market. He advised them to buy the
+stock of his road; and they formed a pool and bought, and as fast as
+they bought, he sold--until the little venture cost the boys a total of
+seven million and a half!
+
+"No, no," Oliver added. "I have never put up a dollar for anything of
+Evans's, and I never shall.--They are simply a side issue, anyway," he
+added carelessly.
+
+A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his
+brother called him up and said that he was coming round, and would go
+down town with him. Montague knew at once that that meant something
+serious, for he had never before known his brother to be awake so early.
+
+They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had arrived--the
+time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He could not tell
+much about it, for it was a matter upon which he stood pledged to
+absolute secrecy. There were but four people in the country who knew
+about it. It was the chance of a lifetime--and in four or five hours it
+would be gone. Three times before it had come to Oliver, and each time
+he had multiplied his capital several times; that he had not made
+millions was simply because he did not have enough money. His brother
+must take his word for this and simply put himself into his hands.
+
+"What is it you want me to do?" asked Montague, gravely.
+
+"I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your
+hands on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with."
+
+"To buy on margin, you mean?"
+
+"Of course I mean that," said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother
+frown, he added, "Understand me, I have absolutely certain information
+as to how a certain stock will behave to-day."
+
+"The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters," said
+Montague.
+
+"It is not a question of any person's judgment," was the reply. "It is
+a question of knowledge. The stock is to be MADE to behave so."
+
+"But how can you know that the person who intends to make it behave may
+not be lying to you?"
+
+"My information does not come from that person, but from a person who
+has no such interest--who, on the contrary, is in on the deal with me,
+and gains only as I gain."
+
+"Then, in other words," said Montague, "your information is stolen?"
+
+"Everything in Wall Street is stolen," was Oliver's concise reply.
+
+There was a long silence, while the cab rolled swiftly on its way.
+"Well?" Oliver asked at last.
+
+"I can imagine," said Montague, "how a man might intend to move a
+certain stock, and think that he had the power, and yet find that he
+was mistaken. There are so many forces, so many chances to be
+considered--it seems to me you must be taking a risk."
+
+Oliver laughed. "You talk like a child," was his reply. "Suppose that I
+were in absolute control of a corporation, and that I chose to run it
+for purposes of market manipulation, don't you think I might come
+pretty near knowing what its stock was going to do?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, slowly, "if such a thing as that were
+conceivable."
+
+"If it were conceivable!" laughed his brother. "And now suppose that I
+had a confidential man--a secretary, we'll say--and I paid him twenty
+thousand a year, and he saw chances to make a hundred thousand in an
+hour--don't you think he might conceivably try it?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "he might. But where do you come in?"
+
+"Well, if the man were going to do anything worth while, he'd need
+capital, would he not? And he'd hardly dare to look for any money in
+the Street, where a thousand eyes would be watching him. What more
+natural than to look out for some person who is in Society and has the
+ear of private parties with plenty of cash?"
+
+And Montague sat in deep thought. "I see," he said slowly; "I see!"
+Then, fixing his eyes upon Oliver, he exclaimed, earnestly, "One thing
+more!"
+
+"Don't ask me any more," protested the other. "I told you I was
+pledged--"
+
+"You must tell me this," said Montague. "Does Bobbie Walling know about
+it?"
+
+"He does not," was the reply. But Montague had known his brother long
+and intimately, and he could read things in his eyes. He knew that that
+was a lie. He had solved the mystery at last!
+
+Montague knew that he had come to a parting of the ways. He did not
+like this kind of thing--he had not come to New York to be a
+stock-gambler. But what a difficult thing it would be to say so; and
+how unfair it was to be confronted with such an issue, and compelled to
+decide in a few minutes in a cab!
+
+He had put himself in his brother's hands, and now he was under
+obligations to him, which he could not pay off. Oliver had paid all his
+expenses; he was doing everything for him. He had made all his
+difficulties his own, and all in frankness and perfect trust--upon the
+assumption that his brother would play the game with him. And now, at
+the critical moment, he was to face about, and say; "I do not like the
+game. I do not approve of your life!" Such a painful thing it is to
+have a higher moral code than one's friends!
+
+If he refused, he saw that he would have to face a complete break; he
+could not go on living in the world to which he had been introduced.
+Fifty thousand had seemed an enormous fee, yet even a week or two had
+sufficed for it to come to seem inadequate. He would have to have many
+such fees, if they were to go on living at their present rate; and if
+Alice were to have a social career, and entertain her friends. And to
+ask Alice to give up now, and retire, would be even harder than to face
+his brother here in the cab.
+
+Then came the temptation. Life was a battle, and this was the way it
+was being fought. If he rejected the opportunity, others would seize
+it; in fact, by refusing, he would be handing it to them. This great
+man, whoever he might be, who was manipulating stocks for his own
+convenience--could anyone in his senses reject a chance to wrench from
+him some part of his spoils? Montague saw the impulse of refusal dying
+away within him.
+
+"Well?" asked his brother, finally.
+
+"Oliver," said the other, "don't you think that I ought to know more
+about it, so that I can judge?"
+
+"You could not judge, even if I told you all," said Oliver. "It would
+take you a long time to become familiar with the circumstances, as I
+am. You must take my word; I know it is certain and safe."
+
+Then suddenly he unbuttoned his coat, and took out some papers, and
+handed his brother a telegram. It was dated Chicago, and read, "Guest
+is expected immediately.--HENRY." "That means, 'Buy Transcontinental
+this morning,'" said Oliver.
+
+"I see," said the other. "Then the man is in Chicago?"
+
+"No," was the reply. "That is his wife. He wires to her."
+
+"--How much money have you?" asked Oliver, after a pause.
+
+"I've most of the fifty thousand," the other answered, "and about
+thirty thousand we brought with us."
+
+"How much can you put your hands on?"
+
+"Why, I could get all of it; but part of the money is mother's, and I
+would not touch that."
+
+The younger man was about to remonstrate, but Montague stopped him, "I
+will put up the fifty thousand I have earned," he said. "I dare not
+risk any more."
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "As you please," he said. "You may never
+have another such chance in your life."
+
+He dropped the subject, or at least he probably tried to. Within a few
+minutes, however, he was back at it again, with the result that by the
+time they reached the banking-district, Montague had agreed to draw
+sixty thousand.
+
+They stopped at his bank. "It isn't open yet,--" said Oliver, "but the
+paying teller will oblige you. Tell him you want it before the Exchange
+opens."
+
+Montague went in and got his money, in six new, crisp,
+ten-thousand-dollar bills. He buttoned them up in his inmost pocket,
+wondering a little, incidentally, at the magnificence of the place, and
+at the swift routine manner in which the clerk took in and paid out
+such sums as this. Then they drove to Oliver's bank, and he drew a
+hundred and twenty thousand; and then he paid off the cab, and they
+strolled down Broadway into Wall Street. It lacked a quarter of an hour
+of the time of the opening of the Exchange; and a stream of
+prosperous-looking men were pouring in from all the cars and ferries to
+their offices.
+
+"Where are your brokers?" Montague inquired.
+
+"I don't have any brokers--at least not for a matter such as this,"
+said Oliver. And he stopped in front of one of the big buildings. "In
+there," he said, "are the offices of Hammond and Streeter--second floor
+to your left. Go there and ask for a member of the firm, and introduce
+yourself under an assumed name--"
+
+"What!" gasped Montague.
+
+"Of course, man--you would not dream of giving your own name! What
+difference will that make?"
+
+"I never thought of doing such a thing," said the other.
+
+"Well, think of it now."
+
+But Montague shook his head. "I would not do that," he said.
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "All right," he said; "tell him you
+don't care to give your name. They're a little shady--they'll take your
+money."
+
+"Suppose they won't?" asked the other.
+
+"Then wait outside for me, and I'll take you somewhere else."
+
+"What shall I buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand shares of Transcontinental Common at the opening price;
+and tell them to buy on the scale up, and to raise the stop; also to
+take your orders to sell over the 'phone. Then wait there until I come
+for you."
+
+Montague set his teeth together and obeyed orders. Inside the door
+marked Hammond and Streeter a pleasant-faced young man advanced to meet
+him, and led him to a grey-haired and affable gentleman, Mr. Streeter.
+And Montague introduced himself as a stranger in town, from the South,
+and wishing to buy some stock. Mr. Streeter led him into an inner
+office and seated himself at a desk and drew some papers in front of
+him. "Your name, please?" he asked.
+
+"I don't care to give my name," replied the other. And Mr. Streeter put
+down his pen.
+
+"Not give your name?" he said.
+
+"No," said Montague quietly.
+
+"Why?"--said Mr. Streeter--"I don't understand--"
+
+"I am a stranger in town," said Montague, "and not accustomed to
+dealing in stocks. I should prefer to remain unknown."
+
+The man eyed him sharply. "Where do you come from?" he asked.
+
+"From Mississippi," was the reply.
+
+"And have you a residence in New York?"
+
+"At a hotel," said Montague.
+
+"You have to give some name," said the other.
+
+"Any will do," said Montague. "John Smith, if you like."
+
+"We never do anything like this," said the broker.
+
+"We require that our customers be introduced. There are rules of the
+Exchange--there are rules--"
+
+"I am sorry," said Montague; "this would be a cash transaction."
+
+"How many shares do you want to buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand," was the reply.
+
+Mr. Streeter became more serious. "That is a large order," he said.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+"What do you wish to buy?" was the next question.
+
+"Transcontinental Common," he replied.
+
+"Well," said the other, after another pause-,-"we will try to
+accommodate you. But you will have to consider it--er--"
+
+"Strictly confidential," said Montague.
+
+So Mr. Streeter made out the papers, and Montague, looking them over,
+discovered that they called for one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+"That is a mistake," he said. "I have only sixty thousand."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "we shall certainly have to charge you a ten per
+cent, margin."
+
+Montague was not prepared for this contingency; but he did some mental
+arithmetic. "What is the present price of the stock?" he asked.
+
+"Fifty-nine and five-eighths," was the reply.
+
+"Then sixty thousand dollars is more than ten per cent, of the market
+price," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Streeter. "But in dealing with a stranger we shall
+certainly have to put a 'stop loss' order at four points above, and
+that would leave you only two points of safety--surely not enough."
+
+"I see," said Montague--and he had a sudden appalling realization of
+the wild game which his brother had planned for him.
+
+"Whereas," Mr. Streeter continued, persuasively, "if you put up ten per
+cent., you will have six points."
+
+"Very well," said the other promptly. "Then please buy me six thousand
+shares."
+
+So they closed the deal, and the papers were signed, and Mr. Streeter
+took the six new, crisp ten-thousand-dollar bills.
+
+Then he escorted him to the outer office, remarking pleasantly on the
+way, "I hope you're well advised. We're inclined to be bearish upon
+Transcontinental ourselves--the situation looks rather squally."
+
+These words were not worth the breath it took to say them; but Montague
+was not aware of this, and felt a painful start within. But he
+answered, carelessly, that one must take his chance, and sat down in
+one of the customer's chairs. Hammond and Streeter's was like a little
+lecture-hall, with rows of seats and a big blackboard in front, with
+the initials of the most important stocks in columns, and yesterday's
+closing prices above, on little green cards. At one side was a ticker,
+with two attendants awaiting the opening click.
+
+In the seats were twenty or thirty men, old and young; most of them
+regular habitues, victims of the fever of the Street. Montague watched
+them, catching snatches of their whispered conversation, with its
+intricate and disagreeable slang. He felt intensely humiliated and
+uncomfortable--for he had got the fever of the Street into his own
+veins, and he could not conquer it. There were nasty shivers running up
+and down his spine, and his hands were cold.
+
+He stared at the little figures, fascinated; they stood for some vast
+and tremendous force outside, which could not be controlled or even
+comprehended,--some merciless, annihilating force, like the lightning
+or the tornado. And he had put himself at the mercy of it; it might do
+its will with him! "Tr. C. 59 5/8" read the little pasteboard; and he
+had only six points of safety. If at any time in the day that figure
+should be changed to read "53 5/8"--then every dollar of Montague's
+sixty thousand would be gone for ever! The great fee that he had worked
+so hard for and rejoiced so greatly over--that would be all gone, and a
+slice out of his inheritance besides!
+
+A boy put into his hand a little four-page paper--one of the countless
+news-sheets which different houses and interests distributed free for
+advertising or other purposes; and a heading "Transcontinental" caught
+his eye, among the paragraphs in the Day's Events. He read: "The
+directors' meeting of the Transcontinental R.R. will be held at noon.
+It is confidently predicted that the quarterly dividend will be passed,
+as it has been for the last three quarters. There is great
+dissatisfaction among the stock-holders. The stock has been decidedly
+weak, with no apparent inside support; it fell off three points just
+before closing yesterday, upon the news of further proceedings by
+Western state officials, and widely credited rumours of dissensions
+among the directors, with renewed opposition to the control of the
+Hopkins interests."
+
+Ten o'clock came and went, and the ticker began its long journey. There
+was intense activity in Transcontinental, many thousands of shares
+changing hands, and the price swaying back and forth. When Oliver came
+in, in half an hour, it stood at 59 3/8.
+
+"That's all right," said he. "Our time will not come till afternoon."
+
+"But suppose we are wiped out before afternoon?" said the other.
+
+"That is impossible," answered Oliver. "There will be big buying all
+the morning."
+
+They sat for a while, nervous and restless. Then, by way of breaking
+the monotony, Oliver suggested that his brother might like to see the
+"Street." They went around the corner to Broad Street. Here at the head
+stood the Sub-treasury building, with all the gold of the government
+inside, and a Gatling gun in the tower. The public did not know it was
+there, but the financial men knew it, and it seemed as if they had
+huddled all their offices and banks and safe-deposit vaults under its
+shelter. Here, far underground, were hidden the two hundred millions of
+securities of the Oil Trust--in a huge six-hundred-ton steel vault,
+with a door so delicately poised that a finger could swing it on its
+hinges. And opposite to this was the white Grecian building of the
+Stock Exchange. Down the street were throngs of men within a roped
+arena, pushing, shouting, jostling; this was "the curb," where one
+could buy or sell small blocks of stock, and all the wild-cat mining
+and oil stocks which were not listed by the Exchange. Rain or shine,
+these men were always here; and in the windows of the neighbouring
+buildings stood others shouting quotations to them through megaphones,
+or signalling in deaf and dumb language. Some of these brokers wore
+coloured hats, so that they could be distinguished; some had offices
+far off, where men sat all day with strong glasses trained upon them.
+Everywhere was the atmosphere of speculation--the restless, feverish
+eyes; the quick, nervous gestures; the haggard, care-worn faces. For in
+this game every man was pitted against every other man; and the dice
+were loaded so that nine out of every ten were doomed in advance to
+ruin and defeat. They procured passes to the visitors' gallery of the
+Exchange. From here one looked down into a room one or two hundred feet
+square, its floor covered with a snowstorm of torn pieces of paper, and
+its air a babel of shouts and cries. Here were gathered perhaps two
+thousand men and boys; some were lounging and talking, but most were
+crowded about the various trading-posts, pushing, climbing over each
+other, leaping up, waving their hands and calling aloud. A "seat" in
+this exchange was worth about ninety-five thousand dollars, and so no
+one of these men was poor; but yet they came, day after day, to play
+their parts in this sordid arena, "seeking in sorrow for each other's
+joy": inventing a thousand petty tricks to outwit and deceive each
+other; rejoicing in a thousand petty triumphs; and spending their
+lives, like the waves upon the shore, a very symbol of human futility.
+Now and then a sudden impulse would seize them, and they would become
+like howling demons, surging about one spot, shrieking, gasping,
+clawing each other's clothing to pieces; and the spectator shuddered,
+seeing them as the victims of some strange and dreadful enchantment,
+which bound them to struggle and torment each other until they were
+worn out and grey.
+
+But one felt these things only dimly, when he had put all his fortune
+into Transcontinental Common. For then he had sold his own soul to the
+enchanter, and the spell was upon him, and he hoped and feared and
+agonized with the struggling throng. Montague had no need to ask which
+was his "post"; for a mob of a hundred men were packed about it, with
+little whirls and eddies here and there on the outside. "Something
+doing to-day all right," said a man in his ear.
+
+It was interesting to watch; but there was one difficulty--there were
+no quotations provided for the spectators. So the sight of this
+activity merely set them on edge with anxiety--something must be
+happening to their stock! Even Oliver was visibly nervous--after all,
+in the surest cases, the game was a dangerous one; there might be a big
+failure, or an assassination, or an earthquake! They rushed out and
+made for the nearest broker's office, where a glance at the board
+showed them Transcontinental at 60. They drew a long breath, and sat
+down again to wait.
+
+That was about half-past eleven. At a quarter to twelve the stock went
+up an eighth, and then a quarter, and then another eighth. The two
+gripped their hands in excitement. Had the time come?
+
+Apparently it had. A minute later the stock leaped to 61, on large
+buying. Then it went three-eighths more. A buzz of excitement ran
+through the office, and the old-timers sat up in their seats. The stock
+went another quarter.
+
+Montague heard a man behind him say to his neighbour, "What does it
+mean?"
+
+"God knows," was the answer; but Oliver whispered in his brother's ear,
+"I know what it means. The insiders are buying."
+
+Somebody was buying, and buying furiously. The ticker seemed to set all
+other business aside and give its attention to the trading in
+Transcontinental. It was like a base-ball game, when one side begins to
+pile up runs, and the man in the coacher's box chants exultantly, and
+the dullest spectator is stirred--since no man can be indifferent to
+success. And as the stock went higher and higher, a little wave of
+excitement mounted with it, a murmur running through the room, and a
+thrill passing from person to person. Some watched, wondering if it
+would last, and if they had not better take on a little; then another
+point would be scored, and they would wish they had done it, and
+hesitate whether to do it now. But to others, like the Montagues, who
+"had some," it was victory, glorious and thrilling; their pulses leaped
+faster with every new change of the figures; and between times they
+reckoned up their gains, and hung between hope and dread for the new
+gains which were on the way, but not yet in sight.
+
+There was little lull, and the boys who tended the board had a chance
+to rest. The stock was above 66; at which price, owing to the device of
+"pyramiding." Montague was on "velvet," to use the picturesque phrase
+of the Street. His earnings amounted to sixty thousand dollars, and
+even if the stock were to fall and he were to be sold out, he would
+lose nothing.
+
+He wished to sell and realize his profits; but his brother gripped him
+fast by the arm. "No! no!" he said. "It hasn't really come yet!"
+
+Some went out to lunch--to a restaurant where they could have a
+telephone on their table, so as to keep in touch with events. But the
+Montagues had no care about eating; they sat picturing the directors in
+session, and speculating upon a score of various eventualities. Things
+might yet go wrong, and all their profits would vanish like early
+snow-flakes--and all their capital with them. Oliver shook like a leaf,
+but he would not stir. "Stay game!" he whispered.
+
+He took out his watch, and glanced at it. It was after two o'clock. "It
+may go over till to-morrow!" he muttered.--But then suddenly came the
+storm.
+
+The ticker recorded a rise in the price of Transcontinental of a point
+and a half, upon a purchase of five thousand shares; and then half a
+point for two thousand more. After that it never stopped. It went a
+point at a time; it went ten points in about fifteen minutes. And babel
+broke loose in the office, and in several thousand other offices in the
+street, and spread to others all over the world. Montague had got up,
+and was moving here and there, because the tension was unendurable; and
+at the door of an inner office he heard some one at the telephone
+exclaiming, "For the love of God, can't you find out what's the
+matter?"--A moment later a man rushed in, breathless and wild-eyed, and
+his voice rang through the office, "The directors have declared a
+quarterly dividend of three per cent, and an extra dividend of two!"
+
+And Oliver caught his brother by the arm and started for the door with
+him. "Get to your broker's," he said. "And if the stock has stopped
+moving, sell; and sell in any case before the close." And then he
+dashed away to his own headquarters.
+
+At about half after three o'clock, Oliver came into Hammond and
+Streeter's, breathless, and with his hair and clothing dishevelled. He
+was half beside himself with exultation; and Montague was scarcely less
+wrought up--in fact he felt quite limp after the strain he had been
+through.
+
+"What price did you get?" his brother inquired; and he answered, "An
+average of 78 3/8." There had been another sharp rise at the end, and
+he had sold all his stock without checking the advance.
+
+"I got five-eighths," said Oliver. "O ye gods!"
+
+There were some unhappy "shorts" in the office; Mr. Streeter was one of
+them. It was bitterness and gall to them to see the radiant faces of
+the two lucky ones; but the two did not even see this. They went out,
+half dancing, and had a drink or two to steady their nerves.
+
+They would not actually get their money until the morrow; but Montague
+figured a profit of a trifle under a quarter of a million for himself.
+Of this about twenty thousand would go to make up the share of his
+unknown informant; the balance he considered would be an ample reward
+for his six hours' work that day.
+
+His brother had won more than twice as much. But as they drove up home,
+talking over it in awe-stricken whispers, and pledging themselves to
+absolute secrecy, Oliver suddenly clenched his fist and struck his knee.
+
+"By God!" he exclaimed. "If I hadn't been a fool and tried to save an
+extra margin, I could have had a million!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas festivities,--for
+music and dancing and all beautiful and happy things.
+
+Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet him;
+clad in her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy ermine, so
+truly gorgeous that wherever she went, people turned and stared and
+caught their breath. Mrs. Winnie was a picture of joyful health, with a
+glow in her rich complexion, and a sparkle in her black eyes.
+
+She sat in her big touring-car--in which one could afford to wear
+ermine. It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine
+were seats for six persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths for
+sleeping, and a writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful electric
+chandelier to light it at night. Its trimmings were of South American
+mahogany, and its upholstering of Spanish and Morocco leathers; it had
+a telephone with which one spoke to the driver; an ice-box and a lunch
+hamper--in fact, one might have spent an hour discovering new gimcracks
+in this magic automobile. It had been made especially for Mrs. Winnie a
+couple of years ago, and the newspapers said it had cost thirty
+thousand dollars; it had then been quite a novelty, but now "everybody"
+was getting them. In this car one might sit at ease, and laugh and
+chat, and travel at the rate of an express train; and with never a jar
+or a quiver, nor the faintest sound of any sort.
+
+The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went
+through the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road which
+runs out of Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a macadamized
+avenue, lined with beautiful and stately homes. As one went farther
+yet, he came to the great country estates-a whole district of hundreds
+of square miles given up to them. There were forests and lakes and
+streams; there were gardens and greenhouses filled with rare plants and
+flowers, and parks with deer browsing, and peacocks and lyre-birds
+strutting about. The road wound in and out among hills, the surfaces of
+which would be one unbroken lawn; and upon the highest points stood
+palaces of every conceivable style and shape.
+
+One might find these great domains anywhere around the city, at a
+distance of from thirty to sixty miles; there were two or three hundred
+of them, and incredible were the sums of money which had been spent
+upon their decoration. One saw an artificial lake of ten thousand
+acres, made upon land which had cost several hundred dollars an acre;
+one saw gardens with ten thousand rose-bushes, and a quarter of a
+million dollars' worth of lilies from Japan; there was one estate in
+which had been planted a million dollars' worth of rare trees, imported
+from all over the world. Some rich men, who had nothing else to amuse
+them, would make their estates over and over again, changing the view
+about their homes as one changes the scenery in a play. Over in New
+Jersey the Hegans were building a castle upon a mountain-top, and had
+built a special railroad simply to carry the materials. Here, also, was
+the estate of the tobacco king, upon which three million dollars had
+been spent before the plans of the mansion had even been drawn; there
+were artificial lakes and streams, and fantastic bridges and statuary,
+and scores of little model plantations and estates, according to the
+whim of the owner. And here in the Pocantico Hills was the estate of
+the oil king, about four square miles, with thirty miles of model
+driveways; many car-loads of rare plants had been imported for its
+gardens, and it took six hundred men to keep it in order. There was a
+golf course, a little miniature Alps, upon which the richest man in the
+world pursued his lost health, with armed guards and detectives
+patrolling the place all day, and a tower with a search-light, whereby
+at night he could flood the grounds with light by pressing a button.
+
+In one of these places lived the heir of the great house of Devon. His
+cousin dwelt in Europe, saying that America was not a fit place for a
+gentleman to live in. Each of them owned a hundred million dollars'
+worth of New York real estate, and drew their tribute of rents from the
+toil of the swarming millions of the city. And always, according to the
+policy of the family, they bought new real estate. They were directors
+of the great railroads tributary to the city, and in touch with the
+political machines, and in every other way in position to know what was
+under way: if a new subway were built to set the swarming millions
+free, the millions would find the land all taken up, and
+apartment-houses newly built for them--and the Devons were the owners.
+They had a score of the city's greatest hotels--and also slum
+tenements, and brothels and dives in the Tenderloin. They did not even
+have to know what they owned; they did not have to know anything, or do
+anything--they lived in their palaces, at home or abroad, and in their
+offices in the city the great rent-gathering machine ground on.
+
+Eldridge Devon's occupation was playing with his country-place and his
+automobiles. He had recently sold all his horses, and turned his
+stables into a garage equipped with a score or so of cars; he was
+always getting a new one, and discussing its merits. As to Hudson
+Cliff, the estate, he had conceived the brilliant idea of establishing
+a gentleman's country-place which should be self-supporting--that is to
+say, which should furnish the luxuries and necessities of its owner's
+table for no more than it would have cost to buy them. Considering the
+prices usually paid, this was no astonishing feat, but Devon took a
+child's delight in it; he showed Montague his greenhouses, filled with
+rare flowers and fruits, and his model dairy, with marble stables and
+nickel plumbing, and attendants in white uniforms and rubber gloves. He
+was a short and very stout gentleman with red cheeks, and his
+conversation was not brilliant.
+
+To Hudson Cliff came many of Montague's earlier acquaintances, and
+others whom he had not met before. They amused themselves in all the
+ways with which-he had become familiar at house-parties; likewise on
+Christmas Eve there were festivities for the children, and on Christmas
+night a costume ball, very beautiful and stately. Many came from New
+York to attend this, and others from the neighbourhood; and in
+returning calls, Montague saw others of these hill-top mansions.
+
+Also, and most important of all, they played bridge--as they had played
+at every function which he had attended so far. Here Mrs. Winnie, who
+had rather taken him up, and threatened to supplant Oliver as his
+social guide and chaperon, insisted that no more excuses would be
+accepted; and so for two mornings he sat with her in one of the
+sun-parlours, and diligently put his mind upon the game. As he proved
+an apt pupil, he was then advised that he might take a trial plunge.
+
+And so Montague came into touch with a new social phenomenon; perhaps
+on the whole the most significant and soul-disturbing phenomenon which
+Society had exhibited to him. He had just had the experience of getting
+a great deal of money without earning it, and was fresh from the
+disagreeable memories of it--the trembling and suspense, the burning
+lustful greed, the terrible nerve-devouring excitement. He had hoped
+that he would not soon have to go through such an experience again-and
+here was the prospect of an endless dalliance with it!
+
+For that was the meaning of bridge; it was a penalty which people were
+paying for getting their money without earning it. The disease got into
+their blood, and they could no longer live without the excitement of
+gain and the hope of gain. So after their labours were over, when they
+were supposed to be resting and enjoying themselves, they would get
+together and torment themselves with an imitation struggle, mimicking
+the grim and dreadful gamble of business. Down in the Street, Oliver
+had pointed out to his brother a celebrated "plunger," who had
+sometimes won six or eight millions in a single day; and that man would
+play at stocks all morning, and "play the ponies" in the afternoon, and
+then spend the evening in a millionaires' gambling-house. And so it was
+with the bridge fiends.
+
+It was a social plague; it had run through all Society, high and low.
+It had destroyed conversation and all good-fellowship--it would end by
+destroying even common decency, and turning the best people into vulgar
+gamblers.--Thus spoke Mrs. Billy Alden, who was one of the guests; and
+Montague thought that Mrs. Billy ought to know, for she herself was
+playing all the time.
+
+Mrs. Billy did not like Mrs. Winnie Duval; and the beginning of the
+conversation was her inquiry why he let that woman corrupt him. Then
+the good lady went on to tell him what bridge had come to be; how
+people played it on the trains all the way from New York to San
+Francisco; how they had tables in their autos, and played while they
+were touring over the world. "Once," said she, "I took a party to see
+the America's Cup races off Sandy Hook; and when we got back to the
+pier, some one called, 'Who won?' And the answer was, 'Mrs. Billy's
+ahead, but we're going on this evening.' I took a party of friends
+through the Mediterranean and up the Nile, and we passed Venice and
+Cairo and the Pyramids and the Suez Canal, and they never once looked
+up--they were playing bridge. And you think I'm joking, but I mean just
+literally what I say. I know a man who was travelling from New York to
+Philadelphia, and got into a game with some strangers, and rode all the
+way to Palm Beach to finish it!"
+
+Montague heard later of a well-known Society leader who was totally
+incapacitated that winter, from too much bridge at Newport; and she was
+passing the winter at Hot Springs and Palm Beach--and playing bridge
+there. They played it even in sanitariums, to which they had been
+driven by nervous breakdown. It was an occupation so exhausting to the
+physique of women that physicians came to know the symptoms of it, and
+before they diagnosed a case, they would ask, "Do you play bridge?" It
+had destroyed the last remnants of the Sabbath--it was a universal
+custom to have card-parties on that day.
+
+It was a very expensive game, as they played it in Society; one might
+easily win or lose several thousand dollars in an evening, and there
+were many who could not afford this. If one did not play, he would be
+dropped from the lists of those invited; and when one entered a game,
+etiquette required him to stay in until it was finished. So one heard
+of young girls who had pawned their family plate, or who had sold their
+honour, to pay their bills at the game; and all Society knew of one
+youth who had robbed his hostess of her jewels and pawned them, and
+then taken her the tickets--telling her that her guests had robbed him.
+There were women received in the best Society, who lived as
+adventuresses pure and simple, upon their skill at the game; hostesses
+would invite rich guests and fleece them. Montague never forgot the
+sense of amazement and dismay with which he listened while first Mrs.
+Winnie and then his brother warned him that he must avoid playing with
+a certain aristocratic dame whom he met in this most aristocratic
+household--because she was such a notorious cheater!
+
+"My dear fellow," laughed his brother, when he protested, "we have a
+phrase 'to cheat at cards like a woman.'" And then Oliver went on to
+tell him of his own first experience at cards in Society, when he had
+played poker with several charming young debutantes; they would call
+their hands and take the money without showing their cards, and he had
+been too gallant to ask to see them. But later he learned that this was
+a regular practice, and so he never played poker with women. And Oliver
+pointed out one of these girls to his brother--sitting, as beautiful as
+a picture and as cold as marble, with a half-smoked cigarette on the
+edge of the table, and whisky and soda and glasses of cracked ice
+beside her. Later on, as he chanced to be reading a newspaper, his
+brother leaned over his shoulder and pointed out another of the
+symptoms of the craze--an advertisement headed, "Your luck will
+change." It gave notice that at Rosenstein's Parlours, just off Fifth
+Avenue, one might borrow money upon expensive gowns and furs!
+
+All during the ten days of this house-party, Mrs. Winnie devoted
+herself to seeing that Montague had a good time; Mrs. Winnie sat beside
+him at table--he found that somehow a convention had been established
+which assigned him to Mrs. Winnie as a matter of course. Nobody said
+anything to him about it, but knowing how relentlessly the affairs of
+other people were probed and analyzed, he began to feel exceedingly
+uncomfortable.
+
+There came a time when he felt quite smothered by Mrs. Winnie; and
+immediately after lunch one day he broke away and went for a long walk
+by himself. This was the occasion of his meeting with an adventure.
+
+An inch or two of snow had fallen, and lay gleaming in the sunlight.
+The air was keen, and he drank deep draughts of it, and went striding
+away over the hills for an hour or so. There was a gale blowing, and as
+he came over the summits it would strike him, and he would see the
+river white with foam. And then down in the valleys again all would be
+still.
+
+Here, in a thickly wooded place, Montague's attention was arrested
+suddenly by a peculiar sound, a heavy thud, which seemed to shake the
+earth. It suggested a distant explosion, and he stopped for a moment
+and then went on, gazing ahead. He passed a turn, and then he saw a
+great tree which had fallen directly across the road.
+
+He went on, thinking that this was what he had heard. But as he came
+nearer, he saw his mistake. Beyond the tree lay something else, and he
+began to run toward it. It was two wheels of an automobile, sticking up
+into the air.
+
+He sprang upon the tree-trunk, and in one glance he saw the whole
+story. A big touring-car had swept round the sharp turn, and swerved to
+avoid the unexpected obstruction, and so turned a somersault into the
+ditch.
+
+Montague gave a thrill of horror, for there was the form of a man
+pinned beneath the body of the car. He sprang toward it, but a second
+glance made him stop--he saw that blood had gushed from the man's mouth
+and soaked the snow all about. His chest was visibly crushed flat, and
+his eyes were dreadful, half-started from their sockets.
+
+For a moment Montague stood staring, as if turned to stone. Then from
+the other side of the car came a moan, and he ran toward the sound. A
+second man lay in the ditch, moving feebly. Montague sprang to help him.
+
+The man wore a heavy bearskin coat. Montague lifted him, and saw that
+he was a very elderly person, with a cut across his forehead, and a
+face as white as chalk. The other helped him to a position with his
+back against the bank, and he opened his eyes and groaned.
+
+Montague knelt beside him, watching his breathing. He had a sense of
+utter helplessness--there was nothing he could think of to do, save to
+unbutton the man's coat and keep wiping the blood from his face.
+
+"Some whisky," the stranger moaned. Montague answered that he had none;
+but the other replied that there was some in the car.
+
+The slope of the bank was such that Montague could crawl under, and
+find the compartment with the bottle in it. The old man drank some, and
+a little colour came back to his face. As the other watched him, it
+came to him that this face was familiar; but he could not place it.
+
+"How many were there with you?" Montague asked; and the man answered,
+"Only one."
+
+Montague went over and made certain that the other man--who was
+obviously the chauffeur--was dead. Then he hurried down the road, and
+dragged some brush out into the middle of it, where it could be seen
+from a distance by any other automobile that came along; after which he
+went back to the stranger, and bound his handkerchief about his
+forehead to stop the bleeding from the cut.
+
+The old man's lips were tightly set, as if he were suffering great
+pain. "I'm done for!" he moaned, again and again.
+
+"Where are you hurt?" Montague asked.
+
+"I don't know," he gasped. "But it's finished me! I know it--it's the
+last straw."
+
+Then he closed his eyes and lay back. "Can't you get a doctor?" he
+asked.
+
+"There are no houses very near," said Montague. "But I can run--"
+
+"No, no!" the other interrupted, anxiously. "Don't leave me! Some one
+will come.--Oh, that fool of a chauffeur--why couldn't he go slow when
+I told him? That's always the way with them--they're always trying to
+show off."
+
+"The man is dead," said Montague, quietly.
+
+The other started upon his elbow. "Dead!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "He's under the car."
+
+The old man's eyes had started wild with fright; and he caught Montague
+by the arm. "Dead!" he said. "O my God--and it might have been me!"
+
+There was a moment's pause. The stranger caught his breath, and
+whispered again: "I'm done for! I can't stand it! it's too much!"
+
+Montague had noticed when he lifted the man that he was very frail and
+slight of build. Now he could feel that the hand that held his arm was
+trembling violently. It occurred to him that perhaps the man was not
+really hurt, but that his nerves had been upset by the shock.
+
+And he felt certain of this a moment later, when the stranger suddenly
+leaned forward, clutching him with redoubled intensity, and staring at
+him with wide, horror-stricken eyes.
+
+"Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?" he panted. "Do you
+know what it means to be afraid of death?"
+
+Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed on--"No, no! You can't!
+you can't! I don't believe any man knows it as I do! Think of it--for
+ten years I've never known a minute when I wasn't afraid of death! It
+follows me around--it won't let me be! It leaps out at me in places,
+like this! And when I escape it, I can hear it laughing at me--for it
+knows I can't get away!"
+
+The old man caught his breath with a choking sob. He was clinging to
+Montague like a frightened child, and staring with a wild, hunted look
+upon his face. Montague sat transfixed.
+
+"Yes," the other rushed on, "that's the truth, as God hears me! And
+it's the first time I've ever spoken it in my life! I have to hide
+it--because men would laugh at me--they pretend they're not afraid! But
+I lie awake all night, and it's like a fiend that sits by my bedside! I
+lie and listen to my own heart--I feel it beating, and I think how weak
+it is, and what thin walls it has, and what a wretched, helpless thing
+it is to have your life depend on that!--You don't know what that is, I
+suppose."
+
+Montague shook his head.
+
+"You're young, you see," said the other. "You have health--everybody
+has health, except me! And everybody hates me--I haven't got a friend
+in the world!"
+
+Montague was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this outburst. He
+tried to stop it, for he felt almost indecent in listening--it was not
+fair to take a man off his guard like this. But the stranger could not
+be stopped--he was completely unstrung, and his voice grew louder and
+louder.
+
+"It's every word of it true," he exclaimed wildly. "And I can't stand
+it any more. I can't stand anything any more. I was young and strong
+once--I could take care of myself; and I said: I'll make money, I'll be
+master of other men! But I was a fool--I forgot my health. And now all
+the money on earth can't do me any good! I'd give ten million dollars
+to-day for a body like any other man's--and this--this is what I have!"
+
+He struck his hands against his bosom. "Look at it!" he cried,
+hysterically. "This is what I've got to live in! It won't digest any
+food, and I can't keep it warm--there's nothing right with it! How
+would you like to lie awake at night and say to yourself that your
+teeth were decaying and you couldn't help it--your hair was falling
+out, and nobody could stop it? You're old and worn out--falling to
+pieces; and everybody hates you--everybody's waiting for you to die, so
+that they can get you out of the way. The doctors come, and they're all
+humbugs! They shake their heads and use long words--they know they
+can't do you any good, but they want their big fees! And all they do is
+to frighten you worse, and make you sicker than ever!"
+
+There was nothing that Montague could do save to sit and listen to this
+outburst of wretchedness. His attempts to soothe the old man only had
+the effect of exciting him more.
+
+"Why does it all have to fall on me?" he moaned. "I want to be like
+other people--I want to live! And instead, I'm like a man with a pack
+of hungry wolves prowling round him--that's what it's like! It's like
+Nature--hungry and cruel and savage! You think you know what life is;
+it seems so beautiful and gentle and pleasant--that's when you're on
+top! But now I'm down, and I KNOW what it is--it's a thing like a
+nightmare, that reaches out for you to clutch you and crush you! And
+you can't get away from it--you're helpless as a rat in a
+corner--you're damned--you're damned!" The miserable man's voice broke
+in a cry of despair, and he sank down in a heap in front of Montague,
+shaking and sobbing. The other was trembling slightly, and stricken
+with awe.
+
+There was a long silence, and then the stranger lifted his tear-stained
+face, and Montague helped to support him. "Have a little more of the
+whisky," said he.
+
+"No," the other answered feebly, "I'd better not."
+
+"--My doctors won't let me have whisky," he added, after a while.
+"That's my liver. I've so many don'ts, you know, that it takes a
+note-book to keep track of them. And all of them together do me no
+good! Think of it--I have to live on graham crackers and
+milk--actually, not a thing has passed my lips for two years but graham
+crackers and milk."
+
+And then suddenly, with a start, it came to Montague where he had seen
+this wrinkled old face before. It was Laura Hegan's uncle, whom the
+Major had pointed out to him in the dining-room of the Millionaires'
+Club! Old Henry S. Grimes, who was really only sixty, but looked
+eighty; and who owned slum tenements, and evicted more people in a
+month than could be crowded into the club-house!
+
+Montague gave no sign, but sat holding the man in his arms. A little
+trickle of blood came from under the handkerchief and ran down his
+cheek; Montague felt him tremble as he touched this with his ringer.
+
+"Is it much of a cut?" he asked.
+
+"Not much," said Montague; "two or three stitches, perhaps."
+
+"Send for my family physician," the other added. "If I should faint, or
+anything, you'll find his name in my card-case. What's that?"
+
+There was the sound of voices down the road. "Hello!"' Montague
+shouted; and a moment later two men in automobile costume came running
+toward him. They stopped, staring in dismay at the sight which
+confronted them.
+
+At Montague's suggestion they made haste to find a log by means of
+which they lifted the auto sufficiently to drag out the body of the
+chauffeur. Montague saw that it was quite cold.
+
+He went back to old Grimes. "Where do you wish to go?" he asked.
+
+The other hesitated. "I was bound for the Harrisons'--" he said.
+
+"The Leslie Harrisons?" asked Montague. (They were people he had met at
+the Devons'.)
+
+The other noticed his look of recognition. "Do you know them?" he asked.
+
+"I do," said Montague.
+
+"It isn't far," said the old man. "Perhaps I had best go there."--And
+then he hesitated for a moment; and catching Montague by the arm, and
+pulling him toward him, whispered, "Tell me--you-you won't tell--"
+
+Montague, comprehending what he meant, answered, "It will be between
+us." At the same time he felt a new thrill of revulsion for this most
+miserable old creature.
+
+They lifted him into the car; and because they delayed long enough to
+lay a blanket over the body of the chauffeur, he asked peevishly why
+they did not start. During the ten or fifteen minutes' trip he sat
+clinging to Montague, shuddering with fright every time they rounded a
+turn in the road.
+
+They reached the Harrisons' place; and the footman who opened the door
+was startled out of his studied impassivity by the sight of a big
+bundle of bearskin in Montague's arms. "Send for Mrs. Harrison," said
+Montague, and laid the bundle upon a divan in the hall. "Get a doctor
+as quickly as you can," he added to a second attendant.
+
+Mrs. Harrison came. "It's Mr. Grimes," said Montague; and then he heard
+a frightened exclamation, and turned and saw Laura Hegan, in a walking
+costume, fresh from the cold outside.
+
+"What is it?" she cried. And he told her, as quickly as he could, and
+she ran to help the old man. Montague stood by, and later carried him
+upstairs, and waited below until the doctor came.
+
+It was only when he set out for home again that he found time to think
+about Laura Hegan, and how beautiful she had looked in her furs. He
+wondered if it would always be his fate to meet her under circumstances
+which left her no time to be aware of his own existence.
+
+At home he told about his adventure, and found himself quite a hero for
+the rest of the day. He was obliged to give interviews to several
+newspaper reporters, and to refuse to let one of them take his picture.
+Every one at the Devons' seemed to know old Harry Grimes, and Montague
+thought to himself that if the comments of this particular group of
+people were a fair sample, the poor wretch was right in saying that he
+had not a friend in the world.
+
+When he came downstairs the next morning, he found elaborate accounts
+of the accident in the papers, and learned that Grimes had nothing
+worse than a scalp wound and a severe shock. Even so, he felt it was
+incumbent upon him to pay a visit of inquiry, and rode over shortly
+before lunch.
+
+Laura Hegan came down to see him, wearing a morning gown of white. She
+confirmed the good news of the papers, and said that her uncle was
+resting quietly. (She did not say that his physician had come
+post-haste, with two nurses, and taken up his residence in the house,
+and that the poor old millionaire was denied even his graham crackers
+and milk). Instead she said that he had mentioned Montague's kindness
+particularly, and asked her to thank him. Montague was cynical enough
+to doubt this.
+
+It was the first time that he had ever had any occasion to talk with
+Miss Hegan. He noticed her gentle and caressing voice, with the least
+touch of the South in it; and he was glad to find that it was possible
+for her to talk without breaking the spell of her serene and noble
+beauty. Montague stayed as long as he had any right to stay.
+
+And all the way as he rode home he was thinking about Laura Hegan. Here
+for the first time was a woman whom he felt he should like to know; a
+woman with reserve and dignity, and some ideas in her life. And it was
+impossible for him to know her--because she was rich!
+
+There was no dodging this fact--Montague did not even try. He had met
+women with fortunes already, and he knew how they felt about
+themselves, and how the rest of the world felt about them. They might
+wish in their hearts to be something else besides the keepers of a
+treasure-chest, but their wishes were futile; the money went with them,
+and they had to defend it against all comers. Montague recalled one
+heiress after another--debutantes, some of them, exquisite and delicate
+as butterflies--but under the surface as hard as chain-armour. All
+their lives they had been trained to think of themselves as
+representing money, and of every one who came near them as adventurers
+seeking money. In every word they uttered, in every glance and motion,
+one might read this meaning. And then he thought of Laura Hegan, with
+the fortune she would inherit; and he pictured what her life must
+be--the toadies and parasites and flatterers who would lay siege to
+her--the scheming mammas and the affectionate sisters and cousins who
+would plot to gain her confidence! For a man who was poor, and who
+meant to keep his self-respect, was there any possible conclusion
+except that she was entirely unknowable to him?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+Montague came back to the city, and dug into his books again; while
+Alice gave her spare hours to watching the progress of the new gown in
+which she was to uphold the honour of the family at Mrs. Devon's
+opening ball. The great event was due in the next week and Society was
+as much excited about it as a family of children before Christmas. All
+whom Montague met were invited and all were going unless they happened
+to be in mourning. Their gossip was all of the disappointed ones, and
+their bitterness and heartburning.
+
+Mrs. Devon's mansion was thrown open early on the eventful evening, but
+few would come until midnight. It was the fashion to attend the Opera
+first, and previous to that half a dozen people would give big dinners.
+He was a fortunate person who did not hear from his liver after this
+occasion; for at one o'clock came Mrs. Devon's massive supper, and then
+again at four o'clock another supper. To prepare these repasts a dozen
+extra chefs had been imported into the Devon establishment for a
+week--for it was part of the great lady's pride to permit no outside
+caterer to prepare anything for her guests.
+
+Montague had never been able to get over his wonder at the social
+phenomenon known as Mrs. Devon. He came and took his chances in the
+jostling throngs; and except that he got into casual conversation with
+one of the numerous detectives whom he took for a guest he came off
+fairly well. But all the time that he was being passed about and
+introduced and danced with, he was looking about him and wondering. The
+grand staircase and the hall and parlours had been turned into tropical
+gardens, with palms and trailing vines, and azaleas and roses, and
+great vases of scarlet poinsettia, with hundreds of lights glowing
+through them. (It was said that this ball had exhausted the flower
+supply of the country as far south as Atlanta.) And then in the
+reception room one came upon the little old lady, standing' beneath a
+bower of orchids. She was clad in a robe of royal purple trimmed with
+silver, and girdled about with an armour-plate of gems. If one might
+credit the papers, the diamonds that were worn at one of these balls
+were valued at twenty million dollars.
+
+The stranger was quite overwhelmed by all the splendour. There was a
+cotillion danced by two hundred gorgeously clad women and their
+partners--a scene so gay that one could only think of it as happening
+in a fairy legend, or some old romance of knighthood. Four sets of
+favours were given during this function, and jewels and objects of art
+were showered forth as if from a magician's wand. Mrs. Devon herself
+soon disappeared, but the riot of music and merry-making went on until
+near morning, and during all this time the halls and rooms of the great
+mansion were so crowded that one could scarcely move about.
+
+Then one went home, and realized that all this splendour, and the human
+effort which it represented, had been for nothing but a memory! Nor
+would he get the full meaning of it if he failed to realize that it was
+simply one of thousands--a pattern which every one there would strive
+to follow in some function of his own. It was a signal bell, which told
+the world that the "season" was open. It loosed the floodgates of
+extravagance, and the torrent of dissipation poured forth. From then on
+there would be a continuous round of gaieties; one might have three
+banquets every single night--for a dinner and two suppers was now the
+custom, at entertainments! And filling the rest of one's day were
+receptions and teas and musicales--a person might take his choice among
+a score of opportunities, and never leave the circle he met at Mrs.
+Devon's. Nor was this counting the tens of thousands of aspirants and
+imitators all over the city; nor in a host of other cities, each with
+thousands of women who had nothing to do save to ape the ways of the
+Metropolis. The mind could not realize the volume of this deluge of
+destruction--it was a thing which stunned the senses, and thundered in
+one's ears like Niagara.
+
+The meaning of it all did not stop with the people who poured it forth;
+its effects were to be traced through the whole country. There were
+hordes of tradesmen and manufacturers who supplied what Society bought,
+and whose study it was to induce people to buy as much as possible. And
+so they devised what were called "fashions"--little eccentricities of
+cut and material, which made everything go out of date quickly. There
+had once been two seasons, but now there were four; and through window
+displays and millions of advertisements the public was lured into the
+trap. The "yellow" journals would give whole pages to describing "What
+the 400 are wearing"; there were magazines with many millions of
+readers, which existed for nothing save to propagate these ideas. And
+everywhere, in all classes of Society, men and women were starving
+their minds and hearts, and straining their energies to follow this
+phantom of fashion; the masses were kept poor because of it, and the
+youth and hope of the world was betrayed by it. In country villages
+poor farmers' wives were trimming their bonnets over to be "stylish";
+and servant-girls in the cities were wearing imitation sealskins, and
+shop-clerks and sempstresses selling themselves into brothels for the
+sake of ribbons and gilt jewellery.
+
+It was the instinct of decoration, perverted by the money-lust. In the
+Metropolis the sole test of excellence was money, and the possession of
+money was the proof of power; and every natural desire of men and women
+had been tainted by this influence. The love of beauty, the impulse to
+hospitality, the joys of music and dancing and love--all these things
+had become simply means to the demonstration of money-power! The men
+were busy making more money--but their idle women had nothing in life
+save this mad race in display. So it had come about that the woman who
+could consume wealth most conspicuously--who was the most effective
+instrument for the destroying of the labour and the lives of other
+people--this was the woman who was most applauded and most noticed.
+
+The most appalling fact about Society was this utter blind materialism.
+Such expectations as Montague had brought with him had been derived
+from the literature of Europe; in a grand monde such as this, he
+expected to meet diplomats and statesmen, scientists and explorers,
+philosophers and poets and painters. But one never heard anything about
+such people in Society. It was a mark of eccentricity to be interested
+in intellectual affairs, and one might go about for weeks and not meet
+a person with an idea. When these people read, it was a sugar-candy
+novel, and when they went to the play, it was a musical comedy. The one
+single intellectual product which it could point to as its own, was a
+rancid scandal-sheet, used mainly as a means of blackmail. Now and then
+some aspiring young matron of the "elite" would try to set up a salon
+after the fashion of the continent, and would gather a few feeble wits
+about her for a time. But for the most part the intellectual workers of
+the city held themselves severely aloof; and Society was left a little
+clique of people whose fortunes had become historic in a decade or two,
+and who got together in each other's palaces and gorged themselves, and
+gambled and gossiped about each other, and wove about their
+personalities a veil of awful and exclusive majesty.
+
+Montague found himself thinking that perhaps it was not they who were
+to blame. It was not they who had set up wealth as the end and goal of
+things--it was the whole community, of which they were a part. It was
+not their fault that they had been left with power and nothing to use
+it for; it was not their fault that their sons and daughters found
+themselves stranded in the world, deprived of all necessity, and of the
+possibility of doing anything useful.
+
+The most pitiful aspect of the whole thing to Montague was this "second
+generation" who were coming upon the scene, with their lives all
+poisoned in advance. No wrong which they could do to the world would
+ever equal the wrong which the world had done them, in permitting them
+to have money which they had not earned. They were cut off for ever
+from reality, and from the possibility of understanding life; they had
+big, healthy bodies, and they craved experience--and they had
+absolutely nothing to do. That was the real meaning of all this orgy of
+dissipation--this "social whirl" as it was called; it was the frantic
+chase of some new thrill, some excitement that would stir the senses of
+people who had nothing in the world to interest them. That was why they
+were building palaces, and flinging largesses of banquets and balls,
+and tearing about the country in automobiles, and travelling over the
+earth in steam yachts and private trains.
+
+And first and last, the lesson of their efforts was, that the chase
+was futile; the jaded nerves would not thrill. The most conspicuous
+fact about Society was its unutterable and agonizing boredom; of its
+great solemn functions the shop-girl would read with greedy envy, but
+the women who attended them would be half asleep behind their jewelled
+fans. It was typified to Montague by Mrs. Billy Alden's yachting party
+on the Nile; yawning in the face of the Sphinx, and playing bridge
+beneath the shadow of the pyramids--and counting the crocodiles and
+proposing to jump in by way of "changing the pain"!
+
+People attended these ceaseless rounds of entertainments, simply
+because they dreaded to be left alone. They wandered from place to
+place, following like a herd of sheep whatever leader would inaugurate
+a new diversion. One could have filled a volume with the list of their
+"fads." There were new ones every week--if Society did not invent them,
+the yellow journals invented them. There was a woman who had her teeth
+filled with diamonds; and another who was driving a pair of zebras. One
+heard of monkey dinners and pyjama dinners at Newport, of horseback
+dinners and vegetable dances in New York. One heard of fashion-albums
+and autograph-fans and talking crows and rare orchids and reindeer
+meat; of bracelets for men and ankle rings for women; of "vanity-boxes"
+at ten and twenty thousand dollars each; of weird and repulsive pets,
+chameleons and lizards and king-snakes--there was one young woman who
+wore a cat-snake as a necklace. One would take to slumming and another
+to sniffing brandy through the nose; one had a table-cover made of
+woven roses, and another was wearing perfumed flannel at sixteen
+dollars a yard; one had inaugurated ice-skating in August, and another
+had started a class for the study of Plato. Some were giving tennis
+tournaments in bathing-suits, and playing leap-frog after dinner;
+others had got dispensations from the Pope, so that they might have
+private chapels and confessors; and yet others were giving "progressive
+dinners," moving from one restaurant to another--a cocktail and
+blue-points at Sherry's, a soup and Madeira at Delmonico's, some
+terrapin with amontillado at the Waldorf--and so on.
+
+One of the consequences of the furious pace was that people's health
+broke down very quickly; and there were all sorts of bizarre ways of
+restoring it. One person would be eating nothing but spinach, and
+another would be living on grass. One would chew a mouthful of soup
+thirty-two times; another would eat every two hours, and another only
+once a week. Some went out in the early morning and walked bare-footed
+in the grass, and others went hopping about the floor on their hands
+and knees to take off fat. There were "rest cures" and "water cures,"
+"new thought" and "metaphysical healing" and "Christian Science"; there
+was an automatic horse, which one might ride indoors, with a register
+showing the distance travelled. Montague met one man who had an
+electric machine, which cost thirty thousand dollars, and which took
+hold of his arms and feet and exercised him while he waited. He met a
+woman who told him she was riding an electric camel!
+
+Everywhere one went there were new people, spending their money in new
+and incredible ways. Here was a man who had bought a chapel and turned
+it into a theatre, and hired professional actors, and persuaded his
+friends to come and see him act Shakespeare. Here was a woman who
+costumed herself after figures in famous paintings, with arrangements
+of roses and cherry leaves, and wreaths of ivy and laurel--and with
+costumes for her pet dogs to match! Here was a man who paid six dollars
+a day for a carnation four inches across; and a girl who wore a hat
+trimmed with fresh morning-glories, and a ball costume with swarms of
+real butterflies tied with silk threads; and another with a hat made of
+woven silver, with ostrich plumes forty inches long made entirely of
+silver films. Here was a man who hired a military company to drill all
+day long to prepare a floor for dancing; and another who put up a
+building at a cost of thirty thousand dollars to give a debutante dance
+for his daughter, and then had it torn down the day after. Here was a
+man who bred rattlesnakes and turned them loose by thousands, and had
+driven everybody away from the North Carolina estate of one of the
+Wallings. Here was a man who was building himself a yacht with a model
+dairy and bakery on board, and a French laundry and a brass band. Here
+was a million-dollar racing-yacht with auto-boats on it and a platoon
+of marksmen, and some Chinese laundrymen, and two physicians for its
+half-insane occupant. Here was a man who had bought a Rhine castle for
+three-quarters of a million, and spent as much in restoring it, and
+filled it with servants dressed in fourteenth-century costumes. Here
+was a five-million-dollar art collection hidden away where nobody ever
+saw it!
+
+One saw the meaning of this madness most clearly in the young men of
+Society. Some were killing themselves and other people in automobile
+races at a hundred and twenty miles an hour. Some went in for
+auto-boats, mere shells of things, shaped like a knife-blade, that tore
+through the water at forty miles an hour. Some would hire professional
+pugilists to knock them out; others would get up dog-fights and
+bear-fights, and boxing matches with kangaroos. Montague was taken to
+the home of one young man who had given his life to hunting wild game
+in every corner of the globe, and would travel round the world for a
+new species to add to his museum of trophies. He had heard that Baron
+Rothschild had offered a thousand pounds for a "bongo," a huge
+grass-eating animal, which no white man had ever seen; and he had taken
+a year's trip into the interior, with a train of a hundred and thirty
+natives, and had brought out the heads of forty different species,
+including a bongo--which the Baron did not get! He met another who had
+helped to organize a balloon club, and two twenty-four-hour trips in
+the clouds. (This, by the way, was the latest sport--at Tuxedo they had
+races between balloons and automobiles; and Montague met one young lady
+who boasted that she had been up five times.) There was another young
+millionaire who sat and patiently taught Sunday School, in the presence
+of a host of reporters; there was another who set up a chain of
+newspapers all over the country and made war upon his class. There were
+others who went in for settlement work and Russian
+revolutionists--there were even some who called themselves Socialists!
+Montague thought that this was the strangest fad of all; and when he
+met one of these young men at an afternoon tea, he gazed at him with
+wonder and perplexity--thinking of the man he had heard ranting on the
+street-corner.
+
+This was the "second generation." Appalling as it was to think of,
+there was a third growing up, and getting ready to take the stage. And
+with wealth accumulating faster than ever, who could guess what they
+might do? There were still in Society a few men and women who had
+earned their money, and had some idea of the toil and suffering that it
+stood for; but when the third generation had taken possession, these
+would all be dead or forgotten, and there would no longer be any link
+to connect them with reality!
+
+In the light of this thought one was moved to watch the children of the
+rich. Some of these had inherited scores of millions of dollars while
+they were still in the cradle; now and then one of them would be
+presented with a million-dollar house for a birthday gift. When such a
+baby was born, the newspapers would give pages to describing its
+layette, with baby dresses at a hundred dollars each, and lace
+handkerchiefs at five dollars, and dressing-sets with tiny gold brushes
+and powder-boxes; one might see a picture of the precious object in a
+"Moses basket," covered with rare and wonderful Valenciennes lace.
+
+This child would grow up in an atmosphere of luxury and
+self-indulgence; it would be bullying the servants at the age of six,
+and talking scandal and smoking cigarettes at twelve. It would be
+petted and admired and stared at, and paraded about in state, dressed
+up like a French doll; it would drink in snobbery and hatefulness with
+the very air it breathed. One might meet in these great houses little
+tots not yet in their teens whose talk was all of the cost of things,
+and of the inferiority of their neighbours. There was nothing in the
+world too good for them.--They had little miniature automobiles to ride
+about the country in, and blooded Arabian ponies, and doll-houses in
+real Louis Seize, with jewelled rugs and miniature electric lights. At
+Mrs. Caroline Smythe's, Montague was introduced to a pale and
+anaemic-looking youth of thirteen, who dined in solemn state alone when
+the rest of the family was away, and insisted upon having all the
+footmen in attendance; and his unfortunate aunt brought a storm about
+her ears by forbidding the butler to take champagne upstairs into the
+nursery before lunch.
+
+A little remark stayed in Montague's mind as expressing the attitude of
+Society toward such matters. Major Venable had chanced to remark
+jestingly that children were coming to understand so much nowadays that
+it was necessary for the ladies to be careful. To which Mrs. Vivie
+Patton answered, with a sudden access of seriousness: "I don't know--do
+you find that children have any morals? Mine haven't."
+
+And then the fascinating Mrs. Vivie went on to tell the truth about her
+own children. They were natural-born savages, and that was all there
+was to it. They did as they pleased, and no one could stop them. The
+Major replied that nowadays all the world was doing as it pleased, and
+no one seemed to be able to stop it; and with that jest the
+conversation was turned to other matters. But Montague sat in silence,
+thinking about it--wondering what would happen to the world when it had
+fallen under the sway of this generation of spoiled children, and had
+adopted altogether the religion of doing as one pleased.
+
+In the beginning people had simply done as they pleased spontaneously,
+and without thinking about it; but now, Montague discovered, the custom
+had spread to such an extent that it was developing a philosophy. There
+was springing up a new cult, whose devotees were planning to make over
+the world upon the plan of doing as one pleased. Because its members
+were wealthy, and able to command the talent of the world, the cult was
+developing an art, with a highly perfected technique, and a literature
+which was subtle and exquisite and alluring. Europe had had such a
+literature for a century, and England for a generation or two. And now
+America was having it, too!
+
+Montague had an amusing insight into this one day, when Mrs. Vivie
+invited him to one of her "artistic evenings." Mrs. Vivie was in touch
+with a special set which went in for intellectual things, and included
+some amateur Bohemians and men of "genius." "Don't you come if you'll
+be shocked," she had said to him--"for Strathcona will be there."
+
+Montague deemed himself able to stand a good deal by this time. He
+went, and found Mrs. Vivie and her Count (Mr. Vivie had apparently not
+been invited) and also the young poet of Diabolism, whose work was just
+then the talk of the town. He was a tall, slender youth with a white
+face and melancholy black eyes, and black locks falling in cascades
+about his ears; he sat in an Oriental corner, with a manuscript copied
+in tiny handwriting upon delicately scented "art paper," and tied with
+passionate purple ribbons. A young girl clad in white sat by his side
+and held a candle, while he read from this manuscript his unprinted
+(because unprintable) verses.
+
+And between the readings the young poet talked. He talked about himself
+and his work--apparently that was what he had come to talk about. His
+words flowed like a swift stream, limpid, sparkling, incessant; leaping
+from place to place--here, there, quick as the play of light upon the
+water. Montague laboured to follow the speaker's ideas, until he found
+his mind in a whirl and gave it up. Afterward, when he thought it over,
+he laughed at himself; for Strathcona's ideas were not serious things,
+having relationship to truth--they were epigrams put together to dazzle
+the hearer, studies in paradox, with as much relation to life as
+fireworks. He took the sum-total of the moral experience of the human
+race, and turned it upside down and jumbled it about, and used it as
+bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. And the hearers would gasp, and
+whisper, "Diabolical!"
+
+The motto of this "school" of poets was that there was neither good nor
+evil, but that all things were "interesting." After listening to
+Strathcona for half an hour, one felt like hiding his head, and denying
+that he had ever thought of having any virtue; in a world where all
+things were uncertain, it was presumptuous even to pretend to know what
+virtue was. One could only be what one was; and did not that mean that
+one must do as one pleased?
+
+You could feel a shudder run through the company at his audacity. And
+the worst of it was that you could not dismiss it with a laugh; for the
+boy was really a poet--he had fire and passion, the gift of melodious
+ecstacy. He was only twenty, and in his brief meteor flight he had run
+the gamut of all experience; he had familiarized himself with all human
+achievement--past, present, and future. There was nothing any one could
+mention that he did not perfectly comprehend: the raptures of the
+saints, the consecration of the martyrs--yes, he had known them;
+likewise he had touched the depths of depravity, he had been lost in
+the innermost passages of the caverns of hell. And all this had been
+interesting--in its time; now he was sighing for new worlds of
+experience--say for unrequited love, which should drive him to madness.
+
+It was at this point that Montague dropped out of the race, and took to
+studying from the outside the mechanism of this young poet's
+conversation. Strathcona flouted the idea of a moral sense; but in
+reality he was quite dependent upon it--his recipe for making epigrams
+was to take what other people's moral sense made them respect, and
+identify it with something which their moral sense made them abhor.
+Thus, for instance, the tale which he told about one of the members of
+his set, who was a relative of a bishop. The great man had occasion to
+rebuke him for his profligate ways, declaring in the course of his
+lecture that he was living off the reputation of his father; to which
+the boy made the crushing rejoinder: "It may be bad to live off the
+reputation of one's father, but it's better than living off the
+reputation of God."--This was very subtle and it was necessary to
+ponder it. God was dead; and the worthy bishop did not know it! But let
+him take a new God, who had no reputation, and go out into the world
+and make a living out of him!
+
+Then Strathcona discussed literature. He paid his tribute to the
+"Fleurs de Mal" and the "Songs before Sunrise"; but most, he said, he
+owed to "the divine Oscar." This English poet of many poses and some
+vices the law had seized and flung into jail; and since the law is a
+thing so brutal and wicked that whoever is touched by it is made
+thereby a martyr and a hero, there had grown up quite a cult about the
+memory of "Oscar." All up-to-date poets imitated his style and his
+attitude to life; and so the most revolting of vices had the cloak of
+romance flung about them--were given long Greek and Latin names, and
+discussed with parade of learning as revivals of Hellenic ideals. The
+young men in Strathcona's set referred to each other as their "lovers";
+and if one showed any perplexity over this, he was regarded, not with
+contempt--for it was not aesthetic to feel contempt--but with a slight
+lifting of the eyebrows, intended to annihilate.
+
+One must not forget, of course, that these young people were poets, and
+to that extent were protected from their own doctrines. They were
+interested, not in life, but in making pretty verses about life; there
+were some among them who lived as cheerful ascetics in garret rooms,
+and gave melodious expression to devilish emotions. But, on the other
+hand, for every poet, there were thousands who were not poets, but
+people to whom life was real. And these lived out the creed, and
+wrecked their lives; and with the aid of the poet's magic, the glamour
+of melody and the fire divine, they wrecked the lives with which they
+came into contact. The new generation of boys and girls were deriving
+their spiritual sustenance from the poetry of Baudelaire and Wilde; and
+rushing with the hot impulsiveness of youth into the dreadful traps
+which the traders in vice prepared for them. One's heart bled to see
+them, pink-cheeked and bright-eyed, pursuing the hem of the Muse's robe
+in brothels and dens of infamy!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+The social mill ground on for another month. Montague withdrew himself
+as much as his brother would let him; but Alice, was on the go all
+night and half the day. Oliver had sold his racing automobile to a
+friend--he was a man of family now, he said, and his wild days were
+over. He had got, instead, a limousine car for Alice; though she
+declared she had no need of it--if ever she was going to any place,
+Charlie Carter always begged her to use his. Charlie's siege was as
+persistent as ever, as Montague noticed with annoyance.
+
+The great law case was going forward. After weeks of study and
+investigation, Montague felt that he had the matter well in hand; and
+he had taken Mr. Hasbrook's memoranda as a basis for a new work of his
+own, much more substantial. Bit by bit; as he dug into the subject, he
+had discovered a state of affairs in the Fidelity Company, and, indeed,
+in the whole insurance business and its allied realms of banking and
+finance, which shocked him profoundly. It was impossible for him to
+imagine how such conditions could exist and remain unknown to the
+public--more especially as every one in Wall Street with whom he talked
+seemed to know about them and to take them for granted.
+
+His client's papers had provided him with references to the books;
+Montague had taken this dry material and made of it a protest which had
+the breath of life in it. It was a thing at which he toiled with deadly
+earnestness; it was not merely a struggle of one man to get a few
+thousand dollars, it was an appeal in behalf of millions of helpless
+people whose trust had been betrayed. It was the first step in a long
+campaign, which the young lawyer meant should force a great evil into
+the light of day.
+
+He went over his bill of complaint with Mr. Hasbrook, and he was glad
+to see that the work he had done made its impression upon him. In fact,
+his client was a little afraid that some of his arguments might be too
+radical in tone--from the strictly legal point of view, he made haste
+to explain. But Montague reassured him upon this point.
+
+And then came the day when the great ship was ready for launching. The
+news must have spread quickly, for a few hours after the papers in the
+suit had been filed, Montague received a call from a newspaper
+reporter, who told him of the excitement in financial circles, where
+the thing had fallen like a bomb. Montague explained the purpose of the
+suit, and gave the reporter a number of facts which he felt certain
+would attract attention to the matter. When he picked up the paper the
+next morning, however, he was surprised to find that only a few lines
+had been given to the case, and that his interview had been replaced by
+one with an unnamed official of the Fidelity, to the effect that the
+attack upon the company was obviously for black-mailing purposes.
+
+That was the only ripple which Montague's work produced upon the
+surface of the pool; but there was a great commotion among the fish at
+the bottom, about which he was soon to learn.
+
+That evening, while he was hard at work in his study, he received a
+telephone call from his brother. "I'm coming round to see you," said
+Oliver. "Wait for me."
+
+"All right," said the other, and added, "I thought you were dining at
+the Wallings'."
+
+"I'm there now," was the answer. "I'm leaving."
+
+"What is the matter?" Montague asked.
+
+"There's hell to pay," was the reply--and then silence.
+
+When Oliver appeared, a few minutes later, he did not even stop to set
+down his hat, but exclaimed, "Allan, what in heaven's name have you
+been doing?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Why, that suit!"
+
+"What about it?"
+
+"Good God, man!" cried Oliver. "Do you mean that you really don't know
+what you've done?"
+
+Montague was staring at him. "I'm afraid I don't," said he.
+
+"Why, you're turning the world upside down!" exclaimed the other.
+"Everybody you know is crazy about it."
+
+"Everybody I know!" echoed Montague. "What have they to do with it?"
+
+"Why, you've stabbed them in the back!" half shouted Oliver. "I could
+hardly believe my ears when they told me. Robbie Walling is simply
+wild--I never had such a time in my life."
+
+"I don't understand yet," said Montague, more and more amazed. "What
+has he to do with it?"
+
+"Why, man," cried Oliver, "his brother's a director in the Fidelity!
+And his own interests--and all the other companies! You've struck at
+the whole insurance business!"
+
+Montague caught his breath. "Oh, I see!" he said.
+
+"How could you think of such a thing?" cried the other, wildly. "You
+promised to consult me about things--"
+
+"I told you when I took this case," put in Montague, quickly.
+
+"I know," said his brother. "But you didn't explain--and what did I
+know about it? I thought I could leave it to your common sense not to
+mix up in a thing like this."
+
+"I'm very sorry," said Montague, gravely. "I had no idea of any such
+result."
+
+"That's what I told Robbie," said Oliver. "Good God, what a time I had!"
+
+He took his hat and coat and laid them on the bed, and sat down and
+began to tell about it. "I made him realize the disadvantage you were
+under," he said, "being a stranger and not knowing the ground. I
+believe he had an idea that you tried to get his confidence on purpose
+to attack him. It was Mrs. Robbie, I guess--you know her fortune is all
+in that quarter."
+
+Oliver wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "My!" he said.--"And
+fancy what old Wyman must be saying about this! And what a time poor
+Betty must be having! And then Freddie Vandam--the air will be blue for
+half a mile round his place! I must send him a wire and explain that it
+was a mistake, and that we're getting out of it."
+
+And he got up, to suit the action to the word. But half-way to the desk
+he heard his brother say, "Wait."
+
+He turned, and saw Montague, quite pale. "I suppose by 'getting out of
+it,'" said the latter, "you mean dropping the case."
+
+"Of course," was the answer.
+
+"Well, then," he continued, very gravely,--"I can see that it's going
+to be hard, and I'm sorry. But you might as well understand me at the
+very beginning--I will never drop this case."
+
+Oliver's jaw fell limp. "Allan!" he gasped.
+
+There was a silence; and then the storm broke. Oliver knew his brother
+well enough to realize just how thoroughly he meant what he said; and
+so he got the full force of the shock all at once. He raved and swore
+and wrung his hands, and declaimed at his brother, saying that he had
+betrayed him, that he was ruining him--dumping himself and the whole
+family into the ditch. They would be jeered at and insulted--they would
+be blacklisted and thrown out of Society. Alice's career would be cut
+short--every door would be closed to her. His own career would die
+before it was born; he would never get into the clubs--he would be a
+pariah--he would be bankrupted and penniless. Again and again Oliver
+went over the situation, naming person after person who would be
+outraged, and describing what that person would do; there were the
+Wallings and the Venables and the Havens, the Vandams and the Todds and
+the Wymans--they were all one regiment, and Montague had flung a bomb
+into the centre of them!
+
+It was very terrible to him to see his brother's rage and despair; but
+he had seen his way clear through this matter, and he knew that there
+was no turning back for him. "It is painful to learn that all one's
+acquaintances are thieves," he said. "But that does not change my
+opinion of stealing."
+
+"But my God!" cried Oliver; "did you come to New York to preach
+sermons?"
+
+To which the other answered, "I came to practise law. And the lawyer
+who will not fight injustice is a traitor to his profession."
+
+Oliver threw up his hands in despair. What could one say to a sentiment
+such as that?
+
+--But then again he came to the charge, pointing out to his brother the
+position in which he had placed himself with the Wallings. He had
+accepted their hospitality; they had taken him and Alice in, and done
+everything in the world for them--things for which no money could ever
+repay them. And now he had struck them!
+
+But the only effect of that was to make Montague regret that he had
+ever had anything to do with the Wallings. If they expected to use
+their friendship to tie his hands in such a matter, they were people he
+would have left alone.
+
+"But do you realize that it's not merely yourself you're ruining?"
+cried Oliver. "Do you know what you're doing to Alice?"
+
+"That is harder yet for me," the other replied. "But I am sure that
+Alice would not ask me to stop."
+
+Montague was firmly set in his own mind; but it seemed to be quite
+impossible for his brother to realize that this was the case. He would
+give up; but then, going back into his own mind, and facing the thought
+of this person and that, and the impossibility of the situation which
+would arise, he would return to the attack with new anguish in his
+voice. He implored and scolded, and even wept; and then he would get
+himself together again, and come and sit in front of his brother and
+try to reason with him.
+
+And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale
+and nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his
+brother unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had come
+to see it. It was a city ruled by mighty forces--money-forces; great
+families and fortunes, which had held their sway for generations, and
+regarded the place, with all its swarming millions, as their
+birthright. They possessed it utterly--they held it in the hollow of
+their hands. Railroads and telegraphs and telephones--banks and
+insurance and trust companies--all these they owned; and the political
+machines and the legislatures, the courts and the newspapers, the
+churches and the colleges. And their rule was for plunder; all the
+streams of profit ran into their coffers. The stranger who came to
+their city succeeded as he helped them in their purposes, and failed if
+they could not use him. A great editor or bishop was a man who taught
+their doctrines; a great statesman was a man who made the laws for
+them; a great lawyer was one who helped them to outwit the public. Any
+man who dared to oppose them, they would cast out and trample on, they
+would slander and ridicule and ruin.
+
+And Oliver came down to particulars--he named these powerful men, one
+after one, and showed what they could do. If his brother would only be
+a man of the world, and see the thing! Look at all the successful
+lawyers! Oliver named them, one after one--shrewd devisers of
+corporation trickery, with incomes of hundreds of thousands a year. He
+could not name the men who had refused to play the game--for no one had
+ever heard of them. But it was so evident what would happen in this
+case! His friends would cast him off; his own client would get his
+price--whatever it was--and then leave him in the lurch, and laugh at
+him! "If you can't make up your mind to play the game," cried Oliver,
+frantically, "at least you can give it up! There are plenty of other
+ways of getting a living--if you'll let me, I'll take care of you
+myself, rather than have you disgrace me. Tell me--will you do that?
+Will you quit altogether?"
+
+And Montague suddenly leaped to his feet, and brought his fist down
+upon the desk with a bang. "No!" he cried; "by God, no!"
+
+"Let me make you understand me once for all," he rushed on. "You've
+shown me New York as you see it. I don't believe it's the truth--I
+don't believe it for one single moment! But let me tell you this, I
+shall stay here and find out--and if it is true, it won't stop me! I
+shall stay here and defy those people! I shall stay and fight them till
+the day I die! They may ruin me,--I'll go and live in a garret if I
+have to,--but as sure as there's a God that made me, I'll never stop
+till I've opened the eyes of the people to what they're doing!"
+
+Montague towered over his brother, white-hot and terrible. Oliver
+shrank from him--he never had seen such a burst of wrath from him
+before. "Do you understand me now?" Montague cried; and he answered, in
+a despairing voice, "Yes, yes."
+
+"I see it's all up," he added weakly. "You and I can't pull together."
+
+"No," exclaimed the other, passionately, "we can't. And we might as
+well give up trying. You have chosen to be a time-server and a
+lick-spittle, and I don't choose it! Do you think I've learned nothing
+in the time I've been here? Why, man, you used to be daring and
+clever--and now you never draw a breath without wondering if these rich
+snobs will like the way you do it! And you want Alice to sell herself
+to them--you want me to sell my career to them!"
+
+There was a long pause. Oliver had turned very pale. And then suddenly
+his brother caught himself together, and said: "I'm sorry. I didn't
+mean to quarrel, but you've goaded me too much. I'm grateful for what
+you have tried to do for me, and I'll pay you back as soon as I can.
+But I can't go on with this game. I'll quit, and you can disown me to
+your friends--tell them that I've run amuck, and to forget they ever
+knew me. They'll hardly blame you for it--they know you too well for
+that. And as for Alice, I'll talk it out with her to-morrow, and let
+her decide for herself--if she wants to be a Society queen, she can put
+herself in your hands, and I'll get out of her way. On the other hand,
+if she approves of what I'm doing, why we'll both quit, and you won't
+have to bother with either of us."
+
+That was the basis upon which they parted for the night; but like most
+resolutions taken at white heat, it was not followed literally. It was
+very hard for Montague to have to confront Alice with such a choice;
+and as for Oliver, when he went home and thought it over, he began to
+discover gleams of hope. He might make it clear to every one that he
+was not responsible for his brother's business vagaries, and take his
+chances upon that basis. After all, there were wheels within wheels in
+Society; and if the Robbie Wallings chose to break with him--why, they
+had plenty of enemies. There might even be interests which would be
+benefited by Allan's course, and would take him up.
+
+Montague had resolved to write and break every engagement which he had
+made, and to sever his connection with Society at one stroke. But the
+next day his brother came again, with compromises and new
+protestations. There was no use going to the other extreme: he, Oliver,
+would have it out with the Wallings, and they might all go on their way
+as if nothing had happened.
+
+So Montague made his debut in the role of knight-errant. He went with
+many qualms and misgivings, uncertain how each new person would take
+it. The next evening he was promised for a theatre-party with Siegfried
+Harvey; and they had supper in a private room at Delmonico's, and there
+came Mrs. Winnie, resplendent as an apple tree in early April--and
+murmuring with bated breath, "Oh, you dreadful man, what have you been
+doing?"
+
+"Have I been poaching on YOUR preserves?" he asked promptly.
+
+"No, not mine," she said, "but--" and then she hesitated.
+
+"On Mr. Duval's?" he asked.
+
+"No," she said, "not his--but everybody else's! He was telling me about
+it to-day--there's a most dreadful uproar. He wanted me to try to find
+out what you were up to, and who was behind it."
+
+Montague listened, wonderingly. Did Mrs. Winnie mean to imply that her
+husband had asked her to try to worm his business secrets out of him?
+That was what she seemed to imply. "I told him I never talked business
+with my friends," she said. "He can ask you himself, if he chooses. But
+what DOES it all mean, anyhow?"
+
+Montague smiled at the naive inconsistency.
+
+"It means nothing," said he, "except that I am trying to get justice
+for a client."
+
+"But can you afford to make so many powerful enemies?" she asked.
+
+"I've taken my chances on that," he replied.
+
+Mrs. Winnie answered nothing, but looked at him with wondering
+admiration in her eyes. "You arc different from the men about you," she
+remarked, after a while-and her tone gave Montague to understand that
+there was one person who meant to stand by him.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie Duval was not all Society. Montague was amused to
+notice with what suddenness the stream of invitations slacked up; it
+was necessary for Alice to give her calling list many revisions.
+Freddie Vandam had promised to invite them to his place on Long Island,
+and of course that invitation would never come; likewise they would
+never again see the palace of the Lester Todds, upon the Jersey
+mountain-top.
+
+Oliver put in the next few days in calling upon people to explain his
+embarrassing situation. He washed his hands of his brother's affairs,
+he said; and his friends might do the same, if they saw fit. With the
+Robbie Wallings he had a stormy half hour, about which he thought it
+best to say little to the rest of the family. Robbie did not break with
+him utterly, because of their Wall Street Alliance; but Mrs. Robbie's
+feeling was so bitter, he said, that it would be best if Alice saw
+nothing of her for a while. He had a long talk with Alice, and
+explained the situation. The girl was utterly dumbfounded, for she was
+deeply grateful to Mrs. Robbie, and fond of her as well; and she could
+not believe that a friend could be so cruelly unjust to her.
+
+The upshot of the whole situation was a very painful episode. A few
+days later Alice met Mrs. Robbie at a reception; and she took the lady
+aside, and tried to tell her how distressed and helpless she was. And
+the result was that Mrs. Robbie flew into a passion and railed at her,
+declaring in the presence of several people that she had sponged upon
+her and abused her hospitality! And so poor Alice came home, weeping
+and half hysterical.
+
+All of which, of course, was like oil upon a fire; the heavens were
+lighted up with the conflagration. The next development was a paragraph
+in Society's scandal-sheet--telling with infinite gusto how a certain
+ultra-fashionable matron had taken up a family of stranded waifs from a
+far State, and introduced them into the best circles, and even gone so
+far as to give a magnificent dance in their honour; and how the
+discovery had been made that the head of the family had been secretly
+preparing an attack upon their business interests; and of the tearing
+of hair and gnashing of teeth which had followed--and the violent
+quarrel in a public place. The paragraph concluded with the prediction
+that the strangers would find themselves the centre of a merry social
+war.
+
+Oliver was the first to show them this paper. But lest by any chance
+they should miss it, half a dozen unknown friends were good enough to
+mail them copies, carefully marked.--And then came Reggie Mann, who as
+free-lance and gossip-gatherer sat on the fence and watched the fun;
+Reggie wore a thin veil of sympathy over his naked glee, and brought
+them the latest reports from all portions of the battle-ground. Thus
+they were able to know exactly what everybody was saying about
+them--who was amused and who was outraged, and who proposed to drop
+them and who to take them up.
+
+Montague listened for a while, but then he got tired of it, and went
+for a walk to escape it--but only to run into another trap. It was
+dark, and he was strolling down the Avenue, when out of a brilliantly
+lighted jewellery shop came Mrs. Billy Alden to her carriage. And she
+hailed him with an exclamation.
+
+"You man," she cried, "what have you been doing?"
+
+He tried to laugh it off and escape, but she took him by the arm,
+commanding, "Get in here and tell me about it."
+
+So he found himself moving with the slow stream of vehicles on the
+Avenue, and with Mrs. Billy gazing at him quizzically and asking him if
+he did not feel like a hippopotamus in a frog-pond.
+
+He replied to her raillery by asking her under which flag she stood.
+But there was little need to ask that, for anyone who was fighting a
+Walling became ipso facto a friend of Mrs. Billy's. She told Montague
+that if he felt his social position was imperilled, all he had to do
+was to come to her. She would gird on her armour and take the field.
+
+"But tell me how you came to do it," she said.
+
+He answered that there was very little to tell. He had taken up a case
+which was obviously just, but having no idea what a storm it would
+raise.
+
+Then he noticed that his companion was looking at him sharply. "Do you
+really mean that's all there is to it?" she asked.
+
+"Of course I do," said he, perplexed.
+
+"Do you know," was her unexpected response, "I hardly know what to make
+of you. I'm afraid to trust you, on account of your brother."
+
+Montague was embarrassed. "I don't know what you mean," he said.
+
+"Everybody thinks there's some trickery in that suit," she answered.
+
+"Oh," said Montague, "I see. Well, they will find out. If it will help
+you any to know it, I've been having no end of scenes with my brother."
+
+"I'll believe you," said Mrs. Billy, genially. "But it seems strange
+that a man could have been so blind to a situation! I feel quite
+ashamed because I didn't help you myself!"
+
+The carriage had stopped at Mrs. Billy's home, and she asked him to
+dinner. "There'll be nobody but my brother," she said,--"we're resting
+this evening. And I can make up to you for my negligence!"
+
+Montague had no engagement, and so he went in, and saw Mrs. Billy's
+mansion, which was decorated in imitation of a Doge's palace, and met
+Mr. "Davy" Alden, a mild-mannered little gentleman who obeyed orders
+promptly. They had a comfortable dinner of half-a-dozen courses, and
+then retired to the drawing-room, where Mrs. Billy sank into a huge
+easy chair, with a decanter of whisky and some cracked ice in readiness
+beside it. Then from a tray she selected a thick black cigar, and
+placidly bit off the end and lighted it, and then settled back at her
+ease, and proceeded to tell Montague about New York, and about the
+great families who ruled it, and where and how they had got their
+money, and who were their allies and who their enemies, and what
+particular skeletons were hidden in each of their closets.
+
+It was worth coming a long way to listen to Mrs. Billy tete-a-tete; her
+thoughts were vigorous, and her imagery was picturesque. She spoke of
+old Dan Waterman, and described him as a wild boar rooting chestnuts.
+He was all right, she said, if you didn't come under his tree. And
+Montague asked, "Which is his tree?" and she answered, "Any one he
+happens to be under at the time."
+
+And then she came to the Wallings. Mrs. Billy had been in on the inside
+of that family, and there was nothing she didn't know about it; and she
+brought the members up, one by one, and dissected them, and exhibited
+them for Montague's benefit. They were typical bourgeois people, she
+said. They were burghers. They had never shown the least capacity for
+refinement--they ate and drank, and jostled other people out of the
+way. The old ones had been boors, and the new ones were cads.
+
+And Mrs. Billy sat and puffed at her cigar. "Do you know the history of
+the family?" she asked. "The founder was a rough old ferryman. He
+fought his rivals so well that in the end he owned all the boats; and
+then some one discovered the idea of buying legislatures and building
+railroads, and he went into that. It was a time when they simply
+grabbed things--if you ever look into it, you'll find they're making
+fortunes to-day out of privileges that the old man simply sat down on
+and held. There's a bridge at Albany, for instance, to which they
+haven't the slightest right; my brother knows about it--they've given
+themselves a contract with their railroad by which they're paid for
+every passenger, and their profit every year is greater than the cost
+of the bridge. The son was the head of the family when I came in; and I
+found that he had it all arranged to leave thirty million dollars to
+one of his sons, and only ten million to my husband. I set to work to
+change that, I can tell you. I used to go around to see him, and
+scratch his back and tickle him and make him feel good. Of course the
+family went wild--my, how they hated me! They set old Ellis to work to
+keep me off--have you met Judge Ellis?"
+
+"I have," said Montague.
+
+"Well, there's a pussy-footed old hypocrite for you," said Mrs. Billy.
+"In those days he was Walling's business lackey--used to pass the money
+to the legislators and keep the wheels of the machine greased. One of
+the first things I said to the old man was that I didn't ask him to
+entertain my butler, and he mustn't ask me to entertain his valet--and
+so I forbid Ellis to enter my house. And when I found that he was
+trying to get between the old man and me, I flew into a rage and boxed
+his ears and chased him out of the room!"
+
+Mrs. Billy paused, and laughed heartily over the recollection. "Of
+course that tickled the old man to death," she continued. "The Wallings
+never could make out how I managed to get round him as I did; but it
+was simply because I was honest with him. They'd come snivelling round,
+pretending they were anxious about his health; while I wanted his
+money, and I told him so."
+
+The valiant lady turned to the decanter. "Have some Scotch?" she asked,
+and poured some for herself, and then went on with her story. "When I
+first came to New York," she said, "the rich people's houses were all
+alike--all dreary brownstone fronts, sandwiched in on one or two city
+lots. I vowed that I would have a house with some room all around
+it--and that was the beginning of those palaces that all New York walks
+by and stares at. You can hardly believe it now--those houses were a
+scandal! But the sensation tickled the old man. I remember one day we
+walked up the Avenue to see how they were coming on; and he pointed
+with his big stick to the second floor, and asked, 'What's that?' I
+answered, 'It's a safe I'm building into the house.' (That was a new
+thing, too, in those days.)--'I'm going to keep my money in that,' I
+said. 'Bah!' he growled, 'when you're done with this house, you won't
+have any money left.'--'I'm planning to make you fill it for me,' I
+answered; and do you know, he chuckled all the way home over it!"
+
+Mrs. Billy sat laughing softly to herself. "We had great old battles in
+those days," she said. "Among other things, I had to put the Wallings
+into Society. They were sneaking round on the outside when I
+came--licking people's boots and expecting to be kicked. I said to
+myself, I'll put an end to that--we'll have a show-down! So I gave a
+ball that made the whole country sit up and gasp--it wouldn't be
+noticed particularly nowadays, but then people had never dreamed of
+anything so gorgeous. And I made out a list of all the people I wanted
+to know in New York, and I said to myself: 'If you come, you're a
+friend, and if you don't come, you're an enemy.' And they all came, let
+me tell you! And there was never any question about the Wallings being
+in Society after that."
+
+Mrs. Billy halted; and Montague remarked, with a smile, that doubtless
+she was sorry now that she had done it.
+
+"Oh, no," she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I find that all
+I have to do is to be patient--I hate people, and think I'd like to
+poison them, but if I only wait long enough, something happens to them
+much worse than I ever dreamed of. You'll be revenged on the Robbies
+some day."
+
+"I don't want any revenge," Montague answered. "I've no quarrel with
+them--I simply wish I hadn't accepted their hospitality. I didn't know
+they were such little people. It seems hard to believe it."
+
+Mrs. Billy laughed cynically. "What could you expect?" she said. "They
+know there's nothing to them but their money. When that's gone, they're
+gone--they could never make any more."
+
+The lady gave a chuckle, and added: "Those words make me think of
+Davy's experience when he wanted to go to Congress! Tell him about it,
+Davy."
+
+But Mr. Alden did not warm to the subject; he left the tale to his
+sister.
+
+"He was a Democrat, you know," said she, "and he went to the boss and
+told him he'd like to go to Congress. The answer was that it would cost
+him forty thousand dollars, and he kicked at the price. Others didn't
+have to put up such sums, he said--why should he? And the old man
+growled at him, 'The rest have other things to give. One can deliver
+the letter-carriers, another is paid for by a corporation. But what can
+you do? What is there to you but your money?'--So Davy paid the
+money--didn't you, Davy?" And Davy grinned sheepishly.
+
+"Even so," she went on, "he came off better than poor Devon. They got
+fifty thousand out of him, and sold him out, and he never got to
+Congress after all! That was just before he concluded that America
+wasn't a fit place for a gentleman to live in."
+
+And so Mrs. Billy got started on the Devons! And after that came the
+Havens and the Wymans and the Todds--it was midnight before she got
+through with them all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+The newspapers said nothing more about the Hasbrook suit; but in
+financial circles Montague had attained considerable notoriety because
+of it. And this was the means of bringing him a number of new cases.
+
+But alas, there were no more fifty-thousand-dollar clients! The first
+caller was a destitute widow with a deed which would have entitled her
+to the greater part of a large city in Pennsylvania--only unfortunately
+the deed was about eighty years old. And then there was a poor old man
+who had been hurt in a street-car accident and had been tricked into
+signing away his rights; and an indignant citizen who proposed to bring
+a hundred suits against the traction trust for transfers refused. All
+were contingency cases, with the chances of success exceedingly remote.
+And Montague noticed that the people had come to him as a last resort,
+having apparently heard of him as a man of altruistic temper.
+
+There was one case which interested him particularly, because it seemed
+to fit in so ominously with the grim prognosis of his brother. He
+received a call from an elderly gentleman, of very evident refinement
+and dignity of manner, who proceeded to unfold to him a most amazing
+story. Five or six years ago he had invented a storage-battery, which
+was the most efficient known. He had organised a company with three
+million dollars' capital to manufacture it, himself taking a third
+interest for his patents, and becoming president of the company. Not
+long afterward had come a proposal from a group of men who wished to
+organize a company to manufacture automobiles; they proposed to form an
+alliance which would give them the exclusive use of the battery. But
+these men were not people with whom the inventor cared to deal--they
+were traction and gas magnates widely known for their unscrupulous
+methods. And so he had declined their offer, and set to work instead to
+organize an automobile company himself. He had just got under way when
+he discovered that his rivals had set to work to take his invention
+away from him. A friend who owned another third share in his company
+had hypothecated his stock to help form the new company; and now came a
+call from the bank for more collateral, and he was obliged to sell out.
+And at the next stockholders' meeting it developed that their rivals
+had bought it, and likewise more stock in the open market; and they
+proceeded to take possession of the company, ousting the former
+president--and then making a contract with their automobile company to
+furnish the storage-battery at a price which left no profit for the
+manufacturers! And so for two years the inventor had not received a
+dollar of dividends upon his million dollars' worth of paper; and to
+cap the climax, the company had refused to sell the battery to his
+automobile company, and so that had gone into bankruptcy, and his
+friend was ruined also!
+
+Montague went into the case very carefully, and found that the story
+was true. What interested him particularly in it was the fact that he
+had met a couple of these financial highwaymen in social life; he had
+come to know the son and heir of one of them quite well, at Siegfried
+Harvey's. This gilded youth was engaged to be married in a very few
+days, and the papers had it that the father-in-law had presented the
+bride with a cheque for a million dollars. Montague could not but
+wonder if it was the million that had been taken from his client!
+
+There was to be a "bachelor dinner" at the Millionaires' on the night
+before the wedding, to which he and Oliver had been invited. As he was
+thinking of taking up his case, he went to his brother, saying that he
+wished to decline; but Oliver had been getting back his courage day by
+day, and declared that it was more important than ever now that he
+should hold his ground, and face his enemies--for Alice's sake, if not
+for his own. And so Montague went to the dinner, and saw deeper yet
+into the history of the stolen millions.
+
+It was a very beautiful affair, in the beginning. There was a large
+private dining-room, elaborately decorated, with a string orchestra
+concealed in a bower of plants. But there were cocktails even on the
+side-board at the doorway; and by the time the guests had got to the
+coffee, every one was hilariously drunk. After each toast they would
+hurl their glasses over their shoulders. The purpose of a "bachelor
+dinner," it appeared, was a farewell to the old days and the boon
+companions; so there were sentimental and comic songs which had been
+composed for the occasion, and were received with whirlwinds of
+laughter.
+
+By listening closely and reading between the lines, one might get quite
+a history of the young host's adventurous career. There was a house up
+on the West Side; and there was a yacht, with, orgies in every part of
+the world. There was the summer night in Newport harbour, when some one
+had hit upon the dazzling scheme of freezing twenty-dollar gold pieces
+in tiny blocks of ice, to be dropped down the girls' backs! And there
+was a banquet in a studio in New York, when a huge pie had been brought
+on, from which a half-nude girl had emerged, with a flock of canary
+birds about her! Then there was a damsel who had been wont to dance
+upon the tops of supper tables, clad in diaphanous costume; and who had
+got drunk after a theatre-party, and set out to smash up a Broadway
+restaurant. There was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a
+speciality of this diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
+champagne.--Apparently there were numberless places in the city where
+such orgies were carried on continually; there were private clubs, and
+artists' "studios"--there were several allusions to a high tower, which
+Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters, however, were explained
+to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on his right, and who seemed to
+stay sober, no matter how much he drank. Incidentally he gravely
+advised Montague to meet one of the young host's mistresses, who was a
+"stunning" girl, and was in the market.
+
+Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of wrestling-bouts;
+the young men stripped off their clothing and tore the table to pieces,
+and piled it out of the way in a corner, smashing most of the crockery
+in the process. Between the matches, champagne would be opened by
+knocking off the heads of the bottles; and this went on until four
+o'clock in the morning, when many of the guests were lying in heaps
+upon the floor.
+
+Montague rode home in a cab with the elderly gentleman who had sat next
+to him; and on the way he asked if such affairs as this were common.
+And his companion, who was a "steel man" from the West, replied by
+telling him of some which he had witnessed at home. At Siegfried
+Harvey's theatre-party Montague had seen a popular actress in a musical
+comedy, which was then the most successful play running in New York.
+The house was sold out weeks ahead, and after the matinee you might
+observe the street in front of the stage-entrance blocked by people
+waiting to see the woman come out. She was lithe and supple, like a
+panther, and wore close-fitting gowns to reveal her form. It seemed
+that her play must have been built with one purpose in mind, to see how
+much lewdness could be put upon a stage without interference by the
+police.--And now his companion told him how this woman had been invited
+to sing at a banquet given by the magnates of a mighty Trust, and had
+gone after midnight to the most exclusive club in the town, and sung
+her popular ditty, "Won't you come and play with me?" The merry
+magnates had taken the invitation literally--with the result that the
+actress had escaped from the room with half her clothing torn off her.
+And a little while later an official of this trust had wished to get
+rid of his wife and marry a chorus-girl; and when public clamour had
+forced the directors to ask him to resign, he had replied by
+threatening to tell about this banquet!
+
+The next day--or rather, to be precise, that same morning--Montague and
+Alice attended the gorgeous wedding. It was declared by the newspapers
+to be the most "important" social event of the week; and it took half a
+dozen policemen to hold back the crowds which filled the street. The
+ceremony took place at St. Cecilia's, with the stately bishop
+officiating, in his purple and scarlet robes. Inside the doors were all
+the elect, exquisitely groomed and gowned, and such a medley of
+delicious perfumes as not all the vales in Arcady could equal. The
+groom had been polished and scrubbed, and looked very handsome, though
+somewhat pale; and Montague could not but smile as he observed the best
+man, looking so very solemn, and recollected the drunken wrestler of a
+few hours before, staggering about in a pale blue undershirt ripped up
+the back.
+
+The Montagues knew by this time whom they were to avoid. They were
+graciously taken under the wing of Mrs. Eldridge Devon--whose real
+estate was not affected by insurance suits; and the next morning they
+had the satisfaction of seeing their names in the list of those
+present--and even a couple of lines about Alice's costume. (Alice was
+always referred to as "Miss Montague"; it was very pleasant to be the
+"Miss Montague," and to think of all the other would-be Miss Montagues
+in the city, who were thereby haughtily rebuked!) In the "yellow"
+papers there were also accounts of the trousseau of the bride, and of
+the wonderful gifts which she had received, and of the long honeymoon
+which she was to spend in the Mediterranean upon her husband's yacht.
+Montague found himself wondering if the ghosts of its former occupants
+would not haunt her, and whether she would have been as happy, had she
+known as much as he knew.
+
+He found food for a good deal of thought in the memory of this banquet.
+Among the things which he had gathered from the songs was a hint that
+Oliver, also, had some secrets, which he had not seen fit to tell his
+brother. The keeping of young girls was apparently one of the
+established customs of the "little brothers of the rich"--and, for that
+matter, of many of the big brothers, also. A little later Montague had
+a curious glimpse into the life of this "half-world." He had occasion
+one evening to call up a certain financier whom he had come to know
+quite well-a man of family and a member of the church. There were some
+important papers to be signed and sent off by a steamer; and the great
+man's secretary said that he would try to find him. A minute or two
+later he called up Montague and asked him if he would be good enough to
+go to an address uptown. It was a house not far from Riverside Drive;
+and Montague went there and found his acquaintance, with several other
+prominent men of affairs whom he knew, conversing in a drawing-room
+with one of the most charming ladies he had ever met. She was exquisite
+to look at, and one of the few people in New York whom he had found
+worth listening to. He spent such an enjoyable evening, that when he
+was leaving, he remarked to the lady that he would like his cousin
+Alice to meet her; and then he noticed that she flushed slightly, and
+was embarrassed. Later on he learned to his dismay that the charming
+and beautiful lady did not go into Society.
+
+Nor was this at all rare; on the contrary, if one took the trouble to
+make inquiries, he would find that such establishments were everywhere
+taken for granted. Montague talked about it with Major Venable; and out
+of his gossip storehouse the old gentleman drew forth a string of
+anecdotes that made one's hair stand on end. There was one all-powerful
+magnate, who had a passion for the wife of a great physician; and he
+had given a million dollars or so to build a hospital, and had provided
+that it should be the finest in the world, and that this physician
+should go abroad for three years to study the institutions of Europe!
+No conventions counted with this old man--if he saw a woman whom he
+wanted, he would ask for her; and women in Society felt that it was an
+honour to be his mistress. Not long after this a man who voiced the
+anguish of a mighty nation was turned out of several hotels in New York
+because he was not married according to the laws of South Dakota; but
+this other man would take a woman to any hotel in the city, and no one
+would dare oppose him!
+
+And there was another, a great traction king, who kept mistresses in
+Chicago and Paris and London, as well as in New York; he had one just
+around the corner from his palatial home, and had an underground
+passage leading to it. And the Major told with glee how he had shown
+this to a friend, and the latter had remarked, "I'm too stout to get
+through there."--"I know it," replied the other, "else I shouldn't have
+told you!"
+
+And so it went. One of the richest men in New York was a sexual
+degenerate, with half a dozen women on his hands all the time; he would
+send them cheques, and they would use these to blackmail him. This
+man's young wife had been shut up in a closet for twenty-four hours by
+her mother to compel her to marry him.--And then there was the charming
+tale of how he had gone away upon a mission of state, and had written
+long messages full of tender protestations, and given them to a
+newspaper correspondent to cable home "to his wife." The correspondent
+had thought it such a touching example of conjugal devotion that he
+told about it at a dinner-party when he came back; and he was struck by
+the sudden silence that fell. "The messages had been sent to a code
+address!" chuckled the Major. "And every one at the table knew who had
+got them!"
+
+A few days after this, Montague received a telephone message from
+Siegfried Harvey, who said that he wanted to see him about a matter of
+business. He asked him to lunch at the Noonday Club; and Montague
+went--though not without a qualm. For it was in the Fidelity Building,
+the enemy's bailiwick: a magnificent structure with halls of white
+marble, and a lavish display of bronze. It occurred to Montague that
+somewhere in this structure people were at work preparing an answer to
+his charges; he wondered what they were saying.
+
+The two had lunch, talking meanwhile about the coming events in
+Society, and about politics and wars; and when the coffee was served
+and they were alone in the room, Harvey settled his big frame back in
+his chair, and began:--
+
+"In the first place," he said, "I must explain that I've something to
+say that is devilish hard to get into. I'm so much afraid of your
+jumping to a wrong conclusion in the middle of it--I'd like you to
+agree to listen for a minute or two before you think at all."
+
+"All right," said Montague, with a smile. "Fire away."
+
+And at once the other became grave. "You've taken a case against this
+company," he said. "And Ollie has talked enough to me to make me
+understand that you've done a plucky thing, and that you must be
+everlastingly sick of hearing from cowardly people who want you to drop
+it. I'd be very sorry to be classed with them, for even a moment; and
+you must understand at the outset that I haven't a particle of interest
+in the company, and that it wouldn't matter to me if I had. I don't try
+to use my friends in business, and I don't let money count with me in
+my social life. I made up my mind to take the risk of speaking to you
+about this case, simply because I happen to know one or two things
+about it that I thought you didn't know. And if that's so, you are at a
+great disadvantage; but in any case, please understand that I have no
+motive but friendship, and so if I am butting in, excuse me."
+
+When Siegfried Harvey talked, he looked straight at one with his clear
+blue eyes, and there was no doubting his honesty. "I am very much
+obliged to you," said Montague. "Pray tell me what you have to say."
+
+"All right," said the other. "It can be done very quickly. You have
+taken a case which involves a great many sacrifices upon your part. And
+I wondered if it had ever occurred to you to ask whether you might not
+be taken advantage of?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Do you know the people who are behind you?" inquired the other. "Do
+you know them well enough to be sure what are their motives in the
+case?"
+
+Montague hesitated, and thought. "No," he said, "I couldn't say that I
+do."
+
+"Then it's just as I thought," replied Harvey. "I've been watching
+you--you are an honest man, and you're putting yourself to no end of
+trouble from the best of motives. And unless I'm mistaken, you're being
+used by men who are not honest, and whom you wouldn't work with if you
+knew their purposes."
+
+"What purposes could they have?"
+
+"There are several possibilities. In the first place, it might be a
+'strike' suit--somebody who is hoping to be bought off for a big price.
+That is what nearly every one thinks is the case. But I don't; I think
+it's more likely some one within the company who is trying to put the
+administration in a hole."
+
+"Who could that be?" exclaimed Montague, amazed.
+
+"I don't know that. I'm not familiar enough with the situation in the
+Fidelity--it's changing all the time. I simply know that there are
+factions struggling for the control of it, and hating each other
+furiously, and ready to do anything in the world to cripple each other.
+You know that their forty millions of surplus gives an enormous power;
+I'd rather be able to swing forty millions in the Street than to have
+ten millions in my own right. And so the giants are fighting for the
+control of those companies; and you can't tell who's in and who's
+out--you can never know the real meaning of anything that happens in
+the struggle. All that you can be sure of is that the game is crooked
+from end to end, and that nothing that happens in it is what it
+pretends to be."
+
+Montague listened, half dazed, and feeling as if the ground he stood on
+were caving beneath his feet.
+
+"What do you know about those who brought you this case?" asked his
+companion, suddenly.
+
+"Not much," he said weakly.
+
+Harvey hesitated a moment. "Understand me, please," he said. "I've no
+wish to pry into your affairs, and if you don't care to say any more,
+I'll understand it perfectly. But I've heard it said that the man who
+started the thing was Ellis."
+
+Montague, in his turn, hesitated; then he said, "That is
+correct--between you and me."
+
+"Very good," said Harvey, "and that is what made me suspicious. Do you
+know anything about Ellis?"
+
+"I didn't," said the other. "I've heard a little since."
+
+"I can fancy so," said Harvey. "And I can tell you that Ellis is mixed
+up in life-insurance matters in all sorts of dubious ways. It seems to
+me that you have reason to be most careful where you follow him."
+
+Montague sat with his hands clenched and his brows knitted. His
+friend's talk had been like a flash of lightning; it revealed huge
+menacing forms in the darkness about him. All the structure of his
+hopes seemed to be tottering; his case, that he had worked so hard
+over--his fifty thousand dollars that he had been so proud of! Could it
+be that he had been tricked, and had made a fool of himself?
+
+"How in the world am I to know?" he cried.
+
+"That is more than I can tell," said his friend. "And for that matter,
+I'm not sure that you could do anything now. All that I could do was to
+warn you what sort of ground you were treading on, so that you could
+watch out for yourself in future."
+
+Montague thanked him heartily for that service; and then he went back
+to his office, and spent the rest of the day pondering the matter.
+
+What he had heard had made a vast change in things. Before it
+everything had seemed simple; and now nothing was clear. He was
+overwhelmed with a sense of the utter futility of his efforts; he was
+trying to build a house upon quicksands. There was nowhere a solid spot
+upon which he could set his foot. There was nowhere any truth--there
+were only contending powers who used the phrases of truth for their own
+purposes! And now he saw himself as the world saw him,--a party to a
+piece of trickery,--a knave like all the rest. He felt that he had been
+tripped up at the first step in his career.
+
+The conclusion of the whole matter was that he took an afternoon train
+for Albany; and the next morning he talked the matter out with the
+Judge. Montague had realized the need of going slowly, for, after all,
+he had no definite ground for suspicion; and so, very tactfully and
+cautiously he explained, that it had come to his ears that many people
+believed there were interested parties behind the suit of Mr. Hasbrook;
+and that this had made him uncomfortable, as he knew nothing whatever
+about his client. He had come to ask the Judge's advice in the matter.
+
+No one could have taken the thing more graciously than did the great
+man; he was all kindness and tact. In the first place, he said, he had
+warned him in advance that enemies would attack him and slander him,
+and that all kinds of subtle means would be used to influence him. And
+he must understand that these rumours were part of such a campaign; it
+made no difference how good a friend had brought them to him--how could
+he know who had brought them to that friend?
+
+The Judge ventured to hope that nothing that anyone might say could
+influence him to believe that he, the Judge, would have advised him to
+do anything improper.
+
+"No," said Montague, "but can you assure me that there are no
+interested parties behind Mr. Hasbrook?"
+
+"Interested parties?" asked the other.
+
+"I mean people connected with the Fidelity or other insurance
+companies."
+
+"Why, no," said the Judge; "I certainly couldn't assure you of that."
+
+Montague looked surprised. "You mean you don't know?"
+
+"I mean," was the answer, "that I wouldn't feel at liberty to tell,
+even if I did know."
+
+And Montague stared at him; he had not been prepared for this frankness.
+
+"It never occurred to me," the other continued, "that that was a matter
+which could make any difference to you."
+
+"Why--" began Montague.
+
+"Pray understand me, Mr. Montague," said the Judge. "It seemed to me
+that this was obviously a just case, and it seemed so to you. And the
+only other matter that I thought you had a right to be assured of was
+that it was seriously meant. Of that I felt assured. It did not seem to
+me of any importance that there might be interested individuals behind
+Mr. Hasbrook. Let us suppose, for instance, that there were some
+parties who had been offended by the administration of the Fidelity,
+and were anxious to punish it. Could a lawyer be justified in refusing
+to take a just case, simply because he knew of such private motives?
+Or, let us assume an extreme case--a factional fight within the
+company, as you say has been suggested to you. Well, that would be a
+case of thieves falling out; and is there any reason why the public
+should not reap the advantage of such a situation? The men inside the
+company are the ones who would know first what is going on; and if you
+saw a chance to use such an advantage in a just fight--would you not do
+it?"
+
+So the Judge went on, gracious and plausible--and so subtly and
+exquisitely corrupting! Underneath his smoothly flowing sentences
+Montague could feel the presence of one fundamental thought; it was
+unuttered and even unhinted, but it pervaded the Judge's discourse as a
+mood pervades a melody. The young lawyer had got a big fee, and he had
+a nice easy case; and as a man of the world, he could not really wish
+to pry into it too closely. He had heard gossip, and felt that his
+reputation required him to be disturbed; but he had come, simply to be
+smoothed down the back and made at ease, and enabled to keep his fee
+without losing his good opinion of himself.
+
+Montague quit, because he concluded that it was not worth while to try
+to make himself understood. After all, he was in the case now, and
+there was nothing to be gained by a breach. Two things he felt that he
+had made certain by the interview--first, that his client was a
+"dummy," and that it was really a case of thieves falling out; and
+second, that he had no guarantee that he might not be left in the lurch
+at any moment--except the touching confidence of the Judge in some
+parties unknown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+Montague came home with his mind made up that there was nothing he
+could do except to be more careful next time. For this mistake he would
+have to pay the price.
+
+He had still to learn what the full price was. The day after his return
+there came a caller--Mr. John C. Burton, read his card. He proved to be
+a canvassing agent for the company which published the scandal-sheet of
+Society. They were preparing a de luxe account of the prominent
+families of New York; a very sumptuous affair, with a highly exclusive
+set of subscribers, at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per set.
+Would Mr. Montague by any chance care to have his family included?
+
+And Mr. Montague explained politely that he was a comparative stranger
+in New York, and would not belong properly in such a volume. But the
+agent was not satisfied with this. There might be reasons for his
+subscribing, even so; there might be special cases; Mr. Montague, as a
+stranger, might not realize the important nature of the offer; after he
+had consulted his friends, he might change his mind--and so on. As
+Montague listened to this series of broad hints, and took in the
+meaning of them, the colour mounted, to his cheeks--until at last he
+rose abruptly and bid the man good afternoon.
+
+But then as he sat alone, his anger died away, and there was left only
+discomfort and uneasiness. And three or four days later he bought
+another issue of the paper, and sure enough, there was a new paragraph!
+
+He stood on the street-corner reading it. The social war was raging
+hotly, it said; and added that Mrs. de Graffenried was threatening to
+take up the cause of the strangers. Then it went on to picture a
+certain exquisite young man of fashion who was rushing about among his
+friends to apologize for his brother's indiscretions. Also, it said,
+there was a brilliant social queen, wife of a great banker, who had
+taken up the cudgels.--And then came three sentences more, which made
+the blood leap like flame into Montague's cheeks:
+
+"There have not been lacking comments upon her suspicious ardour. It
+has been noticed that since the advent of the romantic-looking
+Southerner, this restless lady's interest in the Babists and the trance
+mediums has waned; and now Society is watching for the denouement of a
+most interesting situation."
+
+To Montague these words came like a blow in the face. He went on down
+the street, half dazed. It seemed to him the blackest shame that New
+York had yet shown him. He clenched his fists as he walked, whispering
+to himself, "The scoundrels!"
+
+He realized instantly that he was helpless. Down home one would have
+thrashed the editor of such a paper; but here he was in the wolves' own
+country, and he could do nothing. He went back to his office, and sat
+down at the desk.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Winnie," he wrote. "I have just read the enclosed
+paragraph, and I cannot tell you how profoundly pained I am that your
+kindness to us should have made you the victim of such an outrage. I am
+quite helpless in the matter, except to enable you to avoid any further
+annoyance. Please believe me when I say that we shall all of us
+understand perfectly if you think that we had best not meet again at
+present; and that this will make no difference whatever in our
+feelings."
+
+This letter Montague sent by a messenger; and then he went home.
+Perhaps ten minutes after he arrived, the telephone bell rang--and
+there was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+"Your note has come," she said. "Have you an engagement this evening?"
+
+"No," he answered.
+
+"Well," she said, "will you come to dinner?"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he protested.
+
+"Please come," she said. "Please!"
+
+"I hate to have you--" he began.
+
+"I wish you to come!" she said, a third time.
+
+So he answered, "Very well."
+
+He went; and when he entered the house, the butler led him to the
+elevator, saying, "Mrs. Duval says will you please come upstairs, sir."
+And there Mrs. Winnie met him, with flushed cheeks and eager
+countenance.
+
+She was even lovelier than usual, in a soft cream-coloured gown, and a
+crimson rose in her bosom. "I'm all alone to-night," she said, "so
+we'll dine in my apartments. We'd be lost in that big room downstairs."
+
+She led him into her drawing-room, where great armfuls of new roses
+scattered their perfume. There was a table set for two, and two big
+chairs before the fire which blazed in the hearth. Montague noticed
+that her hand trembled a little, as she motioned him to one of them; he
+could read her excitement in her whole aspect. She was flinging down
+the gauntlet to her enemies!
+
+"Let us eat first and talk afterward," she said, hurriedly. "We'll be
+happy for a while, anyway."
+
+And she went on to be happy, in her nervous and eager way. She talked
+about the new opera which was to be given, and about Mrs. de
+Graffenried's new entertainment, and about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden's
+ball; also about the hospital for crippled children which she wanted to
+build, and about Mrs. Vivie Patton's rumoured divorce. And, meantime,
+the sphinx-like attendants moved here and there, and the dinner came
+and went. They took their coffee in the big chairs by the fire; and the
+table was swept clear, and the servants vanished, closing the doors
+behind them.
+
+Then Montague set his cup aside, and sat gazing sombrely into the fire.
+And Mrs. Winnie watched him. There was a long silence.
+
+Suddenly he heard her voice. "Do you find it so easy to give up our
+friendship?" she asked.
+
+"I didn't think about it's being easy or hard," he answered. "I simply
+thought of protecting you."
+
+"And do you think that my friends are nothing to me?" she demanded.
+"Have I so very many as that?" And she clenched her hands with a sudden
+passionate gesture. "Do you think that I will let those wretches
+frighten me into doing what they want? I'll not give in to them--not
+for anything that Lelia can do!"
+
+A look of perplexity crossed Montague's face. "Lelia?" he asked.
+
+"Mrs. Robbie Walling!" she cried. "Don't you suppose that she is
+responsible for that paragraph?"
+
+Montague started.
+
+"That's the way they fight their battles!" cried Mrs. Winnie. "They pay
+money to those scoundrels to be protected. And then they send nasty
+gossip about people they wish to injure."
+
+"You don't mean that!" exclaimed the man.
+
+"Of course I do," cried she. "I know that it's true! I know that Robbie
+Walling paid fifteen thousand dollars for some trumpery volumes that
+they got out! And how do you suppose the paper gets its gossip?"
+
+"I didn't know," said Montague. "But I never dreamed--"
+
+"Why," exclaimed Mrs. Winnie, "their mail is full of blue and gold
+monogram stationery! I've known guests to sit down and write gossip
+about their hostesses in their own homes. Oh, you've no idea of
+people's vileness!"
+
+"I had some idea," said Montague, after a pause.--"That was why I
+wished to protect you."
+
+"I don't wish to be protected!" she cried, vehemently. "I'll not give
+them the satisfaction. They wish to make me give you up, and I'll not
+do it, for anything they can say!"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, gazing into the fire. "When I read
+that paragraph," he said slowly. "I could not bear to think of the
+unhappiness it might cause you. I thought of how much it might disturb
+your husband--"
+
+"My husband!" echoed Mrs. Winnie.
+
+There was a hard tone in her voice, as she went on. "He will fix it up
+with them," she said,--"that's his way. There will be nothing more
+published, you can feel sure of that."
+
+Montague sat in silence. That was not the reply he had expected, and it
+rather disconcerted him.
+
+"If that were all--" he said, with hesitation. "But I could not know. I
+thought that the paragraph might disturb him for another reason--that
+it might be a cause of unhappiness between you and him--"
+
+There was a pause. "You don't understand," said Mrs. Winnie, at last.
+
+Without turning his head he could see her hands, as they lay upon her
+knees. She was moving them nervously. "You don't understand," she
+repeated.
+
+When she began to' speak again, it was in a low, trembling voice. "I
+must tell you," she said; "I have felt sure that you did not know."
+
+There was another pause. She hesitated, and her hands trembled; then
+suddenly she hurried on.--"I wanted you to know. I do not love my
+husband. I am not bound to him. He has nothing to say in my affairs."
+
+Montague sat rigid, turned to stone. He was half dazed by the words. He
+could feel Mrs. Winnie's gaze fixed upon him; and he could feel the hot
+flush that spread over her throat and cheeks.
+
+"It--it was not fair for you not to know," she whispered. And her voice
+died away, and there was again a silence. Montague was dumb.
+
+"Why don't you say something?" she panted, at last; and he caught the
+note of anguish in her voice. Then he turned and stared at her, and saw
+her tightly clenched hands, and the quivering of her lips.
+
+He was shocked quite beyond speech. And he saw her bosom heaving
+quickly, and saw the tears start into her eyes. Suddenly she sank down,
+and covered her face with her hands and broke into frantic sobbing.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie!" he cried; and started to his feet.
+
+Her outburst continued. He saw that she was shuddering violently. "Then
+you don't love me!" she wailed.
+
+He stood trembling and utterly bewildered. "I'm so sorry!" he
+whispered. "Oh, Mrs. Winnie--I had no idea--"
+
+"I know it! I know it!" she cried. "It's my fault! I was a fool! I knew
+it all the time. But I hoped--I thought you might, if you knew--"
+
+And then again her tears choked her; she was convulsed with pain and
+grief.
+
+Montague stood watching her, helpless with distress. She caught hold of
+the arm of the chair, convulsively, and he put his hand upon hers.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he began.
+
+But she jerked her hand away and hid it. "No, no!" she cried, in
+terror. "Don't touch me!"
+
+And suddenly she looked up at him, stretching out her arms. "Don't you
+understand that I love you?" she exclaimed. "You despise me for it, I
+know--but I can't help it. I will tell you, even so! It's the only
+satisfaction I can have. I have always loved you! And I thought--I
+thought it was only that you didn't understand. I was ready to brave
+all the world--I didn't care who knew it, or what anybody said. I
+thought we could be happy--I thought I could be free at last. Oh,
+you've no idea how unhappy I am--and how lonely--and how I longed to
+escape! And I believed that you--that you might--"
+
+And then the tears gushed into Mrs. Winnie's eyes again, and her voice
+became the voice of a little child.
+
+"Don't you think that you might come to love me?" she wailed.
+
+Her voice shook Montague, so that he trembled to the depths of him. But
+his face only became the more grave.
+
+"You despise me because I told you!" she exclaimed.
+
+"No, no, Mrs. Winnie," he said. "I could not possibly do that--"
+
+"Then--then why--" she whispered.--"Would it be so hard to love me?"
+
+"It would be very easy," he said, "but I dare not let myself."
+
+She looked at him piteously. "You are so cold--so merciless!" she cried.
+
+He answered nothing, and she sat trembling. "Have you ever loved a
+woman?" she asked.
+
+There was a long pause. He sat in the chair again. "Listen, Mrs.
+Winnie"--he began at last.
+
+"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed. "Call me Evelyn--please."
+
+"Very well," he said--"Evelyn. I did not intend to make you unhappy--if
+I had had any idea, I should never have seen you again. I will tell
+you--what I have never told anybody before. Then you will understand."
+
+He sat for a few moments, in a sombre reverie.
+
+"Once," he said, "when I was young, I loved a woman--a quadroon girl.
+That was in New Orleans; it is a custom we have there. They have a
+world of their own, and we take care of them, and of the children; and
+every one knows about it. I was very young, only about eighteen; and
+she was even younger. But I found out then what women are, and what
+love means to them. I saw how they could suffer. And then she died in
+childbirth--the child died, too."
+
+Montague's voice was very low; and Mrs. Winnie sat with her hands
+clasped, and her eyes riveted upon his face. "I saw her die," he said.
+"And that was all. I have never forgotten it. I made up my mind then
+that I had done wrong; and that never again while I lived would I offer
+my love to a woman, unless I could devote all my life to her. So you
+see, I am afraid of love. I do not wish to suffer so much, or to make
+others suffer. And when anyone speaks to me as you did, it brings it
+all back to me--it makes me shrink up and wither."
+
+He paused, and the other caught her breath.
+
+"Understand me," she said, her voice trembling. "I would not ask any
+pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay--I am not
+afraid to suffer."
+
+"I do not wish you to suffer," he said. "I do not wish to take
+advantage of any woman."
+
+"But I have nothing in the world that I value!" she cried. "I would go
+away--I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I have no
+ties--no duties--"
+
+He interrupted her. "You have your husband--" he said.
+
+And she cried out in sudden fury--"My husband!"
+
+"Has no one ever told you about my husband?" she asked, after a pause.
+
+"No one," he said.
+
+"Well, ask them!" she exclaimed. "Meantime, take my word for it--I owe
+nothing to my husband."
+
+Montague sat staring into the fire. "But consider my own case," he
+said. "_I_ have duties--my mother and my cousin--"
+
+"Oh, don't say any more!" cried the woman, with a break in her voice.
+"Say that you don't love me--that is all there is to say! And you will
+never respect me again! I have been a fool--I have ruined everything! I
+have flung away your friendship, that I might have kept!"
+
+"No," he said.
+
+But she rushed on, vehemently--"At least, I have been honest--give me
+credit for that! That is how all my troubles come--I say what is in my
+mind, and I pay the price for my blunders. It is not as if I were cold
+and calculating--so don't despise me altogether."
+
+"I couldn't despise you," said Montague. "I am simply pained, because I
+have made you unhappy. And I did not mean to."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat staring ahead of her in a sombre reverie. "Don't think
+any more about it," she said, bitterly. "I will get over it. I am not
+worth troubling about. Don't you suppose I know how you feel about this
+world that I live in? And I'm part of it--I beat my wings, and try to
+get out, but I can't. I'm in it, and I'll stay in till I die; I might
+as well give up. I thought that I could steal a little joy--you have no
+idea how hungry I am for a little joy! You have no idea how lonely I
+am! And how empty my life is! You talk about your fear of making me
+unhappy; it's a grim jest--but I'll give you permission, if you can!
+I'll ask nothing--no promises, no sacrifices! I'll take all the risks,
+and pay all the penalties!"
+
+She smiled through her tears, a sardonic smile. He was watching her,
+and she turned again, and their eyes met; again he saw the blood mount
+from her throat to her cheeks. At the same time came the old stirring
+of the wild beasts within him. He knew that the less time he spent in
+sympathizing with Mrs. Winnie, the better for both of them.
+
+He had started to rise, and words of farewell were on his lips; when
+suddenly there came a knock upon the door.
+
+Mrs. Winnie sprang to her feet. "Who is that?" she cried.
+
+And the door opened, and Mr. Duval entered.
+
+"Good evening," he said pleasantly, and came toward her.
+
+Mrs. Winnie flushed angrily, and stared at him. "Why do you come here
+unannounced?" she cried.
+
+"I apologize," he said--"but I found this in my mail--"
+
+And Montague, in the act of rising to greet him, saw that he had the
+offensive clipping in his hand. Then he saw Duval give a start, and
+realized that the man had not been aware of his presence in the room.
+
+Duval gazed from Montague to his wife, and noticed for the first time
+her tears, and her agitation. "I beg pardon," he said. "I am evidently
+trespassing."
+
+"You most certainly are," responded Mrs. Winnie.
+
+He made a move to withdraw; but before he could take a step, she had
+brushed past him and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
+
+And Duval stared after her, and then he stared at Montague, and
+laughed. "Well! well! well!" he said.
+
+Then, checking his amusement, he added, "Good evening, sir."
+
+"Good evening," said Montague.
+
+He was trembling slightly, and Duval noticed it; he smiled genially.
+"This is the sort of material out of which scenes are made," said he.
+"But I beg you not to be embarrassed--we won't have any scenes."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that.
+
+"I owe Evelyn an apology," the other continued. "It was entirely an
+accident--this clipping, you see. I do not intrude, as a rule. You may
+make yourself at home in future."
+
+Montague flushed scarlet at the words.
+
+"Mr. Duval," he said, "I have to assure you that you are mistaken--"
+
+The other stared at him. "Oh, come, come!" he said, laughing. "Let us
+talk as men of the world."
+
+"I say that you are mistaken," said Montague again.
+
+The other shrugged his shoulders. "Very well," he said genially. "As
+you please. I simply wish to make matters clear to you, that's all. I
+wish you joy with Evelyn. I say nothing about her--you love her.
+Suffice it that I've had her, and I'm tired of her; the field is yours.
+But keep her out of mischief, and don't let her make a fool of herself
+in public, if you can help it. And don't let her spend too much
+money--she costs me a million a year already.--Good evening, Mr.
+Montague."
+
+And he went out. Montague, who stood like a statue, could hear him
+chuckling all the way down the hall.
+
+At last Montague himself started to leave. But he heard Mrs. Winnie
+coming back, and he waited for her. She came in and shut the door, and
+turned toward him.
+
+"What did he say?" she asked.
+
+"He--was very pleasant," said Montague.
+
+And she smiled grimly. "I went out on purpose," she said. "I wanted you
+to see him--to see what sort of a man he is, and how much 'duty' I owe
+him! You saw, I guess."
+
+"Yes, I saw," said he.
+
+Then again he started to go. But she took him by the arm. "Come and
+talk to me," she said. "Please!"
+
+And she led him back to the fire. "Listen," she said. "He will not come
+here again. He is going away to-night--I thought he had gone already.
+And he does not return for a month or two. There will be no one to
+disturb us again."
+
+She came close to him and gazed up into his face. She had wiped her
+tears away, and her happy look had come back to her; she was lovelier
+than ever.
+
+"I took you by surprise," she said, smiling. "You didn't know what to
+make of it. And I was ashamed--I thought you would hate me. But I'm not
+going to be unhappy any more--I don't care at all. I'm glad that I
+spoke!"
+
+And Mrs. Winnie put up her hands and took him by the lapels of his
+coat. "I know that you love me," she said; "I saw it in your eyes just
+now, before he came in: It is simply that you won't let yourself go.
+You have so many doubts and so many fears. But you will see that I am
+right; you will learn to love me. You won't be able to help it--I shall
+be so kind and good! Only don't go away--"
+
+Mrs. Winnie was so close to him that her breath touched his cheek.
+"Promise me, dear," she whispered--"promise me that you won't stop
+seeing me--that you will learn to love me. I can't do without you!"
+
+Montague was trembling in every nerve; he felt like a man caught in a
+net. Mrs. Winnie had had everything she ever wanted in her life; and
+now she wanted him! It was impossible for her to face any other thought.
+
+"Listen," he began gently.
+
+But she saw the look of resistance in his eyes, and she cried "No
+no--don't! I cannot do without you! Think! I love you! What more can I
+say to you? I cannot believe that you don't care for me--you HAVE been
+fond of me--I have seen it in your face. Yet you're afraid of me--why?
+Look at me--am I not beautiful to look at! And is a woman's love such a
+little thing--can you fling it away and trample upon it so easily? Why
+do you wish to go? Don't you understand--no one knows we are here--no
+one cares! You can come here whenever you wish--this is my place--mine!
+And no one will think anything about it. They all do it. There is
+nothing to be afraid of!"
+
+She put her arms about him, and clung to him so that he could feel the
+beating of her heart upon his bosom. "Oh, don't leave me here alone
+to-night!" she cried.
+
+To Montague it was like the ringing of an alarm-bell deep within his
+soul. "I must go," he said.
+
+She flung back her head and stared at him, and he saw the terror and
+anguish in her eyes. "No, no!" she cried, "don't say that to me! I
+can't bear it--oh, see what I have done! Look at me! Have mercy on me!"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," he said, "you must have mercy on ME!"
+
+But he only felt her clasp him more tightly. He took her by the wrists,
+and with quiet force he broke her hold upon him; her hands fell to her
+sides, and she stared at him, aghast.
+
+"I must go," he said, again.
+
+And he started toward the door. She followed him dumbly with her eyes.
+
+"Good-bye," he said. He knew that there was no use of any more words;
+his sympathy had been like oil upon flames. He saw her move, and as he
+opened the door, she flung herself down in a chair and burst into
+frantic weeping. He shut the door softly and went away.
+
+He found his way down the stairs, and got his hat and coat, and went
+out, unseen by anyone. He walked down the Avenue-and there suddenly was
+the giant bulk of St. Cecilia's lifting itself into the sky. He stopped
+and looked at it--it seemed a great tumultuous surge of emotion. And
+for the first time in his life it seemed to him that he understood why
+men had put together that towering heap of stone!
+
+Then he went on home.
+
+He found Alice dressing for a ball, and Oliver waiting for her. He went
+to his room, and took off his coat; and Oliver came up to him, and with
+a sudden gesture reached over to his shoulder, and held up a trophy.
+
+He drew it out carefully, and measured the length of it, smiling
+mischievously in the meanwhile. Then he held it up to the light, to see
+the colour of it.
+
+"A black one!" he cried. "Coal black!" And he looked at his brother,
+with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, Allan!" he chuckled.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+It was about a week from the beginning of Lent, when there would be a
+lull in the city's gaieties, and Society would shift the scene of its
+activities to the country clubs, and to California and Hot Springs and
+Palm Beach. Mrs. Caroline Smythe invited Alice to join her in an
+expedition to the last-named place; but Montague interposed, because he
+saw that Alice had been made pale and nervous by three months of
+night-and-day festivities. Also, a trip to Florida would necessitate
+ten or fifteen thousand dollars' worth of new clothes; and these would
+not do for the summer, it appeared--they would be faded and passe by
+that time.
+
+So Alice settled back to rest; but she was too popular to be let
+alone--a few days later came another invitation, this time from General
+Prentice and his family. They were planning a railroad trip--to be gone
+for a month; they would have a private train, and twenty five people in
+the party, and would take in California and Mexico--"swinging round the
+circle," as it was called. Alice was wild to go, and Montague gave his
+consent. Afterward he learned to his dismay that Charlie Carter was one
+of those invited, and he would have liked to have Alice withdraw; but
+she did not wish to, and he could not make up his mind to insist.
+
+These train trips were the very latest diversion of the well-to-do; a
+year ago no one had heard of them, and now fifty parties were leaving
+New York every month. You might see a dozen of such hotel-trains at
+once at Palm Beach; there were some people who lived on board all the
+time, having special tracks built for them in pleasant locations
+wherever they stopped. One man had built a huge automobile railroad
+car, shaped like a ram, and having accommodation for sixty people. The
+Prentice train had four cars, one of them a "library car," finished in
+St. Iago mahogany, and provided with a pipe-organ. Also there were
+bath-rooms and a barber-shop, and a baggage car with two autos on board
+for exploring purposes.
+
+Since the episode of Mrs. Winnie, Oliver had apparently concluded that
+his brother was one of the initiated. Not long afterward he permitted
+him to a glimpse into that side of his life which had been hinted at in
+the songs at the bachelors' dinner.
+
+Oliver had planned to take Betty Wyman to the theatre; but Betty's
+grandfather had come home from the West unexpectedly, and so Oliver
+came round and took his brother instead.
+
+"I was going to play a joke on her," he said. "We'll go to see one of
+my old flames."
+
+It was a translation of a French farce, in which the marital
+infidelities of two young couples were the occasion of many mishaps.
+One of the characters was a waiting-maid, who was in love with a
+handsome young soldier, and was pursued by the husband of one of the
+couples. It was a minor part, but the young Jewish girl who played it
+had so many pretty graces and such a merry laugh that she made it quite
+conspicuous. When the act was over, Oliver asked him whose acting he
+liked best, and he named her.
+
+"Come and be introduced to her," Oliver said.
+
+He opened a door near their box. "How do you do, Mr. Wilson," he said,
+nodding to a man in evening dress, who stood near by. Then he turned
+toward the dressing-rooms, and went down a corridor, and knocked upon
+one of the doors. A voice called, "Come in," and he opened the door;
+and there was a tiny room, with odds and ends of clothing scattered
+about, and the girl, clad in corsets and underskirt, sitting before a
+mirror. "Hello, Rosalie," said he.
+
+And she dropped her powder-puff, and sprang up with a cry--"Ollie!" 'In
+a moment more she had her arms about his neck.
+
+"Oh, you wretched man," she cried. "Why don't you come to see me any
+more? Didn't you get my letters?"
+
+"I got some," said he. "But I've been busy. This is my brother, Mr.
+Allan Montague."
+
+The other nodded to Montague, and said, "How do you do?"--but without
+letting go of Oliver. "Why don't you come to see me?" she exclaimed.
+
+"There, there, now!" said Oliver, laughing good-naturedly. "I brought
+my brother along so that you'd have to behave yourself."
+
+"I don't care about your brother!" exclaimed the girl, without even
+giving him another glance. Then she held Oliver at arm's length, and
+gazed into his face. "How can you be so cruel to me?" she asked.
+
+"I told you I was busy," said he, cheerfully. "And I gave you fair
+warning, didn't I? How's Toodles?"
+
+"Oh, Toodles is in raptures," said Rosalie. "She's got a new fellow."
+And then, her manner changing to one of merriment, she added: "Oh,
+Ollie! He gave her a diamond brooch! And she looks like a
+countess--she's hoping for a chance to wear it in a part!"
+
+"You've seen Toodles," said Oliver, to his brother "She's in 'The
+Kaliph of Kamskatka.'".
+
+"They're going on the road next week," said Rosalie. "And then I'll be
+all alone." She added, in a pleading voice: "Do, Ollie, be a good boy
+and take us out to-night. Think how long it's been since I've seen you!
+Why, I've been so good I don't know myself in the looking-glass.
+Please, Ollie!"
+
+"All right," said he, "maybe I will."
+
+"I'm not going to let you get away from me," she cried. "I'll come
+right over the footlights after you!"
+
+"You'd better get dressed," said Oliver. "You'll be late."
+
+He pushed aside a tray with some glasses on it, and seated himself upon
+a trunk; and Montague stood in a corner and watched Rosalie, while she
+powdered and painted herself, and put on an airy summer dress, and
+poured out a flood of gossip about "Toodles" and "Flossie" and "Grace"
+and some others. A few minutes later came a stentorian voice in the
+hallway: "Second act!" There were more embraces, and then Ollie brushed
+the powder from his coat, and went away laughing.
+
+Montague stood for a few moments in the wings, watching the
+scene-shifters putting the final touches to the new set, and the
+various characters taking their positions. Then they went out to their
+seats. "Isn't she a jewel?" asked Oliver.
+
+"She's very pretty," the other admitted.
+
+"She came right out of the slums," said Oliver--"over on Rivington
+Street. That don't happen very often."
+
+"How did you come to know her?" asked his brother.
+
+"Oh, I picked her out. She was in a chorus, then. I got her first
+speaking part."
+
+"Did you?" said the other, in surprise. "How did you do that?"
+
+"Oh, a little money," was the reply. "Money will do most anything. And
+I was in love with her--that's how I got her."
+
+Montague said nothing, but sat in thought.
+
+"We'll take her out to supper and make her happy," added Oliver, as the
+curtain started up. "She's lonesome, I guess. You see, I promised Betty
+I'd reform."
+
+All through that scene and the next one Rosalie acted for them; she was
+so full of verve and merriment that there was quite a stir in the
+audience, and she got several rounds of applause. Then, when the play
+was over, she extricated herself from the arms of the handsome young
+soldier, and fled to her dressing-room, and when Oliver and Montague
+arrived, she was half ready for the street.
+
+They went up Broadway, and from a group of people coming out of another
+stage-entrance a young girl came to join them--an airy little creature
+with the face of a doll-baby, and a big hat with a purple feather on
+top. This was "Toodles"--otherwise known as Helen Gwynne; and she took
+Montague's arm, and they fell in behind Oliver and his companion.
+
+Montague wondered what one said to a chorus-girl on the way to supper.
+Afterward his brother told him that Toodles had been the wife of a
+real-estate agent in a little town in Oklahoma, and had run away from
+respectability and boredom with a travelling theatrical company. Now
+she was tripping her part in the musical comedy which Montague had seen
+at Mrs. Lane's; and incidentally swearing devotion to a handsome young
+"wine-agent." She confided to Montague that she hoped the latter might
+see her that evening--he needed to be made jealous.
+
+"The Great White Way" was the name which people had given to this part
+of Broadway; and at the head of it stood a huge hotel with flaming
+lights, and gorgeous marble and bronze, and famous paintings upon the
+walls and ceilings inside. At this hour every one of its many
+dining-rooms was thronged with supper-parties, and the place rang with
+laughter and the rattle of dishes, and the strains of several
+orchestras which toiled heroically in the midst of the uproar. Here
+they found a table, and while Oliver was ordering frozen poached eggs
+and quails in aspic, Montague sat and gazed about him at the revelry,
+and listened to the prattle of the little ex-sempstress from Rivington
+Street.
+
+His brother had "got her," he said, by buying a speaking part in a play
+for her; and Montague recalled the orgies of which he had heard at the
+bachelors' dinner, and divined that here he was at the source of the
+stream from which they were fed. At the table next to them was a young
+Hebrew, whom Toodles pointed out as the son and heir of a great
+clothing manufacturer. He was "keeping" several girls, said she; and
+the queenly creature who was his vis-a-vis was one of the chorus in
+"The Maids of Mandalay." And a little way farther down the room was a
+boy with the face of an angel and the air of a prince of the blood--he
+had inherited a million and run away from school, and was making a name
+for himself in the Tenderloin. The pretty little girl all in green who
+was with him was Violet Pane, who was the artist's model in a new play
+that had made a hit. She had had a full-page picture of herself in the
+Sunday supplement of the "sporting paper" which was read here--so
+Rosalie remarked.
+
+"Why don't you ever do that for me?" she added, to Oliver.
+
+"Perhaps I will," said he, with a laugh. "What does it cost?"
+
+And when he learned that the honour could be purchased for only fifteen
+hundred dollars, he said, "I'll do it, if you'll be good." And from
+that time on the last trace of worriment vanished from the face and the
+conversation of Rosalie.
+
+As the champagne cocktails disappeared, she and Oliver became
+confidential. Then Montague turned to Toodles, to learn more about how
+the "second generation" was preying upon the women of the stage.
+
+"A chorus-girl got from ten to twenty dollars a week," said Toodles;
+and that was hardly enough to pay for her clothes. Her work was very
+uncertain--she would spend weeks at rehearsal, and then if the play
+failed, she would get nothing. It was a dog's life; and the keys of
+freedom and opportunity were in the keeping of rich men, who haunted
+the theatres and laid siege to the girls. They would send in notes to
+them, or fling bouquets to them, with cards, or perhaps money, hidden
+in them. There were millionaire artists and bohemians who kept a
+standing order for seats in the front rows at opening performances;
+they had accounts with florists and liverymen and confectioners, and
+gave carte blanche to scores of girls who lent themselves to their
+purposes. Sometimes they were in league with the managers, and a girl
+who held back would find her chances imperilled; sometimes these men
+would even finance shows to give a chance to some favourite.
+
+Afterward Toodles turned to listen to Oliver and his companion; and
+Montague sat back and gazed about the room. Next to him was a long
+table with a dozen, people at it; and he watched the buckets of
+champagne and the endless succession of fantastic-looking dishes of
+food, and the revellers, with their flushed faces and feverish eyes and
+loud laughter. Above all the tumult was the voice of the orchestra,
+calling, calling, like the storm wind upon the mountains; the music was
+wild and chaotic, and produced an indescribable sense of pain and
+confusion. When one realized that this same thing was going on in
+thousands of places in this district it seemed that here was a flood of
+dissipation that out-rivalled even that of Society.
+
+It was said that the hotels of New York, placed end to end, would reach
+all the way to London; and they took care of a couple of hundred
+thousand people a day--a horde which had come from all over the world
+in search of pleasure and excitement. There were sight-seers and
+"country customers" from forty-five states; ranchers from Texas, and
+lumber kings from Maine, and mining men from Nevada. At home they had
+reputations, and perhaps families to consider; but once plunged into
+the whirlpool of the Tenderloin, they were hidden from all the world.
+They came with their pockets full of money; and hotels and restaurants,
+gambling-places and pool-rooms and brothels--all were lying in wait for
+them! So eager had the competition become that there was a tailoring
+establishment and a bank that were never closed the year round, except
+on Sunday.
+
+Everywhere about one's feet the nets of vice were spread. The head
+waiter in one's hotel was a "steerer" for a "dive," and the house
+detective was "touting" for a gambling-place. The handsome woman who
+smiled at one in "Peacock Alley" was a "madame"; the pleasant-faced
+young man who spoke to one at the bar was on the look-out for customers
+for a brokerage-house next door. Three times in a single day in another
+of these great caravanserais Montague was offered "short change"; and
+so his eyes were opened to a new kind of plundering. He was struck by
+the number of attendants in livery who swarmed about him, and to whom
+he gave tips for their services. He did not notice that the boys in the
+wash-rooms and coat-rooms could not speak a word of English; he could
+not know that they were searched every night, and had everything taken
+from them, and that the Greek who hired them had paid fifteen thousand
+dollars a year to the hotel for the privilege.
+
+So far had the specialization in evil proceeded that there were places
+of prostitution which did a telephone-business exclusively, and would
+send a woman in a cab to any address; and there were high-class
+assignation-houses, which furnished exquisite apartments and the
+services of maids and valets. And in this world of vice the modern
+doctrine of the equality of the sexes was fully recognized; there were
+gambling-houses and pool-rooms and opium-joints for women, and
+drinking-places which catered especially for them. In the "orange room"
+of one of the big hotels, you might see rich women of every rank and
+type, fingering the dainty leather-bound and gold-embossed wine cards.
+In this room alone were sold over ten thousand drinks every day; and
+the hotel paid a rental of a million a year to the Devon estate. Not
+far away the Devons also owned negro-dives, where, in the early hours
+of the morning, you might see richly-gowned white women drinking.
+
+In this seething caldron of graft there were many strange ways of
+making money, and many strange and incredible types of human beings to
+be met. Once, in "Society," Montague had pointed out to him a woman who
+had been a "tattooed lady" in a circus; there was another who had been
+a confederate of gamblers upon the ocean steamships, and another who
+had washed dishes in a mining-camp. There was one of these great hotels
+whose proprietor had been a successful burglar; and a department-store
+whose owner had begun life as a "fence." In any crowd of these
+revellers you might have such strange creatures pointed out to you; a
+multimillionaire who sold rotten jam to the people; another who had
+invented opium soothing-syrup for babies; a convivial old gentleman who
+disbursed the "yellow dog fund" of several railroads; a handsome
+chauffeur who had run away with an heiress. 'Once a great scientist had
+invented a new kind of underwear, and had endeavoured to make it a gift
+to humanity; and here was a man who had seized upon it and made
+millions out of it! Here was a "trance medium," who had got a fortune
+out of an imbecile old manufacturer; here was a great newspaper
+proprietor, who published advertisements of assignations at a dollar a
+line; here was a cigar manufacturer, whose smug face was upon every
+billboard--he had begun as a tin manufacturer, and to avoid the duty,
+he had had his raw material cast in the form of statues, and brought
+them in as works of art!
+
+And terrible and vile as were the sources from which the fortunes had
+been derived, they were no viler nor more terrible than the purposes
+for which they had been spent. Mrs. Vivie Patton had hinted to Montague
+of a "Decameron Club," whose members gathered in each others' homes and
+vied in the telling of obscene stories; Strathcona had told him about
+another set of exquisite ladies and gentlemen who gave elaborate
+entertainments, in which they dressed in the costumes of bygone
+periods, and imitated famous characters in history, and the vices and
+orgies of courts and camps. One heard of "Cleopatra nights" on board of
+yachts at Newport. There was a certain Wall Street "plunger," who had
+begun life as a mining man in the West; and when his customers came in
+town, he would hire a trolley-car, and take a load of champagne and
+half a dozen prostitutes, and spend the night careering about the
+country. This man was now quartered in one of the great hotels in New
+York; and in his apartments he would have prize fights and chicken
+fights; and bloodthirsty exhibitions called "purring matches," in which
+men tried to bark each other's shins; or perhaps a "battle royal," with
+a diamond scarf-pin dangling from the ceiling, and half a dozen negroes
+in a free-for-all fight for the prize.
+
+No picture of the ways of the Metropolis would be complete which did
+not force upon the reluctant reader some realization of the extent to
+which new and hideous incitements to vice were spreading. To say that
+among the leisured classes such practices were raging like a pestilence
+would be no exaggeration. Ten years ago they were regarded with
+aversion by even the professionally vicious; but now the commonest
+prostitute accepted them as part of her fate. And there was no height
+to which they had not reached--ministers of state were enslaved by
+them; great fortunes and public events were controlled by them. In
+Washington there had been an ambassador whose natural daughter taught
+them in the houses of the great, until the scandal forced the
+minister's recall. Some of these practices were terrible in their
+effects, completely wrecking the victim in a short time; and physicians
+who studied their symptoms would be horrified to see them appearing in
+the homes of their friends.
+
+And from New York, the centre of the wealth and culture of the country,
+these vices spread to every corner of it. Theatrical companies and
+travelling salesmen carried them; visiting merchants and sightseers
+acquired them. Pack-pedlers sold vile pictures and books--the
+manufacturing or importing of which was now quite an industry; one
+might read catalogues printed abroad in English, the contents of which
+would make one's flesh creep. There were cheap weeklies, costing ten
+cents a year, which were thrust into area-windows for servant-girls;
+there were yellow-covered French novels of unbelievable depravity for
+the mistress of the house. It was a curious commentary upon the morals
+of Society that upon the trains running to a certain suburban community
+frequented by the ultra-fashionable, the newsboys did a thriving
+business in such literature; and when the pastor of the fashionable
+church eloped with a Society girl, the bishop publicly laid the blame
+to the morals of his parishioners!
+
+The theory was that there were two worlds, and that they were kept
+rigidly separate. There were two sets of women; one to be toyed with
+and flung aside, and the other to be protected and esteemed. Such
+things as prostitutes and kept women might exist, but people of
+refinement did not talk about them, and were not concerned with them.
+But Montague was familiar with the saying, that if you follow the chain
+of the slave, you will find the other end about the wrist of the
+master; and he discovered that the Tenderloin was wreaking its
+vengeance upon Fifth Avenue. It was not merely that the men of wealth
+were carrying to their wives and children the diseases of vice; they
+were carrying also the manners and the ideals.
+
+Montague had been amazed by the things he had found in New York
+Society; the smoking and drinking and gambling of women, their hard and
+cynical views of life, their continual telling of coarse stories. And
+here, in this under-world, he had come upon the fountain head of the
+corruption. It was something which came to him in a sudden flash of
+intuition;--the barriers between the two worlds were breaking down!
+
+He could picture the process in a hundred different forms. There was
+Betty Wyman. His brother had meant to take her to the theatre, to let
+her see Rosalie, by way of a joke! So, of course, Betty knew of his
+escapades, and of those of his set; she and her girl friends were
+whispering and jesting about them. Here sat Oliver, smiling and
+cynical, toying with Rosalie as a cat might toy with a mouse; and
+to-morrow he would be with Betty--and could anyone doubt any longer
+whence Betty had derived her attitude towards life? And the habits of
+mind that Oliver had taught her as a girl she would not forget as a
+wife; he might be anxious to keep her to himself, but there would be
+others whose interest was different.
+
+And Montague recalled other things that he had seen or heard in
+Society, that he could put his finger upon, as having come out of this
+under-world. The more he thought of the explanation, the more it seemed
+to explain. This "Society," which had perplexed him--now he could
+describe it: its manners and ideals of life were those which he would
+have expected to find in the "fast" side of stage life.
+
+It was, of course, the women who made Society, and gave it its tone;
+and the women of Society were actresses. They were actresses in their
+love of notoriety and display; in their taste in clothes and jewels,
+their fondness for cigarettes and champagne. They made up like
+actresses; they talked and thought like actresses. The only obvious
+difference was that the women of the stage were carefully
+selected--were at least up to a certain standard of physical
+excellence; whereas the women of Society were not selected at all, and
+some were lean, and some were stout, and some were painfully homely.
+
+Montague recalled cases where the two sets had met as at some of the
+private entertainments. It was getting to be the fashion to hobnob with
+the stage people on such occasions; and he recalled how naturally the
+younger people took to this. Only the older women held aloof; looking
+down upon the women of the stage from an ineffable height, as belonging
+to a lower caste--because they were obliged to work for their livings.
+But it seemed to Montague, as he sat and talked with this poor
+chorus-girl, who had sold herself for a little pleasure, that it was
+easier to pardon her than the woman who had been born to luxury, and
+scorned those who produced her wealth.
+
+But most of all, one's sympathies went out to a person who was not to
+be met in either of these sets; to the girl who had not sold herself,
+but was struggling for a living in the midst of this ravening
+corruption. There were thousands of self-respecting women, even on the
+stage; Toodles herself had been among them, she told Montague. "I kept
+straight for a long time," she said, laughing cheerfully--"and on ten
+dollars a week! I used to go out on the road, and then they paid me
+sixteen; and think of trying to live on one-night stands--to board
+yourself and stop at hotels and dress for the theatre--on sixteen a
+week, and no job half the year! And all that time--do you know Cyril
+Chambers, the famous church painter?"
+
+"I've heard of him," said Montague.
+
+"Well, I was with a show here on Broadway the next winter; and every
+night for six months he sent me a bunch of orchids that couldn't have
+cost less than seventy-five dollars! And he told me he'd open accounts
+for me in all the stores I chose, if I'd spend the next summer in
+Europe with him. He said I could take my mother or my sister with
+me--and I was so green in those days, I thought that must mean he
+didn't intend anything wrong!"
+
+Toodles smiled at the memory. "Did you go?" asked the man.
+
+"No," she answered. "I stayed here with a roof-garden show that failed.
+And I went to my old manager for a job, and he said to me, 'I can only
+pay you ten a week. But why are you so foolish?' 'How do you mean?' I
+asked; and he answered, 'Why don't you get a rich sweetheart? Then I
+could pay you sixty.' That's what a girl hears on the stage!"
+
+"I don't understand," said Montague, perplexed. "Did he mean he could
+get money out of the man?"
+
+"Not directly," said Toodles; "but tickets--and advertising. Why, men
+will hire front-row seats for a whole season, if they're interested in
+a girl in the show. And they'll take all their friends to see her, and
+she'll be talked about--she'll be somebody, instead of just nobody, as
+I was."
+
+"Then it actually helps her on the stage!" said Montague.
+
+"Helps her!" exclaimed Toodles. "My God! I've known a girl who'd been
+abroad with a tip-top swell--and had the gowns and the jewels to prove
+it--to come home and get into the front row of a chorus at a hundred
+dollars a week."
+
+Toodles was cheerful and all unaware; and that only made the tragedy of
+it all one shade more black to Montague. He sat lost in sombre reverie,
+forgetting his companions, and the blare and glare of the place.
+
+In the centre of this dining-room was a great cone-shaped stand,
+containing a display of food; and as they strolled out, Montague
+stopped to look at it. There were platters garnished with flowers and
+herbs, and containing roast turkeys and baked hams, jellied meats and
+game in aspic, puddings and tarts and frosted cakes--every kind of
+food-fantasticality imaginable. One might have spent an hour in
+studying it, and from top to bottom he would have found nothing simple,
+nothing natural. The turkeys had paper curls and rosettes stuck over
+them; the hams were covered with a white gelatine, the devilled crabs
+with a yellow mayonnaise-and all painted over in pink and green and
+black with landscapes and marine views--with "ships and shoes and
+sealing-wax and cabbages and kings." The jellied meats and the puddings
+were in the shape of fruits and flowers; and there were elaborate works
+of art in pink and white confectionery--a barn-yard, for instance, with
+horses and cows, and a pump, and a dairymaid--and one or two alligators.
+
+And all this was changed every day! Each morning you might see a
+procession of a score of waiters bearing aloft a new supply. Montague
+remembered Betty Wyman's remark at their first interview, apropos of
+the whipped cream made into little curleques; how his brother had said,
+"If Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the man who fixed that
+cream, and how long it took him, and how he might have been reading
+'The Simple Life'!"
+
+He thought of that now; he stood here and gazed, and wondered about all
+the slaves of the lamp who served in this huge temple of luxury. He
+looked at the waiters--pale, hollow-chested, harried-looking men: he
+imagined the hordes of servants of yet lower kinds, who never emerged
+into the light of day; the men who washed the dishes, the men who
+carried the garbage, the men who shovelled the coal into the furnaces,
+and made the heat and light and power. Pent up in dim cellars, many
+stories under ground, and bound for ever to the service of
+sensuality--how terrible must be their fate, how unimaginable their
+corruption! And they were foreigners; they had come here seeking
+liberty. And the masters of the new country had seized them and pent
+them here!
+
+From this as a starting-point his thought went on, to the hordes of
+toilers in every part of the world, whose fate it was to create the
+things which these blind revellers destroyed; the women and children in
+countless mills and sweatshops, who spun the cloth, and cut and sewed
+it; the girls who made the artificial flowers, who rolled the
+cigarettes, who gathered the grapes from the vines; the miners who dug
+the coal and the precious metals out of the earth; the men who watched
+in ten thousand signal-towers and engines, who fought the elements from
+the decks of ten thousand ships--to bring all these things here to be
+destroyed. Step by step, as the flood of extravagance rose, and the
+energies of the men were turned to the creation of futility and
+corruption--so, step by step, increased the misery and degradation of
+all these slaves of Mammon. And who could imagine what they would think
+about it--if ever they came to think?
+
+And then, in a sudden flash, there came back to Montague that speech
+he had heard upon the street-corner, the first evening he had been in
+New York! He could hear again the pounding of the elevated trains, and
+the shrill voice of the orator; he could see his haggard and hungry
+face, and the dense crowd gazing up at him. And there came to him the
+words of Major Thorne:
+
+"It means another civil war!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+Alice had been gone for a couple of weeks, and the day was drawing near
+when the Hasbrook case came up for trial. The Saturday before that
+being the date of the Mi-careme dance of the Long Island Hunt Club,
+Siegfried Harvey was to have a house-party for the week-end, and
+Montague accepted his invitation. He had been working hard, putting the
+finishing touches to his brief, and he thought that a rest would be
+good for him.
+
+He and his brother went down upon Friday afternoon, and the first
+person he met was Betty Wyman, whom he had not seen for quite a while.
+Betty had much to say, and said it. As Montague had not been seen with
+Mrs. Winnie since the episode in her house, people had begun to notice
+the break, and there was no end of gossip; and Mistress Betty wanted to
+know all about it, and how things stood between them.
+
+But he would not tell her, and so she saucily refused to tell him what
+she had heard. All the while they talked she was eyeing him
+quizzically, and it was evident that she took the worst for granted;
+also that he had become a much more interesting person to her because
+of it. Montague had the strangest sensations when he was talking with
+Betty Wyman; she was delicious and appealing, almost irresistible; and
+yet her views of life were so old! "I told you you wouldn't do for a
+tame cat!" she said to him.
+
+Then she went on to talk to him about his case, and to tease him about
+the disturbance he had made.
+
+"You know," she said, "Ollie and I were in terror--we thought that
+grandfather would be furious, and that we'd be ruined. But somehow, it
+didn't work out that way. Don't you say anything about it, but I've had
+a sort of a fancy that he must be on your side of the fence."
+
+"I'd be glad to know it," said Montague, with a laugh--"I've been
+trying for a long time to find out who is on my side of the fence."
+
+"He was talking about it the other day," said Betty, "and I heard him
+tell a man that he'd read your argument, and thought it was good."
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," said Montague.
+
+"So was I," replied she. "And I said to him afterward, 'I suppose you
+don't know that Allan Montague is my Ollie's brother.' And he did you
+the honour to say that he hadn't supposed any member of Ollie's family
+could have as much sense!"
+
+Betty was staying with an aunt near by, and she went back before
+dinner. In the automobile which came for her was old Wyman himself, on
+his way home from the city; and as a snowstorm had begun, he came in
+and stood by the fire while his car was exchanged for a closed one from
+Harvey's stables. Montague did not meet him, but stood and watched him
+from the shadows-a mite of a man, with a keen and eager face, full of
+wrinkles. It was hard to realize that this little body held one of the
+great driving minds of the country. He was an intensely nervous and
+irritable man, bitter and implacable--by all odds the most hated and
+feared man in Wall Street. He was swift, imperious, savage as a hornet.
+"Directors at meetings that I attend vote first and discuss afterward,"
+was one of his sayings that Montague had heard quoted. Watching him
+here by the fireside, rubbing his hands and chatting pleasantly,
+Montague had a sudden sense of being behind the scenes, of being
+admitted to a privilege denied to ordinary mortals--the beholding of
+royalty in everyday attire!
+
+After dinner that evening Montague had a chat in the smoking-room with
+his host; and he brought up the subject of the Hasbrook case, and told
+about his trip to Washington, and his interview with Judge Ellis.
+
+Harvey also had something to communicate. "I had a talk with Freddie
+Vandam about it," said he.
+
+"What did he say?" asked Montague.
+
+"Well," replied the other, with a laugh, "he's indignant, needless to
+say. You know, Freddie was brought up by his father to regard the
+Fidelity as his property, in a way. He always refers to it as 'my
+company.' And he's very high and mighty about it--it's a personal
+affront if anyone attacks it. But it was evident to me that he doesn't
+know who's behind this case."
+
+"Did he know about Ellis?" asked Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "he had found out that much. It was he who told
+me that originally. He says that Ellis has been sponging off the
+company for years--he has a big salary that he never earns, and has
+borrowed something like a quarter of a million dollars on worthless
+securities."
+
+Montague gave a gasp.
+
+"Yes," laughed Harvey. "But after all, that's a little matter. The
+trouble with Freddie Vandam is that that sort of thing is all he sees;
+and so he'll never be able to make out the mystery. He knows that this
+clique or that in the company is plotting to get some advantage, or to
+use him for their purposes--but he never realizes how the big men are
+pulling the wires behind the scenes. Some day they'll throw him
+overboard altogether, and then he'll realize how they've played with
+him. That's what this Hasbrook case means, you know--they simply want
+to frighten him with a threat of getting the company's affairs into the
+courts and the newspapers."
+
+Montague sat for a while in deep thought.
+
+"What would you think would be Wyman's relation to the matter?" he
+asked, at last.
+
+"I wouldn't know," said Harvey. "He's supposed to be Freddie's
+backer--but what can you tell in such a tangle?"
+
+"It is certainly a mess," said Montague.
+
+"There's no bottom to it," said the other. "Absolutely--it would take
+your breath away! Just listen to what Vandam told me to-day!"
+
+And then Harvey named one of the directors of the Fidelity who was well
+known as a philanthropist. Having heard that the wife of one of his
+junior partners had met with an accident in childbirth, and that the
+doctor had told her husband that if she ever had another child, she
+would die, this man had asked, "Why don't you have her life insured?"
+The other replied that he had tried, and the companies had refused her.
+"I'll fix it for you," said he; and so they put in another application,
+and the director came to Freddie Vandam and had the policy put through
+"by executive order." Seven months later the woman died, and the
+Fidelity had paid her husband in full--a hundred thousand or two!
+
+"That's what's going on in the insurance world!" said Siegfried Harvey.
+
+And that was the story which Montague took with him to add to his
+enjoyment of the festivities at the country club. It was a very
+gorgeous affair; but perhaps the sombreness of his thoughts was to
+blame; the flowers and music and beautiful gowns failed entirely in
+their appeal, and he saw only the gluttony and drunkenness--more of it
+than ever before, it seemed to him.
+
+Then, too, he had an unpleasant experience. He met Laura Hegan; and
+presuming upon her cordial reception of his visit, he went up and spoke
+to her pleasantly. And she greeted him with frigid politeness; she was
+so brief in her remarks and turned away so abruptly as almost to snub
+him. He went away quite bewildered. But later on he recalled the gossip
+about himself and Mrs. Winnie, and he guessed that that was the
+explanation of Miss Hegar's action.
+
+The episode threw a shadow over his whole visit. On Sunday he went out
+into the country and tramped through a snowstorm by himself, filled
+with a sense of disgust for all the past, and of foreboding for the
+future. He hated this money-world, in which all that was worst in human
+beings was brought to the surface; he hated it, and wished that he had
+never set foot within its bounds. It was only by tramping until he was
+too tired to feel anything that he was able to master himself.
+
+And then, toward dark, he came back, and found a telegram which had
+been forwarded from New York.
+
+"Meet me at the Penna depot, Jersey City, at nine to-night. Alice."
+
+This message, of course, drove all other thoughts from his mind. He had
+no time even to tell Oliver about it--he had to jump into an automobile
+and rush to catch the next train for the city. And all through the
+long, cold ride in ferry-boats and cabs he pondered this mystery.
+Alice's party had not been expected for two weeks yet; and only two
+days before there had come a letter from Los Angeles, saying that they
+would probably be a week over time. And here she was home again!
+
+He found there was an express from the West due at the hour named;
+apparently, therefore, Alice had not come in the Prentice's train at
+all. The express was half an hour late, and so he paced up and down the
+platform, controlling his impatience as best he could. And finally the
+long train pulled in, and he saw Alice coming down the platform. She
+was alone!
+
+"What does it mean?" were the first words he said to her.
+
+"It's a long story," she answered. "I wanted to come home.";
+
+"You mean you've come all the way from the coast by yourself!" he
+gasped.
+
+"Yes," she said, "all the way."
+
+"What in the world--" he began.
+
+"I can't tell you here, Allan," she said. "Wait till we get to some
+quiet place."
+
+"But," he persisted. "The Prentice? They let you come home alone?"
+
+"They didn't know it," she said. "I ran away."
+
+He was more bewildered than ever. But as he started to ask more
+questions, she laid a hand upon his arm. "Please wait, Allan," she
+said. "It upsets me to talk about it. It was Charlie Carter."
+
+And so the light broke. He caught his breath and gasped, "Oh!"
+
+He said not another word until they had crossed the ferry and settled
+themselves in a cab, and started. "Now," he said, "tell me."
+
+Alice began. "I was very much upset," she said. "But you must
+understand, Allan, that I've had nearly a week to think it over, and I
+don't mind it now. So I want you please not to get excited about it; it
+wasn't poor Charlie's fault--he can't help himself. It was my mistake.
+I ought to have taken your advice and had nothing to do with him."
+
+"Go on," said he; and Alice told her story.
+
+The party had gone sight-seeing, and she had had a headache and had
+stayed in the car. And Charlie Carter had come and begun making love to
+her. "He had asked me to marry him already--that was at the beginning
+of the trip," she said. "And I told him no. After that he would never
+let me alone. And this time he went on in a terrible way--he flung
+himself down on his knees, and wept, and said he couldn't live without
+me. And nothing I could say did any good. At last he--he caught hold of
+me--and he wouldn't let me go. I was furious with him, and frightened.
+I had to threaten to call for help before he would stop. And so--you
+see how it was."
+
+"I see," said Montague, gravely. "Go on."
+
+"Well, after that I made up my mind that I couldn't stay anywhere where
+I had to see him. And I knew he would never go away without a scene. If
+I had asked Mrs. Prentice to send him away, there would have been a
+scandal, and it would have spoiled everybody's trip. So I went out, and
+found there was a train for the East in a little while, and I packed up
+my things, and left a note for Mrs. Prentice. I told her a story--I
+said I'd had a telegram that your mother was ill, and that I didn't
+want to spoil their good time, and had gone by myself. That was the
+best thing I could think of. I wasn't afraid to travel, so long as I
+was sure that Charlie couldn't catch up with me."
+
+Montague said nothing; he sat with his hands gripped tightly.
+
+"It seemed like a desperate thing to do," said Alice, nervously. "But
+you see, I was upset and unhappy. I didn't seem to like the party any
+more--I wanted to be home. Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I understand. And I'm glad you are here."
+
+They reached home, and Montague called up Harvey's and told his brother
+what had happened. He could hear Oliver gasp with astonishment. "That's
+a pretty how-do-you-do!" he said, when he had got his breath back; and
+then he added, with a laugh, "I suppose that settles poor Charlie's
+chances."
+
+"I'm glad you've come to that conclusion," said the other, as he hung
+up the receiver.
+
+This episode gave Montague quite a shock. But he had little time to
+think about it--the next morning at eleven o'clock his case was to come
+up for trial, and so all his thoughts were called away. This case had
+been the one real interest of his life for the last three months; it
+was his purpose, the thing for the sake of which he endured everything
+else that repelled him. And he had trained himself as an athlete for a
+great race; he was in form, and ready for the effort of his life. He
+went down town that morning with every fibre of him, body and mind,
+alert and eager; and he went into his office, and in his mail was a
+letter from Mr. Hasbrook. He opened it hastily and read a message,
+brief and direct and decisive as a sword-thrust:
+
+"I beg to inform you that I have received a satisfactory proposition
+from the Fidelity Company. I have settled with them, and wish to
+withdraw the suit. Thanking you for your services, I remain, sincerely."
+
+To Montague the thing came like a thunderbolt. He sat utterly
+dumbfounded--his hands went limp, and the letter fell upon the desk in
+front of him.
+
+And at last, when he did move, he picked up the telephone, and told his
+secretary to call up Mr. Hasbrook. Then he sat waiting; and when the
+bell rang, picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Mr. Hasbrook's
+voice, and to demand an explanation. But he heard, instead, the voice
+of his own secretary: "Central says the number's been discontinued,
+sir."
+
+And he hung up the receiver, and sat motionless again. The dummy had
+disappeared!
+
+To Montague this incident meant a change in the prospect of his whole
+life. It was the collapse of all his hopes. He had nothing more to work
+for, nothing more to think about; the bottom had fallen out of his
+career!
+
+He was burning with a sense of outrage. He had been tricked and made a
+fool of; he had been used and flung aside. And now there was nothing he
+could do--he was utterly helpless. What affected him most was his sense
+of the overwhelming magnitude of the powers which had made him their
+puppet; of the utter futility of the efforts that he or any other man
+could make against them. They were like elemental, cosmic forces; they
+held all the world in their grip, and a common man was as much at their
+mercy as a bit of chaff in a tempest.
+
+All day long he sat in his office, brooding and nursing his wrath. He
+had moods when he wished to drop everything, to shake the dust of the
+city from his feet, and go back home and recollect what it was to be a
+gentleman. And then again he had fighting moods, when he wished to
+devote all his life to punishing the men who had made use of him. He
+would get hold of some other policy-holder in the Fidelity, one whom he
+could trust; he would take the case without pay, and carry it through
+to the end! He would force the newspapers to talk about it--he would
+force the people to heed what he said!
+
+And then, toward evening, he went home, bitter and sore. And there was
+his brother sitting in his study, waiting for him.
+
+"Hello," he said, and took off his coat, preparing his mind for one
+more ignominy--the telling of his misfortune to Oliver, and listening
+to his inevitable, "I told you so."
+
+But Oliver himself had something to communicate something that would
+not bear keeping. He broke out at once--"Tell me, Allan! What in the
+world has happened between you and Mrs. Winnie?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Montague, sharply.
+
+"Why," said Oliver, "everybody is talking about some kind of a quarrel."
+
+"There has been no quarrel," said Montague.
+
+"Well, what is it, then?"
+
+"It's nothing."
+
+"It must be something!" exclaimed Oliver. "What do all the stories
+mean?"
+
+"What stories?"
+
+"About you two. I met Mrs. Vivie Patton just now, and she swore me to
+secrecy, and told me that Mrs. Winnie had told some one that you had
+made love to her so outrageously that she had to ask you to leave the
+house."
+
+Montague shrunk as from a blow. "Oh!" he gasped.
+
+"That's what she said," said he.
+
+"It's a lie!" he cried.
+
+"That's what I told Mrs. Vivie," said the other; "it doesn't sound like
+you--"
+
+Montague had flushed scarlet. "I don't mean that!" he cried. "I mean
+that Mrs. Winnie never said any such thing."
+
+"Oh," said Oliver, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe not," he
+added. "But I know she's furious with you about something--everybody's
+talking about it. She tells people that she'll never speak to you
+again. And what I want to know is, why is it that you have to do things
+to make enemies of everybody you know?"
+
+Montague said nothing; he was trembling with anger.
+
+"What in the world did you do to her?" began the other. "Can't you
+trust me---"
+
+And suddenly Montague sprang to his feet. "Oh, Oliver," he exclaimed,
+"let me alone! Go away!"
+
+And he went into the next room and slammed the door, and began pacing
+back and forth like a caged animal.
+
+It was a lie! It was a lie! Mrs. Winnie had never said such a thing! He
+would never believe it--it was a nasty piece of backstairs gossip!
+
+But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did it matter Whether
+it was true or not--whether anything was true or not? What did it
+matter if anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome things that
+everybody else said they had done? It was what everybody was saying! It
+was what everybody believed--what everybody was interested in! It was
+the measure of a whole society--their ideals and their standards! It
+was the way they spent their time, repeating nasty scandals about each
+other; living in an atmosphere of suspicion and cynicism, with endless
+whispering and leering, and gossip of lew intrigue.
+
+A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him, away--rage against
+the world into which he had come, and against himself for the part he
+had played in it. Everything seemed to have come to a head at once; and
+he hated everything--hated the people he had met, and the things they
+did, and the things they had tempted him to do. He hated the way he had
+got his money, and the way he had spent it. He hated the idleness and
+wastefulness, the drunkenness and debauchery, the meanness and the
+snobbishness.
+
+And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of the room where Oliver
+still sat. And he stood in the doorway, exclaiming, "Oliver, I'm done
+with it!"
+
+Oliver stared at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
+
+"I mean," cried his brother, "that I've had all I can stand of
+'Society!' And I'm going to quit. You can go on--but I don't intend to
+take another step with you! I've had enough--and I think Alice has had
+enough, also. We'll take ourselves off your hands--we'll get out!"
+
+"What are you going to do?" gasped Oliver.
+
+"I'm going to give up these expensive apartments--give them up
+to-morrow, when our week is up. And I'm going to stop squandering money
+for things I don't want. I'm going to stop accepting invitations, and
+meeting people I don't like and don't want to know. I've tried your
+game--I've tried it hard, and I don't like it; and I'm going to get out
+before it's too late. I'm going to find some decent and simple place to
+live in; and I'm going down town to find out if there isn't some way in
+New York for a man to earn an honest living!"
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+#10 in our series by Upton Sinclair
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
+copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: The Metropolis
+
+Author: Upton Sinclair
+
+Release Date: April, 2004 [EBook #5421]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on July 14, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
+
+
+
+
+This eBook was created by Charles Aldarondo (pg@aldarondo.net).
+
+
+
+
+
+THE METROPOLIS
+
+BY
+
+UPTON SINCLAIR
+
+FIRST PUBLISHED 1908
+
+PRINTED BY OFFSET IN GREAT BRITAIN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+
+
+
+"Return at ten-thirty," the General said to his chauffeur, and then
+they entered the corridor of the hotel.
+
+Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little
+with anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The
+quiet uptown hotel would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he
+was from the country; but, he did hot see the marblo columns and the
+gilded carvings-he was thinking of the men he was to meet. It seemed
+too much to crowd into one day-first the vision of the whirling,
+seething city, the centre of all his hopes of the future; and then,
+at night, this meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories
+of everything that he held precious in the past.
+
+There were groups of men in faded uniforms standing about in the
+corridors. General Prentice bowed here and there as they retired and
+took the elevator to the reception-rooms. In the doorway they passed
+a stout little man with stubby white moustaches, and the General
+stopped, exclaiming, "Hello, Major!" Then he added: "Let me
+introduce Mr. Allan Montague. Montague, this is Major Thorne."
+
+A look of sudden interest flashed across the Major's face. "General
+Montague's son?" he cried. And then he seized the other's hand in
+both of his, exclaiming, "My boy! my boy! I'm glad to see you!"
+
+Now Montague was no boy--he was a man of thirty, and rather sedate
+in his appearance and manner; there was enough in his six feet one
+to have made two of the round and rubicund little Major. And yet it
+seemed to him quite proper that the other should address him so. He
+was back in his boyhood to-night--he was a boy whenever anyone
+mentioned the name of Major Thorne.
+
+"Perhaps you have heard your father speak of me?" asked the Major,
+eagerly; and Montague answered, "A thousand times."
+
+He was tempted to add that the vision that rose before him was of a
+stout gentleman hanging in a grape-vine, while a whole battery of
+artillery made him their target.
+
+Perhaps it was irreverent, but that was what Montague had always
+thought of, ever since he had first laughed over the tale his father
+told. It had happened one January afternoon in the Wilderness,
+during the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, when Montague's
+father had been a rising young staff-officer, and it had fallen to
+his lot to carry to Major Thorne what was surely the most terrifying
+order that ever a cavalry officer received. It was in the crisis of
+the conflict, when the Army of the Potomac was reeling before the
+onslaught of Stonewall Jackson's columns. There was no one to stop
+them-and yet they must be stopped, for the whole right wing of the
+army was going. So that cavalry regiment had charged full tilt
+through the thickets, and into a solid wall of infantry and
+artillery. The crash of their volley was blinding--and horses wore
+fairly shot to fragments; and the Major's horse, with its lower jaw
+torn off, had plunged madly away and left its rider hanging in the
+aforementioned grape-vine. After he had kicked himself loose, it was
+to find himself in an arena where pain-maddened horses and frenzied
+men raced about amid a rain of minie-balls and canister. And in this
+inferno the gallant Major had captured a horse, and rallied the
+remains of his shattered command, and held the line until help
+came-and then helped to hold it, all through the afternoon and the
+twilight and the night, against charge after charge.--And now to
+stand and gaze at this stout and red-nosed little personage, and
+realize that these mighty deeds had been his!
+
+Then, even while Montague was returning his hand-clasp and telling
+him of his pleasure, the Major's eye caught some one across the
+room, and he called eagerly, "Colonel Anderson! Colonel Anderson!"
+
+And this was the heroic Jack Anderson! "Parson" Anderson, the men
+had called him, because he always prayed before everything he did.
+Prayers at each mess,--a prayer-meeting in the evening,--and then
+rumour said the Colonel prayed on while his men slept. With his
+battery of artillery trained to perfection under three years of
+divine guidance, the gallant Colonel had stood in the line of battle
+at Cold Harbour--name of frightful memory!--and when the enemy had
+swarmed out of their intrenchments and swept back the whole line
+just beyond him, his battery had stood like a cape in a storm-beaten
+ocean, attacked on two sides at once; and for the half-hour that
+elapsed before infantry support came up, the Colonel had ridden
+slowly up and down his line, repeating in calm and godly accents,
+"Give 'em hell, boys--give 'em hell!"--The Colonel's hand trembled
+now as he held it out, and his voice was shrill and cracked as he
+told what pleasure it gave him to meet General Montague's son.
+
+"Why have we never seen you before?" asked Major Thorne. Montague
+replied that he had spent all his life in Mississippi--his father
+having married a Southern woman after the war. Once every year the
+General had come to New York to attend the reunion of the Loyal
+Legion of the State; but some one had had to stay at home with his
+mother, Montague explained.
+
+There were perhaps a hundred men in the room, and he was passed
+about from group to group. Many of them had known his father
+intimately. It seemed almost uncanny to him to meet them in the
+body; to find them old and feeble, white-haired and wrinkled. As
+they lived in the chambers of his memory, they were in their mighty
+youth-heroes, transfigured and radiant, not subject to the power of
+time.
+
+Life on the big plantation had been a lonely one, especially for a
+Southern-born man who had fought in the Union army. General Montague
+had been a person of quiet tastes, and his greatest pleasure had
+been to sit with his two boys on his knees and "fight his battles
+o'er again." He had collected all the literature of the corps which
+he had commanded--a whole librarry of it, in which Allan had learned
+to find his way as soon as he could read. He had literally been
+brought up on the war--for hours he would lie buried in some big
+illustrated history, until people came and called him away. He
+studied maps of campaigns and battle-fields, until they became alive
+with human passion and struggle; he knew the Army of the Potomac by
+brigade and division, with the names of commanders, and their faces,
+and their ways-until they lived and spoke, and the bare roll of
+their names had power to thrill him.--And now here were the men
+themselves, and all these scenes and memories crowding upon him in
+tumultuous throngs. No wonder that he was a little dazed, and could
+hardly find words to answer when he was spoken to.
+
+But then came an incident which called him suddenly back to the
+world of the present. "There is Judge Ellis," said the General.
+
+Judge Ellis! The fame of his wit and eloquence had reached even far
+Mississippi--was there any remotest corner of America where men had
+not heard of the silver tongue of Judge Ellis? "Cultivate him!"
+Montague's brother Oliver had laughed, when it was mentioned that
+the Judge would be present--"Cultivate him--he may be useful."
+
+It was not difficult to cultivate one who was as gracious as Judge
+Ellis. He stood in the doorway, a smooth, perfectly groomed
+gentleman, conspicuous in the uniformed assembly by his evening
+dress. The Judge was stout and jovial, and cultivated Dundreary
+whiskers and a beaming smile. "General Montague's son!" he
+exclaimed, as he pressed the young man's hands. "Why, why--I'm
+surprised! Why have we never seen you before?"
+
+Montague explained that he had only been in New York about six
+hours. "Oh, I see," said the Judge. "And shall you remain long?"
+
+"I have come to stay," was the reply.
+
+"Well, well!" said the other, cordially. "Then we may see more of
+you. Are you going into business?"
+
+"I am a lawyer," said Montague. "I expect to practise."
+
+The Judge's quick glance had been taking the measure of the tall,
+handsome man before him, with his raven-black hair and grave
+features. "You must give us a chance to try your mettle," he said;
+and then, as others approached to meet him, and he was forced to
+pass on, he laid a caressing hand on Montague's arm, whispering,
+with a sly smile, "I mean it."
+
+Montague felt his heart beat a little faster. He had not welcomed
+his brother's suggestion--there was nothing of the sycophant in him;
+but he meant to work and to succeed, and he knew what the favour of
+a man like Judge Ellis would mean to him. For the Judge was the idol
+of New York's business and political aristocracy, and the doorways
+of fortune yielded at his touch.
+
+There were rows of chairs in one of the rooms, and here two or three
+hundred men were gathered. There were stands of battle-flags in the
+corners, each one of them a scroll of tragic history, to one like
+Montague, who understood. His eye roamed over them while the
+secretary was reading minutes of meetings and other routine
+announcements. Then he began to study the assemblage. There were men
+with one arm and men with one leg--one tottering old soldier ninety
+years of age, stone blind, and led about by his friends. The Loyal
+Legion was an officers' organization, and to that extent
+aristocratic; but worldly success counted for nothing in it--some of
+its members were struggling to exist on their pensions, and were as
+much thought of as a man like General Prentice, who was president ot
+one of the city's largest banks, and a rich man, even in New York's
+understanding of that term.
+
+The presiding officer introduced "Colonel Robert gelden, who will
+read the paper of the evening: 'Recollections of Spottsylvania.'"
+Montague started at the name--for "Bob" Selden had been one of his
+father's messmates, and had fought all through the Peninsula
+Campaign at his side.
+
+He was a tall, hawk-faced man with a grey imperial. The room was
+still as he arose, and after adjusting his glasses, he began to read
+his story. He recalled the situation of the Army of the Potomac in
+the spring of 1846; for three years it had marched and fought,
+stumbling through defeat after defeat, a mighty weapon, lacking only
+a man who could wield it. Now at last the man had come--one who
+would put them into the battle and give them a chance to fight. So
+they had marched into the Wilderness, and there Lee struck them, and
+for three days they groped in a blind thicket, fighting hand to
+hand, amid suffocating smoke. The Colonel read in a quiet,
+unassuming voice; but one could see that he had hold of his hearers
+by the light that crossed their features when he told of the army's
+recoil from the shock, and of the wild joy that ran through the
+ranks when they took up their march to the left, and realized that
+this time they were not going back.--So they came to the twelve
+days' grapple of the Spottsylvania Campaign.
+
+There was still the Wilderness thicket; the enemy's intrenchments,
+covering about eight miles, lay in the shape of a dome, and at the
+cupola of it were breastworks of heavy timbers banked with earth,
+and with a ditch and a tangle of trees in front. The place was the
+keystone of the Confederate arch, and the name of it was "the
+Angle"--"Bloody Angle!" Montague heard the man who sat next to him
+draw in his breath, as if a spasm of pain had shot through him.
+
+At dawn two brigades had charged and captured the place. The enemy
+returned to the attack, and for twenty hours thereafter the two
+armies fought, hurling regiment after regiment and brigade after
+brigade into the trenches. There was a pouring rain, and the smoke
+hung black about them; they could only see the flashes of the guns,
+and the faces of the enemy, here and there.
+
+The Colonel described the approach of his regiment. They lay down
+for a moment in a swamp, and the minie-balls sang like swarming
+bees, and split the blades of the grass above them. Then they
+charged, over ground that ran with human blood. In the trenches the
+bodies of dead and dying men lay three deep, and were trampled out
+of sight in the mud by the feet of those who fought. They would
+crouch behind the works, lifting their guns high over their heads,
+and firing into the throngs on the other side; again and again men
+sprang upon the breastworks and fired their muskets, and then fell
+dead. They dragged up cannon, one after another, and blew holes
+through the logs, and raked the' ground with charges of canister.
+
+While the Colonel read, still in his calm, matter-of-fact voice, you
+might see men leaning forward in their chairs, hands clenched, teeth
+set. They knew! They knew! Had there ever before been a time in
+history when breastworks had been charged by artillery? Twenty-four
+men in the crew of one gun, and only two unhurt! One iron
+sponge-bucket with thirty-nine bullet holes shot through it! And
+then blasts of canister sweeping the trenches, and blowing scores of
+living and dead men to fragments! And into this hell of slaughter
+new regiments charging, in lines four deep! And squad after squad of
+the enemy striving to surrender, and shot to pieces by their own
+comrades as they clambered over the blood-soaked walls! And heavy
+timbers in the defences shot to splinters! Huge oak trees--one of
+them twenty-four inches in diameter--crashing down upon the
+combatants, gnawed through by rifle-bullets! Since the world began
+had men ever fought like that?
+
+Then the Colonel told of his own wound in the shoulder, and how,
+toward dusk, he had crawled away; and how he became lost, and
+strayed into the enemy's line, and was thrust into a batch of
+prisoners and marched to the rear. And then of the night that he
+spent beside a hospital camp in the Wilderness, where hundreds of
+wounded and dying men lay about on the rain-soaked ground, moaning,
+screaming, praying to be killed. Again the prisoners were moved,
+having been ordered to march to the railroad; and on the way the
+Colonel went blind from suffering and exhaustion, and staggered and
+fell in the road. You could have heard a pin drop in the room, in
+the pause between sentences in his story, as he told how the guard
+argued with him to persuade him to go on. It was their duty to kill
+him if he refused, but they could not bring themselves to do it. In
+the end they left the job to one, and he stood and cursed the
+officer, trying to get up his courage; and finally fired his gun
+into the air, and went off and left him.
+
+Then he told how an old negro had found him, and how he lay
+delirious; and how, at last, the army marched his way. He ended his
+narrative the simple sentence: "It was not until the siege of
+Petersburg that I was able to rejoin my Command."
+
+There was a murmur of applause; and then silence. Suddenly, from
+somewhere in the room, came the sound of singing--"Mine eyes have
+seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" The old battle-hymn
+seemed to strike the very mood of the meeting; the whole throng took
+it up, and they sang it, stanza by stanza. It was rolling forth like
+a mighty organ-chant as they came to the fervid closing:--
+
+"He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He
+is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; Oh! be
+swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet,--Our God is
+marching on!"
+
+There was a pause again; and the presiding officer rose and said
+that, owing to the presence of a distinguished guest, they would
+forego one of their rules, and invite Judge Ellis to say a few
+words. The Judge came forward, and bowed his acknowledgment of their
+welcome. Then, perhaps feeling a need of relief after the sombre
+recital, the Judge took occasion to apologize for his own temerity
+in addressing a roomful of warriors; and somehow he managed to make
+that remind him of a story of an army mule, a very amusing story;
+and that reminded him of another story, until, when he stopped and
+sat down, every one in the room broke into delighted applause.
+
+They went in to dinner. Montague sat by General Prentice, and he, in
+turn, by the Judge; the latter was reminded of more stories during
+the dinner, and kept every one near him laughing. Finally Montague
+was moved to tell a story himself--about an old negro down home, who
+passed himself off for an Indian. The Judge was so good as to
+consider this an immensely funny story, and asked permission to tell
+it himself. Several times after that he leaned over and spoke to
+Montague, who felt a slight twinge of guilt as he recalled his
+brother's cynical advice, "Cultivate him!" The Judge was so willing
+to be cultivated, however, that it gave one's conscience little
+chance.
+
+They went back to the meeting-room again; chairs were shifted, and
+little groups formed, and cigars and pipes brought out. They moved
+the precious battle-flags forward, and some one produced a bugle and
+a couple of drums; then the walls of the place shook, as the whole
+company burst forth:--
+
+"Bring the good old bugle, boys! we'll sing another song--Sing it
+with a spirit that will start the world along--Sing it as we used
+to sing it, fifty thousand strong,--While we were marching through
+Georgia!"
+
+It was wonderful to witness the fervour with which they went through
+this rollicking chant--whose spirit we miss because we hear it too
+often. They were not skilled musicians--they could only sing loud;
+but the fire leaped into their eyes, and they swayed with the
+rhythm, and sang! Montague found himself watching the old blind
+soldier, who sat beating his foot in time, upon his face the look of
+one who sees visions.
+
+And then he noticed another man, a little, red-faced Irishman, one
+of the drummers. The very spirit of the drum seemed to have entered
+into him--into his hands and his feet, his eyes and his head, and
+his round little body. He played a long roll between the verses, and
+it seemed as if he must surely be swept away upon the wings of it.
+Catching Montague's eye, he nodded and smiled; and after that, every
+once in a while their eyes would meet and exchange a greeting. They
+sang "The Loyal Legioner" and "The Army Bean" and "John Brown's
+Body" and "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching"; all the
+while the drum rattled and thundered, and the little drummer laughed
+and sang, the very incarnation of the care-free spirit of the
+soldier!
+
+They stopped for a while, and the little man came over and was
+introduced. Lieutenant O'Day was his name; and after he had left,
+General Prentice leaned over to Montague and told him a story. "That
+little man," he said, "began as a drummer-boy in my regiment, and
+went all through the war in my brigade; and two years ago I met him
+on the street one cold winter night, as thin as I am, and shivering
+in a summer overcoat. I took him to dinner with me and watched him
+eat, and I made up my mind there was something wrong. I made him
+take me home, and do you know, the man was starving! He had a little
+tobacco shop, and he'd got into trouble--the trust had taken away
+his trade. And he had a sick wife, and a daughter clerking at six
+dollars a week!"
+
+The General went on to tell of his struggle to induce the little man
+to accept his aid--to accept a loan of a few hundreds of dollars
+from Prentice, the banker! "I never had anything hurt me so in all
+my life," he said. "Finally I took him into the bank--and now you
+can see he has enough to eat!"
+
+They began to sing again, and Montague sat and thought over the
+story. It seemed to him typical of the thing that made this meeting
+beautiful to him--of the spirit of brotherhood and service that
+reigned here.--They sang "We are tenting to-night on the old camp
+ground"; they sang "Benny Havens, Oh!" and "A Soldier No More"; they
+sang other songs of tenderness and sorrow, and men felt a trembling
+in their voices and a mist stealing over their eyes. Upon Montague a
+spell was falling.
+
+Over these men and their story there hung a mystery--a presence of
+wonder, that discloses itself but rarely to mortals, and only to
+those who have dreamed and dared. They had not found it easy to do
+their duty; they had had their wives and children, their homes and
+friends and familiar places; and all these they had left to serve
+the Republic. They had taught themselves a new way of life--they had
+forged themselves into an iron sword of war. They had marched and
+fought in dust and heat, in pouring rains and driving, icy blasts;
+they had become men grim and terrible in spirit-men with limbs of
+steel, who could march or ride for days and nights, who could lie
+down and sleep upon the ground in rain-storms and winter snows, who
+were ready to leap at a word and seize their muskets and rush into
+the cannon's mouth. They had learned to stare into the face of
+death, to meet its fiery eyes; to march and eat and sleep, to laugh
+and play and sing, in its presence--to carry their life in their
+hands, and toss it about as a juggler tosses a ball. And this for
+Freedom: for the star-crowned goddess with the flaming eyes, who
+trod upon the mountain-tops and called to them in the shock and fury
+of the battle; whose trailing robes they followed through the dust
+and cannon-smoke; for a glimpse of whose shining face they had kept
+the long night vigils and charged upon the guns in the morning; for
+a touch of whose shimmering robe they had wasted in prison pens,
+where famine and loathsome pestilence and raving madness stalked
+about in the broad daylight.
+
+And now this army of deliverance, with its waving banners and its
+prancing horses and its rumbling cannon, had marched into the
+shadow-world. The very ground that it had trod was sacred; and one
+who fingered the dusty volumes which held the record of its deeds
+would feel a strange awe come upon him, and thrill with a sudden
+fear of life--that was so fleeting and so little to be understood.
+There were boyhood memories in Montague's mind, of hours of
+consecration, when the vision had descended upon him, and he had sat
+with face hidden in his hands.
+
+It was for the Republic that these men had suffered; for him and his
+children--that a government of the people, by the people, for the
+people, might not perish from the earth. And with the organ-music of
+the Gettysburg Address echoing within him, the boy laid his soul
+upon the altar of his country. They had done so much for him--and
+now, was there anything that he could do? A dozen years had passed
+since then, and still he knew that deep within him--deeper than all
+other purposes, than all thoughts of wealth and fame and power--was
+the purpose that the men who had died for the Republic should find
+him worthy of their trust.
+
+The singing had stopped, and Judge Ellis was standing before him.
+The Judge was about to go, and in his caressing voice he said that
+he would hope to see Montague again. Then, seeing that General
+Prentice was also standing up, Montague threw off the spell that had
+gripped him, and shook hands with the little drummer, and with
+Selden and Anderson and all the others of his dream people. A few
+minutes later he found himself outside the hotel, drinking deep
+draughts of the cold November air.
+
+Major Thorne had come out with them; and learning that the General's
+route lay uptown, he offered to walk with Montague to his hotel.
+
+They set out, and then Montague told the Major about the figure in
+the grape-vine, and the Major laughed and told how it had felt.
+There had been more adventures, it seemed; while he was hunting a
+horse he had come upon two mules loaded with ammunition and
+entangled with their harness about a tree; he had rushed up to seize
+them--when a solid shot had struck the tree and exploded the
+ammunition and blown the mules to fragments. And then there was the
+story of the charge late in the night, which had recovered the lost
+ground, and kept Stonewall Jackson busy up to the very hour of his
+tragic death. And there was the story of Andersonville, and the
+escape from prison. Montague could have walked the streets all
+night, exchanging these war-time reminiscences with the Major.
+
+Absorbed in their talk, they came to an avenue given up to the
+poorer class of people; with elevated trains rattling by overhead,
+and rows of little shops along it. Montague noticed a dense crowd on
+one of the corners, land asked what it meant.
+
+"Some sort of a meeting," said the Major.
+
+They came nearer, and saw a torch, with a man standing near it,
+above the heads of the crowd.
+
+"It looks like a political meeting," said Montague, "but it can't
+be, now--just after election."
+
+"Probably it's a Socialist," said the Major. "They're at it all the
+time."
+
+They crossed the avenue, and then they could see plainly. The man
+was lean and hungry-looking, and he had long arms, which he waved
+with prodigious violence. He was in a frenzy of excitement, pacing
+this way and that, and leaning over the throng packed about him.
+Because of a passing train the two could not hear a sound.
+
+"A Socialist!" exclaimed Montague, wonderingly. "What do they want?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said the other. "They want to overthrow the
+government."
+
+The train passed, and then the man's words came to them: "They force
+you to build palaces, and then they put you into tenements! They
+force you to spin fine raiment, and then they dress you in rags!
+They force you to build jails, and then they lock you up in them!
+They force you to make guns, and then they shoot you with them! They
+own the political parties, and they name the candidates, and trick
+you into voting for them--and they call it the law! They herd you
+into armies and send you to shoot your brothers--and they call it
+order! They take a piece of coloured rag and call it the flag and
+teach you to let yourself be shot--and they call it patriotism!
+First, last, and all the time, you do the work and they get the
+benefit--they, the masters and owners, and you--fools--fools
+--fools!"
+
+The man's voice had mounted to a scream, and he flung his hands into
+the air and broke into jeering laughter. Then came another train,
+and Montague could not hear him; but he could see that he was
+rushing on in the torrent of his denunciation.
+
+Montague stood rooted to the spot; he was shocked to the depths of
+his being--he could scarcely contain himself as he stood there. He
+longed to spring forward to beard the man where he stood, to shout
+him down, to rebuke him before the crowd.
+
+The Major must have seen his agitation, for he took his arm and led
+him back from the throng, saying: "Come! We can't help it."
+
+"But--but--," he protested, "the police ought to arrest him."
+
+"They do sometimes," said the Major, "but it doesn't do any good."
+
+They walked on, and the sounds of the shrill voice died away. "Tell
+me," said Montague, in a low voice, "does that go on very often?"
+
+"Around the comer from where I live," said the other, "it goes on
+every Saturday night."
+
+"And do the people listen?" he asked.
+
+"Sometimes they can't keep the street clear," was the reply.
+
+And again they walked in silence. At last Montague asked, "What does
+it mean?"
+
+The Major shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps another civil war," said
+he.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+
+
+
+Allan Momtague's father had died about five years before. A couple
+of years later his younger brother, Oliver, had announced his
+intention of seeking a career in New York. He had no profession, and
+no definite plans; but his father's friends were men of influence
+and wealth, and the doors were open to him. So he had turned his
+share of the estate into cash and departed.
+
+Oliver was a gay and pleasure-loving boy, with all the material of a
+prodigal son in him; his brother had more than half expected to see
+him come back in a year or two with empty pockets. But New York had
+seemed to agree with Oliver. He never told what he was doing--what
+he wrote was simply that he was managing to keep the wolf from the
+door. But his letters hinted at expensive ways of life; and at
+Christmas time, and at Cousin Alice's birthday, he would send home
+presents which made the family stare.
+
+Montague had always thought of himself as a country lawyer and
+planter. But two months ago a fire had swept away the family
+mansion, and then on top of that had come an offer for the land; and
+with Oliver telegraphing several times a day in his eagerness, they
+had taken the sudden resolution to settle up their affairs and move
+to New York.
+
+There were Montague and his mother, and Cousin Alice, who was
+nineteen, and old "Mammy Lucy," Mrs. Montague's servant. Oliver had
+met them at Jersey City, radiant with happiness. He looked just as
+much of a boy as ever, and just as beautiful; excepting that he was
+a little paler, New York had not changed him at all. There was a man
+in uniform from the hotel to take charge of their baggage, and a big
+red touring-car for them; and now they were snugly settled in their
+apartments, with the younger brother on duty as counsellor and
+guide.
+
+Montague had come to begin life all over again. He had brought his
+money, and he expected to invest it, and to live upon the income
+until he had begun to earn something. He had worked hard at his
+profession, and he meant to work in New York, and to win his way
+in the end. He knew almost nothing about the city--he faced it with
+the wide-open eyes of a child.
+
+One began to learn quickly, he found. It was like being swept into a
+maelstrom: first the hurrying throngs on the ferry-boat, and then
+the cabmen and the newsboys shouting, and the cars with clanging
+gongs; then the swift motor, gliding between trucks and carriages
+and around corners where big policemen shepherded the scurrying
+populace; and then Fifth Avenue, with its rows of shops and towering
+hotels; and at last a sudden swing round a corner--and their home.
+
+"I have picked a quiet family place for you," Oliver had said, and
+that had greatly pleased his brother. But he had stared in dismay
+when he entered this latest "apartment hotel"--which catered for two
+or three hundred of the most exclusive of the city's
+aristocracy--and noted its great arcade, with massive doors of
+bronze, and its entrance-hall, trimmed with Caen stone and Italian
+marble, and roofed with a vaulted ceiling painted by modern masters.
+Men in livery bore their wraps and bowed the way before them; a
+great bronze elevator shot them to the proper floor; and they went
+to their rooms down a corridor walled with blood-red marble and
+paved with carpet soft as a cushion. Here were six rooms of palatial
+size, with carpets, drapery, and furniture of a splendour quite
+appalling to Montague.
+
+As soon as the man who bore their wraps had left the room, he turned
+upon his brother.
+
+"Oliver," he said, "how much are we paying for all this?"
+
+Oliver smiled. "You are not paying anything, old man," he replied.
+"You're to be my guests for a month or two, until you get your
+bearings."
+
+"That's very good of you," said the other; "--we'll talk about it
+later. But meantime, tell me what the apartment costs."
+
+And then Montague encountered his first full charge of New York
+dynamite. "Six hundred dollars a week," said Oliver.
+
+He started as if his brother had struck him. "Six hundred dollars a
+week!" he gasped.
+
+"Yes," said the other, quietly.
+
+It was fully a minute before he could find his breath. "Brother," he
+exclaimed, "you're mad!"
+
+"It is a very good bargain," smiled the other; "I have some
+influence with them."
+
+Again there was a pause, while Montague groped for words. "Oliver,"
+he exclaimed, "I can't believe you! How could you think that we
+could pay such a price?"
+
+"I didn't think it," said Oliver; "I told you I expected to pay it
+myself."
+
+"But how could we let you pay it for us?" cried the other. "Can you
+fancy that _I_ will ever earn enough to pay such a price?"
+
+"Of course you will," said Oliver. "Don't be foolish, Allan--you'll
+find it's easy enough to make money in New York. Leave it to me, and
+wait awhile."
+
+But the other was not to be put off. He sat down on the embroidered
+silk bedspread, and demanded abruptly, "What do you expect my income
+to be a year?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," laughed Oliver; "nobody takes the time to
+add up his income. You'll make what you need, and something over for
+good measure. This one thing you'll know for certain--the more you
+spend, the more you'll be able to make."
+
+And then, seeing that the sober look was not to be expelled from his
+brother's face, Oliver seated himself and crossed his legs, and
+proceeded to set forth the paradoxical philosophy of extravagance.
+His brother had come into a city of millionaires. There was a
+certain group of people--"the right set," was Oliver's term for
+them--and among them he would find that money was as free as air. So
+far as his career was concerned, he would find that there was
+nothing in all New York so costly as economy. If he did not live
+like a gentleman, he would find himself excluded from the circle of
+the elect--and how he would manage to exist then was a problem too
+difficult for his brother to face.
+
+And so, as quickly as he could, he was to bring himself to a state
+of mind where things did not surprise him; where he did what others
+did and paid what others paid, and did it serenely, as if he had
+done it all his life. He would soon find his place; meantime all he
+had to do was to put himself into his brother's charge. "You'll find
+in time that I have the strings in my hands," the latter added.
+"Just take life easy, and let me introduce you to the right people."
+
+All of which sounded very attractive. "But are you sure," asked
+Montague, "that you understand what I'm here for? I don't want to
+get into the Four Hundred, you know--I want to practise law."
+
+"In the first place," replied Oliver, "don't talk about the Four
+Hundred--it's vulgar and silly; there's no such thing. In the next
+place, you're going to live in New York, and you want to know the
+right people. If you know them, you can practise law, or practise
+billiards, or practise anything else that you fancy. If you don't
+know them, you might as well go practise in Dahomey, for all you can
+accomplish. You might come on here and start in for yourself, and in
+twenty years you wouldn't get as far as you can get in two weeks, if
+you'll let me attend to it."
+
+Montague was nearly five years his brother's senior, and at home had
+taken a semi-paternal attitude toward him. Now, however, the
+situation seemed to have reversed itself. With a slight smile of
+amusement, he subsided, and proceeded to put himself into the
+attitude of a docile student of the mysteries of the Metropolis.
+
+They agreed that they would say nothing about these matters to the
+others. Mrs. Montague was half blind, and would lead her placid,
+indoor existence with old Mammy Lucy. As for Alice, she was a woman,
+and would not trouble herself with economics; if fairy godmothers
+chose to shower gifts upon her, she would take them.
+
+Alice was built to live in a palace, anyway, Oliver said. He had
+cried out with delight when he first saw her. She had been sixteen
+when he left, and tall and thin; now she was nineteen, and with the
+pale tints of the dawn in her hair and face. In the auto, Oliver had
+turned and, stared at her, and pronounced the cryptic judgment,
+"You'll go!"
+
+Just now she was wandering about the rooms, exclaiming with wonder.
+Everything here was so quiet and so harmonious that at first one's
+suspicions were lulled. It was simplicity, but of a strange and
+perplexing kind--simplicity elaborately studied. It was luxury, but
+grown assured of itself, and gazing down upon itself with
+aristocratic disdain. And after a while this began to penetrate the
+vulgarest mind, and to fill it with awe; one cannot remain long in
+an apartment which is trimmed and furnished in rarest Circassian
+walnut, and "papered" with hand-embroidered silk cloth, without
+feeling some excitement--even though there be no one to mention that
+the furniture has cost eight thousand dollars per room, and that the
+wall covering has been imported from Paris at a cost of seventy
+dollars per yard.
+
+Montague also betook himself to gazing about. He noted the great
+double windows, with sashes of bronze; the bronze fire-proof doors;
+the bronze electric candles and chandeliers, from which the room was
+flooded with a soft radiance at the touch of a button; the
+"duchesse" and "marquise" chairs, with upholstery matching the
+walls; the huge leather "slumber-couch," with adjustable lamp at its
+head. When one opened the door of the dressing-room closet, it was
+automatically filled with light; there was an adjustable three-sided
+mirror, at which one could study his own figure from every side.
+There was a little bronze box near the bed, in which one might set
+his shoes, and with a locked door opening out into the hall, so that
+the floor-porter could get them without disturbing one. Each of the
+bath-rooms was the size of an ordinary man's parlour, with floor and
+walls of snow-white marble, and a door composed of an imported
+plate-glass mirror. There was a great porcelain tub, with glass
+handles upon the wall by which you could help yourself out of it,
+and a shower-bath with linen duck curtains, which were changed every
+day; and a marble slab upon which you might lie to be rubbed by the
+masseur who would come at the touch of a button.
+
+There was no end to the miracles of this establishment, as Montague
+found in the course of time. There was no chance that the antique
+bronze clock on the mantel might go wrong, for it was electrically
+controlled from the office. You did not open the window and let in
+the dust, for the room was automatically ventilated, and you turned
+a switch marked "hot" and "cold." The office would furnish you a
+guide who would show you the establishment; and you might see your
+bread being kneaded by electricity, upon an opal glass table, and
+your eggs being tested by electric light; you might peer into huge
+refrigerators, ventilated by electric fans, and in which each tiny
+lamb chop reposed in a separate holder. Upon your own floor was a
+pantry, provided with hot and cold storage-rooms and an air-tight
+dumb-waiter; you might have your own private linen and crockery and
+plate, and your own family butler, if you wished. Your children,
+however, would not be permitted in the building, even though you
+were dying--this was a small concession which you made to a host who
+had invested a million dollars and a half in furniture alone.
+
+A few minutes later the telephone bell rang, and Oliver answered it
+and said, "Send him up."
+
+"Here's the tailor," ho remarked, as he hung up the receiver.
+
+"Whose tailor?" asked his brother.
+
+"Yours," said he.
+
+"Do I have to have some new clothes?" Montague asked.
+
+"You haven't any clothes at present," was the reply.
+
+Montague was standing in front of the "costumer," as the elaborate
+mirror was termed. He looked himself over, and then he looked at his
+brother. Oliver's clothing was a little like the Circassian walnut;
+at first you thought that it was simple, and even a trifle
+careless--it was only by degrees you realized that it was original
+and distinguished, and very expensive.
+
+"Won't your New York friends make allowance for the fact that I am
+fresh from the country?" asked Montague, quizzically.
+
+"They might," was the reply. "I know a hundred who would lend me
+money, if I asked them. But I don't ask them."
+
+"Then how soon shall I be able to appear?" asked Montague, with
+visions of himself locked up in the room for a week or two.
+
+"You are to have three suits to-morrow morning," said Oliver. "Genet
+has promised."
+
+"Suits made to order?" gasped the other, in perplexity.
+
+"He never heard of any other sort of suits," said Oliver, with grave
+rebuke in his voice.
+
+M. Genet had the presence of a Russian grand duke, and the manner of
+a court chamberlain. He brought a subordinate to take Montague's
+measure, while he himself studied his colour-scheme. Montague
+gathered from the conversation that he was going to a house-party in
+the country the next morning, and that he would need a dress-suit, a
+hunting-suit, and a "morning coat." The rest might wait until his
+return. The two discussed him and his various "points" as they might
+have discussed a horse; he possessed distinction, he learned, and a
+great deal could be done with him--with a little skill he might be
+made into a personality. His French was not in training, but he
+managed to make out that it was M. Genet's opinion that the husbands
+of New York would tremble when he made his appearance among them.
+
+When the tailor had left, Alice came in, with her face shining from
+a cold bathing. "Here you are decking yourselves out!" she cried.
+"And what about me?"
+
+"Your problem is harder," said Oliver, with a laugh; "but you begin
+this afternoon. Reggie Mann is going to take you with him, and get
+you some dresses."
+
+"What!" gasped Alice. "Get me some dresses! A man?"
+
+"Of course," said the other. "Reggie Mann advises half the women in
+New York about their clothes."
+
+"Who is he? A tailor?" asked the girl.
+
+Oliver was sitting on the edge of the canape, swinging one leg over
+the other; and he stopped abruptly and stared, and then sank back,
+laughing softly to himself. "Oh, dear me!" he said. "Poor Reggie!"
+
+Then, realizing that he would have to begin at the beginning, he
+proceeded to explain that Reggie Mann was a cotillion leader, the
+idol of the feminine side of society. He was the special pet and
+protege of the great Mrs. de Graffenried, of whom they had surely
+heard--Mrs. de Graffenried, who was acknowledged to be the mistress
+of society at Newport, and was destined some day to be mistress in
+New York. Reggie and Oliver were "thick," and he had stayed in town
+on purpose to attend to her attiring--having seen her picture, and
+vowed that he would make a work of art out of her. And then Mrs.
+Robbie Walling would give her a dance; and all the world would come
+to fall at her feet.
+
+"You and I are going out to 'Black Forest,' the Wallings'
+shooting-lodge, to-morrow," Oliver added to his brother. "You'll
+meet Mrs. Robbie there. You've heard of the Wallings, I hope."
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I'm not that ignorant."
+
+"All right," said the other, "we're to motor down. I'm going to take
+you in my racing-car, so you'll have an experience. We'll start
+early."
+
+"I'll be ready," said Montague; and when his brother replied that he
+would be at the door at eleven, he made another amused note as to
+the habits of New Yorkers.
+
+The price which he paid at the hotel included the services of a
+valet or a maid for each of them, and so when their baggage arrived
+they had nothing to do. They went to lunch in one of the main
+dining-rooms of the hotel, a room with towering columns of
+dark-green marble and a maze of palms and flowers. Oliver did the
+ordering; his brother noticed that the simple meal cost them about
+fifteen dollars, and he wondered if they were to eat at that rate
+all the time.
+
+Then Montague mentioned the fact that before leaving home he had
+received a telegram from General Prentice, asking him to go with him
+that evening to the meeting of the Loyal Legion. Montague wondered,
+half amused, if his brother would deem his old clothing fit for such
+a function. But Oliver replied that it would not matter what he wore
+there; he would not meet anyone who counted, except Prentice
+himself. The General and his family were prominent in society, it
+appeared, and were to be cultivated. But Oliver shrewdly forbore to
+elaborate upon this, knowing that his brother would be certain to
+talk about old times, which would bo the surest possible method of
+lodging himself in the good graces of General Prentice.
+
+After luncheon came Reggie Mann, dapper and exquisite, with slender
+little figure and mincing gait, and the delicate hands and soft
+voice of a woman. He was dressed for the afternoon parade, and wore
+a wonderful scarlet orchid in his buttonhole. Montague's hand he
+shook at his shoulder's height; but when Alice came in he did not
+shake hands with her. Instead, he stood and gazed, and gazed again,
+and lifting his hands a little with excess of emotion, exclaimed,
+"Oh, perfect! perfect!"
+
+"And Ollie, I told you so!" he added, eagerly. "She it tall enough
+to wear satin! She shall have the pale blue Empire gown--she shall
+have the pale blue Empire gown if I have to pay for it myself! And
+oh, what times we shall have with that hair! And the figure--Reval
+will simply go wild!"
+
+So Reggie prattled on, with his airy grace; he took her hand and
+studied it, and then turned her about to survey her figure, while
+Alice blushed and strove to laugh to hide her embarrassment. "My
+dear Miss Montague," he exclaimed, "I bring all Gotham and lay it at
+your feet! Ollie, your battle is won! Won without firing a shot! I
+know the very man for her--his father is dying, and he will have
+four millions in Transcontinental alone. And he is as handsome as
+Antinous and as fascinating as Don Juan! Allons! we may as well
+begin with the trousseau this afternoon!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+
+
+
+Oliver was not rooming with them; he had his own quarters at the
+club, which he did not wish to leave. But the next morning, about
+twenty minutes after the hour he had named, he was at the door, and
+Montague went down.
+
+Oliver's car was an imported French racer. It had only two seats,
+open in front, with a rumble behind for the mechanic. It was long
+and low and rakish, a most wicked-looking object; whenever it
+stopped on the street a crowd gathered to stare at it. Oliver was
+clad in a black bearskin coat, covering his feet, and with cap and
+gloves to match; he wore goggles, pushed up over his forehead. A
+similar costume lay ready in his brother's seat.
+
+The suits of clothing had come, and were borne in his grips by his
+valet. "We can't carry them with us," said Oliver. "He'll have to
+take them down by train." And while his brother was buttoning up the
+coat, he gave the address; then Montague clambered in, and after a
+quick glance over his shoulder, Oliver pressed a lever and threw
+over the steering-wheel, and they whirled about and sped down the
+street.
+
+Sometimes, at home in Mississippi, one would meet automobiling
+parties, generally to the damage of one's harness and temper. But
+until the day before, when he had stepped off the ferry, Montague
+had never ridden in a motor-car. Riding in this one was like
+travelling in a dream--it slid along without a sound, or the
+slightest trace of vibration; it shot forward, it darted to right or
+to left, it slowed up, it stopped, as if of its own will--the driver
+seemed to do nothing. Such things as car tracks had no effect upon
+it at all, and serious defects in the pavement caused only the
+faintest swelling motion; it was only when it leaped ahead like a
+living thing that one felt the power of it, by the pressure upon his
+back.
+
+They went at what seemed to Montague a breakneck pace through the
+city streets, dodging among trucks .and carriages, grazing cars,
+whirling round corners, taking the wildest of chances. Oliver seemed
+always to know what the other fellow would do; but the thought that
+he might do something different kept his companion's heart pounding
+in a painful way. Once the latter cried out as a man leapt for his
+life; Oliver laughed, and said, without turning his head, "You'll
+get used to it by and by."
+
+They went down Fourth Avenue and turned into the Bowery. Elevated
+trains pounded overhead, and a maze of gin-shops, dime-museums,
+cheap lodging-houses, and clothing-stores sped past them. Once or
+twice Oliver's hawk-like glance detected a blue uniform ahead, and
+then they slowed down to a decorous pace, and the other got a chance
+to observe the miserable population of the neighbourhood. It was a
+cold November day, and an "out of work" time, and wretched outcast
+men walked with shoulders drawn forward and hands in their pockets.
+
+"Where in the world are we going?" Montague asked.
+
+"To Long Island," said the other. "It's a beastly ride--this part of
+it--but it's the only way. Some day we'll have an overhead speedway
+of our own, and we won't have to drive through this mess."
+
+They turned off at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, and
+found the street closed for repairs. They had to make a detour of a
+block, and they turned with a vicious sweep and plunged into the
+very heart of the tenement district. Narrow, filthy streets, with
+huge, canon-like blocks of buildings, covered with rusty iron
+fire-escapes and decorated with soap-boxes and pails and laundry and
+babies; narrow stoops, crowded with playing children; grocery-shops,
+clothing-shops, saloons; and a maze of placards and signs in English
+and German and Yiddish. Through the throngs Oliver drove, his brows
+knitted with impatience and his horn honking angrily. "Take it
+easy,"--protested Montague; but the other answered, "Bah!" Children
+screamed and darted out of the way, and men and women started back,
+scowling and muttering; when a blockade of wagons and push-carts
+forced them to stop, the children gathered about and jeered, and a
+group of hoodlums loafing by a saloon flung ribaldry at them; but
+Oliver never turned his eyes from the road ahead.
+
+And at last they were out on the bridger. "Slow vehicles keep to the
+right," ran the sign, and so there was a lane for them to the left.
+They sped up the slope, the cold air beating upon them like a
+hurricane. Far below lay the river, with tugs and ferry-boats
+ploughing the wind-beaten grey water, and a city spread out on
+either bank--a wilderness of roofs, with chimneys sticking up and
+white jets of steam spouting everywhere. Then they sped down the
+farther slope, and into Brooklyn.
+
+There was an asphalted avenue, lined with little residences. There
+was block upon block of them, mile after mile of them--Montague had
+never, seen so many houses in his life before, and nearly all poured
+out of the same mould.
+
+Many other automobiles were speeding out by this avenue, and they
+raced with one another. The one which was passed the most frequently
+got the dust and smell; and so the universal rule was that when you
+were behind you watched for a clear track, and then put on speed,
+and went to the front; but then just when you had struck a
+comfortable pace, there was a whirring and a puffing at your left,
+and your rival came stealing past you. If you were ugly, you put on
+speed yourself, and forced him to fall back, or to run the risk of
+trouble with vehicles coming the other way. For Oliver there seemed
+to be but one rule,--pass everything.
+
+They came to the great Ocean Driveway. Here were many automobiles,
+nearly all going one way, and nearly all racing. There were two
+which stuck to Oliver and would not be left behind--one, two, three
+--one, two, three--they passed and repassed. Their dust was
+blinding, and the continual odour was sickening; and so Oliver set
+his lips tight, and the little dial on the indicator began to creep
+ahead, and they whirled away down the drive. "Catch us this time!"
+he muttered.
+
+A few seconds later Oliver gave a sudden exclamation, as a
+policeman, concealed behind a bush at the roadside, sprang out and
+hailed them. The policeman had a motor-cycle, and Oliver shouted to
+the mechanic, "Pull the cord!" His brother turned, alarmed and
+perplexed, and saw the man reach down to the floor of the car. He
+saw the policeman leap upon the cycle and start to follow. Then he
+lost sight of him in the clouds of dust.
+
+For perhaps five minutes they tore on, tense and silent, at a pace
+that Montague had never equalled in an express train. Vehicles
+coming the other way would leap into sight, charging straight at
+them, it seemed, and shooting past a hand's breadth away. Montague
+had just about made up his mind that one such ride would last him
+for a lifetime, when he noticed that they were slacking up. "You can
+let go the cord," said Oliver. "He'll never catch us now."
+
+"What is the cord?" asked the other.
+
+"It's tied to the tag with our number on, in back. It swings it up
+so it can't be seen."
+
+They were turning off into a country road, and Montague sank back
+and laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. "Is that a common
+trick?" he asked.
+
+"Quite," said the other. "Mrs. Robbie has a trough of mud in their
+garage, and her driver sprinkles the tag every time before she goes
+out. You have to do something, you know, or you'd be taken up all
+the time."
+
+"Have you ever been arrested?"
+
+"I've only been in court once," said Oliver. "I've been stopped a
+dozen times."
+
+"What did they do the other times--warn you?"
+
+"Warn me?" laughed Oliver. "What they did was to get in with me and
+ride a block or two, out of sight of the crowd; and then I slipped
+them a ten-dollar bill and they got out."
+
+To which Montague responded, "Oh, I see!"
+
+They turned into a broad macadamized road, and here were more autos,
+and more dust, and more racing. Now and then they crossed a trolley
+or a railroad track, and here was always a warning sign; but Oliver
+must have had some occult way of knowing that the track was clear,
+for he never seemed to slow up. Now and then they came to villages,
+and did reduce speed; but from the pace at which they went through,
+the villagers could not have suspected it.
+
+And then came another adventure. The road was in repair, and was
+very bad, and they were picking their way, when suddenly a young man
+who had been walking on a side path stepped out before them, and
+drew a red handkerchief from his pocket, and faced them, waving it.
+Oliver muttered an oath.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried his brother.
+
+"We're arrested!" he exclaimed.
+
+"What!" gasped the other. "Why, we were not going at all."
+
+"I know," said Oliver; "but they've got us all the same."
+
+He must have made up his mind at one glance that the case was
+hopeless, for he made no attempt to put on speed, but let the young
+man step aboard as they reached him.
+
+"What is it?" Oliver demanded.
+
+"I have been sent out by the Automobile Association," said the
+stranger, "to warn you that they have a trap set in the next town.
+So watch out."
+
+And Oliver gave a gasp, and said, "Oh! Thank you!" The young man
+stepped off, and they went ahead, and he lay back in his seat and
+shook with laughter.
+
+"Is that common?" his brother asked, between laughs.
+
+"It happened to me once before," said Oliver. "But I'd forgotten it
+completely."
+
+They proceeded very slowly; and when they came to the outskirts of
+the village they went at a funereal pace, while the car throbbed in
+protest. In front of a country store they saw a group of loungers
+watching them, and Oliver said, "There's the first part of the trap.
+They have a telephone, and somewhere beyond is a man with another
+telephone, and beyond that a man to stretch a rope across the road."
+
+"What would they do with you?" asked the other.
+
+"Haul you up before a justice of the peace, and fine you anywhere
+from fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars. It's regular highway
+robbery--there are some places that boast of never levying taxes;
+they get all their money out of us!"
+
+Oliver pulled out his watch. "We're going to be late to lunch,
+thanks to these delays," he said. He added that they were to meet at
+the "Hawk's Nest," which he said was an "automobile joint."
+
+Outside of the town they "hit it up" again; and half an hour later
+they came to a huge sign, "To the Hawk's Nest," and turned off. They
+ran up a hill, and came suddenly out of a pine-forest into view of a
+hostelry, perched upon the edge of a bluff overlooking the Sound.
+There was a broad yard in front, in which automobiles wheeled and
+sputtered, and a long shed that was lined with them.
+
+Half a dozen attendants ran to meet them as they drew up at the
+steps. They all know Oliver, and two fell to brushing his coat, and
+one got his cap, while the mechanic took the car to the shed. Oliver
+had a tip for each of them; one of the things that Montague observed
+was that in New York you had to carry a pocketful of change, and
+scatter it about wherever you went. They tipped the man who carried
+their coats and the boy who opened the door. In the washrooms they
+tipped the boys who filled the basins for them and those who gave
+them a second brushing.
+
+The piazzas of the inn were crowded with automobiling parties, in
+all sorts of strange costumes. It seemed to Montague that most of
+them were flashy people--the men had red faces and the women had
+loud voices; he saw one in a sky-blue coat with bright scarlet
+facing. It occurred to him that if these women had not worn such
+large hats, they would not have needed quite such a supply of the
+bright-coloured veiling which they wound over the hats and tied
+under their chins, or left to float about in the breeze.
+
+The dining-room seemed to have been built in sections, rambling
+about on the summit of the cliff. The side of it facing the water
+was all glass, and could be taken down. The ceiling was a maze of
+streamers and Japanese lanterns, and here and there were
+orange-trees and palms and artificial streams and fountains. Every
+table was crowded, it seemed; one was half-deafened by the clatter
+of plates, the voices and laughter, and the uproar of a negro
+orchestra of banjos, mandolins, and guitars. Negro waiters flew here
+and there, and a huge, stout head-waiter, who was pirouetting and
+strutting, suddenly espied Oliver, and made for him with smiles of
+welcome.
+
+"Yes, sir--just come in, sir," he said, and led the way down the
+room, to where, in a corner, a table had been set for sixteen or
+eighteen people. There was a shout, "Here's Ollie!"--and a pounding
+of glasses and a chorus of welcome--"Hello, Ollie! You're late,
+Ollie! What's the matter--car broke down?"
+
+Of the party, about half were men and half women. Montague braced
+himself for the painful ordeal of being introduced to sixteen people
+in succession, but this was considerately spared him. He shook hands
+with Robbie Walling, a tall and rather hollow-chested young man,
+with slight yellow moustaches; and with Mrs. Robbie, who bade him
+welcome, and presented him with the freedom of the company.
+
+Then he found himself seated between two young ladies, with a waiter
+leaning over him to take his order for the drinks. He said, a little
+hesitatingly, that he would like some whisky, as he was about
+frozen, upon which the girl on his right, remarked, "You'd better
+try a champagne cocktail--you'll get your results quicker." She
+added, to the waiter, "Bring a couple of them, and be quick about
+it."
+
+"You had a cold ride, no doubt, in that low car," she went on, to
+Montague. "What made you late?"
+
+"We had some delays," he answered. "Once we thought we were
+arrested."
+
+"Arrested!" she exclaimed; and others took up the word, crying, "Oh,
+Ollie! tell us about it!"
+
+Oliver told the tale, and meantime his brother had a chance to look
+about him. All of the party were young--he judged that he was the
+oldest person there. They were not of the flashily dressed sort, but
+no one would have had to look twice to know that there was money in
+the crowd. They had had their first round of drinks, and started in
+to enjoy themselves. They were all intimates, calling each other by
+their first names. Montague noticed that these names always ended in
+"ie,"--there was Robbie and Freddie and Auggie and Clarrie and
+Bertie and Chappie; if their names could not be made to end
+properly, they had nicknames instead.
+
+"Ollie" told how they had distanced the policeman; and Clarrie Mason
+(one of the younger sons of the once mighty railroad king) told of a
+similar feat which his car had performed. And then the young lady
+who sat beside him told how a fat Irish woman had skipped out of
+their way as they rounded a corner, and stood and cursed them from
+the vantage-point of the sidewalk.
+
+The waiter came with the liquor, and Montague thanked his neighbour,
+Miss Price. Anabel Price was her name, and they called her "Billy";
+she was a tall and splendidly formed creature, and he learned in due
+time that she was a famous athlete. She must have divined that he
+would feel a little lost in this crowd of intimates, and set to work
+to make him feel at home--an attempt in which she was not altogether
+successful.
+
+They were bound for a shooting-lodge, and so she asked him if he
+were fond of shooting. He replied that he was; in answer to a
+further question he said that he had hunted chiefly deer and wild
+turkey. "Ah, then you are a real hunter!" said Miss Price. "I'm
+afraid you'll scorn our way."
+
+"What do you do?" he inquired.
+
+"Wait and you'll see," replied she; and added, casually, "When you
+get to be pally with us, you'll conclude we don't furnish."
+
+Montague's jaw dropped just a little. He recovered himself, however,
+and said that he presumed so, or that he trusted not; afterward,
+when he had made inquiries and found out what he should have said,
+he had completely forgotten what he HAD said.--Down in a hotel in
+Natchez there was an old head-waiter, to whom Montague had once
+appealed to seat him next to a friend. At the next meal, learning
+that the request had been granted, he said to the old man, "I'm
+afraid you have shown me partiality"; to which the reply came, "I
+always tries to show it as much as I kin." Montague always thought
+of this whenever he recalled his first encounter with "Billy" Price.
+
+The young lady on the other side of him now remarked that Robbie was
+ordering another "topsy-turvy lunch." He inquired what sort of a
+lunch that was; she told him that Robbie called it a "digestion
+exercise." That was the only remark that Miss de Millo addressed to
+him during the meal (Miss Gladys de Mille, the banker's daughter,
+known as "Baby" to her intimates). She was a stout and round-faced
+girl, who devoted herself strictly to the business of lunching; and
+Montague noticed at the end that she was breathing rather hard, and
+that her big round eyes seemed bigger than ever.
+
+Conversation was general about the table, but it was not easy
+conversation to follow. It consisted mostly of what is known as
+"joshing," and involved acquaintance with intimate details of
+personalities and past events. Also, there was a great deal of slang
+used, which kept a stranger's wits on the jump. However, Montague
+concluded that all his deficiencies were made up for by his brother,
+whose sallies were the cause of the loudest laughter. Just now he
+seemed to the other more like the Oliver he had known of old--for
+Montague had already noted a change in him. At home there had never
+been any end to his gaiety and fun, and it was hard to get him to
+take anything seriously; but now he kept all his jokes for company,
+and when he was alone he was in deadly earnest. Apparently he was
+working hard over his pleasures.
+
+Montague could understand how this was possible. Some one, for
+instance, had worked hard over the ordering of the lunch--to secure
+the maximum of explosive effect. It began with ice-cream, moulded in
+fancy shapes and then buried in white of egg and baked brown. Then
+there was a turtle soup, thick and green and greasy; and
+then--horror of horrors--a great steaming plum-pudding. It was
+served in a strange phenomenon of a platter, with six long, silver
+legs; and the waiter set it in front of Robbie Walling and lifted
+the cover with a sweeping gesture--and then removed it and served it
+himself. Montague had about made up his mind that this was the end,
+and begun to fill up on bread-and-butter, when there appeared cold
+asparagus, served in individual silver holders resembling andirons.
+Then--appetite now being sufficiently whetted--there came quail, in
+piping hot little casseroles--; and then half a grape-fruit set in a
+block of ice and filled with wine; and then little squab ducklings,
+bursting fat, and an artichoke; and then a cafe parfait; and
+then--as if to crown the audacity--huge thick slices of roast beef!
+Montague had given up long ago--he could keep no track of the deluge
+of food which poured forth. And between all the courses there were
+wines of precious brands, tumbled helter-skelter,--sherry and port,
+champagne and claret and liqueur. Montague watched poor "Baby" de
+Mille out of the corner of his eye, and pitied her; for it was
+evident that she could not resist the impulse to eat whatever was
+put before her, and she was visibly suffering. He wondered whether
+he might not manage to divert her by conversation, but he lacked the
+courage to make the attempt.
+
+The meal was over at four o'clock. By that time most of the other
+parties were far on their way to New York, and the inn was deserted.
+They possessed themselves of their belongings, and one by one their
+cars whirled away toward "Black Forest."
+
+Montague had been told that it was a "shooting-lodge." He had a
+vision of some kind of a rustic shack, and wondered dimly how so
+many people would be stowed away. When they turned off the main
+road, and his brother remarked, "Here we are," he was surprised to
+see a rather large building of granite, with an archway spanning the
+road. He was still more surprised when they whizzed through and went
+on.
+
+"Where are we going?" he asked.
+
+"To 'Black Forest,'" said Oliver.
+
+"And what was that we passed?"
+
+"That was the gate-keeper's lodge," was Oliver's reply.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+
+
+
+They ran for about three miles upon a broad macadamized avenue, laid
+straight as an arrow's flight through the forest; and then the sound
+of the sea came to them, and before them was a mighty granite pile,
+looming grim in the twilight, with a draw-bridge and moat, and four
+great castellated towers. "Black Forest" was built in imitation of a
+famous old fortress in Provence--only the fortress had forty small
+rooms, and its modern prototype had seventy large ones, and now
+every window was blazing with lights. A man does not let himself be
+caught twice in such a blunder; and having visited a
+"shooting-lodge" which had cost three-quarters of a million dollars
+and was set in a preserve of ten thousand acres, he was prepared for
+Adirondack "camps" which had cost half a million and Newport
+"cottages" which had cost a million or two.
+
+Liveried servants took the car, and others opened the door and took
+their coats. The first thing they saw was a huge, fireplace, a
+fireplace a dozen feet across, made of great boulders, and with
+whole sections of a pine tree blazing in it. Underfoot was polished
+hardwood, with skins of bear and buffalo. The firelight flickered
+upon shields and battle-axes and broad-swords, hung upon the oaken
+pillars; while between them were tapestries, picturing the Song of
+Roland and the battle of Roncesvalles. One followed the pillars of
+the great hall to the vaulted roof, whose glass was glowing
+blood-red in the western light. A broad stairway ascended to the
+second floor, which opened upon galleries about the hall.
+
+Montague went to the fire, and stood rubbing his hands before the
+grateful blaze. "Scotch or Irish, sir?" inquired a lackey, hovering
+at his side. He had scarcely given his order when the door opened
+and a second motor load of the party appeared, shivering and rushing
+for the fire. In a couple of minutes they were all assembled--and
+roaring with laughter over "Baby" de Millc's account of how her car
+had run over a dachshund. "Oh, do you know," she cried, "he simply
+POPPED!"
+
+Half a dozen attendants hovered about, and soon the tables in the
+hall were covered with trays containing decanters and siphons. By
+this means everybody in the party was soon warmed up, and then in
+groups they scattered to amuse themselves.
+
+There was a great hall for indoor tennis, and there were half a
+dozen squash-courts. Montague knew neither of these games, but he
+was interested in watching the water-polo in the swimming-tank, and
+in studying the appointments of this part of the building. The tank,
+with the walls and floor about it, were all of marble; there was a
+bronze gallery running about it, from which one might gaze into the
+green depths of the water. There were luxurious dressing-rooms for
+men and women, with hot and cold needle-baths, steam-rooms with
+rubbers in attendance and weighing and lifting machines, electric
+machines for producing "violet rays," and electric air-blasts for
+the drying of the women's hair.
+
+He watched several games, in which men and women took part; and
+later on, when the tennis and other players appeared, he joined them
+in a plunge. Afterward, he entered one of the electric elevators and
+was escorted to his room, where he found his bag unpacked, and his
+evening attire laid out upon the bed.
+
+It was about nine when the party went into the dining-room, which
+opened upon a granite terrace and loggia facing the sea. The room
+was finished in some rare black wood, the name of which he did not
+know; soft radiance suffused it, and the table was lighted by
+electric candles set in silver sconces, and veiled by silk shades.
+It gleamed with its load of crystal and silver, set off by scattered
+groups of orchids and ferns. The repast of the afternoon had been
+simply a lunch, it seemed--and now they had an elaborate dinner,
+prepared by Robbie Waiting's famous ten-thousand-dollar chef. In
+contrast with the uproar of the inn was the cloistral stillness of
+this dining-room, where the impassive footmen seemed to move on
+padded slippers, and the courses appeared and vanished as if by
+magic. Montague did his best to accustom himself to the gowns of the
+women, which were cut lower than any he had ever seen in his life;
+but he hesitated every time he turned to speak to the young lady
+beside him, because he could look so deep down into her bosom, and
+it was difficult for him to realize that she did not mind it.
+
+The conversation was the same as before, except that it was a little
+more general, and louder in tone; for the guests had become more
+intimate, and as Robbie Walling's wines of priceless vintage poured
+forth, they became a little "high." The young lady who sat on
+Montague's right was a Miss Vincent, a granddaughter of one of the
+sugar-kings; she was dark-skinned and slender, and had appeared at a
+recent lawn fete in the costume of an Indian maiden. The company
+amused itself by selecting an Indian name for her; all sorts of
+absurd ones were suggested, depending upon various intimate details
+of the young lady's personality and habits. Robbie caused a laugh by
+suggesting "Little Dewdrop"--it appeared that she had once been
+discovered writing a poem about a dewdrop; some one else suggested
+"Little Raindrop," and then Ollie brought down the house by
+exclaiming, "Little Raindrop in the Mud-puddle!" A perfect gale of
+laughter swept over the company, and it must have been a minute
+before they could recover their composure; in order to appreciate
+the humour of the sally it was necessary to know that Miss Vincent
+had "come a cropper" at the last meet of the Long Island Hunt Club,
+and been extricated from a slough several feet deep.
+
+This was explained to Montague by the young lady on his left--the
+one whose half-dressed condition caused his embarrassment. She was
+only about twenty, with a wealth of golden hair and the bright,
+innocent face of a child; he had not yet learned her name, for every
+one called her "Cherub." Not long after this she made a remark
+across the table to Baby de Mille, a strange jumble of syllables,
+which sounded like English, yet was not. Miss de Mille replied, and
+several joined in, until there was quite a conversation going on.
+"Cherub" explained to him that "Baby" had invented a secret
+language, made by transposing letters; and that Ollie and Bertie
+were crazy to guess the key to it, and could not.
+
+The dinner lasted until late. The wine-glasses continued to be
+emptied, and to be magically filled again. The laughter was louder,
+and now and then there were snatches of singing; women lolled about
+in their chairs-one beautiful boy sat gazing dreamily across the
+table at Montague, now and then closing his eyes, and opening them
+more and more reluctantly. The attendants moved about, impassive and
+silent as ever; no one else seemed to be cognizant of their
+existence, but Montague could not help noticing them, and wondering
+what they thought of it all.
+
+When at last the party broke up, it was because the bridge-players
+wished to get settled for the evening. The others gathered in front
+of the fireplace, and smoked and chatted. At home, when one planned
+a day's hunting, he went to bed early and rose before dawn; but
+here, it seemed, there was game a-plenty, and the hunters had
+nothing to consider save their own comfort.
+
+The cards were played in the vaulted "gun-room." Montague strolled
+through it, and his eye ran down the wall, lined with glass cases
+and filled with every sort of firearm known to the hunter. He
+recalled, with a twinge of self-abasement, that he had suggested
+bringing his shotgun along!
+
+He joined a group in one corner, and lounged in the shadows, and
+studied "Billy" Price, whose conversation had so mystified him.
+"Billy," whose father was a banker, proved to be a devotee of
+horses; she was a veritable Amazon, the one passion of whose life
+was glory. Seeing her sitting in this group, smoking cigarettes, and
+drinking highballs, and listening impassively to risque stories, one
+might easily draw base conclusions about Billy Price. But as a
+matter of fact she was made of marble; and the men, instead of
+falling in love with her, made her their confidante, and told her
+their troubles, and sought her sympathy and advice.
+
+Some of this was explained to Montague by a young lady, who, as the
+evening wore on, came in and placed herself beside him. "My name is
+Betty Wyman," she said, "and you and I will have to be friends,
+because Ollie's my side partner."
+
+Montague had to meet her advances; so had not much time to speculate
+as to what the term "side partner" might be supposed to convey.
+Betty was a radiant little creature, dressed in a robe of deep
+crimson, made of some soft and filmy and complicated material; there
+was a crimson rose in her hair, and a living glow of crimson in her
+cheeks. She was bright and quick, like a butterfly, full of strange
+whims and impulses; mischievous lights gleamed in her eyes and
+mischievous smiles played about her adorable little cherry lips.
+Some strange perfume haunted the filmy dress, and completed the
+bewilderment of the intended victim.
+
+"I have a letter of introduction to a Mr. Wyman in New York," said
+Montague. "Perhaps he is a relative of yours."
+
+"Is he a railroad president?" asked she; and when he answered in the
+affirmative, "Is he a railroad king?" she whispered, in a mocking,
+awe-stricken voice, "Is he rich--oh, rich as Solomon--and is he a
+terrible man, who eats people alive all the time?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague--"that must be the one."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "he has done me the honour to be my granddaddy;
+but don't you take any letter of introduction to him."
+
+"Why not?" asked he, perplexed.
+
+"Because he'll eat YOU," said the girl. "He hates Ollie."
+
+"Dear me," said the other; and the girl asked, "Do you mean that the
+boy hasn't said a word about me?"
+
+"No," said Montague--"I suppose he left it for you to do."
+
+"Well," said Betty, "it's like a fairy story. Do you ever read fairy
+stories? In this story there was a princess--oh, the most beautiful
+princess! Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "She wore a red rose in her hair."
+
+"And then," said the girl, "there was a young courtier--very
+handsome and gay; and they fell in love with each other. But the
+terrible old king--he wanted his daughter to wait a while, until he
+got through conquering his enemies, so that he might have time to
+pick out some prince or other, or maybe some ogre who was wasting
+his lands--do you follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said he. "And then did the beautiful princess pine
+away?"
+
+"Um--no," said Betty, pursing her lips. "But she had to dance
+terribly hard to keep from thinking about herself." Then she
+laughed, and exclaimed, "Dear me, we are getting poetical!" And
+next, looking sober again, "Do you know, I was half afraid to talk
+to you. Ollie tells me you're terribly serious. Are you?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague--but she broke in with a laugh, "We
+were talking about you at dinner last night. They had some whipped
+cream done up in funny little curliques, and Ollie said, 'Now, if my
+brother Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the man who fixed
+this cream, and how long it took him, and how he might have been
+reading "The Simple Life."' Is that true?"
+
+"It involves a question of literary criticism"--said Montague.
+
+"I don't want to talk about literature," exclaimed the other. In
+truth, she wanted nothing save to feel of his armour and find out if
+there were any weak spots through which he could be teased. Montague
+was to find in time that the adorable Miss Elizabeth was a very
+thorny species of rose--she was more like a gay-coloured wasp, of
+predatory temperament.
+
+"Ollie says you want to go down town and work," she went on. "I
+think you're awfully foolish. Isn't it much nicer to spend your time
+in an imitation castle like this?"
+
+"Perhaps," said ho, "but I haven't any castle."
+
+"You might get one," answered Betty. "Stay around awhile and let us
+marry you to a nice girl. They will all throw themselves at your
+feet, you know, for you have such a delicious melting voice, and you
+look romantic and exciting." (Montague made a note to inquire
+whether it was customary in New York to talk about you so frankly to
+your face.)
+
+Miss Betty was surveying him quizzically meantime. "I don't know,"
+she said. "On second thoughts, maybe you'll frighten the girls. Then
+it'll be the married women who'll fall in love with you. You'll have
+to watch out."
+
+"I've already been told that by my tailor," said Montague, with a
+laugh.
+
+"That would be a still quicker way of making your fortune," said
+she. "But I don't think you'd fit in the role of a tame cat."
+
+"A WHAT?" he exclaimed; and Miss Betty laughed.
+
+"Don't you know what that is? Dear me--how charmingly naive! But
+perhaps you'd better get Ollie to explain for you."
+
+That brought the conversation to the subject of slang; and Montague,
+in a sudden burst of confidence, asked for an interpretation of Miss
+Price's cryptic utterance. "She said"--he repeated slowly--"that
+when I got to be pally with her, I'd conclude she didn't furnish."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Miss Wyman. "She just meant that when you knew her,
+you'd be disappointed. You see, she picks up all the race-track
+slang--one can't help it, you know. And last year she took her coach
+over to England, and so she's got all the English slang. That makes
+it hard, even for us."
+
+And then Betty sailed in to entertain him with little sketches of
+other members of the party. A phenomenon that had struck Montague
+immediately was the extraordinary freedom with which everybody in
+New York discussed everybody else. As a matter of fact, one seldom
+discussed anything else; and it made not the least difference,
+though the person were one of your set,--though he ate your bread
+and salt, and you ate his,--still you would amuse yourself by
+pouring forth the most painful and humiliating and terrifying things
+about him.
+
+There was poor Clarrie Mason: Clarrie, sitting in at bridge, with an
+expression of feverish eagerness upon his pale face. Clarrie always
+lost, and it positively broke his heart, though he had ten millions
+laid by on ice. Clarrie went about all day, bemoaning his brother,
+who had been kidnapped. Had Montague not heard about it? Well, the
+newspapers called it a marriage, but it was really a kidnapping.
+Poor Larry Mason was good-natured and weak in the knees, and he had
+been carried off by a terrible creature, three times as big as
+himself, and with a temper like--oh, there were no words for it! She
+had been an actress; and now she had carried Larry away in her
+talons, and was building a big castle to keep him in--for he had ten
+millions too, alas!
+
+And then there was Bertie Stuyvesant, beautiful and winning--the boy
+who had sat opposite Montague at dinner. Bertie's father had been a
+coal man, and nobody knew how many millions he had left. Bertie was
+gay; last week he had invited them to a brook-trout breakfast--in
+November--and that had been a lark! Somebody had told him that trout
+never really tasted good unless you caught them yourself, and Bertie
+had suddenly resolved to catch them for that breakfast. "They have a
+big preserve up in the Adirondacks," said Betty; "and Bertie ordered
+his private train, and he and Chappie de Peyster and some others
+started that night; they drove I don't know how many miles the next
+day, and caught a pile of trout--and we had them for breakfast the
+next morning! The best joke of all is that Chappie vows they were so
+full they couldn't fish, and that the trout were caught with nets!
+Poor Bertie--somebody'll have to separate him from that decanter
+now!"
+
+From the hall there came loud laughter, with sounds of scuffling,
+and cries, "Let me have it!"--"That's Baby de Mille," said Miss
+Wyman. "She's always wanting to rough-house it. Robbie was mad the
+last time she was down here; she got to throwing sofa-cushions, and
+upset a vase."
+
+"Isn't that supposed to be good form?" asked Montague.
+
+"Not at Robbie's," said she. "Have you had a chance to talk with
+Robbie yet? You'll like him--he's serious, like you."
+
+"What's he serious about?"
+
+"About spending his money," said Betty. "That's the only thing he
+has to be serious about."
+
+"Has he got so very much?"
+
+"Thirty or forty millions," she replied; "but then, you see, a lot
+of it's in the inner companies of his railroad system, and it pays
+him fabulously. And his wife has money, too--she was a Miss Mason,
+you know, her father's one of the steel crowd. We've a saying that
+there are millionaires, and then multi-millionaires, and then
+Pittsburg millionaires. Anyhow, the two of them spend all their
+income in entertaining. It's Robbie's fad to play the perfect
+host--he likes to have lots of people round him. He does put up good
+times--only he's so very important about it, and he has so many
+ideas of what is proper! I guess most of his set would rather go to
+Mrs. Jack Warden's any day; I'd be there to-night, if it hadn't been
+for Ollie."
+
+"Who's Mrs. Jack Warden?" asked Montague.
+
+"Haven't you ever heard of her?" said Betty. "She used to be Mrs.
+van Ambridge, and then she got a divorce and married Warden, the big
+lumber man. She used to give 'boy and girl' parties, in the English
+fashion; and when we went there we'd do as we please--play tag all
+over the house, and have pillow-fights, and ransack the closets and
+get up masquerades! Mrs. Warden's as good-natured as an old cow.
+You'll meet her sometime--only don't you let her fool you with those
+soft eyes of hers. You'll find she doesn't mean it; it's just that
+she likes to have handsome men hanging round her."
+
+At one o'clock a few of Robbie's guests went to bed, Montague among
+them. He left two tables of bridge fiends sitting immobile, the
+women with flushed faces and feverish hands, and the men with
+cigarettes dangling from their lips. There were trays and decanters
+beside each card-table; and in the hall he passed three youths
+staggering about in each other's arms and feebly singing snatches of
+"coon songs." Ollie and Betty had strolled away together to parts
+unknown.
+
+Montague had entered his name in the order-book to be called at nine
+o'clock. The man who awakened him brought him coffee and cream upon
+a silver tray, and asked him if he would have anything stronger. He
+was privileged to have his breakfast in his room, if he wished; but
+he went downstairs, trying his best to feel natural in his elaborate
+hunting costume. No one else had appeared yet, but he found the
+traces of last night cleared away, and breakfast ready--served in
+English fashion, with urns of tea and coffee upon the buffet. The
+grave butler and his satellites were in attendance, ready to take
+his order for anything else under the sun that he fancied.
+
+Montague preferred to go for a stroll upon the terrace, and to watch
+the sunlight sparkling upon the sea. The morning was
+beautiful--everything about the place was so beautiful that he
+wondered how men and women could live here and not feel the spell of
+it.
+
+Billy Price came down shortly afterward, clad in a khaki hunting
+suit, with knee kilts and button-pockets and gun-pads and Cossack
+cartridge-loops. She joined him in a stroll down the beach, and
+talked to him about the coming winter season, with its leading
+personalities and events,--the Horse Show, which opened next week,
+and the prospects for the opera, and Mrs. de Graffenried's opening
+entertainment. When they came back it was eleven o'clock, and they
+found most of the guests assembled, nearly all of them looking a
+little pale and uncomfortable in the merciless morning light. As the
+two came in they observed Bertie Stuyvesant standing by the buffet,
+in the act of gulping down a tumbler of brandy. "Bertie has taken up
+the 'no breakfast fad,'" said Billy with an ironical smile.
+
+Then began the hunt. The equipment of "Black Forest" included a
+granite building, steam-heated and elaborately fitted, in which an
+English expert and his assistants raised imported
+pheasants--magnificent bronze-coloured birds with long, floating
+black tails. Just before the opening of the season they were dumped
+by thousands into the covers--fat, and almost tame enough to be fed
+by hand; and now came the "hunters."
+
+First they drew lots, for they were to hunt in pairs, a man and a
+woman. Montague drew Miss Vincent--"Little Raindrop in the
+Mud-puddle." Then Ollie, who was master of ceremonies, placed them
+in a long line, and gave them the direction; and at a signal they
+moved through the forest; Following each person were two attendants,
+to carry the extra guns and reload them; and out in front were men
+to beat the bushes and scare the birds into flight.
+
+Now Montague's idea of hunting had been to steal through the bayou
+forests, and match his eyes against those of the wild turkey, and
+shoot off their heads with a rifle bullet. So, when one of these
+birds rose in front of him, he fired, and the bird dropped; and he
+could have done it for ever, he judged--only it was stupid
+slaughter, and it sickened him. However, if the creatures were not
+shot, they must inevitably perish in the winter snows; and he had
+heard that Robbie sent the game to the hospitals. Also, the score
+was being kept, and Miss Vincent, who was something of a shot
+herself, was watching him with eager excitement, being wild with
+desire to beat out Billy Price and Chappie de Peyster, who were the
+champion shots of the company. Baby de Mille, who was on his left,
+and who could not shoot at all, was blundering along, puffing for
+breath and eyeing him enviously; and the attendants at his back were
+trembling with delight and murmuring their applause. So he shot on,
+as long as the drive lasted, and again on their way back, over a new
+stretch of the country. Sometimes the birds would rise in pairs, and
+he would drop them both; and twice when a blundering flock took
+flight in his direction he seized a second gun and brought down a
+second pair. When the day's sport came to an end his score was
+fifteen better than his nearest competitor, and he and his partner
+had won the day.
+
+They crowded round to congratulate him; first his partner, and then
+his rivals, and his host and hostess. Montague found that he had
+suddenly become a person of consequence. Some who had previously
+taken no notice of him now became aware of his existence; proud
+society belles condescended to make conversation with him, and
+Clarrie Mason, who hated de Peyster, made note of a way to annoy
+him. As for Oliver, he was radiant with delight. "When it came to
+horses and guns, I knew you'd make good," he whispered.
+
+Leaving the game to be gathered up in carts, they made their way
+home, and there the two victors received their prizes. The man's
+consisted of a shaving set in a case of solid gold, set with
+diamonds. Montague was simply stunned, for the thing could not have
+cost less than one or two thousand dollars. He could not persuade
+himself that he had a right to accept of such hospitality, which he
+could never hope to return. He was to realize in time that Robbie
+lived for the pleasure of thus humiliating his fellow-men.
+
+After luncheon, the party came to an end. Some set out to return as
+they had come; and others, who had dinner engagements, went back
+with their host in his private car, leaving their autos to be
+returned by the chauffeurs. Montague and his brother were among
+these; and about dusk, when the swarms of working people were
+pouring out of the city, they crossed the ferry and took a cab to
+their hotel.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+
+
+
+They found their apartments looking as if they had been struck by a
+snowstorm-a storm of red and green and yellow, and all the colours
+that lie between. All day the wagons of fashionable milliners and
+costumiers had been stopping at the door, and their contents had
+found their way to Alice's room. The floors were ankle-deep in
+tissue paper and tape, and beds and couches and chairs were covered
+with boxes, in which lay wonderful symphonies of colour, half
+disclosed in their wrappings of gauze. In the midst of it all stood
+the girl, her eyes shining with excitement.
+
+"Oh, Allan!" she cried, as they entered. "How am I ever to thank
+you?"
+
+"You're not to thank me," Montague replied. "This is all Oliver's
+doings."
+
+"Oliver!" exclaimed the girl, and turned to him. "How in the world
+could you do it?" she cried. "How will you ever get the money to pay
+for it all?"
+
+"That's my problem," said the man, laughing. "All you have to think
+about is to look beautiful."
+
+"If I don't," was her reply, "it won't be for lack of clothes. I
+never saw so many wonderful things in all my life as I've seen
+to-day."
+
+"There's quite a show of them," admitted Oliver.
+
+"And Reggie Mann! It was so queer, Allan! I never went shopping with
+a man before. And he's so--so matter-of-fact. You know, he bought
+me--everything!"
+
+"That was what he was told to do," said Oliver. "Did you like him?"
+
+"I don't know," said the girl. "He's queer--I never met a man like
+that before. But he was awfully kind; and the people just turned
+their stores inside out for us--half a dozen people hurrying about
+to wait on you at once!"
+
+"You'll get used to such things," said Oliver; and then, stepping
+toward the bed, "Let's see what you got."
+
+"Most of the things haven't come," said Alice. "The gowns all have
+to be fitted.--That one is for to-night," she added, as he lifted up
+a beautiful object made of rose-coloured chiffon.
+
+Oliver studied it, and glanced once or twice at the girl. "I guess
+you can carry it," he said. "What sort of a cloak are you to wear?"
+
+"Oh, the cloak!" cried Alice. "Oliver, I can't believe it's really
+to belong to me. I didn't know anyone but princesses wore such
+things."
+
+The cloak was in Mrs. Montague's room, and one of the maids brought
+it in. It was an opera-wrap of grey brocade, lined with unborn baby
+lamb--a thing of a gorgeousness that made Montague literally gasp
+for breath.
+
+"Did you ever see anything like it in your life?" cried Alice. "And
+Oliver, is it true that I have to have gloves and shoes and
+stockings--and a hat--to match every gown?"
+
+"Of course." said Oliver. "If you were doing things right, you ought
+to have a cloak to match each evening gown as well."
+
+"It seems incredible," said the girl. "Can it be right to spend so
+much money for things to wear?"
+
+But Oliver was not discussing questions of ethics; he was examining
+sets of tinted crepe de chine lingerie, and hand-woven hose of spun
+silk. There were boxes upon boxes, and bureau drawers and closet
+shelves already filled up with hand-embroidered and lace-trimmed
+creations-chemises and corset-covers, night-robes of "handkerchief
+linen" lawn, lace handkerchiefs and veils, corsets of French coutil,
+dressing-jackets of pale-coloured silks, and negligees of soft
+batistes, trimmed with Valenciennes lace, or even with fur.
+
+"You must have put in a full day," he said.
+
+"I never looked at so many things in my life," said Alice. "And Mr.
+Mann never stopped to ask the price of a thing."
+
+"I didn't think to tell him to," said Oliver, laughing.
+
+Then the girl went in to dress--and Oliver faced about to find his
+brother sitting and staring hard at him.
+
+"Tell me!" Montague exclaimed. "In God's name, what is all this to
+cost?"
+
+"I don't know," said Oliver, impassively. "I haven't seen the bills.
+It'll be fifteen or twenty thousand, I guess."
+
+Montague's hands clenched involuntarily, and he sat rigid. "How long
+will it all last her?" he asked.
+
+"Why," said the other, "when she gets enough, it'll last her until
+spring, of course--unless she goes South during the winter."
+
+"How much is it going to take to dress her for a year?"
+
+"I suppose thirty or forty thousand," was the reply. "I don't expect
+to keep count."
+
+Montague sat in silence. "You don't want to shut her up and keep her
+at home, do you?" inquired his brother, at last.
+
+"Do you mean that other women spend that much on clothes?"
+he'demanded.
+
+"Of course," said Oliver, "hundreds of them. Some spend fifty
+thousand--I know several who go over a hundred."
+
+"It's monstrous!" Montague exclaimed.
+
+"Fiddlesticks!" was the other's response. "Why, thousands of people
+live by it--wouldn't know anything else to do."
+
+Montague said nothing to that. "Can you afford to have Alice compete
+with such women indefinitely?" he asked.
+
+"I have no idea of her doing it indefinitely," was Oliver's reply.
+"I simply propose to give her a chance. When she's married, her
+bills will be paid by her husband."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "then this layout is just for her to be
+exhibited in."
+
+"You may say that," answered Oliver,--"if you want to be foolish.
+You know perfectly well that parents who launch their daughters in
+Society don't figure on keeping up the pace all their lifetimes."
+
+"We hadn't thought of marrying Alice off," said Montague.
+
+To which his brother replied that the best physicians left all they
+could to nature. "Suppose," said he, "that we just introduce her in
+the right set, and turn her loose and let her enjoy herself--and
+then cross the next bridge when we come to it?"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, pondering.' He was beginning to see
+a little daylight now. "Oliver," he asked suddenly, "are you sure
+the stakes in this game aren't too big?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Will you be able to stay in until the show-down? Until either Alice
+or myself begins to bring in some returns?"
+
+"Never worry about that," said the other, with a laugh.
+
+"But hadn't you better take me into your confidence?" Montague
+persisted. "How many weeks can you pay our rent in this place? Have
+you got the money to pay for all these clothes?"
+
+"I've got it," laughed the other--"but that doesn't say I'm going to
+pay it."
+
+"Don't you have to pay your bills? Can we do all this upon credit?"
+
+Oliver laughed again. "You go at me like a prosecuting attorney," he
+said. "I'm afraid you'll have to inquire around and learn some
+respect for your brother." Then he added, seriously, "You see,
+Allan, people like Reggie or myself are in position to bring a great
+deal of custom to tradespeople, and so they are willing to go out of
+their way to oblige us. And we have commissions of all sorts coming
+to us, so it's never any question of cash."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the other, opening his eyes, "I see! Is that the way
+you make money?"
+
+"It's one of the ways we save it," said Oliver. "It comes to the
+same thing."
+
+"Do people know it?"
+
+"Why, of course. Why not?"
+
+"I don't know," said Montague. "It sounds a little queer."
+
+"Nothing of the kind," said Oliver. "Some of the best people in New
+York do it. Strangers come to the city, and they want to go to the
+right places, and they ask me, and I send them. Or take Robbie
+Walling, who keeps up five or six establishments, and spends several
+millions a year. He can't see to it all personally--if he did, he'd
+never do anything else. Why shouldn't he ask a friend to attend to
+things for him? Or again, a now shop opens, and they want Mrs.
+Waiting's trade for the sake of the advertising, and they offer her
+a discount and me a commission. Why shouldn't I get her to try
+them?"
+
+"It's quite intricate," commented the other. "The stores have more
+than one price, then?"
+
+"They have as many prices as they have customers," was the answer.
+"Why shouldn't they? New York is full of raw rich people who value
+things by what they pay. And why shouldn't they pay high and be
+happy? That opera-cloak that Alice has--Reval promised it to me for
+two thousand, and I'll wager you she'd charge some woman from Butte,
+Montana, thirty-five hundred for one just like it."
+
+Montague got up suddenly. "Stop," he said, waving his hands. "You
+take all the bloom off the butterfly's wings!"
+
+He asked where they were going that evening, and Oliver said that
+they were invited to an informal dinner-party at Mrs. Winnie
+Duval's. Mrs. Winnie was the young widow who had recently married
+the founder of the great banking-house of Puval and Co.--so Oliver
+explained; she was a chum of his, and they would meet an interesting
+set there. She was going to invite her cousin, Charlie Carter--she
+wanted him to meet Alice. "Mrs. Winnie's always plotting to get
+Charlie to settle down," said Oliver, with a merry laugh.
+
+He telephoned for his man to bring over his clothes, and he and his
+brother dressed. Then Alice came in, looking like the goddess of the
+dawn in the gorgeous rose-coloured gown. The colour in her cheeks
+was even brighter than usual; for she was staggered to find how low
+the gown was cut, and was afraid she was committing a faux pas.
+"Tell me about it," she stammered. "Mammy Lucy says I'm surely
+supposed to wear some lace, or a bouquet."
+
+"Mammy Lucy isn't a Paris costumier," said Oliver, much amused.
+"Dear me--wait until you have seen Mrs. Winnie!"
+
+Mrs. Winnie had kindly sent her limousine car for them, and it stood
+throbbing in front of the hotel-entrance, its acetylenes streaming
+far up the street. Mrs. Winnie's home was on Fifth Avenue, fronting
+the park. It occupied half a block, and had cost two millions to
+build and furnish. It was known as the "Snow Palace," being all of
+white marble.
+
+At the curb a man in livery opened the door of the car, and in the
+vestibule another man in livery bowed the way. Lined up just inside
+the door was a corps of imposing personages, clad in scarlet
+waistcoats and velvet knee-breeches, with powdered wigs, and gold
+buttons, and gold buckles on their patent-leather pumps. These
+splendid creatures took their wraps, and then presented to Montague
+and Oliver a bouquet of flowers upon a silver salver, and upon
+another salver a tiny envelope bearing the name of their partner at
+this strictly "informal" dinner-party. Then the functionaries stood
+out of the way and permitted them to view the dazzling splendour of
+the entrance hall of the Snow Palace. There was a great marble
+staircase running up from the centre of the hall, with a carved
+marble gallery above, and a marble fireplace below. To decorate this
+mansion a real palace in the Punjab had been bought outright and
+plundered; there were mosaics of jade, and wonderful black marble,
+and rare woods, and strange and perplexing carvings.
+
+The head butler stood at the entrance to the salon, pronouncing
+their names; and just inside was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+Montague never forgot that first vision of her; she might have been
+a real princess out of the palace in the Punjab. She was a brunette,
+rich-coloured, full-throated and deep-bosomed, with scarlet lips,
+and black hair and eyes. She wore a court-gown of cloth of silver,
+with white kid shoes embroidered with jewelled flowers. All her life
+she had been collecting large turquoises, and these she had made
+into a tiara, and a neck ornament spreading over her chest, and a
+stomacher. Each of these stones was mounted with diamonds, and set
+upon a slender wire. So as she moved they quivered and shimmered,
+and the effect was dazzling, barbaric.
+
+She must have seen that Montague was staggered, for she gave him a
+little extra pressure of the hand, and said, "I'm so glad you came.
+Ollie has told me all about you." Her voice was soft and melting,
+not so forbidding as her garb.
+
+Montague ran the gauntlet of the other guests: Charlie Carter, a
+beautiful, dark-haired boy, having the features of a Greek god, but
+a sallow and unpleasant complexion; Major "Bob" Venable, a stout
+little gentleman with a red face and a heavy jowl; Mrs. Frank
+Landis, a merry-eyed young widow with pink cheeks and auburn hair;
+Willie Davis, who had been a famous half-back, and was now junior
+partner in the banking-house; and two young married couples, whose
+names Montague missed.
+
+The name written on his card was Mrs. Alden. She came in just after
+him--a matron of about fifty, of vigorous aspect and ample figure,
+approaching what he had not yet learned to call embonpoint. She wore
+brocade, as became a grave dowager, and upon her ample bosom there
+lay an ornament the size of a man's hand, and made wholly out of
+blazing diamonds--the most imposing affair that Montague had ever
+laid eyes upon. She gave him her hand to shake, and made no attempt
+to disguise the fact that she was looking him over in the meantime.
+
+"Madam, dinner is served," said the stately butler; and the
+glittering procession moved into the dining-room--a huge state
+apartment, finished in some lustrous jet-black wood, and with great
+panel paintings illustrating the Romaunt de la Rose. The table was
+covered with a cloth of French embroidery, and gleaming with its
+load of crystal and gold plate. At either end there were huge
+candlesticks of solid gold, and in the centre a mbund of orchids and
+lilies of the valley, matching in colour the shades of the
+candelabra and the daintily painted menu cards.
+
+"You are fortunate in coming to New York late in life," Mrs. Alden
+was saying to him. "Most of our young men are tired out before they
+have sense enough to enjoy anything. Take my advice and look about
+you--don't let that lively brother of yours set the pace for you."
+
+In front of Mrs. Alden there was a decanter of Scotch whisky. "Will
+you have some?" she asked, as she took it up.
+
+"No, I thank you," said he, and then wondered if perhaps he should
+not have said yes, as he watched the other select the largest of the
+half-dozen wine-glasses clustered at her place, and pour herself out
+a generous libation.
+
+"Have you seen much of the city?" she asked, as she tossed it
+off--without as much as a quiver of an eyelash.
+
+"No," said he. "They have not given me much time. They took me off
+to the country--to the Robert Wallings'."
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Alden; and Montague, struggling to make
+conversation, inquired, "Do you know Mr. Walling?"
+
+"Quite well," said the other, placidly. "I used to be a Walling
+myself, you know."
+
+"Oh," said Montague, taken aback; and then added, "Before you were
+married?"
+
+"No," said Mrs. Alden, more placidly than ever, "before I was
+divorced."
+
+There was a dead silence, and Montague sat gasping to catch his
+breath. Then suddenly he heard a faint subdued chuckle, which grew
+into open laughter; and he stole a glance at Mrs. Alden, and saw
+that her eyes were twinkling; and then he began to laugh himself.
+They laughed together, so merrily that others at the table began to
+look at them in perplexity.
+
+So the ice was broken between them; which filled Montague with a
+vast relief. But he was still dimly touched with awe--for he
+realized that this must be the great Mrs. Billy Alden, whose
+engagement to the Duke of London was now the topic of the whole
+country. And that huge diamond ornament must be part of Mrs. Alden's
+million-dollar outfit of jewellery!
+
+The great lady volunteered not to tell on him; and added generously
+that when he came to dinner with her she would post him concerning
+the company. "It's awkward for a stranger, I can understand," said
+she; and continued, grimly: "When people get divorces it sometimes
+means that they have quarrelled--and they don't always make it up
+afterward, either. And sometimes other people quarrel--almost as
+bitterly as if they had been married. Many a hostess has had her
+reputation ruined by riot keeping track of such things."
+
+So Montague made the discovery that the great Mrs. Billy, though.
+forbidding of aspect, was good-natured when she chose to be, and
+with a pretty wit. She was a woman with a mind of her own--a
+hard-fighting character, who had marshalled those about her, and
+taken her place at the head of the column. She had always counted
+herself a personage enough to do exactly as she pleased; through the
+course of the dinner she would take up the decanter of Scotch, and
+make a pass to help Montague--and then, when he declined, pour out
+imperturbably what she wanted. "I don't like your brother," she said
+to him, a little later. "He won't last; but he tells me you're
+different, so maybe I will like you. Come and see me sometime, and
+let me tell you what not to do in New York."
+
+Then Montague turned to talk with his hostess, who say on his right.
+
+"Do you play bridge?" asked Mrs. Winnie, in her softest and most
+gracious tone.
+
+"My brother has given me a book to study from," he answered. "But if
+he takes me about day and night, I don't know how I'm to manage it."
+
+"Come and let me teach you," said Mrs. Winnie. "I mean it, really,"
+she added. "I've nothing to do--at least that I'm not tired of. Only
+I don't believe you'd take long to learn all that I know."
+
+"Aren't you a successful player?" he asked sympathetically.
+
+"I don't believe anyone wants me to learn," said Mrs.
+Winnie.--"They'd rather come and get my money. Isn't that true,
+Major?"
+
+Major Venable sat on her other hand, and he paused in the act of
+raising a spoonful of soup to his lips, and laughed, deep down in
+his throat--a queer little laugh that shook his fat cheeks and neck.
+"I may say," he said, "that I know several people to whom the status
+quo is satisfactory."
+
+"Including yourself," said the lady, with a little moue. "The
+wretched man won sixteen hundred dollars from me last night; and he
+sat in his club window all afternoon, just to have the pleasure of
+laughing at me as I went by. I don't believe I'll play at all
+to-night--I'm going to make myself agreeable to Mr. Montague, and
+let you win from Virginia Landis for a change."
+
+And then the Major paused again in his attack upon the soup. "My
+dear Mrs. Winnie," he said, "I can live for much more than one day
+upon sixteen hundred dollars!"
+
+The Major was a famous club-man and bon vivant, as Montague learned
+later on. "He's an uncle of Mrs. Bobbie Waiting's," said Mrs. Alden,
+in his ear. "And incidentally they hate each other like poison."
+
+"That is so that I won't repeat my luckless question again?" asked
+Montague, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, they meet," said the other. "You wouldn't be supposed to know
+that. Won't you have any Scotch?"
+
+Montague's thoughts were so much taken up with the people at this
+repast that he gave little thought to the food. He noticed with
+surprise that they had real spring lamb--it being the middle of
+November. But he could not know that the six-weeks-old creatures
+from which it had come had been raised in cotton-wool and fed on
+milk with a spoon--and had cost a dollar and a half a pound. A
+little later, however, there was placed before him a delicately
+browned sweetbread upon a platter of gold, and then suddenly he
+began to pay attention. Mrs. Winnie had a coat of arms; he had
+noticed it upon her auto, and again upon the groat bronze gates of
+the Snow Palace, and again upon the liveries of her footmen, and yet
+again upon the decanter of Scotch. And now--incredible and
+appalling--he observed it branded upon the delicately browned
+sweetbread!
+
+After that, who would not have watched? There were large dishes of
+rare fruits upon the table--fruits which had been packed in cotton
+wool and shipped in cold storage from every corner of the earth.
+There were peaches which had come from South Africa (they had cost
+ten dollars apiece). There were bunches of Hamburg grapes, dark
+purple and bursting fat, which had been grown in a hot-house,
+wrapped in paper bags. There were nectarines and plums, and
+pomegranates and persimmons from Japan, and later on, little dishes
+of plump strawberries-raised in pots. There were quail which had
+come from Egypt, and a wonderful thing called "crab-flake a la
+Dewey," cooked in a chafing-dish, and served with mushrooms that had
+been grown in the tunnels of abandoned mines in Michigan. There was
+lettuce raised by electric light, and lima beans that had come from
+Porto Eico, and artichokes brought from France at a cost of one
+dollar each.--And all these extraordinary viands were washed down by
+eight or nine varieties of wines, from the cellar of a man who had
+made collecting them a fad for the last thirty years, who had a
+vineyard in France for the growing of his own champagne, and kept
+twenty thousand quarts of claret in storage all the time--and
+procured his Rhine wine from the cellar of the German Emperor, at a
+cost of twenty-five dollars a quart!
+
+There were twelve people at dinner, and afterward they made two
+tables for bridge, leaving Charlie Carter to talk to Alice, and Mrs.
+Winnie to devote herself to Montague, according to her promise.
+"Everybody likes to see my house," she said. "Would you?" And she
+led the way from the dining-room into the great conservatory, which
+formed a central court extending to the roof of the building. She
+pressed a button, and a soft radiance streamed down from above, in
+the midst of which Mrs. Winnie stood, with her shimmering jewels a
+very goddess of the fire.
+
+The conservatory was a place in which he could have spent the
+evening; it was filled with the most extraordinary varieties of
+plants. "They were gathered from all over the world," said Mrs.
+Winnie, seeing that he was staring at them. "My husband employed a
+connoisseur to hunt them out for him. He did it before we were
+married--he thought it would make me happy."
+
+In the centre of the place there was a fountain, twelve or fourteen
+feet in height, and set in a basin of purest Carrara marble. By the
+touch of a button the pool was flooded with submerged lights, and
+one might see scores of rare and beautiful fish swimming about.
+
+"Isn't it fine!" said Mrs. Winnie, and added eagerly, "Do you know,
+I come here at night, sometimes when I can't sleep, and sit for hours
+and gaze. All those living things; with their extraordinary
+forms-some of them have faces, and look like human beings! And I
+wonder what they think about, and if life seems as strange to them
+as it does to me."
+
+She seated herself by the edge of the pool, and gazed in. "These
+fish were given to me by my cousin, Ned Carter. They call him
+Buzzie. Have you met him yet?--No, of course not. He's Charlie's
+brother, and he collects art things--the most unbelievable things.
+Once, a long time ago, he took a fad for goldfish--some goldfish
+are very rare and beautiful, you know--one can pay twenty-five and
+fifty dollars apiece for them. He got all the dealers had, and when
+he learned that there were some they couldn't get, he took a trip to
+Japan and China on purpose to get them. You know they raise them
+there, and some of them are sacred, and not allowed to be sold or
+taken out of the country. And he had all sorts of carved ivory
+receptacles for them, that he brought home with him--he had one
+beautiful marble basin about ten feet long, that had been stolen
+from the Emperor."
+
+Over Montague's shoulder where he sat, there hung an orchid, a most
+curious creation, an explosion of scarlet flame. "That is the
+odonto-glossum," said Mrs. Winnie. "Have you heard of it?"
+
+"Never," said the man.
+
+"Dear me," said the other. "Such is fame!"
+
+"Is it supposed to be famous?" he asked.
+
+"Very," she replied. "There was a lot in the newspapers about it.
+You see Winton--that's my husband, you know--paid twenty-five
+thousand dollars to the man who created it; and that made a lot of
+foolish talk--people come from all over to look at it. I wanted to
+have it, because its shape is exactly like the coronet on my crest.
+Do you notice that?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "It's curious."
+
+"I'm very proud of my crest," continued Mrs. Winnie. "Of course
+there are vulgar rich people who have them made to order, and make
+them ridiculous; but ours is a real one. It's my own--not my
+husband's; the Duvals are an old French family, but they're not
+noble. I was a Morris, you know, and our line runs back to the old
+French ducal house of Montmorenci. And last summer, when we were
+motoring, I hunted up one of their chateaux; and see! I brought over
+this."
+
+Mrs. Winnie pointed to a suit of armour, placed in a passage leading
+to the billiard-room. "I have had the lights fixed," she added. And
+she pressed a button, and all illumination vanished, save for a
+faint red glow just above the man in armour.
+
+"Doesn't he look real?" said she. (He had his visor down, and a
+battle-axe in his mailed hands.) "I like to imagine that he may have
+been my twentieth great-grandfather. I come and sit here, and gaze
+at him and shiver. Think what a terrible time it must have been to
+live in--when men wore things like that! It couldn't be any worse to
+be a crab."
+
+"You seem to be fond of strange emotions," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Maybe I am," said the other. "I like everything that's old and
+romantic, and makes you forget this stupid society world."
+
+She stood brooding for a moment or two, gazing at the figure. Then
+she asked, abruptly, "Which do you like best, pictures or swimming?"
+
+"Why," replied the man, laughing and perplexed, "I like them both,
+at times."
+
+"I wondered which you'd rather see first," explained his escort;
+"the art gallery or the natatorium. I'm afraid you'll get tired
+before you've seen every thing."
+
+"Suppose we begin with the art-gallery," said he. "There's not much
+to see in a swimming-pool."
+
+"Ah, but ours is a very special one," said the lady.--"And some
+day, if you'll be very good, and promise not to tell anyone, I'll
+let you see my own bath. Perhaps they've told you, I have one in my
+own apartments, cut out of a block of the most wonderful green
+marble."
+
+Montague showed the expected amount of astonishment.
+
+"Of course that gave the dreadful newspapers another chance to
+gossip," said Mrs. Winnie, plaintively. "People found out what I had
+paid for it. One can't have anything beautiful without that question
+being asked."
+
+And then followed a silence, while Mrs. Winnie waited for him to ask
+it. As he forebore to do so, she added, "It was fifty thousand
+dollars."
+
+They were moving towards the elevator, where a small boy in the
+wonderful livery of plush and scarlet stood at attention.
+"Sometimes," she continued, "it seems to me that it is wicked to pay
+such prices for things. Have you ever thought about it?"
+
+"Occasionally," Montague replied.
+
+"Of course," said she, "it makes work for people; and I suppose they
+can't be better employed than in making beautiful things. But
+sometimes, when I think of all the poverty there is, I get unhappy.
+We have a winter place down South--one of those huge country-houses
+that look like exposition buildings, and have rooms for a hundred
+guests; and sometimes I go driving by myself, down to the mill
+towns, and go through them and talk to the children. I came to know
+some of them quite well--poor little wretches."
+
+They stepped out of the elevator, and moved toward the art-gallery.
+"It used to make me so unhappy," she went on. "I tried to talk to my
+husband about it, but he wouldn't have it. 'I don't see why you
+can't be like other people,' he said--he's always repeating that to
+me. And what could I say?"
+
+"Why not suggest that other people might be like you?" said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"I wasn't clever enough," said she, regretfully.--"It's very hard
+for a woman, you know--with no one to understand. Once I went down
+to a settlement, to see what that was like. Do you know anything
+about settlements?"
+
+"Nothing at all," said Montague.
+
+"Well, they are people who go to live among the poor, and try to
+reform them. It takes a terrible lot of courage, I think. I give
+them money now and then, but I am never sure if it does any good.
+The trouble with poor people, it seems to me, is that there are so
+many of them."
+
+"There are, indeed," said Montague, thinking of the vision he had
+seen from Oliver's racing-car.
+
+Mrs. Winnie had seated herself upon a cushioned seat near the
+entrance to the darkened gallery. "I haven't been there for some
+time," she continued. "I've discovered something that I think
+appeals more to my temperament. I have rather a leaning toward the
+occult and the mystical, I'm afraid. Did you ever hear of the
+Babists?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"Well, that's a religious sect--from Persia, I think--and they are
+quite the rage. They are priests, you understand, and they give
+lectures, and teach you all about the immanence of the divine, and
+about reincarnation, and Karma, and all that. Do you believe any of
+those things?"
+
+"I can't say that I know about them," said he.
+
+"It is very beautiful and strange," added the other. "It makes you
+realize what a perplexing thing life is. They teach you how the
+universe is all one, and the soul is the only reality, and so bodily
+things don't matter. If I were a Babist, I believe that I could be
+happy, even if I had to work in a cotton-mill."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie rose up suddenly. "You'd rather look at the
+pictures, I know," she said; and she pressed a button, and a soft
+radiance flooded the great vaulted gallery.
+
+"This is our chief pride in life," she said. "My husband's object
+has been to get one representative work of each of the great
+painters of the world. We got their masterpiece whenever we could.
+Over there in the corner are the old masters--don't you love to look
+at them?"
+
+Montague would have liked to look at them very much; but he felt
+that he would rather it were some time when he did not have Mrs.
+Winnie by his side. Mrs. Winnie must have had to show the gallery
+quite frequently; and now her mind was still upon the Persian
+transcendentalists.
+
+"That picture of the saint is a Botticelli," she said. "And do you
+know, the orange-coloured robe always makes me think of the swami.
+That is my teacher, you know--Swami Babubanana. And he has the most
+beautiful delicate hands, and great big brown eyes, so soft and
+gentle--for all the world like those of the gazelles in our place
+down South!"
+
+Thus Mrs. Winnie, as she roamed from picture to picture, while the
+souls of the grave old masters looked down upon her in silence.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague had now been officially pronounced complete by his tailor;
+and Reval had sent home the first of Alice's street gowns,
+elaborately plain, but fitting her conspicuously, and costing
+accordingly. So the next morning they were ready to be taken to call
+upon Mrs. Devon.
+
+Of course Montague had heard of the Devons, but he was not
+sufficiently initiated to comprehend just what it meant to be asked
+to call. But when Oliver came in, a little before noon, and
+proceeded to examine his costume and to put him to rights, and
+insisted that Alice should have her hair done over, he began to
+realize that this was a special occasion. Oliver was in quite a
+state of excitement; and after they had left the hotel, and were
+driving up the Avenue, he explained to them that their future in
+Society depended upon the outcome of this visit. Calling upon Mrs.
+Devon, it seemed, was the American equivalent to being presented at
+court. For twenty-five years this grand lady had been the undisputed
+mistress of the Society of the metropolis; and if she liked them,
+they would be invited to her annual ball, which took place in
+January, and then for ever after their position would be assured.
+Mrs. Devon's ball was the one great event of the social year; about
+one thousand people were asked, while ten thousand disappointed ones
+gnashed their teeth in outer darkness.
+
+All of which threw Alice into a state of trepidation.
+
+"Suppose we don't suit her!" she said.
+
+To that the other replied that their way had been made smooth by
+Reggie Mann, who was one of Mrs. Devon's favourites.
+
+A century and more ago the founder of the Devon line had come to
+America, and invested his savings in land on Manhattan Island. Other
+people had toiled and built a city there, and generation after
+generation of the Devons had sat by and collected the rents, until
+now their fortune amounted to four or five hundred millions of
+dollars. They were the richest old family in America, and the most
+famous; and in Mrs. Devon, the oldest member of the line, was
+centred all its social majesty and dominion. She lived a stately and
+formal life, precisely like a queen; no one ever saw her save upon
+her raised chair of state, and she wore her jewels even at
+breakfast. She was the arbiter of social destinies, and the
+breakwater against which the floods of new wealth beat in vain.
+Reggie Mann told wonderful tales about the contents of her enormous
+mail--about wives and daughters of mighty rich men who flung
+themselves at her feet and pleaded abjectly for her favour--who laid
+siege to her house for months, and intrigued and pulled wires to get
+near her, and even bought the favour of her servants! If Reggie
+might be believed, great financial wars had been fought, and the
+stock-markets of the world convulsed more than once, because of
+these social struggles; and women of wealth and beauty had offered
+to sell themselves for the privilege which was so freely granted to
+them.
+
+They came to the old family mansion and rang the bell, and the
+solemn butler ushered them past the grand staircase and into the
+front reception-room to wait. Perhaps five minutes later he came in
+and rolled back the doors, and they stood up, and beheld a withered
+old lady, nearly eighty years of age, bedecked with diamonds and
+seated upon a sort of throne. They approached, and Oliver introduced
+them, and the old lady held out a lifeless hand; and then they sat
+down.
+
+Mrs. Devon asked them a few questions as to how much of New York
+they had seen, and how they liked it, and whom they had met; but
+most of the time she simply looked them over, and left the making of
+conversation to Oliver. As for Montague, he sat, feeling perplexed
+and uncomfortable, and wondering, deep down in him, whether it could
+really be America in which this was happening.
+
+"You see," Oliver explained to them, when they were seated in their
+carriage again, "her mind is failing, and it's really quite
+difficult for her to receive."
+
+"I'm glad I don't have to call on her more than once," was Alice's
+comment. "When do we know the verdict?"
+
+"When you get a card marked 'Mrs. Devon at home,'" said Oliver. And
+he went on to tell them about the war which had shaken Society long
+ago, when the mighty dame had asserted her right to be "Mrs. Devon,"
+and the only "Mrs. Devon." He told them also about her wonderful
+dinner-set of china, which had cost thirty thousand dollars, and was
+as fragile as a humming-bird's wing. Each piece bore her crest, and
+she had a china expert to attend to washing and packing it--no
+common hand was ever allowed to touch it. He told them, also, how
+Mrs. Devon's housekeeper had wrestled for so long, trying to teach
+the maids to arrange the furniture in the great reception-rooms
+precisely as the mistress ordered; until finally a complete set of
+photographs had been taken, so that the maids might do their work by
+chart.
+
+Alice went back to the hotel, for Mrs. Robbie Walling was to call
+and take her home to lunch; and Montague and his brother strolled
+round to Reggie Mann's apartments, to report upon their visit.
+
+Reggie received them in a pair of pink silk pyjamas, decorated with
+ribbons and bows, and with silk-embroidered slippers, set with
+pearls--a present from a feminine adorer. Montague noticed, to his
+dismay, that the little man wore a gold bracelet upon one arm! He
+explained that he had led a cotillion the night before--or rather
+this morning; he had got home at five o'clock. He looked quite white
+and tired, and there were the remains of a breakfast of
+brandy-and-soda on the table.
+
+"Did you see the old girl?" he asked. "And how does she hold up?"
+
+"She's game," said Oliver.
+
+"I had the devil's own time getting you in," said the other. "It's
+getting harder every day."
+
+"You'll excuse me," Reggie added, "if I get ready. I have an
+engagement." And he turned to his dressing-table, which was covered
+with an array of cosmetics and perfumes, and proceeded, in a
+matter-of-fact way, to paint his face. Meanwhile his valet was
+flitting silently here and there, getting ready his afternoon
+costume; and Montague, in spite of himself, followed the man with
+his eyes. A haberdasher's shop might have been kept going for quite
+a while upon the contents of Reggie's dressers. His clothing was
+kept in a room adjoining the dressing-room; Montague, who was near
+the door, could see the rosewood wardrobes, each devoted to a
+separate article of clothing-shirts, for instance, laid upon sliding
+racks, tier upon tier of them, of every material and colour. There
+was a closet fitted with shelves and equipped like a little shoe
+store--high shoes and low shoes, black ones, brown ones, and white
+ones, and each fitted over a last to keep its shape perfect. These
+shoes were all made to order according to Reggie's designs, and
+three or-four times a year there was a cleaning out, and those which
+had gone out of fashion became the prey of his "man." There was a
+safe in one closet, in which Reggie's jewellery was kept.
+
+The dressing-room was furnished like a lady's boudoir, the furniture
+upholstered with exquisite embroidered silk, and the bed hung with
+curtains of the same material. There was a huge bunch of roses on
+the centre-table, and the odour of roses hung heavy in the room.
+
+The valet stood at attention with a rack of neckties, from which
+Reggie critically selected one to match his shirt. "Are you going to
+take Alice with you down to the Havens's?" he was asking; and he
+added, "You'll meet Vivie Patton down there--she's had another row
+at home."
+
+
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Oliver.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "Frank waited up all night for her, and he
+wept and tore his hair and vowed he would kill the Count. Vivie told
+him to go to hell."
+
+"Good God!" said Oliver. "Who told you that?"
+
+"The faithful Alphomse," said Reggie, nodding toward his valet. "Her
+maid told him. And Frank vows he'll sue--I half expected to see it
+in the papers this morning."
+
+"I met Vivie on the street yesterday," said Oliver. "She looked as
+chipper as ever."
+
+Reggie shrugged his shoulders. "Have you seen this week's paper?" he
+asked. "They've got another of Ysabel's suppressed poems in."--And
+then he turned toward Montague to explain that "Ysabel" was the
+pseudonym of a young debutante who had fallen under the spell of
+Baudelaire and Wilde, and had published a volume of poems of such
+furious eroticism that her parents were buying up stray copies at
+fabulous prices.
+
+Then the conversation turned to the Horse Show, and for quite a
+while they talked about who was going to wear what. Finally Oliver
+rose, saying that they would have to get a bite to eat before
+leaving for the Havens's. "You'll have a good time," said Reggie.
+"I'd have gone myself, only I promised to stay and help Mrs. de
+Graffenried design a dinner. So long!"
+
+Montague had heard nothing about the visit to the Havens's; but now,
+as they strolled down the Avenue, Oliver explained that they were to
+spend the weekend at Castle Havens. There was quite a party going up
+this Friday afternoon, and they would find one of the Havens's
+private cars waiting. They had nothing to do meantime, for their
+valets would attend to their packing, and Alice and her maid would
+meet them at the depot.
+
+"Castle Havens is one of the show places of the country," Oliver
+added. "You'll see the real thing this time." And while they
+lunched, he went on to entertain his brother with particulars
+concerning the place and its owners. John had inherited the bulk of
+the enormous Havens fortune, and he posed as his father's successor
+in the Steel Trust. Some day some one of the big men would gobble
+him up; meantime he amused himself fussing over the petty details of
+administration. Mrs. Havens had taken a fancy to a rural life, and
+they had built this huge palace in the hills of Connecticut, and she
+wrote verses in which she pictured herself as a simple
+shepherdess--and all that sort of stuff. But no one minded that,
+because the place was gr'and, and there was always so much to do.
+They had forty or fifty polo ponies, for instance, and every spring
+the place was filled with polo men.
+
+At the depot they caught sight of Charlie Carter, in his big red
+touring-car. "Are you going to the Havens's?" he said. "Tell them
+we're going to pick up Chauncey on the way."
+
+"That's Chauncey Venable, the Major's nephew," said Oliver, as they
+strolled to the train. "Poor Chauncey--he's in exile!"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Why, he daren't come into New York," said the other. "Haven't you
+read about it in the papers? He lost one or two hundred thousand the
+other night in a gambling place, and the district attorney's trying
+to catch him."
+
+"Does he want to put him in jail?" asked Montague.
+
+"Heavens, no!" said Oliver. "Put a Venable in jail? He wants him for
+a witness against the gambler; and poor Chauncey is flitting about
+the country hiding with his friends, and wailing because he'll miss
+the Horse Show."
+
+They boarded the palatial private car, and were introduced to a
+number of other guests. Among them was Major Venable; and while
+Oliver buried himself in the new issue of the fantastic-covered
+society journal, which contained the poem of the erotic "Ysabel,"
+his brother chatted with the Major. The latter had taken quite a
+fancy to the big handsome stranger, to whom everything in the city
+was so new and interesting."
+
+"Tell me what you thought of the Snow Palace," said he. "I've an
+idea that Mrs. Winnie's got quite a crush on you. You'll find her
+dangerous, my boy--she'll make you pay for your dinners before you
+get through!"
+
+After the train was under way, the Major got himself surrounded with
+some apollinaris and Scotch, and then settled back to enjoy himself.
+"Did you see the 'drunken kid' at the ferry?" he asked. "(That's
+what our abstemious district attorney terms my precious young
+heir-apparent.) You'll meet him at the Castle--the Havens are good
+to him. They know how it feels, I guess; when John was a youngster
+his piratical uncle had to camp in Jersey for six months or so, to
+escape the strong arm of the law."
+
+"Don't you know about it?" continued the Major, sipping at his
+beverage. "Sic transit gloria mundi! That was when the great Captain
+Kidd Havens was piling up the millions which his survivors are
+spending with such charming insouciance. He was plundering a
+railroad, and the original progenitor of the Wallings tried to buy
+the control away from him, and Havens issued ten or twenty millions
+of new stock overnight, in the face of a court injunction, and got
+away with most of his money. It reads like opera bouffe, you
+know--they had a regular armed camp across the river for about six
+months--until Captain Kidd went up to Albany with half a million
+dollars' worth of greenbacks in a satchel, and induced the
+legislature to legalize the proceedings. That was just after the
+war, you know, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. It seems
+strange to think that anyone shouldn't know about it."
+
+"I know about Havens in a general way," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the Major. "But I know in a particular way, because I've
+carried some of that railroad's paper all these years, and it's
+never paid any dividends since. It has a tendency to interfere with
+my appreciation of John's lavish hospitality."
+
+Montague was reminded of the story of the Roman emperor who pointed
+out that money had no smell.
+
+"Maybe not," said the Major. "But all the same, if you were
+superstitious, you might make out an argument from the Havens
+fortune. Take that poor girl who married the Count."
+
+And the Major went on to picture the denouement of that famous
+international alliance, which, many years ago, had been the
+sensation of two continents. All Society had attended the gorgeous
+wedding, an archbishop had performed the ceremony, and the
+newspapers had devoted pages to describing the gowns and the jewels
+and the presents and all the rest of the magnificence. And the Count
+was a wretched little degenerate, who beat and kicked his wife, and
+flaunted his mistresses in her face, and wasted fourteen million
+dollars of her money in a couple of years. The mind could scarcely
+follow the orgies of this half-insane creature--he had spent two
+hundred thousand dollars on a banquet, and half as much again for a
+tortoise-shell wardrobe in which Louis the Sixteenth had kept his
+clothes! He had charged a diamond necklace to his wife, and taken
+two of the four rows of diamonds out of it before he presented it to
+her! He had paid a hundred thousand dollars a year to a jockey whom
+the Parisian populace admired, and a fortune for a palace in Verona,
+which he had promptly torn down, for the sake of a few painted
+ceilings. The Major told about one outdoor fete, which he had given
+upon a sudden whim: ten thousand Venetian lanterns, ten thousand
+metres of carpet; three thousand gilded chairs, and two or three
+hundred waiters in fancy costumes; two palaces built in a lake, with
+sea-horses and dolphins, and half a dozen orchestras, and several
+hundred chorus--girls from the Grand Opera! And in between
+adventures such as these, he bought a seat in the Chamber of
+Deputies, and made speeches and fought duels in defence of the Holy
+Catholic Church--and wrote articles for the yellow journals of
+America. "And that's the fate of my lost dividends!" growled the
+Major.
+
+There were several automobiles to meet the party at the depot, and
+they were whirled through a broad avenue up a valley, and past a
+little lake, and so to the gates of Castle Havens.
+
+It was a tremendous building, a couple of hundred feet long. One
+entered into a main hall, perhaps fifty feet wide, with a great
+fireplace arid staircase of marble and bronze, and furniture of
+gilded wood and crimson velvet, and a huge painting, covering three
+of the walls, representing the Conquest of Peru. Each of the rooms
+was furnished in the style of a different period--one Louis
+Quatorze, one Louis Quinze, one Marie Antoniette, and so on. There
+was a drawing-room and a regal music-room; a dining-room in the
+Georgian style, and a billiard-room, also in the English fashion,
+with high wainscoting and open beams in the coiling; and a library,
+and a morning-room and conservatory. Upstairs in the main suite of
+rooms was a royal bedstead, which alone was rumoured to have cost
+twenty-five thousand dollars; and you might have some idea of the
+magnificence of things when you learned that underneath the gilding
+of the furniture was the rare and precious Circassian walnut.
+
+All this was beautiful. But what brought the guests to Castle Havens
+was the casino, so the Major had remarked. It was really a private
+athletic club--with tan-bark hippodrome, having a ring the size of
+that in Madison Square Garden, and a skylight roof, and thirty or
+forty arc-lights for night events. There were bowling-alloys,
+billiard and lounging-rooms, hand-ball, tennis and racket-courts, a
+completely equipped gymnasium, a shooting-gallery, and a
+swimming-pool with Turkish and Russian baths. In this casino alone
+there were rooms for forty guests.
+
+Such was Castle Havens; it had cost three or four millions of
+dollars, and within the twelve-foot wall which surrounded its
+grounds lived two world-weary people who dreaded nothing so much as
+to be alone. There were always guests, and on special occasions
+there might be three or four score. They went whirling about the
+country in their autos; they rode and drove; they played games,
+outdoor and indoor, or gambled, or lounged and chatted, or wandered
+about at their own sweet will. Coming to one of these places was not
+different from staying at a great hotel, save that the company was
+selected, and instead of paying a bill, you gave twenty or thirty
+dollars to the servants when you left.
+
+It was a great palace of pleasure, in which beautiful and graceful
+men and women played together in all sorts of beautiful and graceful
+ways. In the evenings great logs blazed in the fireplace in the
+hall, and there might be an informal dance--there was always music
+at hand. Now and then there would be a stately ball, with rich gowns
+and flashing jewels, and the grounds ablaze with lights, and a full
+orchestra, and special trains from the city. Or a whole theatrical
+company would be brought down to give an entertainment in the
+theatre; or a minstrel show, or a troupe of acrobats, or a menagerie
+of trained animals. Or perhaps there would be a great pianist, or a
+palmist, or a trance medium. Anyone at all would be welcome who
+could bring a new thrill--it mattered nothing at all, though the
+price might be several hundred dollars a minute.
+
+Montague shook hands with his host and hostess, and with a number of
+others; among them Billy Price who forthwith challenged him, and
+carried him off to the shooting-gallery. Here he took a rifle, and
+proceeded to satisfy her as to his skill. This brought him to the
+notice of Siegfried Harvey, who was a famous cross-country rider and
+"polo-man." Harvey's father owned a score of copper-mines, and had
+named him after a race-horse; he was a big broad-shouldered fellow,
+a favourite of every one; and next morning, when he found that
+Montague sat a horse like one who was born to it, he invited him to
+come out to his place on Long Island, and see some of the
+fox-hunting.
+
+Then, after he had dressed for dinner, Montague came downstairs, and
+found Betty Wyman, shining like Aurora in an orange-coloured cloud.
+Sho introduced him to Mrs. Vivie Patton, who was tall and slender
+and fascinating, and had told her husband to go to hell. Mrs. Vivie
+had black eyes that snapped and sparkled, and she was a geyser of
+animation in a perpetual condition of eruption. Montague wondered if
+she would have talked with him so gaily had she known what he knew
+about her domestic entanglements.
+
+The company moved into the dining-room, where there was served
+another of those elaborate and enormously expensive meals which he
+concluded he was fated to eat for the rest of his life. Only,
+instead of Mrs. Billy Alden with her Scotch, there was Mrs. Vivie,
+who drank champagne in terrifying quantities; and afterward there
+was the inevitable grouping of the bridge fiends.
+
+Among the guests there was a long-haired and wild-looking foreign
+personage, who was the "lion" of the evening, and sat with half a
+dozen admiring women about him. Now he was escorted to the
+music-room, and revealed the fact that he was a violin virtuoso. He
+played what was called "salon music"--music written especially for
+ladies and gentlemen to listen to after dinner; and also a strange
+contrivance called a concerto, put together to enable the player to
+exhibit within a brief space the utmost possible variety of finger
+gymnastics. To learn to perform these feats one had to devote his
+whole lifetime to practising them, just like any circus acrobat; and
+so his mind became atrophied, and a naive and elemental vanity was
+all that was left to him.
+
+Montague stood for a while staring; and then took to watching the
+company, who chattered and laughed all through the performance.
+Afterward, he strolled into the billiard-room, where Billy Price and
+Chauncey Venable were having an exciting bout; and from there to the
+smoking-room, where the stout little Major had gotten a group of
+young bloods about him to play "Klondike." This was a game of deadly
+hazards, which they played without limit; the players themselves
+were silent and impassive, but the spectators who gathered about
+were tense with excitement.
+
+In the morning Charlie Carter carried off Alice and Oliver and Betty
+in his auto; and Montague spent his time in trying some of Havens's
+jumping horses. The Horse Show was to open in New York on Monday,
+and there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement because of this
+prospect; Mrs. Caroline Smythe, a charming young widow, strolled
+about with him and told him all about this Show, and the people who
+would take part in it.
+
+And in the afternoon Major Venable took him for a stroll and showed
+him the grounds. He had been told what huge sums had been expended
+in laying them out; but after all, the figures were nothing compared
+with an actual view. There were hills and slopes, and endless vistas
+of green lawns and gardens, dotted with the gleaming white of marble
+staircases and fountains and statuary. There was a great Italian
+walk, leading by successive esplanades to an electric fountain with
+a basin sixty feet across, and a bronze chariot and marble horses.
+There were sunken gardens, with a fountain brought from the South of
+France, and Greek peristyles, and seats of marble, and vases and
+other treasures of art.
+
+And then there were the stables; a huge Renaissance building, with a
+perfectly equipped theatre above. There was a model farm and dairy;
+a polo-field, and an enclosed riding-ring for the children; and
+dog-kennels and pigeon-houses, greenhouses and deer-parks--one was
+prepared for bear-pits and a menagerie. Finally, on their way back,
+they passed the casino, where musical chimes pealed out the
+quarter-hours. Montague stopped and gazed up at the tower from which
+the sounds had come.
+
+The more he gazed, the more he found to gaze at The roof of this
+building had many gables, in the Queen Anne style; and from the
+midst of them shot up the tower, which was octagonal and solid,
+suggestive of the Normans. It was decorated with Christmas-wreaths
+in white stucco, and a few miscellaneous ornaments like the gilded
+tassels one sees upon plush curtains. Overtopping all of this was
+the dome of a Turkish mosque. Rising out of the dome was something
+that looked like a dove-cot; and out of this rose the slender white
+steeple of a Methodist country church. On top of that was a statue
+of Diana.
+
+"What are you looking at?" asked the Major.
+
+"Nothing," said Montague, as he moved on. "Has there ever been any
+insanity in the Havens family?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the other, puzzled. "They say the old man
+never could sleep at night, and used to wander about alone in the
+park. I suppose he had things on his conscience."
+
+They strolled away; and the Major's flood-gates of gossip were
+opened. There was an old merchant in New York, who had been Havens's
+private secretary. And Havens was always in terror of assassination,
+and so whenever they travelled abroad he and the secretary exchanged
+places. "The old man is big and imposing," said the Major, "and it's
+funny to hear him tell how he used to receive the visitors and be
+stared at by the crowds, while Havens, who was little and
+insignificant, would pretend to make himself useful. And then one
+day a wild-looking creature came into the Havens office, and began
+tearing the wrappings off some package that shone like metal--and
+quick as a flash he and Havens flung themselves down on the floor
+upon their faces. Then, as nothing happened, they looked up, and saw
+the puzzled stranger gazing over the railing at them. He had a
+patent churn, made of copper, which he wanted Havens to market for
+him!"
+
+Montague could have wished that this party might last for a week or
+two, instead of only two days. He was interested in the life, and in
+those who lived it; all whom he met were people prominent in the
+social world, and some in the business world as well, and one could
+not have asked a better chance to study them.
+
+Montague was taking his time and feeling his way slowly. But all the
+time that he was playing and gossiping he never lost from mind his
+real purpose, which was to find a place for himself in the world of
+affairs; and he watched for people from whose conversation he could
+get a view of this aspect of things. So he was interested when Mrs.
+Smythe remarked that among his fellow-guests was Vandam, an official
+of one of the great life-insurance companies. "Freddie" Vandam, as
+the lady called him, was a man of might m the financial world; and
+Montague said to himself that in meeting him he would really be
+accomplishing something. Crack shots and polo-players and
+four-in-hand experts were all very well, but he had his living to
+earn, and he feared that the problem was going to prove complicated.
+
+So ho was glad when chance brought him and young Vandam together,
+and Siegfried Harvey introduced them. And then Montague got the
+biggest shock which New York had given him yet.
+
+It was not what Freddie Vandam said; doubtless he had a right to be
+interested in the Horse Show, since he was to exhibit many fine
+horses, and he had no reason to feel called upon to talk about
+anything more serious to a stranger at a house party. But it was the
+manner of the man, his whole personality. For Freddie was a man of
+fashion, with all the exaggerated and farcical mannerisms of the
+dandy of the comic papers. He wore a conspicuous and foppish
+costume, and posed with a little cane; he cultivated a waving
+pompadour, and his silky moustache and beard were carefully trimmed
+to points, and kept sharp by his active fingers. His conversation
+was full of French phrases and French opinions; he had been reared
+abroad, and had a whole-souled contempt for all things American-even
+dictating his business letters in French, and leaving it for his
+stenographer to translate them. His shirts were embroidered with
+violets and perfumed with violets--and there were bunches of violets
+at his horses' heads, so that he might get the odour as he drove!
+
+There was a cruel saying about Freddie Vandam--that if only he had
+had a little more brains, he would have been half-witted. And
+Montague sat, and watched his mannerisms and listened to his
+inanities, with his mind in a state of bewilderment and dismay. When
+at last he got up and walked away, it was with a new sense of the
+complicated nature of the problem that confronted him. Who was there
+that could give him the key to this mystery--who could interpret to
+him a world in which a man such as this was in control of four or
+five hundred millions of trust funds?
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+
+
+
+It was quite futile to attempt to induce anyone to talk about
+serious matters just now--for the coming week all Society belonged
+to the horse. The parties which went to church on Sunday morning
+talked about horses on the way, and the crowds that gathered in
+front of the church door to watch them descend from their
+automobiles, and to get "points" on their conspicuous
+costumes--these would read about horses all afternoon in the Sunday
+papers, and about the gowns which the women would wear at the show.
+
+Some of the party went up on Sunday evening; Montague went with the
+rest on Monday morning, and had lunch with Mrs. Robbie Walling and
+Oliver and Alice. They had arrayed him in a frock coat and silk hat
+and fancy "spats"; and they took him and sat him in the front row of
+Robbie's box.
+
+There was a great tan-bark arena, in which the horses performed; and
+then a railing, and a broad promenade for the spectators; and then,
+raised a few feet above, the boxes in which sat all Society. For the
+Horse Show had now become a great social function. Last year a
+visiting foreign prince had seen fit to attend it, and this year
+"everybody" would come.
+
+Montague was rapidly getting used to things; he observed with a
+smile how easy it was to take for granted embroidered bed and table
+linen, and mural paintings, and private cars, and gold plate. At
+first it had seemed to him strange to be waited upon by a white
+woman, and by a white man quite unthinkable; but he was becoming
+accustomed to having silent and expressionless lackeys everywhere
+about him, attending to his slightest want. So he presumed that if
+he waited long enough, he might even get used to horses which had
+their tails cut off to stumps, and their manes to rows of bristles,
+and which had been taught to lift their feet in strange and
+eccentric ways, and were driven with burred bits in their mouths to
+torture them and make them step lively.
+
+There were road-horses, coach-horses, saddle-horses and hunters,
+polo-ponies, stud-horses--every kind of horse that is used for
+pleasure, over a hundred different "classes" of them. They were put
+through their paces about the ring, and there was a committee which
+judged them, and awarded blue and red ribbons. Apparently their
+highly artificial kind of excellence was a real thing to the people
+who took part in the show; for the spectators thrilled with
+excitement, and applauded the popular victors. There was a whole set
+of conventions which were generally understood--there was even a
+new language. You were told that these "turnouts" were "nobby" and
+"natty"; they were "swagger" and "smart" and "swell."
+
+However, the horse was really a small part of this show; before one
+had sat out an afternoon he realized that the function was in
+reality a show of Society. For six or seven hours during the day the
+broad promenade would be so packed with human beings that one moved
+about with difficulty; and this throng gazed towards the ring almost
+never--it stared up into the boxes. All the year round the
+discontented millions of the middle classes read of the doings of
+the "smart set"; and here they had a chance to come and see
+them-alive, and real, and dressed in their showiest costumes. Here
+was all the grand monde, in numbered boxes, and with their names
+upon the programmes, so that one could get them straight. Ten
+thousand people from other cities had come to New York on purpose to
+get a look. Women who lived in boarding-houses and made their own
+clothes, had come to get hints; all the dressmakers in town were
+present for the same purpose.. Society reporters had come, with
+notebooks in hand; and next morning the imitators of Society all
+over the United States would read about it, in such fashion as this:
+"Mrs. Chauncey Venable was becomingly gowned in mauve cloth, made
+with an Eton jacket trimmed with silk braid, and opening over a
+chemisette of lace. Her hat was of the same colour, draped with a
+great quantity of mauve and orange tulle, and surmounted with birds
+of paradise to match. Her furs were silver fox."
+
+The most intelligent of the great metropolitan dailies would print
+columns of this sort of material; and as for the "yellow" journals,
+they would have discussions of the costumes by "experts," and half a
+page of pictures of the most conspicuous of the box-holders. While
+Montague sat talking with Mrs. Walling, half a dozen cameras were
+snapped at them; and once a young man with a sketch-book placed
+himself in front of them and went placidly to work.--Concerning such
+things the society dame had three different sets of emotions: first,
+the one which she showed in public, that of bored and contemptuous
+indifference; second, the one which she expressed to her friends,
+that of outraged but helpless indignation; and third, the one which
+she really felt, that of triumphant exultation over her rivals,
+whose pictures were not published and whose costumes were not
+described.
+
+It was a great dress parade of society women. One who wished to play
+a proper part in it would spend at least ten thousand dollars upon
+her costumes for the week. It was necessary to have a different gown
+for the afternoon and evening of each day; and some, who were adepts
+at quick changes and were proud of it, would wear three or four a
+day, and so need a couple of dozen gowns for the show. And of course
+there had to be hats and shoes and gloves to match. There would be
+robes of priceless fur hung carelessly over the balcony to make a
+setting; and in the evening there would be pyrotechnical displays of
+jewels. Mrs. Virginia Landis wore a pair of simple pearl earrings,
+which she told the reporters had cost twenty thousand dollars; and
+there were two women who displayed four hundred thousand dollars'
+worth of diamonds--and each of them had hired a detective to hover
+about in the crowd and keep watch over her!
+
+Nor must one suppose, because the horse was an inconspicuous part of
+the show, that he was therefore an inexpensive part. One man was to
+be seen here driving a four-in-hand of black stallions which had
+cost forty thousand; there were other men who drove only one horse,
+and had paid forty thousand for that. Half a million was a moderate
+estimate of the cost of the "string" which some would exhibit. And
+of course these horses were useless, save for show purposes, and to
+breed other horses like them. Many of them never went out of their
+stables except for exercise upon a track; and the cumbrous and
+enormous; expensive coaches were never by any possibility used
+elsewhere--when they were taken from place to place they seldom went
+upon their own wheels.
+
+And there were people here who made their chief occupation in life
+the winning of blue ribbons at these shows. They kept great country
+estates especially for the horses, and had private indoor exhibition
+rings. Robbie Walling and Chauncey Venable were both such people; in
+the summer of next year another of the Wallings took a string across
+the water to teach the horse-show game to Society in London. He took
+twenty or thirty horses, under the charge of an expert manager and a
+dozen assistants; he sent sixteen different kinds of carriages, and
+two great coaches, and a ton of harness and other stuff. It required
+one whole deck of a steamer, and the expedition enabled him to get
+rid of six hundred thousand dollars.
+
+All through the day, of course, Robbie was down in the ring with his
+trainers and his competitors, and Montague sat and kept his wife
+company. There was a steady stream of visitors, who came to
+congratulate her upon their successes, and to commiserate with Mrs.
+Chauncey Venable over the sufferings of the un-happy victim of a
+notoriety-seeking district attorney.
+
+There was just one drawback to the Horse Show, as Montague gathered
+from the conversation that went on among the callers: it was public,
+and there was no way to prevent undesirable people from taking part.
+There were, it appeared, hordes of rich people in New York who were
+not in Society, and of whose existence Society was haughtily
+unaware; but these people might enter horses and win prizes, and
+even rent a box and exhibit their clothes. And they might induce the
+reporters to mention them--and of course the ignorant populace did
+not know the difference, and stared at them just as hard as at Mrs.
+Robbie or Mrs. Winnie. And so for a whole blissful week these people
+had all the sensations of being in Society! "It won't be very long
+before that will kill the Horse Show," said Mrs. Vivie Patton, with
+a snap of her black eyes.
+
+There was Miss Yvette Simpkins, for instance; Society frothed at the
+mouth when her name was mentioned. Miss Yvette was the niece of a
+stock-broker who was wealthy, and she thought that she was in
+Society, and the foolish public thought so, too. Miss Yvette made a
+speciality of newspaper publicity; you were always seeing her
+picture, with some new "Worth creation," and the picture would be
+labelled "Miss Yvette Simpkins, the best-dressed woman in New York,"
+or "Miss Yvette Simpkins, who is known as the best woman whip in
+Society." It was said that Miss Yvette, who was short and stout, and
+had a rosy German face, had paid five thousand dollars at one clip
+for photographs of herself in a new wardrobe; and her pictures were
+sent to the newspapers in bundles of a dozen at a time. Miss Yvette
+possessed over a million dollars' worth of diamonds--the finest in
+the country, according to the newspapers; she had spent a hundred
+and twenty-six thousand dollars this year upon her clothes, and she
+gave long interviews, in which she set forth the fact that a woman
+nowadays could not really be well dressed upon less than a hundred
+thousand a year. It was Miss Yvette's boast that she had never
+ridden in a street-car in her life.
+
+Montague always had a soft spot in his heart for the unfortunate
+Miss Yvette, who laboured so hard to be a guiding light; for it
+chanced to be while she was in the ring, exhibiting her skill in
+driving tandem, that he met with a fateful encounter. Afterward,
+when he came to look back upon these early days, it seemed strange
+to him that he should have gone about this place, so careless and
+unsuspecting, while the fates were weaving strange destinies about
+him.
+
+It was on Tuesday afternoon, and he sat in the box of Mrs. Venable,
+a sister-in-law of the Major. The Major, who was a care-free
+bachelor, was there himself, and also Betty Wyman, who was making
+sprightly comments on the passers-by; and there strolled into the
+box Chappie de Peyster, accompanied by a young lady.
+
+So many people had stopped and been introduced and then passed on,
+that Montague merely glanced at her once. He noticed that she was
+tall and graceful, and caught her name, Miss Hegan.
+
+The turnouts in the ring consisted of one horse harnessed in front
+of another; and Montague was wondering what conceivable motive could
+induce a human being to hitch and drive horses in that fashion. The
+conversation turned upon Miss Yvette, who was in the ring; and Betty
+remarked upon the airy grace with which she wielded the long whip
+she carried. "Did you see what the paper said about her this
+morning?" she asked. "' Miss Simpkins was exquisitely clad in purple
+velvet,' and so on! She looked for all the world like the Venus at
+the Hippodrome!"
+
+"Why isn't she in Society?" asked Montague, curiously.
+
+"She!" exclaimed Betty. "Why, she's a travesty!"
+
+There was a moment's pause, preceding a remark by their young lady
+visitor. "I've an idea," said she, "that the real reason she never
+got into Society was that she was fond of her old father."
+
+And Montague gave a short glance at the speaker, who was gazing
+fixedly into the ring. He heard the Major chuckle, and he thought
+that he heard Betty Wyman give a little sniff. A few moments later
+the young lady arose, and with some remark to Mrs. Venable about how
+well her costume became her, she passed on out of the box.
+
+"Who is that?" asked Montague.
+
+"That," the Major answered, "that's Laura Hegan--Jim Hegan's
+daughter."
+
+"Oh!" said Montague, and caught his breath. Jim Hegan--Napoleon of
+finance--czar of a gigantic system of railroads, and the power
+behind the political thrones of many states.
+
+"His only daughter, too," the Major added. "Gad, what a juicy morsel
+for somebody!"
+
+"Well, she'll make him pay for all he gets, whoever he is!" retorted
+Betty, vindictively.
+
+"You don't like her?" inquired Montague; and Betty replied promptly,
+"I do not!"
+
+"Her daddy and Betty's granddaddy are always at swords' points," put
+in Major Venable.
+
+"I have nothing to do with my granddaddy's quarrels," said the young
+lady. "I have troubles enough of my own."
+
+"What is the matter with Miss Hegan?" asked Montague, laughing.
+
+"She's an idea she's too good for the world she lives in," said
+Betty. "When you're with her, you feel as you will before the
+judgment throne."
+
+"Undoubtedly a disturbing feeling," put in the Major.
+
+"She never hands you anything but you find a pin hidden in it," went
+on the girl. "All her remarks are meant to be read backward, and my
+life is too short to straighten out their kinks. I like a person to
+say what they mean in plain English, and then I can either like them
+or not."
+
+"Mostly not," said the Major, grimly; and added, "Anyway, she's
+beautiful."
+
+"Perhaps," said the other. "So is the Jungfrau; but I prefer
+something more comfortable."
+
+"What's Chappie de Peyster beauing her around for?" asked Mrs.
+Venable. "Is he a candidate?"
+
+"Maybe his debts are troubling him again," said Mistress Betty. "He
+must be in a desperate plight.--Did you hear how Jack Audubon
+proposed to her?"
+
+"Did Jack propose?" exclaimed the Major.
+
+"Of course he did," said the girl. "His brother told me." Then, for
+Montague's benefit, she explained, "Jack Audubon is the Major's
+nephew, and he's a bookworm, and spends all his time collecting
+scarabs."
+
+"What did he say to her?" asked the Major, highly amused.
+
+"Why," said Betty, "he told her he knew she didn't love him; but
+also she knew that he didn't care anything about her money, and she
+might like to marry him so that other men would let her alone."
+
+"Gad!" cried the old gentleman, slapping his knee. "A masterpiece!"
+
+"Does she have so many suitors?" asked Montague; and the Major
+replied, "My dear boy--she'll have a hundred million dollars some
+day!"
+
+At this point Oliver put in appearance, and Betty got up and went
+for a stroll with him; then Montague asked for light upon Miss
+Hegan's remark.
+
+"What she said is perfectly true," replied the Major; "only it riled
+Betty. There's many a gallant dame cruising the social seas who has
+stowed her old relatives out of sight in the hold."
+
+"What's the matter with old Simpkins?" asked tho other.
+
+"Just a queer boy," was the reply. "He has a big pile, and his one
+joy in life is the divine Yvette. It is really he who makes her
+ridiculous--he has a regular press agent for her, a chap he loads up
+with jewellery and cheques whenever he gets her picture into the
+papers."
+
+The Major paused a moment to greet some acquaintance, and then
+resumed the conversation. Apparently he could gossip in this
+intimate fashion about any person whom you named. Old Simpkins had
+been very poor as a boy, it appeared, and he had never got over the
+memory of it. Miss Yvette spent fifty thousand at a clip for Paris
+gowns; but every day her old uncle would save up the lumps of sugar
+which came with the expensive lunch he had brought to his office.
+And when he had several pounds he would send them home by messenger!
+
+This conversation gave Montague a new sense of the complicatedness
+of the world into which he had come. Miss Simpkins was "impossible";
+and yet there was--for instance--that Mrs. Landis whom he had met
+at Mrs. Winnie Duval's. He had mot her several times at the show;
+and he heard the Major and his sister-in-law chuckling over a
+paragraph in the society journal, to the effect that Mrs. Virginia
+van Rensselaer Landis had just returned from a successful
+hunting-trip in the far West. He did not see the humour of this, at
+least not until they had told him of another paragraph which had
+appeared some time before: stating that Mrs. Landis had gone to
+acquire residence in South Dakota, taking with her thirty-five
+trunks and a poodle; and that "Leanie" Hopkins, the handsome young
+stock-broker, had taken a six months' vow of poverty, chastity, and
+obedience.
+
+And yet Mrs. Landis was "in" Society! And moreover, she spent nearly
+as much upon her clothes as Miss Yvette, and the clothes were quite
+as conspicuous; and if the papers did not print pages about them, it
+was not because Mrs. Landis was not perfectly willing. She was
+painted and made up quite as frankly as any chorus-girl on the
+stage. She laughed a great deal, and in a high key, and she and her
+friends told stories which made Montague wish to move out of the
+way.
+
+Mrs. Landis had for some reason taken a fancy to Alice, and invited
+her home to lunch with her twice during the show. And after they had
+got home in the evening, the girl sat upon the bed in her
+fur-trimmed wrapper, and told Montague and his mother and Mammy Lucy
+all about her visit.
+
+"I don't believe that woman has a thing to do or to think about in
+the world except to wear clothes!" she said. "Why, she has
+adjustable mirrors on ball-bearings, so that she can see every part
+of her skirts! And she gets all her gowns from Paris, four times a
+year--she says there are four seasons now, instead of two! I thought
+that my new clothes amounted to something, but my goodness, when I
+saw hers!"
+
+Then Alice went on to describe the unpacking of fourteen trunks,
+which had just come up from the custom-house that day. Mrs.
+Virginia's couturiere had her photograph and her colouring
+(represented in actual paints) and a figure made up from exact
+measurements; and so every one of the garments would fit her
+perfectly. Each one came stuffed with tissue paper and held in place
+by a lattice-work of tape; and attached to each gown was a piece of
+the fabric, from which her shoemaker would make shoes or slippers.
+There were street-costumes and opera-wraps, robes de chambre and
+tea-gowns, reception-dresses, and wonderful ball and dinner gowns.
+Most of these latter were to be embroidered with jewellery before
+they were worn, and imitation jewels were sewn on, to show how the
+real ones were to be placed. These garments were made of real lace
+or Parisian embroidery, and the prices paid for them were almost
+impossible to credit. Some of them were made of lace so filmy that
+the women who made them had to sit in damp cellars, because the
+sunlight would dry the fine threads and they would break; a single
+yard of the lace represented forty days of labour. There was a
+pastel "batiste de soie" Pompadour robe, embroidered with cream silk
+flowers, which had cost one thousand dollars. There was a hat to go
+with it, which had cost a hundred and twenty-five, and shoes of grey
+antelope-skin, buckled with mother-of-pearl, which had cost forty.
+There was a gorgeous and intricate ball-dress of pale green chiffon
+satin, with orchids embroidered in oxidized silver, and a long court
+train, studded with diamonds--and this had cost six thousand dollars
+without the jewels! And there was an auto-coat which had cost three
+thousand; and an opera-wrap made in Leipsic, of white unborn baby
+lamb, lined with ermine, which had cost twelve thousand--with a
+thousand additional for a hat to match! Mrs. Landis thought nothing
+of paying thirty-five dollars for a lace handkerchief, or sixty
+dollars for a pair of spun silk hose, or two hundred dollars for a
+pearl and gold-handled parasol trimmed with cascades of chiffon, and
+made, like her hats, one for each gown.
+
+"And she insists that these things are worth the money," said Alice.
+"She says it's not only the material in them, but the ideas. Each
+costume is a study, like a picture. 'I pay for the creative genius
+of the artist,' she said to me--'for his ability to catch my ideas
+and apply them to my personality--my complexion and hair and eyes.
+Sometimes I design my own costumes, and so I know what hard work it
+is!'"
+
+Mrs. Landis came from one of New York's oldest families, and she was
+wealthy in her own right; she had a palace on Fifth Avenue, and now
+that she had turned her husband out, she had nothing at all to put
+in it except her clothes. Alice told about the places in which she
+kept them--it was like a museum! There was a gown-room, made
+dust-proof, of polished hardwood, and with tier upon tier of long
+poles running across, and padded skirt-supporters hanging from them.
+Everywhere there was order and system--each skirt was numbered, and
+in a chiffonier-drawer of the same number you would find the
+waist--and so on with hats and stockings and gloves and shoes and
+parasols. There was a row of closets, having shelves piled up with
+dainty lace-trimmed and beribboned lingerie; there were two closets
+full of hats and three of shoes. "When she went West," said Alice,
+"one of her maids counted, and found that she had over four hundred
+pairs! And she actually has a cabinet with a card-catalogue to keep
+track of them. And all the shelves are lined with perfumed silk
+sachets, and she has tiny sachets sewed in every skirt and waist;
+and she has her own private perfume--she gave me some. She calls it
+Occur de Jeannette, and she says she designed it herself, and had it
+patented!"
+
+And then Alice went on to describe the maid's work-room, which was
+also of polished hardwood, and dust-proof, and had a balcony for
+brushing clothes, and wires upon which to hang them, and hot and
+cold water, and a big ironing-table and an electric stove. "But
+there can't be much work to do," laughed the girl, "for she never
+wears a gown more than two or three times. Just think of paying
+several thousand dollars for a costume, and giving it to your poor
+relations after you have worn it only twice! And the worst of it is
+that Mrs. Landis says it's all nothing unusual; you'll find such
+arrangements in every home of people who are socially prominent. She
+says there are women who boast of never appearing twice in the same
+gown, and there's one dreadful personage in Boston who wears each
+costume once, and then has it solemnly cremated by her butler!"
+
+"It is wicked to do such things," put in old Mrs. Montague, when she
+had heard this tale through. "I don't see how people can get any
+pleasure out of it."
+
+"That's what I said," replied Alice.
+
+"To whom did you say that?" asked Montague. "To Mrs. Landis?"
+
+"No," said Alice, "to a cousin of hers. I was downstairs waiting for
+her, and this girl came in. And we got to talking about it, and I
+said that I didn't think I could ever get used to such things."
+
+"What did she say?" asked the other.
+
+"She answered me strangely," said the girl. "She's tall, and very
+stately, and I was a little bit afraid of her. She said, 'You'll get
+used to it. Everybody you know will be doing it, and if you try to
+do differently they'll take offence; and you won't have the courage
+to do without friends. You'll be meaning every day to stop, but you
+never will, and you'll go on until you die.'"
+
+"What did you say to that?"
+
+"Nothing," answered Alice. "Just then Mrs. Landis came in, and Miss
+Hegan went away."
+
+"Miss Hegan?" echoed Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "That's her name--Laura Hegan. Have you met
+her?"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+
+
+
+The Horse Show was held in Madison Square Garden, a building
+occupying a whole city block. It seemed to Montague that during the
+four days he attended he was introduced to enough people to fill it
+to the doors. Each one of the exquisite ladies and gentlemen
+extended to him a delicately gloved hand, and remarked what perfect
+weather they were having, and asked him how long he had been in New
+York, and what he thought of it. Then they would talk about the
+horses, and about the people who were present, and what they had on.
+
+He saw little of his brother, who was squiring the Walling ladies
+most of the time; and Alice, too, was generally separated from him
+and taken care of by others. Yet he was never alone--there was
+always some young matron ready to lead him to her carriage and whisk
+him away to lunch or dinner.
+
+Many times he wondered why people should be so kind to him, a
+stranger, and one who could do nothing for them in return. Mrs.
+Billy Alden undertook to explain it to him, one afternoon, as he sat
+in her box. There had to be some people to enjoy, it appeared, or
+there would be no fun in the game. "Everything is new and strange to
+you," said she, "and you're delicious and refreshing; you make these
+women think perhaps they oughtn't to be so bored after all! Here's a
+woman who's bought a great painting; she's told that it's great, but
+she doesn't understand it herself--all she knows is that it cost
+her a hundred thousand dollars. And now you come along, and to you
+it's really a painting--and don't you see how gratifying that is to
+her?"
+
+"Oliver is always telling me it's bad form to admire," said the man,
+laughing.
+
+"Yes?" said the other. "Well, don't you let that brother of yours
+spoil you. There are more than enough of blase people in town--you
+be yourself."
+
+He appreciated the compliment, but added, "I'm afraid that when the
+novelty is worn off, people will be tired of me."
+
+"You'll find your place," said Mrs. Alden--"the people you like and
+who like you." And she went on to explain that here he was being
+passed about among a number of very different "sets," with different
+people and different tastes. Society had become split up in that
+manner of late--each set being jealous and contemptuous of all the
+other sets. Because of the fact that they overlapped a little at the
+edges, it was possible for him to meet here a great many people who
+never met each other, and were even unaware of each other's
+existence.
+
+And Mrs. Alden went on to set forth the difference between these
+"sets"; they ran from the most exclusive down to the most "yellow,"
+where they shaded off into the disreputable rich--of whom, it
+seemed, there were hordes in the city. These included "sporting" and
+theatrical and political people, some of whom were very rich indeed;
+and these sets in turn shaded off into the criminals and the
+demi-monde--who might also easily be rich. "Some day," said Mrs.
+Alden "you should get my brother to tell you about all these people.
+He's been in politics, you know, and he has a racing-stable."
+
+And Mrs. Alden told him about the subtle little differences in the
+conventions of these various sets of Society. There was the matter
+of women smoking, for instance. All women smoked, nowadays; but some
+would do it only in their own apartments, with their women friends;
+and some would retire to an out-of-the-way corner to do it; while
+others would smoke in their own dining-rooms, or wherever the men
+smoked. All agreed however, in never smoking "in public"--that is,
+where they would be seen by people not of their own set. Such, at
+any rate, had always been the rule, though a few daring ones were
+beginning to defy even that.
+
+Such rules were very rigid, but they were purely conventional, they
+had nothing to do with right or wrong: a fact which Mrs. Alden set
+forth with her usual incisiveness. A woman, married or unmarried,
+might travel with a man all over Europe, and every one might know
+that she did it, but it would make no difference, so long as she did
+not do it in America. There was one young matron whom Montague would
+meet, a raging beauty, who regularly got drunk at dinner parties,
+and had to be escorted to her carriage by the butler. She moved in
+the most exclusive circles, and every one treated it as a joke.
+Unpleasant things like this did not hurt a person unless they got
+"out"--that is, unless they became a scandal in the courts or the
+newspapers. Mrs. Alden herself had a cousin (whom she cordially
+hated) who had gotten a divorce from her husband and married her
+lover forthwith and had for this been ostracized by Society. Once
+when she came to some semi-public affair, fifty women had risen at
+once and left the room! She might have lived with her lover, both
+before and after the divorce, and every one might have known it, and
+no one would have cared; but the convenances declared that she
+should not marry him until a year had elapsed after the divorce.
+
+One thing to which Mrs. Alden could testify, as a result of a
+lifetime's observation, was the rapid rate at which these
+conventions, even the most essential of them, were giving way, and
+being replaced by a general "do as you please." Anyone could see
+that the power of women like Mrs. Devon, who represented the old
+regime, and were dignified and austere and exclusive, was yielding
+before the onslaught of new people, who were bizarre and fantastic
+and promiscuous and loud. And the younger sets cared no more about
+anyone--nor about anything under heaven, save to have a good time in
+their own harum-scarum ways. In the old days one always received a
+neatly-written or engraved invitation to dinner, worded in
+impersonal and formal style; but the other day Mrs. Alden had found
+a message which had been taken from the telephone: "Please come to
+dinner, but don't come unless you can bring a man, or we'll be
+thirteen at the table."
+
+And along with this went a perfectly incredible increase in luxury
+and extravagance. "You are surprised at what you see here to-day,"
+said she--"but take my word for it, if you were to come back five
+years later, you'd find all our present standards antiquated, and
+our present pace-makers sent to the rear. You'd find new hotels and
+theatres opening, and food and clothing and furniture that cost
+twice as much as they cost now. Not so long ago a private car was a
+luxury; now it's as much a necessity as an opera-box or a private
+ball-room, and people who really count have private trains. I can
+remember when our girls wore pretty muslin gowns in summer, and sent
+them to wash; now they wear what they call lingerie gowns, dimity en
+princesse, with silk embroidery and real lace and ribbons, that cost
+a thousand dollars apiece and won't wash. Years ago when I gave a
+dinner, I invited a dozen friends, and my own chef cooked it and my
+own servants served it. Now I have to pay my steward ten thousand a
+year, and nothing that I have is good enough. I have to ask forty or
+fifty people, and I call in a caterer, and he brings everything of
+his own, and my servants go off and get drunk. You used to get a
+good dinner for ten dollars a plate, and fifteen was something
+special; but now you hear of dinners that cost a thousand a plate!
+And it's not enough to have beautiful flowers on the table--you have
+to have 'scenery'; there must be a rural landscape for a background,
+and goldfish in the finger-bowls, and five thousand dollars' worth
+of Florida orchids on the table, and floral favours of roses that
+cost a hundred and fifty dollars a dozen. I attended a dinner at the
+Waldorf last year that had cost fifty thousand dollars; and when I
+ask those people to see me, I have to give them as good as I got.
+The other day I paid a thousand dollars for a tablecloth!"
+
+"Why do you do it?" asked Montague, abruptly.
+
+"God knows," said the other; "I don't. I sometimes wonder myself. I
+guess it's because I've nothing else to do. It's like the story they
+tell about my brother--he was losing money in a gambling-place in
+Saratoga, and some one said to him, 'Davy, why do you go
+there--don't you know the game is crooked?' 'Of course it's
+crooked,' said he, 'but, damn it, it's the only game in town!'"
+
+"The pressure is more than anyone can stand," said Mrs. Alden, after
+a moment's thought. "It's like trying to swim against a current. You
+have to float, and do what every one expects you to do--your
+children and your friends and your servants and your tradespeople.
+All the world is in a conspiracy against you."
+
+"It's appalling to me," said the man.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "and there's never any end to it. You think
+you know it all, but you find you really know very little. Just
+think of the number of people there are trying to go the pace! They
+say there are seven thousand millionaires in this country, but I say
+there are twenty thousand in New York alone--or if they don't own a
+million, they're spending the income of it, which amounts to the
+same thing. You can figure that a man who pays ten thousand a year
+for rent is paying fifty thousand to live; and there's Fifth
+Avenue--two miles of it, if you count the uptown and downtown parts;
+and there's Madison Avenue, and half a dozen houses adjoining on
+every side street; and then there are the hotels and apartment
+houses, to say nothing of the West Side and Riverside Drive. And you
+meet these mobs of people in the shops and the hotels and the
+theatres, and they all want to be better dressed than you. I saw a
+woman here to-day that I never saw in my life before, and I heard
+her say she'd paid two thousand dollars for a lace handkerchief; and
+it might have been true, for I've been asked to pay ten thousand for
+a lace shawl at a bargain. It's a common enough thing to see a woman
+walking on Fifth Avenue with twenty or thirty thousand dollars'
+worth of furs on her. Fifty thousand is often paid for a coat of
+sable, and I know of one that cost two hundred thousand. I know
+women who have a dozen sets of furs--ermine, chinchilla, black fox,
+baby lamb, and mink and sable; and I know a man whose chauffeur quit
+him because he wouldn't buy him a ten-thousand-dollar fur coat! And
+once people used to pack their furs away and take care of them; but
+now they wear them about the street, or at the sea-shore, and you
+can fairly see them fade. Or else their cut goes out of fashion, and
+so they have to have new ones!"
+
+All that was material for thought. It was all true--there was no
+question about that. It seemed to be the rule that whenever you
+questioned a tale of the extravagances of New York, you would hear
+the next day of something several times more startling. Montague was
+staggered at the idea of a two-hundred-thousand-dollar fur coat; and
+yet not long afterward there arrived in the city a titled
+Englishwoman, who owned a coat worth a million dollars, which
+hard-headed insurance companies had insured for half a million. It
+was made of the soft plumage of rare Hawaiian birds, and had taken
+twenty years to make; each feather was crescent-shaped, and there
+were wonderful designs in crimson and gold and black. Every day in
+the casual conversation of your acquaintances you heard of similar
+incredible things; a tiny antique Persian rug, which could be folded
+into an overcoat pocket, for ten thousand dollars; a set of five
+"art fans," each blade painted by a famous artist and costing
+forty-three thousand dollars; a crystal cup for eighty thousand; an
+edition de luxe of the works of Dickens for a hundred thousand; a
+ruby, the size of a pigeon's egg, for three hundred thousand. In
+some of these great New York palaces there were fountains which cost
+a hundred dollars a minute to run; and in the harbour there were
+yachts which cost twenty thousand a month to keep in commission.
+
+And that same day, as it chanced, he learned of a brand-new kind of
+squandering. He went home to lunch with Mrs. Winnie Duval, and there
+met Mrs. Caroline Smythe, with whom he had talked at Castle Havens.
+Mrs. Smythe, whose husband had been a well-known Wall Street
+plunger, was soft and mushy, and very gushing in manner; and she
+asked him to come home to dinner with her, adding, "I'll introduce
+you to my babies."
+
+From what Montague had so far seen, he judged that babies played a
+very small part in the lives of the women of Society; and so he was
+interested, and asked, "How many have you?"
+
+"Only two, in town," said Mrs. Smythe. "I've just come up, you see."
+
+"How old are they?" he inquired politely; and when the lady added,
+"About two years," he asked, "Won't they be in bed by dinner time?"
+
+"Oh my, no!" said Mrs. Smythe. "The dear little lambs wait up for
+me. I always find them scratching at my chamber door and wagging
+their little tails."
+
+Then Mrs. Winnie laughed merrily and said, "Why do you fool him?"
+and went on to inform Montague that Caroline's "babies" were
+griffons Bruxelloises. Griffons suggested to him vague ideas of
+dragons and unicorns and gargoyles; but he said nothing more, save
+to accept the invitation, and that evening he discovered that
+griffons Bruxelloises were tiny dogs, long-haired, yellow, and
+fluffy; and that for her two priceless treasures Mrs. Smythe had an
+expert nurse, to whom she paid a hundred dollars a month, and also a
+footman, and a special cuisine in which their complicated food was
+prepared. They had a regular dentist, and a physician, and gold
+plate to eat from. Mrs. Smythe also owned two long-haired St.
+Bernards of a very rare breed, and a fierce Great Dane, and a very
+fat Boston bull pup--the last having been trained to go for an
+airing all alone in her carriage, with a solemn coachman and footman
+to drive him.
+
+Montague, deftly keeping the conversation upon the subject of pets,
+learned that all this was quite common. Many women in Society
+artificially made themselves barren, because of the inconvenience
+incidental to pregnancy and motherhood; and instead they lavished
+their affections upon cats and dogs. Some of these animals had
+elaborate costumes, rivalling in expensiveness those of their
+step-mothers. They wore tiny boots, which cost eight dollars a
+pair--house boots, and street boots lacing up to the knees; they had
+house-coats, walking-coats, dusters, sweaters, coats lined with
+ermine, and automobile coats with head and chest-protectors and
+hoods and goggles--and each coat fitted with a pocket for its tiny
+handkerchief of fine linen or lace! And they had collars set with
+rubies and pearls and diamonds--one had a collar that cost ten
+thousand dollars! Sometimes there would be a coat to match every
+gown of the owner. There were dog nurseries and resting-rooms, in
+which they might be left temporarily; and manicure parlours for
+cats, with a physician in charge. When these pets died, there was an
+expensive cemetery in Brooklyn especially for their interment; and
+they would be duly embalmed and buried in plush-lined casket, and
+would have costly marble monuments. When one of Mrs. Smythe's best
+loved pugs had fallen ill of congestion of the liver, she had had
+tan-bark put upon the street in front of her house; and when in
+spite of this the dog died, she had sent out cards edged in black,
+inviting her friends to a "memorial service." Also she showed
+Montague a number of books with very costly bindings, in which were
+demonstrated the unity, simplicity, and immortality of the souls of
+cats and dogs.
+
+Apparently the sentimental Mrs. Smythe was willing to talk about
+these pets all through dinner; and so was her aunt, a thin and
+angular spinster, who sat on Montague's other side. And he was
+willing to listen--he wanted to know it all. There were umbrellas
+for dogs, to be fastened over their backs in wet weather; there were
+manicure and toilet sets, and silver medicine-chests, and
+jewel-studded whips. There were sets of engraved visiting-cards;
+there were wheel-chairs in which invalid cats and dogs might be
+taken for an airing. There were shows for cats and dogs, with
+pedigrees and prizes, and nearly as great crowds as the Horse Show;
+Mrs. Smythe's St. Bernards were worth seven thousand dollars apiece,
+and there were bull-dogs worth twice that. There was a woman who had
+come all the way from the Pacific coast to have a specialist perform
+an operation upon the throat of her Yorkshire terrier! There was
+another who had built for her dog a tiny Queen Anne cottage, with
+rooms papered and carpeted and hung with lace curtains! Once a young
+man of fashion had come to the Waldorf and registered himself and
+"Miss Elsie Cochrane"; and when the clerk made the usual inquiries
+as to the relationship of the young lady, it transpired that Miss
+Elsie was a dog, arrayed in a prim little tea-gown, and requiring a
+room to herself. And then there was a tale of a cat which had
+inherited a life-pension from a forty-thousand-dollar estate; it had
+a two-floor apartment and several attendants, and sat at table and
+ate shrimps and Italian chestnuts, and had a velvet couch for naps,
+and a fur-lined basket for sleeping at night!
+
+Four days of horses were enough for Montague, and on Friday morning,
+when Siegfried Harvey called him up and asked if he and Alice would
+come out to "The Roost" for the week-end, he accepted gladly.
+Charlie Carter was going, and volunteered to take them in his car;
+and so again they crossed the Williamsburg Bridge--"the Jewish
+passover," as Charlie called it--and went out on Long Island.
+
+Montague was very anxious to get a "line" on Charlie Carter; for he
+had not been prepared for the startling promptness with which this
+young man had fallen at Alice's feet. It was so obvious, that
+everybody was smiling over it--he was with her every minute that he
+could arrange it, and he turned up at every place to which she was
+invited. Both Mrs. Winnie and Oliver were quite evidently
+complacent, but Montague was by no means the same. Charlie had
+struck him as a good-natured but rather weak youth, inclined to
+melancholy; he was never without a cigarette in his fingers, and
+there had been signs that he was not quite proof against the
+pitfalls which Society set about him in the shape of decanters and
+wine-cups: though in a world where the fragrance of spirits was
+never out of one's nostrils, and where people drank with such
+perplexing frequency, it was hard to know where to draw a line.
+
+"You won't find my place like Havens's," Siegfried Harvey had said.
+"It is real country." Montague found it the most attractive of all
+the homes he had seen so far. It was a big rambling house, all in
+rustic style, with great hewn logs outside, and rafters within, and
+a winding oak stairway, and any number of dens and cosy corners, and
+broad window-seats with mountains of pillows. Everything here was
+built for comfort--there was a billiard-room and a smoking-room, and
+a real library with readable bogles and great chairs in which one
+sank out of sight. There were log fires blazing everywhere, and
+pictures on the walls that told of sport, and no end of guns and
+antlers and trophies of all sorts. But you were not to suppose that
+all this elaborate rusticity would be any excuse for the absence of
+attendants in livery, and a chef who boasted the cordon bleu, and a
+dinner-table resplendent with crystal and silver and orchids and
+ferns. After all, though the host called it a "small" place, he had
+invited twenty guests, and he had a hunter in his stables for each
+one of them.
+
+But the most wonderful thing about "The Roost" was the fact that, at
+a touch of a button, all the walls of the lower rooms vanished into
+the second story, and there was one huge, log-lighted room, with
+violins tuning up and calling to one's feet. They set a fast pace
+here--the dancing lasted until three o'clock, and at dawn again they
+were dressed and mounted, and following the pink-coated grooms and
+the hounds across the frost-covered fields.
+
+Montague was half prepared for a tame fox, but this was pared him.
+There was a real game, it seemed; and soon the pack gave tongue, and
+away went the hunt. It was the wildest ride that Montague ever had
+taken--over ditches and streams and innumerable rail-fences, and
+through thick coverts and densely populated barnyards; but he was in
+at the death, and Alice was only a few yards behind, to the immense
+delight of the company. This seemed to Montague the first real life
+he had met, and he thought to himself that these full-blooded and
+high-spirited men and women made a "set" into which he would have
+been glad to fit--save only that he had to earn his living, and they
+did not.
+
+In the afternoon there was more riding, and walks in the crisp
+November air; and indoors, bridge and rackets and ping-pong, and a
+fast and furious game of roulette, with the host as banker. "Do I
+look much like a professional gambler?" he asked of Montague; and
+when the other replied that he had not yet met any New York
+gamblers, young Harvey went on to tell how he had gone to buy this
+apparatus (the sale of which was forbidden by law) and had been
+asked by the dealer how "strong" he wanted it!
+
+Then in the evening there was more dancing, and on Sunday another
+hunt. That night a gambling mood seemed to seize the company--there
+were two bridge tables, and in another room the most reckless game
+of poker that Montague had ever sat in. It broke up at three in the
+morning, and one of the company wrote him a cheque for sixty-five
+hundred dollars; but even that could not entirely smooth his
+conscience, nor reconcile him to the fever that was in his blood.
+
+Most important to him, however, was the fact that during the game he
+at last got to know Charlie Carter. Charlie did not play, for the
+reason that he was drunk, and one of the company told him so and
+refused to play with him; which left poor Charlie nothing to do but
+get drunker. This he did, and came and hung over the shoulders of
+the players, and told the company all about himself.
+
+Montague was prepared to allow for the "wild oats" of a youngster
+with unlimited money, but never in his life had he heard or dreamed
+of anything like this boy. For half an hour he wandered about the
+table, and poured out a steady stream of obscenities; his mind was
+like a swamp, in which dwelt loathsome and hideous serpents which
+came to the surface at night and showed their flat heads and their
+slimy coils. In the heavens above or the earth beneath there was
+nothing sacred to him; there was nothing too revolting to be spewed
+out. And the company accepted the performance as an old story--the
+men would laugh, and push the boy away, and say, "Oh, Charlie, go to
+the devil!"
+
+After it was all over, Montague took one of the company aside and
+asked him what it meant; to which the man replied: "Good God! Do you
+mean that nobody has told you about Charlie Carter?"
+
+It appeared that Charlie was one of the "gilded youths" of the
+Tenderloin, whose exploits had been celebrated in the papers. And
+after the attendants had bundled him off to bed, several of the men
+gathered about the fire and sipped hot punch, and rehearsed for
+Montague's benefit some of his leading exploits.
+
+Charlie was only twenty-three, it seemed; and when he was ten his
+father had died and left eight or ten millions in trust for him, in
+the care of a poor, foolish aunt whom he twisted about his ringer.
+At the age of twelve he was a cigarette fiend, and had the run of
+the wine-cellar. When he went to a rich private school he took whole
+trunks full of cigarettes with him, and finally ran away to Europe,
+to acquire the learning of the brothels of Paris. And then he came
+home and struck the Tenderloin; and at three o'clock one morning he
+walked through a plate-glass window, and so the newspapers took him
+up. That had suddenly opened a new vista in life for Charlie--he
+became a devotee of fame; everywhere he went he was followed by
+newspaper reporters and a staring crowd. He carried wads as big
+round as his arm, and gave away hundred-dollar tips to bootblacks,
+and lost forty thousand dollars in a game of poker. He gave a fete
+to the demi-monde, with a jewelled Christmas tree in midsummer, and
+fifty thousand dollars' worth of splendour. But the greatest stroke
+of all was the announcement that he was going to build a submarine
+yacht and fill it with chorus-girls!--Now Charlie had sunk out of
+public attention, and his friends would not see him for days; he
+would be lying in a "sporting house" literally wallowing in
+champagne.
+
+And all this, Montague realized, his brother must have known! And he
+had said not a word about it--because of the eight or ten millions
+which Charlie would have when he was twenty-five!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+
+
+
+In the morning they went home with others of the party by train.
+They could not wait for Charlie and his automobile, because Monday
+was the opening night of the Opera, and no one could miss that. Here
+Society would appear in its most gorgeous raiment, and, there would
+be a show of jewellery such as could be seen nowhere else in the
+world.
+
+General Prentice and his wife had opened their town-house, and had
+invited them to dinner and to share their box; and so at about
+half-past nine o'clock Montague found himself seated in a great
+balcony of the shape of a horseshoe, with several hundred of the
+richest people in the city. There was another tier of boxes above,
+and three galleries above that, and a thousand or more people seated
+and standing below him. Upon the big stage there was an elaborate
+and showy play, the words of which were sung to the accompaniment of
+an orchestra.
+
+Now Montague had never heard an opera, and he was fond of music. The
+second act had just begun when he came in, and all through it he sat
+quite spellbound, listening to the most ravishing strains that ever
+he had heard in his life. He scarcely noticed that Mrs. Prentice was
+spending her time studying the occupants of the other boxes through
+a jewelled lorgnette, or that Oliver was chattering to her daughter.
+
+But after the act was over, Oliver got him alone outside the box,
+and whispered, "For God's sake, Allan, don't make a fool of
+yourself."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" asked the other.
+
+"What will people think," exclaimed Oliver, "seeing you sitting
+there like a man in a dope dream?"
+
+"Why," laughed the other, "they'll think I'm listening to the
+music."
+
+To which Oliver responded, "People don't come to the Opera to listen
+to the music."
+
+This sounded like a joke, but it was not. To Society the Opera was a
+great state function, an exhibition of far more exclusiveness and
+magnificence than the Horse Show; and Society certainly had the
+right to say, for it owned the opera-house and ran it. The real
+music-lovers who came, either stood up in the back, or sat in the
+fifth gallery, close to the ceiling, where the air was foul and hot.
+How much Society cared about the play was sufficiently indicated by
+the fact that all of the operas were sung in foreign languages, and
+sung so carelessly that the few who understood the languages could
+make but little of the words. Once there was a world-poet who
+devoted his life to trying to make the Opera an art; and in the
+battle with Society he all but starved to death. Now, after half a
+century, his genius had triumphed, and Society consented to sit for
+hours in darkness and listen to the domestic disputes of German gods
+and goddesses. But what Society really cared for was a play with
+beautiful costumes and scenery and dancing, and pretty songs to
+which one could listen while one talked; the story must be elemental
+and passionate, so that one could understand it in pantomime--say
+the tragic love of a beautiful and noble-minded courtesan for a
+gallant young man of fashion.
+
+Nearly every one who came to the Opera had a glass, by means of
+which he could bring each gorgeously-clad society dame close to him,
+and study her at leisure. There were said to be two hundred million
+dollars' worth of diamonds in New York, and those that were not in
+the stores were very apt to be at this show; for here was where they
+could accomplish the purpose for which they existed--here was where
+all the world came to stare at them. There were nine prominent
+Society women, who among them displayed five million dollars' worth
+of jewels. You would see stomachers which looked like a piece of a
+coat of mail, and were made wholly of blazing diamonds. You would
+see emeralds and rubies and diamonds and pearls made in tiaras--that
+is to say, imitation crowns and coronets--and exhibited with a
+stout and solemn dowager for a pediment. One of the Wallings had set
+this fashion, and now every one of importance wore them. One lady to
+whom Montague was introduced made a speciality of pearls--two black
+pearl ear-rings at forty thousand dollars, a string at three hundred
+thousand, a brooch of pink pearls at fifty thousand, and two
+necklaces at a quarter of a million each!
+
+This incessant repetition of the prices of things came to seem very
+sordid; but Montague found that there was no getting away from it.
+The people in Society who paid these prices affected to be above all
+such considerations, to be interested only in the beauty and
+artistic excellence of the things themselves; but one found that
+they always talked about the prices which other people had paid, and
+that somehow other people always knew what they had paid. They took
+care also to see that the public and the newspapers knew what they
+had paid, and knew everything else that they were doing. At this
+Opera, for instance, there was a diagram of the boxes printed upon
+the programme, and a list of all the box-holders, so that anyone
+could tell who was who. You might see these great dames in their
+gorgeous robes coming from their carriages, with crowds staring at
+them and detectives hovering about. And the bosom of each would be
+throbbing with a wild and wonderful vision of the moment when she
+would enter her box, and the music would be forgotten, and all eyes
+would be turned upon her; and she would lay aside her wraps, and
+flash upon the staring throngs, a vision of dazzling splendour.
+
+Some of these jewels were family treasures, well known to New York
+for generations; and in such cases it was becoming the fashion to
+leave the real jewels in the safe-deposit vault, and to wear
+imitation stones exactly like them. From homes where the jewels were
+kept, detectives were never absent, and in many cases there were
+detectives watching the detectives; and yet every once in a while
+the newspapers would be full of a sensational story of a robbery.
+Then the unfortunates who chanced to be suspected would be seized by
+the police and subjected to what was jocularly termed the "third
+degree," and consisted of tortures as elaborate and cruel as any
+which the Spanish Inquisition had invented. The advertising value of
+this kind of thing was found to be so great that famous actresses
+also had costly jewels, and now and then would have them stolen.
+
+That night, when they had got home, Montague had a talk with his
+cousin about Charlie Carter. He discovered a peculiar situation. It
+seemed that Alice already knew that Charlie had been "bad." He was
+sick and miserable; and her beauty and innocence had touched him and
+made him ashamed of himself, and ho had hinted darkly at dreadful
+evils. Thus carefully veiled, and tinged with mystery and romance,
+Montague could understand how Charlie made an interesting and
+appealing figure. "He says I'm different from any girl he ever met,"
+said Alice--a remark of such striking originality that her cousin
+could not keep back his smile.
+
+Alice was not the least bit in love with him, and had no idea of
+being; and she said that she would accept no invitations, and never
+go alone with him; but she did not see how she could avoid him when
+she met him at other people's houses. And to this Montague had to
+assent.
+
+General Prentice had inquired kindly as to what Montague had seen in
+New York, and how he was getting along. He added that he had talked
+about him to Judge Ellis, and that when he was ready to get to work,
+the Judge would perhaps have some suggestions to make to him. He
+approved, however, of Montague's plan of getting his bearings first;
+and said that he would introduce him and put him up at a couple of
+the leading clubs.
+
+All this remained in Montague's mind; but there was no use trying to
+think of it at the moment. Thanksgiving was at hand, and in
+countless country mansions there would be gaieties under way. Bertie
+Stuyvesant had planned an excursion to his Adirondack camp, and had
+invited a score or so of young people, including the Montagues. This
+would be a new feature of the city's life, worth knowing about.
+
+Their expedition began with a theatre-party. Bertie had engaged four
+boxes, and they met there, an hour or so after the performance had
+begun. This made no difference, however, for the play was like the
+opera-a number of songs and dances strung together, and with only
+plot. enough to provide occasion for elaborate scenery and costumes.
+From the play they were carried to the Grand Central Station, and a
+little before midnight Bertie's private train set out on its
+journey.
+
+This train was a completely equipped hotel. There was a baggage
+compartment and a dining-car and kitchen; and a drawing-room and
+library-car; and a bedroom-car--not with berths, such as the
+ordinary sleeping-car provides, but with comfortable bedrooms,
+furnished in white mahogany, and provided with running water and
+electric light. All these cars were built of steel, and
+automatically ventilated: and they were furnished in the luxurious
+fashion of everything with which Bertie Stuyvcsant had anything to
+do. In the library-car there were velvet carpets upon the floor, and
+furniture of South American mahogany, and paintings upon the walls
+over which groat artists had laboured for years.
+
+Bertie's chef and servants were on board, and a supper was ready in
+the dining-car, which they ate while watching the Hudson by
+moonlight. And the next morning they reached their destination, a
+little station in the mountain wilderness. The train lay upon a
+switch, and so they had breakfast at their leisure, and then,
+bundled in furs, came out into the crisp pine-laden air of the
+woods. There was snow upon the ground, and eight big sleighs
+waiting; and for nearly three hours they drove in the frosty
+sunlight, through most beautiful mountain scenery. A good part of
+the drive was in Bertie's "preserve," and the road was private, as
+big signs notified one every hundred yards or so.
+
+So at last they reached a lake, winding like a snake among towering
+hills, and with a huge baronial castle standing out upon the rocky
+shore. This imitation fortress was the "camp."
+
+Bertie's father had built it, and visited it only half a dozen times
+in his life. Bertie himself had only been here twice, he said. The
+deer were so plentiful that in the winter they died in scores.
+Nevertheless there were thirty game-keepers to guard the ten
+thousand acres of forest, and prevent anyone's hunting in it. There
+were many such "preserves" in this Adiron-dack wilderness, so
+Montague was told; one man had a whole mountain fenced about with
+heavy iron railing, and had moose and elk and even wild boar inside.
+And as for the "camps," there were so many that a new style of
+architecture had been developed here--to say nothing of those which
+followed old styles, like this imported Rhine castle. One of
+Bertie's crowd had a big Swiss chalet; and one of the Wallings had a
+Japanese palace to which he came every August--a house which had
+been built from plans drawn in Japan, and by labourers imported
+especially from Japan. It was full of Japanese ware--furniture,
+tapestry, and mosaics; and the guides remembered with wonder the
+strange silent, brown-skinned little men who had laboured for days
+at carving a bit of wood, and had built a tiny pagoda-like tea-house
+with more bits of wood in it than a man could count in a week.
+
+They had a luncheon of fresh venison and partridges and trout, and
+in the afternoon a hunt. The more active set out to track the deer
+in the snow; but most prepared to watch the lake-shore, while the
+game-keepers turned loose the dogs back in the hills. This
+"hounding" was against the law, but Bertie was his own law here--and
+at the worst there could simply be a small fine, imposed upon some
+of the keepers. They drove eight or ten deer to water; and as they
+fired as many as twenty shots at one deer, they had quite a lively
+time. Then at dusk they came back, in a fine glow of excitement, and
+spent the evening before the blazing logs, telling over their
+adventures.
+
+The party spent two days and a half here, and on the last evening,
+which was Thanksgiving, they had a wild turkey which Bertie had shot
+the week before in Virginia, and were entertained by a minstrel show
+which had been brought up from New York the night before. The next
+afternoon they drove back to the train.
+
+In the morning, when they reached the city, Alice found a note from
+Mrs. Winnie Duval, begging her and Montague to come to lunch and
+attend a private lecture by the Swami Babubanana, who would tell
+them all about the previous states of their souls. They went--though
+not without a protest from old Mrs. Montague, who declared it was
+"worse than Bob Ingersoll."
+
+And then, in the evening, came Mrs. de Graffenried's opening
+entertainment, which was one of the great events of the social year.
+In the general rush of things Montague had not had a chance properly
+to realize it; but Reggie Mann and Mrs. de Graffenried had been
+working over it for weeks. When the Montagues arrived, they found
+the Riverside mansion--which was decorated in imitation of an
+Arabian palace--turned into a jungle of tropical plants.
+
+They had come early at Reggie's request, and he introduced them to
+Mrs. de Graffenried, a tall and angular lady with a leathern
+complexion painfully painted; Mrs. de Graffenried was about fifty
+years of age, but like all the women of Society she was made up for
+thirty. Just at present there were beads of perspiration upon her
+forehead; something had gone wrong at the last moment, and so Reggie
+would have no time to show them the favours, as he had intended.
+
+About a hundred and fifty guests were invited to this entertainment.
+A supper was served at little tables in the great ball-room, and
+afterward the guests wandered about the house while the tables were
+whisked out of the way and the room turned into a play-house. A
+company from one of the Broadway theatres would be bundled into cabs
+at the end of the performance, and by midnight they would be ready
+to repeat the performance at Mrs. do Graffenried's. Montague chanced
+to bo near when this company arrived, and he observed that the
+guests had crowded up too close, and not left room enough for the
+actors. So the manager had placed them in a little ante-room, and
+when Mrs. de Graffenried observed this, she rushed at the man, and
+swore at him like a dragoon, and ordered the bewildered performers
+out into the main room.
+
+But this was peering behind the scenes, and he was supposed to be
+watching the play. The entertainment was another "musical comedy"
+like the one he had seen a few nights before. On that occasion,
+however, Bertie Stuyvesant's sister had talked to him the whole
+time, while now he was let alone, and had a chance to watch the
+performance.
+
+This was a very popular play; it had had a long run, and the papers
+told how its author had an income of a couple of hundred thousand
+dollars a year. And here was an audience of the most rich and
+influential people in the city; and they laughed and clapped, and
+made it clear that they were enjoying themselves heartily. And what
+sort of a play was it?
+
+It was called "The Kaliph of Kamskatka." It had no shred of a plot;
+the Kaliph had seventeen wives, and there was an American drummer
+who wanted to sell him another--but then you did not need to
+remember this, for nothing came of it. There was nothing in the play
+which could be called a character--there was nothing which could be
+connected with any real emotion ever felt by human beings. Nor could
+one say that there was any incident--at least nothing happened
+because of anything else. Each event was a separate thing, like the
+spasmodic jerking in the face of an idiot. Of this sort of "action"
+there was any quantity--at an instant's notice every one on the
+stage would fall simultaneously into this condition of idiotic
+jerking. There was rushing about, shouting, laughing, exclaiming;
+the stage was in a continual uproar of excitement, which was without
+any reason or meaning. So it was impossible to think of the actors
+in their parts; one kept thinking of them as human beings--thinking
+of the awful tragedy of full-grown men and women being compelled by
+the pressure of hunger to dress up and paint themselves, and then
+come out in public and dance, stamp, leap about, wring their hands,
+make faces, and otherwise be "lively."
+
+The costumes were of two sorts: one fantastic, supposed to represent
+the East, and the other a kind of reductio ad absurdum of
+fashionable garb. The leading man wore a "natty" outing-suit, and
+strutted with a little cane; his stock-in-trade was a jaunty air, a
+kind of perpetual flourish, and a wink that suggested the cunning of
+a satyr. The leading lady changed her costume several times in each
+act; but it invariably contained the elements of bare arms and bosom
+and back, and a skirt which did not reach her knees, and
+bright-coloured silk stockings, and slippers with heels two inches
+high. Upon the least provocation she would execute a little
+pirouette, which would reveal the rest of her legs, surrounded by a
+mass of lace ruffles. It is the nature of the human mind to seek the
+end of things; if this woman had worn a suit of tights and nothing
+else, she would have been as uninteresting as an underwear
+advertisement in a magazine; but this incessant not-quite-revealing
+of herself exerted a subtle fascination. At frequent intervals the
+orchestra would start up a jerky little tune, and the two "stars"
+would begin to sing in nasal voices some words expressive of
+passion; then the man would take the woman about the waist and dance
+and swing her about and bend her backward and gaze into her
+eyes--actions all vaguely suggestive of the relationship of sex. At
+the end of the verse a chorus would come gliding on, clad in any
+sort of costume which admitted of colour and the display of legs;
+the painted women of this chorus were never still for an instant--if
+they were not actually dancing, they were wriggling their legs, and
+jerking their bodies from side to side, and nodding their heads, and
+in all other possible ways being "lively."
+
+But it was not the physical indecency of this show that struck
+Montague so much as its intellectual content. The dialogue of the
+piece was what is called "smart"; that is, it was full of a kind of
+innuendo which implied a secret understanding of evil between the
+actor and his audience--a sort of countersign which passed between
+them. After all, it would have been an error to say that there were
+no ideas in the play--there was one idea upon which all the
+interest of it was based; and Montague strove to analyze this idea
+and formulate it to himself. There are certain life principles-one
+might call them moral axioms--which are the result of the experience
+of countless ages of the human race, and upon the adherence to which
+the continuance of the race depends. And here was an audience by
+whom all these principles were--not questioned, nor yet disputed,
+nor yet denied--but to whom the denial was the axiom, something
+which it would be too banal to state flatly, but which it was
+elegant. and witty to take for granted. In this audience there were
+elderly people, and married men and women, and young men and
+maidens; and a perfect gale of laughter swept through it at a story
+of a married woman whose lover had left her when he got married:--
+
+"She must have been heartbroken," said the leading lady.
+
+"She was desperate," said the leading man, with a grin.
+
+"What did she do?" asked the lady "Go and shoot herself?"
+
+"Worse than that," said the man. "She, went back to her husband and
+had a baby!"
+
+But to complete your understanding of the significance of this play,
+you must bring yourself to realize that it was not merely a play,
+but a kind of a play; it had a name--a "musical comedy"--the meaning
+of which every one understood. Hundreds of such plays were written
+and produced, and "dramatic critics" went to see them and gravely
+discussed them, and many thousands of people made their livings by
+travelling over the country and playing them; stately theatres were
+built for them, and hundreds of thousands of people paid their money
+every night to see them. And all this no joke and no nightmare--but
+a thing that really existed. Men and women were doing these
+things--actual flesh-and-blood human beings.
+
+Montague wondered, in an awestricken sort of way, what kind of human
+being it could be who had flourished the cane and made the grimaces
+in that play. Later on, when ho came to know the "Tenderloin," he
+met this same actor, and he found that he had begun life as a little
+Irish "mick" who lived in a tenement, and whoso mother stood at the
+head of the stairway and defended him with a rolling-pin against a
+policeman who was chasing him. He had discovered that he could make
+a living by his comical antics; but when he came home and told his
+mother that he had been offered twenty dollars a week by a show
+manager, she gave him a licking for lying to her. Now he was making
+three thousand dollars a week--more than the President of the
+United States and his Cabinet; but he was not happy, as he confided
+to Montague, because he did not know how to read, and this was a
+cause of perpetual humiliation. The secret desire of this little
+actor's heart was to play Shakespeare; he had "Hamlet" read to him,
+and pondered how to act it--all the time that he was flourishing his
+little cane and making his grimaces! He had chanced to be on the
+stage when a fire had broken out, and five or six hundred victims of
+greed were roasted to death. The actor had pleaded with the people
+to keep their seats, but all in vain; and all his life thereafter he
+went about with this vision of horror in his mind, and haunted by
+the passionate conviction that he had failed because of his lack of
+education--that if only he had been a man of culture, he would have
+been able to think of something to say to hold those terror-stricken
+people!
+
+At three o'clock in the morning the performance came to an end, and
+then there were more refreshments; and Mrs. Vivie Patton came and
+sat by him, and they had a nice comfortable gossip. When Mrs. Vivie
+once got started at talking about people, her tongue ran on like a
+windmill.
+
+There was Reggie Mann, meandering about and simpering at people.
+Reggie was in his glory at Mrs. do Graffenricd's affairs. Reggie had
+arranged all this-he did the designing and the ordering, and
+contracted for the shows with the agents. You could bet that ho had
+got his commission on them, too--though sometimes Mrs. do
+Graffenricd got the shows to come for nothing, because of the
+advertising her name would bring. Commissions wore Reggie's
+speciality--he had begun life as an auto agent. Montague didn't know
+what that was? An auto agent was a man who was for ever begging his
+friends to use a certain kind of car, so that he might make a
+living; and Reggie had made about thirty thousand a year in that
+way. He had come from Boston, where his reputation had been made by
+the fact that early one morning, as they were driving home from a
+celebration, he had dared a young society matron to take off her
+shoes and stockings, and get out and wade in the public fountain;
+and she had done it, and he had followed her. On the strength of the
+eclat of this he had been taken up by Mrs. Devon; and one day Mrs.
+Devon had worn a white gown, and asked him what he thought of it.
+"It needs but one thing to make it perfect," said Reggie, and taking
+a red rose, he pinned it upon her corsage. The effect was magical;
+every one exclaimed with delight, and so Reggie's reputation as an
+authority upon dress was made for ever. Now he was Mrs. de
+Graffenried's right-hand man, and they made up their pranks
+together. Once they had walked down the street in Newport with a big
+rag doll between them. And Reggie had given a dinner at which the
+guest of honour had been a monkey--surely Montague had heard of
+that, for it had been the sensation of the season. It was really the
+funniest thing imaginable; the monkey wore a suit of broad-cloth
+with collar and cuffs, and he shook hands with all the guests, and
+behaved himself exactly like a gentleman--except that he did not get
+drunk.
+
+And then Mrs. Vivie pointed out the great Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden,
+who was sitting with one of her favourites, a grave, black-bearded
+gentleman who had leaped into fame by inheriting fifty million
+dollars. "Mrs. R.-C." had taken him up, and ordered his engagement
+book for him, and he was solemnly playing the part of a social
+light. He had purchased an old New York mansion, upon the decoration
+of which three million dollars had been spent; and when he came down
+to business from Tuxedo, his private train waited all day for him
+with steam up. Mrs. Vivie told an amusing tale of a woman who had
+announced her engagement to him, and borrowed large sums of money
+upon the strength of it, before his denial came out. That had been a
+source of great delight to Mrs. de Graffenried, who was furiously
+jealous of "Mrs. R. C."
+
+From the anecdotes that people told, Montague judged that Mrs. de
+Graffenried must be one of those new leaders of Society, who, as
+Mrs. Alden said, were inclined to the bizarre and fantastic. Mrs. de
+Graffenried spent half a million dollars every season to hold the
+position of leader of the Newport set, and you could always count
+upon her for new and striking ideas. Once she had given away as
+cotillion favours tiny globes with goldfish in them; again she had
+given a dance at which everybody got themselves up as different
+vegetables. She was fond of going about at Newport and inviting
+people haphazard to lunch--thirty or forty at a time--and then
+surprising them with a splendid banquet. Again she would give a big
+formal dinner, and perplex people by offering them something which
+they really cared to eat. "You see," explained Mrs. Vivie, "at these
+dinners we generally get thick green turtle soup, and omelettes with
+some sort of Florida water poured over them, and mushrooms cooked
+under glass, and real hand-made desserts; but Mrs. de Graffenried
+dares to have baked ham and sweet potatoes, or even real roast beef.
+You saw to-night that she had green corn; she must have arranged for
+that months ahead--we can never get it from Porto Rico until
+January. And you see this little dish of wild strawberries-t-hey
+were probably transplanted and raised in a hothouse, and every
+single one wrapped separately before they were shipped."
+
+All these labours had made Mrs. de Graffenried a tremendous power in
+the social world. She had a savage tongue, said Mrs. Vivie, and
+every one lived in terror of her; but once in a while she met her
+match. Once she had invited a comic opera star to sing for her
+guests, and all the men had crowded round this actress, and Mrs. de
+Graffenried had flown into a passion and tried to drive them away;
+and the actress, lolling back in her chair, and gazing up idly at
+Mrs. do Graffenried, had drawled, "Ten years older than God!" Poor
+Mrs. de Graffenried would carry that saying with her until she died.
+
+Something reminiscent of this came under Montague's notice that same
+evening. At about four o'clock Mrs. Vivie wished to go home, and
+asked him to find her escort, the Count St. Elmo de Champignon--the
+man, by the way, for whom her husband was gunning. Montague roamed
+all about the house, and finally went downstairs, where a room had
+been set apart for the theatrical company to partake of
+refreshments. Mrs. de Graffenriod's secretary was on guard at the
+door; but some of the boys had got into the room, and were drinking
+champagne and "making dates" with the chorus-girls. And here was
+Mrs. de Graffenried herself, pushing them bodily out of the room, a
+score and more of them--and among them Mrs. Vivie's Count!
+
+Montague delivered his message, and then went upstairs to wait until
+his own party should be ready to leave. In the smoking-room were a
+number of men, also waiting; and among them he noticed Major
+Venable, in conversation with a man whom he did not know. "Come over
+here," the Major called; and Montague obeyed, at the same time
+noticing the stranger.
+
+He was a tall, loose-jointed, powerfully built man, a small head and
+a very striking face: a grim mouth with drooping corners tightly
+set, and a hawk-like nose, and deep-set, peering eyes. "Have you met
+Mr. Hegan?" said the Major. "Hegan, this is Mr. Allan Montague." Jim
+Hegan! Montague repressed a stare and took the chair which they
+offered him. "Have a cigar," said Hegan, holding out his case.
+
+"Mr. Montague has just come to New York," said the Major. "He is a
+Southerner, too."
+
+"Indeed?" said Hegan, and inquired what State he came from. Montague
+replied, and added, "I had the pleasure of meeting your daughter
+last week, at the Horse Show."
+
+That served to start a conversation; for Hegan came from Texas, and
+when he found that Montague knew about horses--real horses--he
+warmed to him. Then the Major's party called him away, and the other
+two were left to carry on the conversation.
+
+It was very easy to chat with Hegan; and yet underneath, in the
+other's mind, there lurked a vague feeling of trepidation, as he
+realized that he was chatting with a hundred millions of dollars.
+Montague was new enough at the game to imagine that there ought to
+be something strange, some atmosphere of awe and mystery, about a
+man who was master of a dozen railroads and of the politics of half
+a dozen States. He was simple and very kindly in his manner, a plain
+man, interested in plain things. There was about him, as he talked,
+a trace of timidity, almost of apology, which Montague noticed and
+wondered at. It was only later, when he had time to think about it,
+that he realized that Hegan had begun as a farmer's boy in Texas, a
+"poor white"; and could it be that after all these years an instinct
+remained in him, so that whenever he met a gentleman of the old
+South he stood by with a little deference, seeming to beg pardon for
+his hundred millions of dollars?
+
+And yet there was the power of the man. Even chatting about horses,
+you felt it; you felt that there was a part of him which did not
+chat, but which sat behind and watched. And strangest of all,
+Montague found himself fancying that behind the face that smiled was
+another face, that did not smile, but that was grim and set. It was
+a strange face, with its broad, sweeping eyebrows and its drooping
+mouth; it haunted Montague and made him feel ill at ease.
+
+There came Laura Hegan, who greeted them in her stately way; and
+Mrs. Hegan, bustling and vivacious, costumed en grande dame. "Come
+and see me some time," said the man. "You won't be apt to meet me
+otherwise, for I don't go about much." And so they took their
+departure; and Montague sat alone and smoked and thought. The face
+still stayed with him; and now suddenly, in a burst of light, it
+came to him what it was: the face of a bird of prey--of the great
+wild, lonely eagle! You have seen it, perhaps, in a menagerie;
+sitting high up, submitting patiently, biding its time. But all the
+while the soul of the eagle is far away, ranging the wide spaces,
+ready for the lightning swoop, and the clutch with the cruel talons!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+
+
+
+The next week was a busy one for the Montagues. The Robbie Wallings
+had come to town and opened their house, and the time drew near for
+the wonderful debutante dance at which Alice was to be formally
+presented to Society. And of course Alice must have a new dress for
+the occasion, and it must be absolutely the most beautiful dress
+ever known. In an idle moment her cousin figured out that it was to
+cost her about five dollars a minute to be entertained by the
+Wallings!
+
+What it would cost the Wallings, one scarcely dared to think. Their
+ballroom would be turned into a flower-garden; and there would be a
+supper for a hundred guests, and still another supper after the
+dance, and costly favours for every figure. The purchasing of these
+latter had been entrusted to Oliver, and Montague heard with dismay
+what they were to cost. "Robbie couldn't afford to do anything
+second-rate," was the younger brother's only reply to his
+exclamations.
+
+Alice divided her time between the Wallings and her costumiers, and
+every evening she came home with a new tale of important
+developments. Alice was new at the game, and could afford to be
+excited; and Mrs. Robbie liked to see her bright face, and to smile
+indulgently at her eager inquiries. Mrs. Robbie herself had given
+her orders to her steward and her florist and her secretary, and
+went on her way and thought no more about it. That was the way of
+the great ladies--or, at any rate, it was their pose.
+
+The town-house of the Robbies was a stately palace occupying a block
+upon Fifth Avenue--one of the half-dozen mansions of the Walling
+family which were among the show places of the city. It would take a
+catalogue to list the establishments maintained by the
+Wallings--there was an estate in North Carolina, and another in the
+Adirondacks, and others on Long Island and in New Jersey. Also there
+were several in Newport--one which was almost never occupied, and
+which Mrs. Billy Alden sarcastically described as "a
+three-million-dollar castle on a desert."
+
+Montague accompanied Alice once or twice, and had an opportunity to
+study Mrs. Robbie at home. There were thirty-eight servants in her
+establishment; it was a little state all in itself, with Mrs. Robbie
+as queen, and her housekeeper as prime minister, and under them as
+many different ranks and classes and castes as in a feudal
+principality. There had to be six separate dining-rooms for the
+various kinds of servants who scorned each other; there were
+servants' servants and servants of servants' servants. There were
+only three to whom the mistress was supposed to give orders--the
+butler, the steward, and the housekeeper; she did not even know the
+names of many of them, and they were changed so often, that, as she
+declared, she had to leave it to her detective to distinguish
+between employees and burglars.
+
+Mrs. Robbie was quite a young woman, but it pleased her to pose as a
+care-worn matron, weary of the responsibilities of her exalted
+station. The ignorant looked on and pictured her as living in the
+lap of ease, endowed with every opportunity: in reality the meanest
+kitchen-maid was freer--she was quite worn thin with the burdens
+that fell upon her. The huge machine was for ever threatening to
+fall to pieces, and required the wisdom of Solomon and the patience
+of Job to keep it running. One paid one's steward a fortune, and yet
+he robbed right and left, and quarrelled with the chef besides. The
+butler was suspected of getting drunk upon rare and costly vintages,
+and the new parlour-maid had turned out to be a Sunday reporter in
+disguise. The man who had come every day for ten years to wind the
+clocks of the establishment was dead, and the one who took care of
+the bric-a-brac was sick, and the housekeeper was in a panic over
+the prospect of having to train another.
+
+And even suppose that you escaped from these things, the real
+problems of your life had still to be faced. It was not enough to
+keep alive; you had your career--your duties as a leader of Society.
+There was the daily mail, with all the pitiful letters from people
+begging money--actually in one single week there were demands for
+two million dollars. There were geniuses with patent incubators and
+stove-lifters, and every time you gave a ball you stirred up swarms
+of anarchists and cranks. And then there were the letters you really
+had to answer, and the calls that had to be paid. These latter were
+so many that people in the same neighbourhood had arranged to have
+the same day at home; thus, if you lived on Madison Avenue you had
+Thursday; but even then it took a whole afternoon to leave your
+cards. And then there were invitations to be sent and accepted; and
+one was always making mistakes and offending somebody--people would
+become mortal enemies overnight, and expect all the world to know it
+the next morning. And now there were so many divorces and
+remarryings, with consequent changing of names; and some men knew
+about their wives' lovers and didn't care, and some did care, but
+didn't know--altogether it was like carrying a dozen chess games in
+your head. And then there was the hairdresser and the manicurist and
+the masseuse, and the tailor and the bootmaker and the jeweller; and
+then one absolutely had to glance through a newspaper, and to see
+one's children now and then.
+
+All this Mrs. Robbie explained at luncheon; it was the rich man's
+burden, about which common people had no conception whatever. A
+person with a lot of money was like a barrel of molasses--all the
+flies in the neighbourhood came buzzing about. It was perfectly
+incredible, the lengths to which people would go to get invited to
+your house; not only would they write and beg you, they might attack
+your business interests, and even bribe your friends. And on the
+other hand, when people thought you needed them, the time you had to
+get them to come! "Fancy," said Mrs. Robbie, "offering to give a
+dinner to an English countess, and having her try to charge you for
+coming!" And incredible as it might seem, some people had actually
+yielded to her, and the disgusting creature had played the social
+celebrity for a whole season, and made quite a handsome income out
+of it. There seemed to be no limit to the abjectness of some of the
+tuft-hunters in Society.
+
+It was instructive to hear Mrs. Robbie denounce such evils; and
+yet--alas for human frailty--the next time that Montague called, the
+great lady was blazing with wrath over the tidings that a new
+foreign prince was coming to America, and that Mrs.
+Ridgely-Clieveden had stolen a march upon her and grabbed him. He
+was to be under her tutelage the entire time, and all the effulgence
+of his magnificence would be radiated upon that upstart house. Mrs.
+Robbie revenged herself by saying as many disagreeable things about
+Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden as she could think of; winding up with the
+declaration that if she behaved with this prince as she had with the
+Russian grand duke, Mrs. Robbie Walling, for one, would cut her
+dead. And truly the details which Mrs. Robbie cited were calculated
+to suggest that her rival's hospitality was a reversion to the
+customs of primitive savagery.
+
+The above is a fair sample of the kind of conversation that one
+heard whenever one visited any of the Wallings. Perhaps, as Mrs.
+Robbie said, it may have been their millions that made necessary
+their attitude toward other people; certain it was, at any rate,
+that Montague found them all most disagreeable people to know. There
+was always some tempest in a teapot over the latest machinations of
+their enemies. And then there was the whole dead mass of people who
+sponged upon them and toadied to them; and finally the barbarian
+hordes outside the magic circle of their acquaintance--some
+specimens of whom came up every day for ridicule. They had big feet
+and false teeth; they ate mush and molasses; they wore ready-made
+ties; they said: "Do you wish that I should do it?" Their
+grandfathers had been butchers and pedlars and other abhorrent
+things. Montague tried his best to like the Wallings, because of
+what they were doing for Alice; but after he had sat at their
+lunch-table and listened to a conversation such as this, he found
+himself in need of fresh air.
+
+And then he would begin to wonder about his own relation to these
+people. If they talked about every one else behind their backs,
+certainly they must talk about him behind his. And why did they go
+out of their way to make him at home, and why were they spending
+their money to launch Alice in Society? In the beginning he had
+assumed that they did it out of the goodness of their hearts; but
+now that he had looked into their hearts, he rejected the
+explanation. It was not their way to shower princely gifts upon
+strangers; in general, the attitude of all the Wallings toward a
+stranger was that of the London hooligan--"'Eave a 'arf a brick at
+'im!" They considered themselves especially appointed by Providence
+to protect Society from the vulgar newly rich who poured into the
+city, seeking for notoriety and recognition. They prided themselves
+upon this attitude--they called it their "exclusiveness"; and the
+exclusiveness of the younger generations of Wallings had become a
+kind of insanity.
+
+Nor could the reason be that Alice was beautiful and attractive. One
+could have imagined it if Mrs. Robbie had been like--say, Mrs.
+Winnie Duval. It was easy to think of Mrs. Winnie taking a fancy to
+a girl, and spending half her fortune upon her. But from a hundred
+little things that he had seen, Montague had come to realize that
+the Robbie Wallings, with all their wealth and power and grandeur,
+were actually quite stingy. While all the world saw them scattering
+fortunes in their pathway, in reality they were keeping track of
+every dollar. And Robbie himself was liable to panic fits of
+economy, in which he went to the most absurd excesses--Montague once
+heard him haggling over fifty cents with a cabman. Lavish hosts
+though they both were, it was the literal truth that they never
+spent money upon anyone but themselves--the end and aim of their
+every action was the power and prestige of the Robbie Wallings.
+
+"They do it because they are friends of mine," said Oliver, and
+evidently wished that to satisfy his brother. But it only shifted
+the problem and set him to watching Robbie and Oliver, and trying to
+make out the basis of their relationship. There was a very grave
+question concerned in this. Oliver had come to New York
+comparatively poor, and now he was rich--or, at any rate, ho lived
+like a rich man. And his brother, whose scent was growing keener
+with every day of his stay in New York, had about made up his mind
+that Oliver got his money from Robbie Walling.
+
+Here, again, the problem would have been simple, if it had been
+another person than Robbie; Montague would have concluded that his
+brother was a "hanger-on." There were many great families whose
+establishments were infested with such parasites. Siegfried Harvey,
+for instance, was a man who had always half a dozen young chaps
+hanging about him; good-looking and lively fellows, who hunted and
+played bridge, and amused the married women while their husbands
+were at work, and who, if ever they dropped a hint that they were
+hard up, might be reasonably certain of being offered a cheque. But
+if the Robbie Wallings were to write cheques, it must be for value
+received. And what could the value be?
+
+"Ollie" was rather a little god among the ultra-swagger; his taste
+was a kind of inspiration. And yet his brother noticed that in such
+questions he always deferred instantly to the Wallings; and surely
+the Wallings were not people to be persuaded that they needed anyone
+to guide them in matters of taste. Again, Ollie was the very devil
+of a wit, and people were heartily afraid of him; and Montague had
+noticed that he never by any chance made fun of Robbie--that the
+fetiches of the house of Walling were always treated with respect.
+So he had wondered if by any chance Robbie was maintaining his
+brother in princely state for the sake of his ability to make other
+people uncomfortable. But he realized that the Robbies, in their own
+view of it, could have no more need of wit than a battleship has
+need of popguns. Oliver's position, when they were about, was rather
+that of the man who hardly ever dared to be as clever as he might,
+because of the restless jealousy of his friend.
+
+It was a mystery; and it made the elder brother very uncomfortable.
+Alice was young and guileless, and a pleasant person to patronize;
+but he was a man of the world, and it was his business to protect
+her. He had always paid his own way through life, and he was very
+loath to put himself under obligations to people like the Wallings,
+whom he did not like, and who, he felt instinctively, could not like
+him.
+
+But of course there was nothing he could do about it. The date for
+the great festivity was set; and the Wallings were affable and
+friendly, and Alice all a-tremble with excitement. The evening
+arrived, and with it came the enemies of the Wallings, dressed in
+their jewels and fine raiment. They had been asked because they were
+too important to be skipped, and they had come because the Wallings
+were too powerful to be ignored. They revenged themselves by
+consuming many courses of elaborate and costly viands; and they
+shook hands with Alice and beamed upon her, and then discussed her
+behind her back as if she were a French doll in a show-case. They
+decided unanimously that her elder cousin was a "stick," and that
+the whole family were interlopers and shameless adventurers; but it
+was understood that since the Robbie Wallings had seen fit to take
+them up, it would be necessary to invite them about.
+
+At any rate, that was the way it all seemed to Montague, who had
+been brooding. To Alice it was a splendid festivity, to which
+exquisite people came to take delight in each other's society. There
+were gorgeous costumes and sparkling gems; there was a symphony of
+perfumes, intoxicating the senses, and a golden flood of music
+streaming by; there were laughing voices and admiring glances, and
+handsome partners with whom one might dance through the portals of
+fairyland.--And then, next morning, there were accounts in all the
+newspapers, with descriptions of one's costume and then some of
+those present, and even the complete menus of the supper, to assist
+in preserving the memories of the wonderful occasion.
+
+Now they were really in Society. A reporter called to get Alice's
+photo for the Sunday supplement; and floods of invitations came--and
+with them all the cares and perplexities about which Mrs. Robbie had
+told. Some of these invitations had to be declined, and one must
+know whom it was safe to offend. Also, there was a long letter from
+a destitute widow, and a proposal from a foreign count. Mrs.
+Robbie's secretary had a list of many hundreds of these professional
+beggars and blackmailers.
+
+Conspicuous at the dance was Mrs. Winnie, in a glorious
+electric-blue silk gown. And she shook her fan at Montague,
+exclaiming, "You wretched man--you promised to come and see me!"
+
+"I've been out of town," Montague protested.
+
+"Well, come to dinner to-morrow night," said Mrs. Winnie. "There'll
+be some bridge fiends."
+
+"You forget I haven't learned to play," he objected.
+
+"Well, come anyhow," she replied. "We'll teach you. I'm no player
+myself, and my husband will be there, and he's good-natured; and my
+brother Dan--he'll have to be whether he likes it or not."
+
+So Montague visited the Snow Palace again, and met Winton Duval, the
+banker,--a tall, military-looking man of about fifty, with a big
+grey moustache, and bushy eyebrows, and the head of a lion. His was
+one of the city's biggest banking-houses, and in alliance with
+powerful interests in the Street. At present he was going in for
+mines in Mexico and South America, and so he was very seldom at
+home. He was a man of most rigid habits--he would come back
+unexpectedly after a month's trip, and expect to find everything
+ready for him, both at home and in his office, as if he had just
+stepped round the corner. Montague observed that he took his
+menu-card and jotted down his comments upon each dish, and then sent
+it down to the chef. Other people's dinners he very seldom attended,
+and when his wife gave her entertainments, he invariably dined at
+the club.
+
+He pleaded a business engagement for the evening; and as brother Dan
+did not appear, Montague did not learn any bridge. The other four
+guests settled down to the game, and Montague and Mrs. Winnie sat
+and chatted, basking before the fireplace in the great
+entrance-hall.
+
+"Have you seen Charlie Carter?" was the first question she asked
+him.
+
+"Not lately," he answered; "I met him at Harvey's."
+
+"I know that," said she. "They tell me he got drunk."
+
+"I'm afraid he did," said Montague.
+
+"Poor boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Winnie. "And Alice saw him! He must be
+heartbroken!"
+
+Montague said nothing. "You know," she went on, "Charlie really
+means well. He has honestly an affectionate nature."
+
+She paused; and Montague Said, vaguely, "I suppose so."
+
+"You don't like him," said the other. "I can see that. And I suppose
+now Alice will have no use for him, either. And I had it all fixed
+up for her to reform him!"
+
+Montague smiled in spite of himself.
+
+"Oh, I know," said she. "It wouldn't have been easy. But you've no
+idea what a beautiful boy Charlie used to be, until all the women
+set to work to ruin him."
+
+"I can imagine it," said Montague; but he did not warm to the
+subject.
+
+"You're just like my husband," said Mrs. Winnie, sadly. "You have no
+use at all for anything that's weak or unfortunate."
+
+There was a pause. "And I suppose," she said finally, "you'll be
+turning into a business man also--with no time for anybody or
+anything. Have you begun yet?"
+
+--"Not yet," he answered. "I'm still looking round."
+
+"I haven't the least idea about business," she confessed. "How does
+one begin at it?"
+
+"I can't say I know that myself as yet," said Montague, laughing.
+
+"Would you like to be a protege of my husband's?" she asked.
+
+The proposition was rather sudden, but he answered, with a smile, "I
+should have no objections. What would he do with me?"
+
+"I don't know that. But he can do whatever he wants down town. And
+he'd show you how to make a lot of money if I asked him to." Then
+Mrs. Winnie added, quickly, "I mean it--he could do it, really."
+
+"I haven't the least doubt of it," responded Montague.
+
+"And what's more," she went on, "you don't want to be shy about
+taking advantage of the opportunities that come to you. You'll find
+you won't get along in New York unless you go right in and grab what
+you can. People will be quick enough to take advantage of you."
+
+"They have all been very kind to me so far," said he. "But when I
+get ready for business, I'll harden my heart."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat lost in meditation. "I think business is dreadful,"
+she said. "So much hard work and worry! Why can't men learn to get
+along without it?"
+
+"There are bills that have to be paid," Montague replied.
+
+"It's our dreadfully extravagant way of life," exclaimed the other.
+"Sometimes I wish I had never had any money in my life."
+
+"You would soon tire of it," said he. "You would miss this house."
+
+"I should not miss it a bit," said Mrs. Winnie, promptly. "That is
+really the truth--I don't care for this sort of thing at all. I'd
+like to live simply, and without so many cares and responsibilities.
+And some day I'm going to do it, too--I really am. I'm going to get
+myself a little farm, away off somewhere in the country. And I'm
+going there to live and raise chickens and vegetables, and have my
+own flower-gardens, that I can take care of myself. It will all be
+plain and simple--" and then Mrs. Winnie stopped short, exclaiming,
+"You are laughing at me!"
+
+"Not at all!" said Montague. "But I couldn't help thinking about the
+newspaper reporters--"
+
+"There you are!" said she. "One can never have a beautiful dream, or
+try to do anything sensible--because of the newspaper reporters!"
+
+If Montague had been meeting Mrs. Winnie Duval for the first time,
+he would have been impressed by her yearnings for the simple life;
+he would have thought it an important sign of the times. But alas,
+he knew by this time that his charming hostess had more flummery
+about her than anybody else he had encountered--and all of her own
+devising! Mrs. Winnie smoked her own private brand of cigarettes,
+and when she offered them to you, there were the arms of the old
+ducal house of Montmorenci on the wrappers! And when you got a
+letter from Mrs. Winnie, you observed a three-cent stamp upon the
+envelope--for lavender was her colour, and two-cent stamps were an
+atrocious red! So one might feel certain that it Mrs. Winnie ever
+went in for chicken-raising, the chickens would be especially
+imported from China or Patagonia, and the chicken-coops would be
+precise replicas of those in the old Chateau de Montmorenci which
+she had visited in her automobile.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie was beautiful, and quite entertaining to talk to,
+and so he was respectfully sympathetic while she told him about her
+pastoral intentions. And then she told him about Mrs. Caroline
+Smythe, who had called a meeting of her friends at one of the big
+hotels, and organized a society and founded the "Bide-a-Wee Home"
+for destitute cats. After that she switched off into psychic
+research--somebody had taken her to a seance, where grave college
+professors and ladies in spectacles sat round and waited for ghosts
+to materialize. It was Mrs. Winnie's first experience at this, and
+she was as excited as a child who has just found the key to the
+jam-closet. "I hardly knew whether to laugh or to be afraid," she
+said. "What would you think?"
+
+"You may have the pleasure of giving me my first impressions of it,"
+said Montague, with a laugh.
+
+"Well," said she, "they had table-tipping--and it was the most
+uncanny thing to see the table go jumping about the room! And then
+there were raps--and one can't imagine how strange it was to see
+people who really believed they were getting messages from ghosts.
+It positively made my flesh creep. And then this woman--Madame
+Somebody-or-other--went into a trance--ugh! Afterward I talked with
+one of the men, and he told me about how his father had appeared to
+him in the night and told him he had just been drowned at sea. Have
+you ever heard of such a thing?"
+
+"We have such a tradition in our family," said he.
+
+"Every family seems to have," said Mrs. Winnie. "But, dear me, it
+made me so uncomfortable--I lay awake all night expecting to see my
+own father. He had the asthma, you know; and I kept fancying I heard
+him breathing."
+
+They had risen and were strolling into the conservatory; and she
+glanced at the man in armour. "I got to fancying that his ghost
+might come to see me," she said. "I don't think I shall attend any
+more seances. My husband was told that I promised them some money,
+and he was furious--he's afraid it'll get into the papers." And
+Montague shook with inward laughter, picturing what a time the
+aristocratic and stately old banker must have, trying to keep his
+wife out of the papers!
+
+Mrs. Winnie turned on the lights in the fountain, and sat by the
+edge, gazing at her fish. Montague was half expecting her to inquire
+whether he thought that they had ghosts; but she spared him this,
+going off on another line.
+
+"I asked Dr. Parry about it," she said. "Have you met him?"
+
+Dr. Parry was the rector of St. Cecilia's, the fashionable Fifth
+Avenue church which most of Montague's acquaintances attended. "I
+haven't been in the city over Sunday yet," he answered. "But Alice
+has met him."
+
+"You must go with me some time," said she. "But about the ghosts--"
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"He seemed to be shy of them," laughed Mrs. Winnie. "He said it had
+a tendency to lead one into dangerous fields. But oh! I forgot--I
+asked my swami also, and it didn't startle him. They are used to
+ghosts; they believe that souls keep coming back to earth, you know.
+I think if it was his ghost, I wouldn't mind seeing it--for he has
+such beautiful eyes. He gave me a book of Hindu legends--and there
+was such a sweet story about a young princess who loved in vain, and
+died of grief; and her soul went into a tigress; and she came in the
+night-time where her lover lay sleeping by the firelight, and she
+carried him off into the ghost-world. It was a most creepy thing--I
+sat out here and read it, and I could imagine the terrible tigress
+lurking in the shadows, with its stripes shining in the firelight,
+and its green eyes gleaming. You know that poem--we used to read it
+in school--'Tiger, tiger, burning bright!'"
+
+It was not very easy for Montague to imagine a tigress in Mrs.
+Winnie's conservatory; unless, indeed, one were willing to take the
+proposition in a metaphorical sense. There are wild creatures which
+sleep in the heart of man, and which growl now and then, and stir
+their tawny limbs, and cause one to start and turn cold. Mrs. Winnie
+wore a dress of filmy softness, trimmed with red flowers which paled
+beside her own intenser colouring. She had a perfume of her own,
+with a strange exotic fragrance which touched the chorus of memory
+as only an odour can. She leaned towards him, speaking eagerly, with
+her soft white arms lying upon the basin's rim. So much loveliness
+could not be gazed at without pain; and a faint trembling passed
+through Montague, like a breeze across a pool. Perhaps it touched
+Mrs. Winnie also, for she fell suddenly silent, and her gaze
+wandered off into the darkness. For a minute or two there was
+stillness, save for the pulse of the fountain, and the heaving of
+her bosom keeping time with it.
+
+And then in the morning Oliver inquired, "Where were you, last
+night?" And when his brother answered, "At Mrs. Winnie's," he smiled
+and said, "Oh!" Then he added, gravely, "Cultivate Mrs. Winnie--you
+can't do better at present."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague accepted his friend's invitation to share her pew at St.
+Cecilia's, and next Sunday morning he and Alice went, and found Mrs.
+Winnie with her cousin. Poor Charlie had evidently been scrubbed and
+shined, both physically and morally, and got ready to appeal for
+"one more chance." While he shook hands with Alice, he was gazing at
+her with dumb and pleading eyes; he seemed to be profoundly grateful
+that she did not refuse to enter the pew with him.
+
+A most interesting place was St. Cecilia's. Church-going was another
+of the customs of men and women which Society had taken up, like the
+Opera, and made into a state function. Here was a magnificent
+temple, with carved marble and rare woods, and jewels gleaming
+decorously in a dim religious light. At the door of this edifice
+would halt the carriages of Society, and its wives and daughters
+would alight, rustling with new silk petticoats and starched and
+perfumed linen, each one a picture, exquisitely gowned and bonneted
+and gloved, and carrying a demure little prayer-book. Behind them
+followed the patient men, all in new frock-coats and shiny silk
+hats; the men of Society were always newly washed and shaved, newly
+groomed and gloved, but now they seemed to be more so--they were
+full of the atmosphere of Sunday. Alas for those unregenerate ones,
+the infidels and the heathen who scoff in outer darkness, and know
+not the delicious feeling of Sunday--the joy of being washed and
+starched and perfumed, and made to be clean and comfortable and
+good, after all the really dreadful wickedness of six days of
+fashionable life!--And afterward the parade upon the Avenue, with
+the congregations of several score additional churches, and such a
+show of stylish costumes that half the city came to see!
+
+Amid this exquisite assemblage at St. Cecilia's, the revolutionary
+doctrines of the Christian religion produced neither perplexity nor
+alarm. The chance investigator might have listened in dismay to
+solemn pronouncements of everlasting damnation, to statements about
+rich men and the eyes of needles, and the lilies of the field which
+did not spin. But the congregation of St. Cecilia's understood that
+these things were to be taken in a quixotic sense; sharing the view
+of the French marquis that the Almighty would think twice before
+damning a gentleman like him.
+
+One had heard these phrases ever since childhood, and one accepted
+them as a matter of course. After all, these doctrines had come from
+the lips of a divine being, whom it would be presumptuous in a mere
+mortal to attempt to imitate. Such points one could but leave to
+those whose business it was to interpret them--the doctors and
+dignitaries of the church; and when one met them, one's heart was
+set at rest--for they were not iconoclasts and alarmists, but
+gentlemen of culture and tact. The bishop who presided in this
+metropolitan district was a stately personage, who moved in the best
+Society and belonged to the most exclusive clubs.
+
+The pews in St. Cecilia's were rented, and they were always in great
+demand; it was one of the customs of those who hung upon the fringe
+of Society to come every Sunday, and bow and smile, and hope against
+hope for some chance opening. The stranger who came was dependent
+upon hospitality; but there were soft-footed and tactful ushers, who
+would find one a seat, if one were a presentable person. The
+contingency of an unpresentable person seldom arose, for the
+proletariat did not swarm at the gates of St. Cecilia's. Out of its
+liberal income the church maintained a "mission" upon the East Side,
+where young curates wrestled with the natural depravity of the lower
+classes--meantime cultivating a soul-stirring tone, and waiting
+until they should be promoted to a real church. Society was becoming
+deferential to its religious guides, and would have been quite
+shocked at the idea that it exerted any pressure upon them; but the
+young curates were painfully aware of a process of unnatural
+selection, whereby those whose manner and cut of coat were not
+pleasing were left a long time in the slums.--On one occasion there
+had been an amusing blunder; a beautiful new church was built at
+Newport, and an eloquent young minister was installed, and all
+Society attended the opening service--and sat and listened in
+consternation to an arraignment of its own follies and vices! The
+next Sunday, needless to say, Society was not present; and within
+half a year the church was stranded, and had to be dismantled and
+sold!
+
+They had elaborate music at St. Cecilia's, so beautiful that Alice
+felt uncomfortable, and thought that it was perilously "high." At
+this Mrs. Winnie laughed, offering to take her to an afternoon
+service around the corner, where they had a full orchestra, and a
+harp, and opera music, and incense and genuflexions and
+confessionals. There were people, it seemed, who like to thrill
+themselves by dallying with the wickedness of "Romanism"; somewhat
+as a small boy tries to see how near he can walk to the edge of a
+cliff. The "father" at this church had a jewelled robe with a train
+so many yards long, and which had cost some incredible number of
+thousands of dollars; and every now and then he marched in a stately
+procession through the aisles, so that all the spectators might have
+a good look at it. There was a fierce controversy about these things
+in the church, and libraries of pamphlets were written, and
+intrigues and social wars were fought over them.
+
+But Montague and Alice did not attend this service--they had
+promised themselves the very plebeian diversion of a ride in the
+subway; for so far they had not seen this feature of the city.
+People who lived in Society saw Madison and Fifth Avenues, where
+their homes were, with the churches and hotels scattered along them;
+and the shopping district just below, and the theatre district at
+one side, and the park to the north. Unless one went automobiling,
+that was all of the city one need ever see. When visitors asked
+about the Aquarium, and the Stock Exchange, and the Museum of Art,
+and Tammany Hall, and Ellis Island, where the immigrants came, the
+old New Yorkers would look perplexed, and say: "Dear me, do you
+really want to see those tilings? Why, I have been here all my life,
+and have never seen them!"
+
+For the hordes of sightseers there had been provided a special
+contrivance, a huge automobile omnibus which seated thirty or forty
+people, and went from the Battery to Harlem with a young man
+shouting through a megaphone a description of the sights. The
+irreverent had nicknamed this the "yap-wagon"; and declared that the
+company maintained a fake "opium-joint" in Chinatown, and a fake
+"dive" in the Bowery, and hired tough-looking individuals to sit and
+be stared at by credulous excursionists from Oklahoma and Kalamazoo.
+Of course it would never have done for people who had just been
+passed into Society to climb upon a "yap-wagon"; but they were
+permitted to get into the subway, and were whirled with a deafening
+clatter through a long tunnel of steel and stone. And then they got
+out and climbed a steep hill like any common mortals, and stood and
+gazed at Grant's tomb: a huge white marble edifice upon a point
+overlooking the Hudson. Architecturally it was not a beautiful
+structure--but one was consoled by reflecting that the hero himself
+would not have cared about that. It might have been described as a
+soap-box with a cheese-box on top of it; and these homely and
+familiar articles were perhaps not altogether out of keeping with
+the character of the humblest great man who ever lived.
+
+The view up the river was magnificent, quite the finest which the
+city had to offer; but it was ruined by a hideous gas-tank, placed
+squarely in the middle of it. And this, again, was not
+inappropriate--it was typical of all the ways of the city. It was a
+city which had grown up by accident, with nobody to care about it or
+to help it; it was huge and ungainly, crude, uncomfortable, and
+grotesque. There was nowhere in it a beautiful sight upon which a
+man could rest his eyes, without having them tortured by something
+ugly near by. At the foot of the slope of the River Drive ran a
+hideous freight-railroad; and across the river the beautiful
+Palisades were being blown to pieces to make paving stone--and
+meantime were covered with advertisements of land-companies. And if
+there was a beautiful building, there, was sure to be a tobacco
+advertisement beside it; if there was a beautiful avenue, there were
+trucks and overworked horses toiling in the harness; if there was a
+beautiful park, it was filled with wretched, outcast men. Nowhere
+was any order or system--everything was struggling for itself, and
+jarring and clashing with everything else; and this broke the spell
+of power which the Titan city would otherwise have produced. It
+seemed like a monstrous heap of wasted energies; a mountain in
+perpetual labour, and producing an endless series of abortions. The
+men and women in it were wearing themselves out with toil; but there
+was a spell laid upon them, so that, struggle as they might, they
+accomplished nothing.
+
+Coming out of the church, Montague had met Judge Ellis; and the
+Judge had said, "I shall soon have something to talk over with you."
+So Montague gave him his address, and a day or two later came an
+invitation to lunch with him at his club.
+
+The Judge's club took up a Fifth Avenue block, and was stately and
+imposing. It had been formed in the stress of the Civil War days;
+lean and hungry heroes had come home from battle and gone into
+business, and those who had succeeded had settled down here to rest.
+To see them now, dozing in huge leather-cushioned arm-chairs, you
+would have had a hard time to guess that they had ever been lean and
+hungry heroes. They were diplomats and statesmen, bishops and
+lawyers, great merchants and financiers--the men who had made the
+city's ruling-class for a century. Everything here was decorous and
+grave, and the waiters stole about with noiseless feet.
+
+Montague talked with the Judge about New York and what he had seen
+of it, and the people he had met; and about his father, and the war;
+and about the recent election and the business outlook. And meantime
+they ordered luncheon; and when they had got to the cigars, the
+Judge coughed and said, "And now I have a matter of business to talk
+over with you."
+
+Montague settled himself to listen. "I have a friend," the Judge
+explained--"a very good friend, who has asked me to find him a
+lawyer to undertake an important case. I talked the matter over with
+General Prentice, and he agreed with me that it would be a good idea
+to lay the matter before you."
+
+"I am very much obliged to you," said Montague.
+
+"The matter is a delicate one," continued the other. "It has to do
+with life insurance. Are you familiar with the insurance business?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"I had supposed not," said the Judge. "There are some conditions
+which are not generally known about, but which I may say, to put it
+mildly, are not wltogether satisfactory. My friend is a large
+policy-holder in several companies, and he is not satisfied with the
+management of them. The delicacy of the situation, so far as I am
+concerned, is that the company with which he has the most fault to
+find is one in which I myself am a director. You understand?"
+
+"Perfectly," said Montague. "What company is it?"
+
+"The Fidelity," replied the other--and his companion thought in a
+flash of Freddie Vandam, whom he had met at Castle Havens! For the
+Fidelity was Freddie's company.
+
+"The first thing that I have to ask you," continued the Judge, "is
+that, whether you care to take the case or not, you will consider my
+own intervention in the matter absolutely entre nous. My position is
+simply this: I have protested at the meetings of the directors of
+the company against what I consider an unwise policy--and my
+protests have been ignored. And when my friend asked me for advice,
+I gave it to him; but at the same time I am not in a position to be
+publicly quoted in connexion with the matter. You follow me?"
+
+"Perfectly," said the other. "I will agree to what you ask."
+
+"Very good. Now then, the condition is, in brief, this: the
+companies are accumulating an enormous surplus, which, under the
+law, belongs to the policy-holders; but the administrations of the
+various companies are withholding these dividends, for the sake of
+the banking-power which these accumulated funds afford to them and
+their associates. This is, as I hold, a very manifest injustice, and
+a most dangerous condition of affairs."
+
+"I should say so!" responded Montague. He was amazed at such a
+statement, coming from such a source. "How could this continue?" he
+asked.
+
+"It has continued for a long time," the Judge answered.
+
+"But why is it not known?"
+
+"It is perfectly well known to every one in the insurance business,"
+was the answer. "The matter has never been taken up or published,
+simply because the interests involved have such enormous and widely
+extended power that no one has ever dared to attack them,"
+
+Montague sat forward, with his eyes riveted upon the Judge. "Go on,"
+he said.
+
+"The situation is simply this," said the other. "My friend, Mr.
+Hasbrook, wishes to bring a suit against the Fidelity Company to
+compel it to pay to him his proper share of its surplus. He wishes
+the suit pressed, and followed to the court of last resort."
+
+"And do you mean to tell me," asked Montague, "that you would have
+any difficulty to find a lawyer in New York to undertake such a
+case?"
+
+"No," said the other, "not exactly that. There are lawyers in New
+York who would undertake anything. But to find a lawyer of standing
+who would take it, and withstand all the pressure that would be
+brought to bear upon him--that might take some time."
+
+"You astonish me, Judge."
+
+"Financial interests in this city are pretty closely tied together,
+Mr. Montague. Of course there are law firms which are identified
+with interests opposed to those who control the company. It would be
+very easy to get them to take the case, but you can see that in that
+event my friend would be accused of bringing the suit in their
+interest; whereas he wishes it to appear, as it really is, a suit of
+an independent person, seeking the rights of the vast body of the
+policy-holders. For that reason, he wished to find a lawyer who was
+identified with no interest of any sort, and who was free to give
+his undivided attention to the issue. So I thought of you."
+
+"I will take the case," said Montague instantly.
+
+"It is my duty to warn you," said the Judge, gravely, "that you will
+be taking a very serious step. You must be prepared to face
+powerful, and, I am afraid, unscrupulous enemies. You may find that
+you have made it impossible for other and very desirable clients to
+deal with you. You may find your business interests, if you have
+any, embarrassed--your credit impaired, and so on. You must be
+prepared to have your character assailed, and your motives impugned
+in the public press. You may find that social pressure will be
+brought to bear on you. So it is a step from which most young men
+who have their careers to make would shrink."
+
+Montague's face had turned a shade paler as he listened. "I am
+assuming," he said, "that the facts are as you have stated them to
+me--that an unjust condition exists."
+
+"You may assume that."
+
+"Very well." And Montague clenched his hand, and put it down upon
+the table. "I will take the case," he said.
+
+For a few moments they sat in silence.
+
+"I will arrange," said the Judge, at last, "for you and Mr. Hasbrook
+to meet. I must explain to you, as a matter of fairness, that he is
+a rich man, and will be able to pay you for your services. He is
+asking a great deal of you, and he should expect to pay for it."
+
+Montague sat in thought. "I have not really had time to get my
+bearings in New York," he said at last. "I think I had best leave it
+to you to say what I should charge him."
+
+"If I were in your position," the Judge answered, "I think that I
+should ask a retaining-fee of fifty thousand dollars. I believe he
+will expect to pay at least that."
+
+Montague could scarcely repress a start. Fifty thousand dollars! The
+words made his head whirl round. But then, all of a sudden, he
+recalled his half-jesting resolve to play the game of business
+sternly. So he nodded his head gravely, and said, "Very well; I am
+much obliged to you."
+
+After a pause, he added, "I hope that I may prove able to handle the
+case to your friend's satisfaction."
+
+"Your ability remains for you to prove," said the Judge. "I have
+only been in position to assure him of your character."
+
+"He must understand, of course," said Montague, "that I am a
+stranger, and that it will take me a while to study the situation."
+
+"Of course he knows that. But you will find that Mr. Hasbrook knows
+a good deal about the law himself. And he has already had a lot of
+work done. You must understand that it is very easy to get legal
+advice about such a matter--what is sought is some one to take the
+conduct of the case."
+
+"I see," said Montague; and the Judge added, with a smile, "Some one
+to get up on horseback, and draw the fire of the enemy!"
+
+And then the great man was, as usual, reminded of a story; and then
+of more stories; until at last they rose from the table, and shook
+hands upon their bargain, and parted.
+
+Fifty thousand dollars! Fifty thousand dollars! It was all Montague
+could do to keep from exclaiming it aloud on the street. He could
+hardly believe that it was a reality--if it had been a less-known
+person than Judge Ellis, he would have suspected that some one must
+be playing a joke upon him. Fifty thousand dollars was more than
+many a lawyer made at home in a lifetime; and simply as a
+retaining-fee in one case! The problem of a living had weighed on
+his soul ever since the first day in the city, and now suddenly it
+was solved; all in a few minutes, the way had been swept clear
+before him. He walked home as if upon air.
+
+And then there was the excitement of telling the family about it. He
+had an idea that his brother might be alarmed if he were told about
+the seriousness of the case; and so he simply said that the Judge
+had brought him a rich client, and that it was an insurance case.
+Oliver, who knew and cared nothing about law, asked no questions,
+and contented himself with saying, "I told you how easy it was to
+make money in New York, if only you knew the right people!" As for
+Alice, she had known all along that her cousin was a great man, and
+that clients would come to him as soon as he hung out his sign.
+
+His sign was not out yet, by the way; that was the next thing to be
+attended to. He must get himself an office at once, and some books,
+and begin to read up insurance law; and so, bright and early the
+next morning, he took the subway down town.
+
+And here, for the first time, Montague saw the real New York. All
+the rest was mere shadow--the rest was where men slept and played,
+but Jiere was where they fought out the battle of their lives. Here
+the fierce intensity of it smote him in the face--he saw the cruel
+waste and ruin of it, the wreckage of the blind, haphazard strife.
+
+It was a city caught in a trap. It was pent in at one end of a
+narrow little island. It had been no one's business to foresee that
+it must some day outgrow this space; now men were digging a score of
+tunnels to set it free, but they had not begun these until the
+pressure had become unendurable, and now it had reached its climax.
+In the financial district, land had been sold for as much as four
+dollars a square inch. Huge blocks of buildings shot up to the sky
+in a few months--fifteen, twenty, twenty-five stories of them, and
+with half a dozen stories hewn out of the solid rock beneath; there
+was to be one building of forty-two stories, six hundred and fifty
+feet in height. And between them were narrow chasms of streets,
+where the hurrying crowds overflowed the sidewalks. Yet other
+streets were filled with trucks and heavy vehicles, with electric
+cars creeping slowly along, and little swirls and eddies of people
+darting across here and there.
+
+These huge buildings were like beehives, swarming with life and
+activity, with scores of elevators shooting through them at
+bewildering speed. Everywhere was the atmosphere of rush; the spirit
+of it seized hold of one, and he began to hurry, even though he had
+no place to go. The man who walked slowly and looked about him was
+in the way--he was jostled here and there, and people eyed him with
+suspicion and annoyance.
+
+Elsewhere on the island men did the work of the city; here they did
+the work of the world. Each room in these endless mazes of buildings
+was a cell in a mighty brain; the telephone wires were nerves, and
+by the whole huge organism the thinking and willing of a continent
+were done. It was a noisy place to the physical ear; but to the ear
+of the mind it roared with the roaring of a thousand Niagaras. Here
+was the Stock Exchange, where the scales of trade were held before
+the eyes of the country. Here was the clearing-house, where hundreds
+of millions of dollars were exchanged every day. Here were the great
+banks, the reservoirs into which the streams of the country's wealth
+were poured. Here were the brains of the great railroad systems, of
+the telegraph and telephone systems, of mines and mills and
+factories. Here were the centres of the country's trade; in one
+place the shipping trade, in another the jewellery trade, the
+grocery trade, the leather trade. A little farther up town was the
+clothing district, where one might see the signs of more Hebrews
+than all Jerusalem had ever held; in yet other districts were the
+newspaper offices, and the centre of the magazine and
+book-publishing business of the whole country. One might climb to
+the top of one of the great "sky-scrapers," and gaze down upon a
+wilderness of houses, with roofs as innumerable as tree-tops, and
+people looking like tiny insects below. Or one might go out into the
+harbour late upon a winter afternoon, and see it as a city of a
+million lights, rising like an incantation from the sea. Round about
+it was an unbroken ring of docks, with ferry-boats and tugs darting
+everywhere, and vessels which had come from every port in the world,
+emptying their cargoes into the huge maw of the Metropolis.
+
+And of all this, nothing had been planned! All lay just as it had
+fallen, and men bore the confusion and the waste as best they could.
+Here were huge steel vaults, in which lay many billions of dollars'
+worth of securities, the control of the finances of the country; and
+a block or two in one direction were warehouses and gin-mills, and
+in another direction cheap lodging-houses and sweating-dens. And at
+a certain hour all this huge machine would come to a halt, and its
+millions of human units would make a blind rush for their homes.
+Then at the entrances to bridges and ferries and trams, would be
+seen sights of madness and terror; throngs of men and women swept
+hither and thither, pushing and struggling, shouting, cursing
+--righting, now and then, in sudden panic fear. All decency was
+forgotten here--people would be mashed into cars like football
+players in a heap, and guards and policemen would jam the gates
+tight--or like as not be swept away themselves in the pushing,
+grunting, writhing mass of human beings. Women would faint and be
+trampled; men would come out with clothing torn to shreds, and
+sometimes with broken arms or ribs. And thinking people would gaze
+at the sight and shudder, wondering--how long a city could hold
+together, when the masses of its population were thus forced back,
+day after day, habitually, upon the elemental brute within them.
+
+In this vast business district Montague would have felt utterly lost
+and helpless, if it had not been for that fifty thousand dollars,
+and the sense of mastery which it gave him. He sought out General
+Prentice, and under his guidance selected his suite of rooms, and
+got his furniture and books in readiness. And a day or two later, by
+appointment, came Mr. Hasbrook.
+
+He was a wiry, nervous little man, who did not impress one as much
+of a personality; but he had the insurance situation at his fingers'
+ends--his grievance had evidently wrought upon him. Certainly, if
+half of what he alleged were true, it was time that the courts took
+hold of the affair.
+
+Montague spent the whole day in consultation, going over every
+aspect of the case, and laying out his course of procedure. And
+then, at the end, Mr. Hasbrook remarked that it would be necessary
+for them to make some financial arrangement. And the other set his
+teeth together, and took a tight grip upon himself, and said,
+"Considering the importance of the case, and all the circumstances,
+I think I should have a retainer of fifty thousand dollars."
+
+And the little man never turned a hair! "That will be perfectly
+satisfactory," he said. "I will attend to it at once." And the
+other's heart gave a great leap.
+
+And sure enough, the next morning's mail brought the money, in the
+shape of a cashier's cheque from one of the big banks. Montague
+deposited it to his own account, and felt that the city was his!
+
+And so he flung himself into the work. He went to his office every
+day, and he shut himself up in his own rooms in the evening. Mrs.
+Winnie was in despair because he would not come and learn bridge,
+and Mrs. Vivie Patton sought him in vain for a week-end party. He
+could not exactly say that while the others slept he was toiling
+upward in the night, for the others did not sleep in the night; but
+he could say that while they were feasting and dancing, he was
+delving into insurance law. Oliver argued in vain to make him
+realize that he could not live for ever upon one client; and that it
+was as important for a lawyer to be a social light as to win his
+first big case. Montague was so absorbed that he even failed to be
+thrilled when one morning he opened an invitation envelope, and read
+the fateful legend: "Mrs. Devon requests the honour of your
+company"--telling him that he had "passed" on that critical
+examination morning, and that he was definitely and irrevocably in
+Society!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague was now a capitalist, and therefore a keeper of the gates
+of opportunity. It seemed as though the seekers for admission must
+have had some occult way of finding it out; almost immediately they
+began to lay siege to him.
+
+About a week after his cheque arrived, Major Thorne, whom he had met
+the first evening at the Loyal Legion, called him up and asked to
+see him; and he came to Montague's room that evening, and after
+chatting awhile about old times, proceeded to unfold a business
+proposition. It seemed that the Major had a grandson, a young
+mechanical engineer, who had been labouring for a couple of years at
+a very important invention, a device for loading coal upon
+steamships and weighing it automatically in the process. It was a
+very complicated problem, needless to say, but it had been solved
+successfully, and patents had been applied for, and a working model
+constructed. But it had proved unexpectedly difficult to interest
+the officials of the great steamship companies in the device. There
+was no doubt about the practicability of the machine, or the
+economies it would effect; but the officials raised trivial
+objections, and caused delays, and offered prices that were
+ridiculously inadequate. So the young inventor had conceived the
+idea of organizing a company to manufacture the machines, and rent
+them upon a royalty. "I didn't know whether you would have any
+money," said Major Thorne, "--but I thought you might be in touch
+with others who could be got to look into the matter. There is a
+fortune in it for those who take it up."
+
+Montague was interested, and he looked over the plans and
+descriptions which his friend had brought, and said that he would
+see the working model, and talk the proposition over with others.
+And so the Major took his departure.
+
+The first person Montague spoke to about it was Oliver, with whom he
+chanced to be lunching, at the latter's club. This was the "All
+Night" club, a meeting-place of fast young Society men and
+millionaire Bohemians, who made a practice of going to bed at
+daylight, and had taken for their motto the words of Tennyson--"For
+men may come and men may go, but I go on for ever." It was not a
+proper club for his brother to join, Oliver considered; Montague's
+"game" was the heavy respectable, and the person to put him up was
+General Prentice. But he was permitted to lunch there with his
+brother to chaperon him--and also Reggie Mann, who happened in,
+fresh from talking over the itinerary of the foreign prince with
+Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden, and bringing a diverting account of how Mrs.
+R.-C. had had a fisticuffs with her maid.
+
+Montague mentioned the invention casually, and with no idea that his
+brother would have an opinion one way or the other. But Oliver had
+quite a vigorous opinion: "Good God, Allan, you aren't going to let
+yourself be persuaded into a thing like that!"
+
+"But what do you know about it?" asked the other. "It may be a
+tremendous thing."
+
+"Of course!" cried Oliver. "But what can you tell about it? You'll
+be like a child in other people's hands, and they'll be certain to
+rob you. And why in the world do you want to take risks when you
+don't have to?"
+
+"I have to put my money somewhere," said Montague.
+
+"His first fee is burning a hole in his pocket!" put in Reggie Mann,
+with a chuckle. "Turn it over to me, Mr. Montague; and let me spend
+it in a gorgeous entertainment for Alice; and the prestige of it
+will bring you more cases than you can handle in a lifetime!"
+
+"He had much better spend it all for soda water than buy a lot of
+coal chutes with it," said Oliver: "Wait awhile, and let me find you
+some place to put your money, and you'll see that you don't have to
+take any risks."
+
+"I had no idea of taking it up until I'd made certain of it,"
+replied the other. "And those whose judgment I took would, of
+course, go in also."
+
+The younger man thought for a moment. "You are going to dine with
+Major Venable to-night, aren't you?" he asked; and when the other
+answered in the affirmative, he continued," Very well, then, ask
+him. The Major's been a capitalist for forty years, and if you can
+get him to take it up, why, you'll know you're safe."
+
+Major Venable had taken quite a fancy to Montague--perhaps the old
+gentleman liked to have somebody to gossip with, to whom all his
+anecdotes were new. He had seconded Montague's name at the
+"Millionaires'," where he lived, and had asked him there to make the
+acquaintance of some of the other members. Before Montague parted
+with his brother, he promised that he would talk the matter over
+with the Major.
+
+The Millionaires' was the show club of the city, the one which the
+ineffably rich had set apart for themselves. It was up by the park,
+in a magnificent white marble palace which had cost a million
+dollars. Montague felt that he had never really known the Major
+until he saw him here. The Major was excellent at all times and
+places, but in this club he became an edition de luxe of himself. He
+made his headquarters here, keeping his suite of rooms all the year
+round; and the atmosphere and surroundings of the place seemed to be
+a part of him.
+
+Montague thought that the Major's face grew redder every day, and
+the purple veins in it purpler; or was it that the old gentleman's
+shirt bosom gleamed more brightly in the glare of the lights? The
+Major met him in the stately entrance hall, fifty feet square and
+all of Numidian marble, with a ceiling of gold, and a great bronze
+stairway leading to the gallery above. He apologized for his velvet
+slippers and for his hobbling walk--he was getting his accursed gout
+again. But he limped around and introduced his friend to the other
+millionaires--and then told scandal about them behind their backs.
+
+The Major was the very type of a blue-blooded old aristocrat; he was
+all noblesse oblige to those within the magic circle of his
+intimacy--but alas for those outside it! Montague had never heard
+anyone bully servants as the Major did. "Here you!" he would cry,
+when something went wrong at the table. "Don't you know any better
+than to bring me a dish like that? Go and send me somebody who knows
+how to set a table!" And, strange to say, the servants all
+acknowledged his perfect right to bully them, and flew with
+terrified alacrity to do his bidding. Montague noticed that the
+whole staff of the club leaped into activity whenever the Major
+appeared; and when he was seated at the table, he led off in this
+fashion--"Now I want two dry Martinis. And I want them at once--do
+you understand me? Don't stop to get me any butter plates or
+finger-bowls--I want two cock-tails, just as quick as you can carry
+them!"
+
+Dinner was an important event to Major Venable--the most important
+in life. The younger man humbly declined to make any suggestions,
+and sat and watched while his friend did all the ordering. They had
+some very small oysters, and an onion soup, and a grouse and
+asparagus, with some wine from the Major's own private store, and
+then a romaine salad. Concerning each one of these courses, the
+Major gave special injunctions, and throughout his conversation he
+scattered comments upon them: "This is good thick soup--lots of
+nourishment in onion soup. Have the rest of this?--I think the
+Burgundy is too cold. Sixty-five is as cold as Burgundy ought ever
+to be. I don't mind sherry as low as sixty.--They always cook a bird
+too much--Robbie Waiting's chef is the only person I know who never
+makes a mistake with game."
+
+All this, of course, was between comments upon the assembled
+millionaires. There was Hawkins, the corporation lawyer; a shrewd
+fellow, cold as a corpse. He was named for an ambassadorship--a very
+efficient. man. Used to be old Wyman's confidential adviser and buy
+aldermen for him.--And the man at table with him was Harrison,
+publisher of the Star; administration newspaper, sound and
+conservative. Harrison was training for a cabinet position. He was a
+nice little man, and would make a fine splurge in Washington.--And
+that tall man coming in was Clarke, the steel magnate; and over
+there was Adams, a big lawyer also--prominent reformer--civic
+righteousness and all that sort of stuff. Represented the Oil Trust
+secretly, and went down to Trenton to argue against some reform
+measure, and took along fifty thousand dollars in bills in his
+valise. "A friend of mine got wind of what he was doing, and taxed
+him with it," said the Major, and laughed gleefully over the great
+lawyer's reply--"How did I know but I might have to pay for my own
+lunch?"--And the fat man with him--that was Jimmie Featherstone, the
+chap who had inherited a big estate. "Poor Jimmie's going all to
+pieces," the Major declared. "Goes down town to board meetings now
+and then--they tell a hair-raising story about him and old Dan
+Waterman. He had got up and started a long argument, when Waterman
+broke in, 'But at the earlier meeting you argued directly to the
+contrary, Mr. Featherstone!' 'Did I?' said Jimmie, looking
+bewildered. 'I wonder why I did that?' 'Well, Mr. Featherstone,
+since you ask me, I'll tell you,' said old Dan--he's savage as a
+wild boar, you know, and won't be delayed at meetings. 'The reason
+is that the last time you were drunker than you are now. If you
+would adopt a uniform standard of intoxication for the directors'
+meetings of this road, it would expedite matters considerably.'"
+
+They had got as far as the romaine salad. The waiter came with a
+bowl of dressing--and at the sight of it, the old gentleman forgot
+Jimmie Featherstone. "Why are you bringing me that stuff?" he cried.
+"I don't want that! Take it away and get me some vinegar and oil."
+
+The waiter fled in dismay, while the Major went on growling under
+his breath. Then from behind him came a voice: "What's the matter
+with you this evening, Venable? You're peevish!"
+
+The Major looked up. "Hello, you old cormorant," said he. "How do
+you do these days?"
+
+The old cormorant replied that he did very well. He was a pudgy
+little man, with a pursed-up, wrinkled face. "My friend Mr.
+Montague--Mr. Symmes," said the Major.
+
+"I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Montague," said Mr. Symmes,
+peering over his spectacles.
+
+"And what are you doing with yourself these days?" asked the Major.
+
+The other smiled genially. "Nothing much," said he. "Seducing my
+friends' wives, as usual."
+
+"And who's the latest?"
+
+"Read the newspapers, and you'll find out," laughed Symmes. "I'm
+told I'm being shadowed."
+
+He passed on down the room, chuckling to himself; and the Major
+said, "That's Maltby Symmes. Have you heard of him?"
+
+"No," said Montague.
+
+"He gets into the papers a good deal. He was up in supplementary
+proceedings the other day--couldn't pay his liquor bill."
+
+"A member of the Millionaires'?" laughed Montague.
+
+"Yes, the papers made quite a joke out of it," said the other. "But
+you see he's run through a couple of fortunes; the last was his
+mother's--eleven millions, I believe. He's been a pretty lively old
+boy in his time."
+
+The vinegar and oil had now arrived, and the Major set to work to
+dress the salad. This was quite a ceremony, and Montague took it
+with amused interest. The Major first gathered all the necessary
+articles together, and looked them all over and grumbled at them.
+Then he mixed the vinegar and the pepper and salt, a tablespoonful
+at a time, and poured it over the salad. Then very slowly and
+carefully the oil had to be poured on, the salad being poked and
+turned about so that it would be all absorbed. Perhaps it was
+because he was so busy narrating the escapades of Maltty Symmes that
+the old gentleman kneaded it about so long; all the time fussing
+over it like a hen-partridge with her chicks, and interrupting
+himself every sentence or two: "It was Lenore, the opera star, and
+he gave her about two hundred thousand dollars' worth of railroad
+shares. (Really, you know, romaine ought not to be served in a bowl
+at all, but in a square, flat dish, so that one could keep the ends
+quite dry.) And when they quarrelled, she found the old scamp had
+fooled her--the shares had never been transferred. (One is not
+supposed to use a fork at all, you know.) But she sued him, and he
+settled with her for about half the value. (If this dressing were
+done properly, there ought not to be any oil in the bottom of the
+dish at all.)"
+
+This last remark meant that the process had reached its climax--that
+the long, crisp leaves were receiving their final affectionate
+overturnings. While the waiter stood at respectful attention, two or
+three pieces at a time were laid carefully upon the little silver
+plate intended for Montague. "And now," said the triumphant host,
+"try it! If it's good, it ought to be neither sweet nor bitter, but
+just right."--And he watched anxiously while Montague tasted it,
+saying, "If it's the least bit bitter, say so; and we'll send it
+out. I've told them about it often enough before."
+
+But it was not bitter, and so the Major proceeded to help himself,
+after which the waiter whisked the bowl away. "I'm told that salad
+is the one vegetable we have from the Romans," said the old boy, as
+he munched at the crisp green leaves. "It's mentioned by Horace, you
+know.--As I was saying, all this was in Symmes's early days. But
+since his son's been grown up, he's married another chorus-girl."
+
+After the salad the Major had another cocktail. In the beginning
+Montague had noticed that his hands shook and his eyes were watery;
+but now, after these copious libations, he was vigorous, and, if
+possible, more full of anecdotes than ever. Montague thought that it
+would be a good time to broach his inquiry, and so when the coffee
+had been served, he asked, "Have you any objections to talking
+business after dinner?"
+
+"Not with you," said the Major. "Why? What is it?"
+
+And then Montague told him about his friend's proposition, and
+described the invention. The other listened attentively to the end;
+and then, after a pause, Montague asked him, "What do you think of
+it?"
+
+"The invention's no good," said the Major, promptly.
+
+"How do you know?" asked the other.
+
+"Because, if it had been, the companies would have taken it long
+ago, without paying him a cent."
+
+"But he has it patented," said Montague.
+
+"Patented hell!" replied the other. "What's a patent to lawyers of
+concerns of that size? They'd have taken it and had it in use from
+Maine to Texas; and when he sued, they'd have tied the case up in so
+many technicalities and quibbles that he couldn't have got to the
+end of it in ten years--and he'd have been ruined ten times over in
+the process."
+
+"Is that really done?" asked Montague.
+
+"Done!" exclaimed the Major. "It's done so often you might say it's
+the only thing that's done.--The people are probably trying to take
+you in with a fake."
+
+"That couldn't possibly be so," responded the other. "The man is a
+friend--"
+
+"I've found it an excellent rule never to do business with friends,"
+said the Major, grimly.
+
+"But listen," said Montague; and he argued long enough to convince
+his companion that that could not be the true explanation. Then the
+Major sat for a minute or two and pondered; and suddenly he
+exclaimed, "I have it! I see why they won't touch it!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It's the coal companies! They're giving the steamships short
+weight, and they don't want the coal weighed truly!"
+
+"But there's no sense in that," said Montague. "It's the steamship
+companies that won't take the machine."
+
+"Yes," said the Major; "naturally, their officers are sharing the
+graft." And he laughed heartily at Montague's look of perplexity.
+
+"Do you know anything about the business?" Montague asked.
+
+"Nothing whatever," said the Major. "I am like the German who shut
+himself up in his inner consciousness and deduced the shape of an
+elephant from first principles. I know the game of big business from
+A to Z, and I'm telling you that if the invention is good and the
+companies won't take it, that's the reason; and I'll lay you a wager
+that if you were to make an investigation, some such thing as that
+is what you'd find! Last winter I went South on a steamer, and when
+we got near port, I saw them dumping a ton or two of good food
+overboard; and I made inquiries, and learned that one of the
+officials of the company ran a farm, and furnished the stuff--and
+the orders were to get rid of so much every trip!"
+
+Montague's jaw had fallen. "What could Major Thorne do against such
+a combination?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," said the Major, shrugging his shoulders. "It's a
+case to take to a lawyer--one who knows the ropes. Hawkins over
+there would know what to tell you. I should imagine the thing he'd
+advise would be to call a strike of the men who handle the coal, and
+tie up the companies and bring them to terms."
+
+"You're joking now!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Not at all," said the Major, laughing again. "It's done all the
+time. There's a building trust in this city, and the way it put all
+its rivals out of business was by having strikes called on their
+jobs."
+
+"But how could it do that?"
+
+"Easiest thing in the world. A labour leader is a man with a great
+deal of power, and a very small salary to live on. And even if he
+won't sell out--there are other ways. I could introduce you to a man
+right in this room who had a big strike on at an inconvenient time,
+and he had the president of the union trapped in a hotel with a
+woman, and the poor fellow gave in and called off the strike."'
+
+"I should think the strikers might sometimes get out of hand," said
+Montague.
+
+"Sometimes they do," smiled the other. "There is a regular procedure
+for that case. Then you hire detectives and start violence, and call
+out the militia and put the strike leaders into jail."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that. The programme seemed
+to be complete.
+
+"You see," the Major continued, earnestly, "I'm advising you as a
+friend, and I'm taking the point of view of a man who has money in
+his pocket. I've had some there always, but I've had to work hard to
+keep it there. All my life I've been surrounded by people who wanted
+to do me good; and the way they wanted to do it was to exchange my
+real money for pieces of paper which they'd had printed with fancy
+scroll-work and eagles and flags. Of course, if you want to look at
+the thing from the other side, why, then the invention is most
+ingenious, and trade is booming just now, and this is a great
+country, and merit is all you need in it--and everything else is
+just as it ought to be. It makes ahl the difference in the world,
+you know, whether a man is buying a horse or selling him!"
+
+Montague had observed with perplexity that such incendiary talk as
+this was one of the characteristics of people in these lofty
+altitudes. It was one of the liberties accorded to their station.
+Editors and bishops and statesmen and all the rest of their
+retainers had to believe in the respectabilities, even in the
+privacy of their clubs--the people's ears were getting terribly
+sharp these days! But among the real giants of business you might
+have thought yourself in a society of revolutionists; they would
+tear up the mountain tops and hurl them at each other. When one of
+these old war-horses once got started, he would tell tales of
+deviltry to appall the soul of the hardiest muck-rake man. It was
+always the other fellow, of course; but then, if you pinned your man
+down, and if he thought that he could trust you--he would
+acknowledge that he had sometimes fought the enemy with the enemy's
+own weapons!
+
+But of course one must understand that all this radicalism was for
+conversational purposes only. The Major, for instance, never had the
+slightest idea of doing anything about all the evils of which he
+told; when it came to action, he proposed to do just what he had
+done all his life--to sit tight on his own little pile. And the
+Millionaires' was an excellent place to learn to do it!
+
+"See that old money-bags over there in the corner," said the Major.
+"He's a man you want to fix in your mind--old Henry S. Grimes. Have
+you heard of him?"
+
+"Vaguely," said the other.
+
+"He's Laura Hegan's uncle. She'll have his money also some day--but
+Lord, how he does hold on to it meantime! It's quite tragic, if you
+come to know him--he's frightened at his own shadow. He goes in for
+slum tenements, and I guess he evicts more people in a month than
+you could crowd into this building!"
+
+Montague looked at the solitary figure at the table, a man with a
+wizened-up little face like a weasel's, and a big napkin tied around
+his neck. "That's so as to save his shirt-front for to-morrow," the
+Major explained. "He's really only about sixty, but you'd think he
+was eighty. Three times every day he sits here and eats a bowl of
+graham crackers and milk, and then goes out and sits rigid in an
+arm-chair for an hour. That's the regimen his doctors have put him
+on--angels and ministers of grace defend us!"
+
+The old gentleman paused, and a chuckle shook his scarlet jowls.
+"Only think!" he said--"they tried to do that to me! But no,
+sir--when Bob Venable has to eat graham crackers and milk, he'll put
+in arsenic instead of sugar! That's the way with many a one of these
+rich fellows, though--you picture him living in Capuan luxury, when,
+as a matter of fact, he's a man with a torpid liver and a weak
+stomach, who is put to bed at ten o'clock with a hot-water bag and a
+flannel night-cap!"
+
+The two had got up and were strolling toward the smoking-room; when
+suddenly at one side a door opened, and a group of men came out. At
+the head of them was an extraordinary figure, a big powerful body
+with a grim face. "Hello!" said the Major. "All the big bugs are
+here to-night. There must be a governors' meeting."
+
+"Who is that?" asked his companion; and he answered, "That? Why,
+that's Dan Waterman."
+
+Dan Waterman! Montague stared harder than ever, and now he
+identified the face with the pictures he had seen. Waterman, the
+Colossus of finance, the Croesus of copper and gold! How many trusts
+had Waterman organized! And how many puns had been made upon that
+name of his!
+
+"Who are the other men?" Montague asked.
+
+"Oh, they're just little millionaires," was the reply.
+
+The "little millionaires" were following as a kind of body-guard;
+one of them, who was short and pudgy, was half running, to keep up
+with Waterman's heavy stride. When they came to the coat-room, they
+crowded the attendants away, and one helped the great man on with
+his coat, and another held his hat, and another his stick, and two
+others tried to talk to him. And Waterman stolidly buttoned his
+coat, and then seized his hat and stick, and without a word to
+anyone, bolted through the door.
+
+It was one of the funniest sights that Montague had ever seen in his
+life, and he laughed all the way into the smoking-room. And, when
+Major Venable had settled himself in a big chair and bitten off the
+end of a cigar and lighted it, what floodgates of reminiscence were
+opened!
+
+For Dan Waterman was one of the Major's own generation, and he knew
+all his life and his habits. Just as Montague had seen him there, so
+he had been always; swift, imperious, terrible, trampling over all
+opposition; the most powerful men in the city quailed before the
+glare of his eyes. In the old days Wall Street had reeled in the
+shock of the conflicts between him and his most powerful rival.
+
+And the Major went on to tell about Waterman's rival, and his life.
+He had been the city's traction-king, old Wyman had been made by
+him. He was the prince among political financiers; he had ruled the
+Democratic party in state and nation. He would give a quarter of a
+million at a time to the boss of Tammany Hall, and spend a million
+in a single campaign; on "dough-day," when the district leaders came
+to get the election funds, there would be a table forty feet long
+completely covered with hundred-dollar bills. He would have been the
+richest man in America, save that he spent his money as fast as he
+got it. He had had the most famous racing-stable in America; and a
+house on Fifth Avenue that was said to be the finest Italian palace
+in the world. Over three millions had been spent in decorating it;
+all the ceilings had been brought intact from palaces abroad, which
+he had bought and demolished! The Major told a story to show how
+such a man lost all sense of the value of money; he had once been
+sitting at lunch with him, when the editor of one of his newspapers
+had come in and remarked, "I told you we would need eight thousand
+dollars, and the check you send is for ten." "I know it," was the
+smiling answer--"but somehow I thought eight seemed harder to write
+than ten!"
+
+"Old Waterman's quite a spender, too, when it comes to that," the
+Major went on. "He told me once that it cost him five thousand
+dollars a day for his ordinary expenses. And that doesn't include a
+million-dollar yacht, nor even the expenses of it.
+
+"And think of another man I know of who spent a million dollars for
+a granite pier, so that he could land and see his mistress!--It's a
+fact, as sure as God made me! She was a well-known society woman,
+but she was poor, and he didn't dare to make her rich for fear of
+the scandal. So she had to live in a miserable fifty-thousand-dollar
+villa; and when other people's children would sneer at her children
+because they lived in a fifty-thousand-dollar villa, the answer
+would be, 'But you haven't got any pier!' And if you don't believe
+that--"
+
+But here suddenly the Major turned, and observed a boy who had
+brought him some cigars, and who was now standing near by,
+pretending to straighten out some newspapers upon the table. "Here,
+sir!" cried the Major, "what do you mean--listening to what I'm
+saying! Out of the room with you now, you rascal!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+
+
+
+Another week-end came, and with it an invitation from the Lester
+Todds to visit them at their country place in New Jersey. Montague
+was buried in his books, but his brother routed him out with
+strenuous protests. His case be damned--was he going to ruin his
+career for one case? At all hazards, he must meet people--"people
+who counted." And the Todds were such, a big money crowd, and a
+power in the insurance world; if Montague were going to be an
+insurance lawyer, he could not possibly decline their invitation.
+Freddie Vandam would be a guest--and Montague smiled at the tidings
+that Betty Wyman would be there also. He had observed that his
+brother's week-end visits always happened at places where Betty was,
+and where Betty's granddaddy was not.
+
+So Montague's man packed his grips, and Alice's maid her trunks; and
+they rode with a private-car party to a remote Jersey suburb, and
+were whirled in an auto up a broad shell road to a palace upon the
+top of a mountain. Here lived the haughty Lester Todds, and
+scattered about on the neighbouring hills, a set of the
+ultra-wealthy who had withdrawn to this seclusion. They were
+exceedingly "classy"; they affected to regard all the Society of the
+city with scorn, and had their own all-the-year-round diversions--an
+open-air horse show in summer, and in the fall fox-hunting in fancy
+uniforms.
+
+The Lester Todds themselves were ardent pursuers of all varieties of
+game, and in various clubs and private preserves they followed the
+seasons, from Florida and North Carolina to Ontario, with occasional
+side trips to Norway, and New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Here
+at home they had a whole mountain of virgin forest, carefully
+preserved; and in the Renaissance palace at the summit-which they
+carelessly referred to as a "lodge"--you would find such articles de
+vertu as a ten-thousand-dollar table with a set of
+two-thousand-dollar chairs, and quite ordinary-looking rugs at ten
+and twenty thousand dollars each.--All these prices you might
+ascertain without any difficulty at all, because there were many
+newspaper articles describing the house to be read in an album in
+the hall. On Saturday afternoons Mrs. Todd welcomed the neighbours
+in a pastel grey reception-gown, the front of which contained a
+peacock embroidered in silk, with jewels in every feather, and a
+diamond solitaire for an eye; and in the evening there was a dance,
+and she appeared in a gown with several hundred diamonds sewn upon
+it, and received her guests upon a rug set with jewels to match.
+
+All together, Montague judged this the "fastest" set he had yet
+encountered; they ate more and drank more and intrigued more openly.
+He had been slowly acquiring the special lingo of Society, but these
+people had so much more slang that he felt all lost again. A young
+lady who was gossiping to him about those present remarked that a
+certain youth was a "spasm"; and then, seeing the look of perplexity
+upon his face, she laughed, "I don't believe you know what I mean!"
+Montague replied that he had ventured to infer that she did not like
+him.
+
+And then there was Mrs. Harper, who came from Chicago by way of
+London. Ten years ago Mrs. Harper had overwhelmed New York with the
+millions brought from her great department-store; and had then moved
+on, sighing for new worlds to conquer. When she had left Chicago,
+her grammar had been unexceptionable; but since she had been in
+England, she said "you ain't" and dropped all her g's; and when
+Montague brought down a bird at long range, she exclaimed,
+condescendingly, "Why, you're quite a dab at it!" He sat in the
+front seat of an automobile, and heard the great lady behind him
+referring to the sturdy Jersey farmers, whose ancestors had fought
+the British and Hessians all over the state, as "your peasantry."
+
+It was an extraordinary privilege to have Mrs. Harper for a guest;
+"at home" she moved about in state recalling that of Queen Victoria,
+with flags and bunting on the way, and crowds of school children
+cheering. She kept up half a dozen establishments, and had a hundred
+thousand acres of game preserves in Scotland. She made a speciality
+of collecting jewels which had belonged to the romantic and
+picturesque queens of history. She appeared at the dance in a
+breastplate of diamonds covering the entire front of her bodice, so
+that she was literally clothed in light; and with her was her
+English friend, Mrs. Percy, who had accompanied her in her triumph
+through the courts and camps of Europe, and displayed a famous
+lorgnette-chain, containing one specimen of every rare and beautiful
+jewel known. Mrs. Percy wore a gown of cloth of gold tissue, covered
+with a fortune in Venetian lace, and made a tremendous
+sensation--until the rumour spread that it was a rehash of the
+costume which Mrs. Harper had worn at the Duchess of London's ball.
+The Chicago lady herself never by any chance appeared in the same
+costume twice.
+
+Alice had a grand time at the Todds'; all the men fell in love with
+her--one in particular, a young chap named Fayette, quite threw
+himself at her feet. He was wealthy, but unfortunately he had made
+his money by eloping with a rich girl (who was one of the present
+party), and so, from a practical point of view, his attentions were
+not desirable for Alice.
+
+Montague was left with the task of finding these things out for
+himself, for his brother devoted himself exclusively to Betty Wyman.
+The way these two disappeared between meals was a jest of the whole
+company; so that when they were on their way home, Montague felt
+called upon to make paternal inquiries.
+
+"We're as much engaged as we dare to be," Oliver answered him.
+
+"And when do you expect to marry her?"
+
+"God knows," said he, "I don't. The old man wouldn't give her a
+cent."
+
+"And you couldn't support her?"
+
+"I? Good heavens, Allan--do you suppose Betty would consent to be
+poor?"
+
+"Have you asked her?" inquired Montague.
+
+"I don't want to ask her, thank you! I've not the least desire to
+live in a hovel with a girl who's been brought up in a palace."
+
+"Then what do you expect to do?"
+
+"Well, Betty has a rich aunt in a lunatic asylum. And then I'm
+making money, you know--and the old boy will have to relent in the
+end. And we're having a very good time in the meanwhile, you know."
+
+"You can't be very much in love," said Montague--to which his
+brother replied cheerfully that they were as much in love as they
+felt like being.
+
+This was on the train Monday morning. Oliver observed that his
+brother relapsed into a brown study, and remarked, "I suppose you're
+going back now to bury yourself in your books. You've got to give me
+one evening this week for a dinner that's important."
+
+"Where's that?" asked the other.
+
+"Oh, it's a long story," said Oliver. "I'll explain it to you some
+time. But first we must have an understanding about next week,
+also--I suppose you've not overlooked the fact that it's Christmas
+week. And you won't be permitted to do any work then."
+
+"But that's impossible!" exclaimed the other.
+
+"Nothing else is possible," said Oliver, firmly. "I've made an
+engagement for you with the Eldridge Devons up the Hudson--"
+
+"For the whole week?"
+
+"The whole week. And it'll be the most important thing you've done.
+Mrs. Winnie's going to take us all in her car, and you will make no
+end of indispensable acquaintances."
+
+"Oliver, I don't see how in the world I can do it!" the other
+protested in dismay, and went on for several minutes arguing and
+explaining what he had to do. But Oliver contented himself with the
+assurance that where there's a will, there's a way. One could not
+refuse an invitation to spend Christmas with the Eldridge Devons!
+
+And sure enough, there was a way. Mr. Hasbrook had mentioned to him
+that he had had considerable work done upon the case, and would have
+the papers sent round. And when Montague reached his office that
+morning, he found them there. There was a package of several
+thousand pages; and upon examining them, he found to his utter
+consternation that they contained a complete bill of complaint, with
+all the necessary references and citations, and a preliminary
+draught of a brief--in short, a complete and thoroughgoing
+preparation of his case. There could not have been less than ten or
+fifteen thousand dollars' worth of work in the papers; and Montague
+sat quite aghast, turning over the neatly typewritten sheets. He
+could indeed afford to attend Christmas house parties, if all his
+clients were to treat him like this!
+
+He felt a little piqued about it--for he had noted some of these
+points for himself, and felt a little proud about them. Apparently
+he was to be nothing but a figure-head in the case! And he turned to
+the phone and called up Mr. Hasbrook, and asked him what he expected
+him to do with these papers. There was the whole case here; and was
+he simply to take them as they stood?
+
+No one could have replied more considerately than did Mr. Hasbrook.
+The papers were for Montague's benefit--he would do exactly as he
+pleased with them. He might use them as they stood, or reject them
+altogether, or make them the basis for his own work--anything that
+appealed to his judgment would be satisfactory. And so Montague
+turned about and wrote an acceptance to the formal invitation which
+had come from the Eldridge Devons.
+
+Later on in the day Oliver called up, and said that he was to go out
+to dinner the following evening, and that he would call for him at
+eight. "It's with the Jack Evanses," Oliver added. "Do you know
+them?"
+
+Montague had heard the name, as that of the president of a chain of
+Western railroads. "Do you mean him?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said the other. "They're a rum crowd, but there's money in
+it. I'll call early and explain it to you."
+
+But it was explained sooner than that. During the next afternoon
+Montague had a caller--none other than Mrs. Winnie Duval. Some one
+had left Mrs. Winnie some more money, it appeared; and there was a
+lot of red tape attached to it, which she wanted the new lawyer to
+attend to. Also, she said, she hoped that he would charge her a lot
+of money by way of encouraging himself. It was a mere bagatelle of a
+hundred thousand or so, from some forgotten aunt in the West.
+
+The business was soon disposed of, and then Mrs. Winnie asked
+Montague if he had any place to go to for dinner that evening: which
+was the occasion of his mentioning the Jack Evanses. "O dear me!"
+said Mrs. Winnie, with a laugh. "Is Ollie going to take you there?
+What a funny time you'll have!"
+
+"Do you know them?" asked the other.
+
+"Heavens, no!" was the answer. "Nobody knows them; but everybody
+knows about them. My husband meets old Evans in business, of course,
+and thinks he's a good sort. But the family--dear me!"
+
+"How much of it is there?"
+
+"Why, there's the old lady, and two grown daughters and a son. The
+son's a fine chap, they say--the old man took him in hand and put
+him at work in the shops. But I suppose he thought that daughters
+were too much of a proposition for him, and so he sent them to a
+fancy school--and, I tell you, they're the most highly polished
+human specimens that ever you encountered!"
+
+It sounded entertaining. "But what does Oliver want with them?"
+asked Montague, wonderingly.
+
+"It isn't that he wants them--they want him. They're cumbers, you
+know--perfectly frantic. They've come to town to get into Society."
+
+"Then you mean that they pay Oliver?" asked Montague.
+
+"I don't know that," said the other, with a laugh. "You'll have to
+ask Ollie. They've a number of the little brothers of the rich
+hanging round them, picking up whatever plunder's in sight."
+
+A look of pain crossed Montague's face; and she saw it, and put out
+her hand with a sudden gesture. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've offended
+you!"
+
+"No," said he, "it's not that exactly--I wouldn't be offended. But
+I'm worried about my brother."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"He gets a lot of money somehow, and I don't know what it means."
+
+The woman sat for a few moments in silence, watching him. "Didn't he
+have any when he came here?" she asked.
+
+"Not very much," said he.
+
+"Because," she went on, "if he didn't, he certainly managed it very
+cleverly--we all thought he had."
+
+Again there was a pause; then suddenly Mrs. Winnie said: "Do you
+know, you feel differently about money from the way we do in New
+York. Do you realize it?"
+
+"I'm not sure," said he. "How do you mean?"
+
+"You look at it in an old-fashioned sort of way--a person has to
+earn it--it's a sign of something he's done. It came to me just now,
+all in a flash--we don't feel that way about money. We haven't any
+of us earned ours; we've just got it. And it never occurs to us to
+expect other people to earn it--all we want to know is if they have
+it."
+
+Montague did not tell his companion how very profound a remark he
+considered that; he was afraid it would not be delicate to agree
+with her. He had heard a story of a negro occupant of the "mourners'
+bench," who was voluble in confession of his sins, but took
+exception to the fervour with which the congregation said "Amen!"
+
+"The Evanses used to be a lot funnier than they are now," continued
+Mrs. Winnie, after a while. "When they came here last year, they
+were really frightful. They had an English chap for social
+secretary--a younger son of some broken-down old family. My brother
+knew a man who had been one of their intimates in the West, and he
+said it was perfectly excruciating--this fellow used to sit at the
+table and give orders to the whole crowd: 'Your ice-cream fork
+should be at your right hand, Miss Mary.--One never asks for more
+soup, Master Robert.--And Miss Anna, always move your soup-spoon
+from you--that's better!'"
+
+"I fancy I shall feel sorry for them," said Montague.
+
+"Oh, you needn't," said the other, promptly. "They'll get what they
+want."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Why, certainly they will. They've got the money; and they've been
+abroad--they're learning the game. And they'll keep at it until they
+succeed--what else is there for them to do? And then my husband says
+that old Evans is making himself a power here in the East; so that
+pretty soon they won't dare offend him."
+
+"Does that count?" asked the man.
+
+"Well, I guess it counts!" laughed Mrs. Winnie. "It has of late."
+And she went on to tell him of the Society leader who had dared to
+offend the daughters of a great magnate, and how the magnate had
+retaliated by turning the woman's husband out of his high office.
+That was often the way in the business world; the struggles were
+supposed to be affairs of men, but oftener than not the moving power
+was a woman's intrigue. You would see a great upheaval in Wall
+Street, and it would be two of the big men quarrelling over a
+mistress; you would see some man rush suddenly into a high
+office--and that would be because his wife had sold herself to
+advance him.
+
+Mrs. Winnie took him up town in her auto, and he dressed for dinner;
+and then came Oliver, and his brother asked, "Are you trying to put
+the Evanses into Society?"
+
+"Who's been telling you about them?" asked the other.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," said Montague.
+
+"What did she tell you?"
+
+Montague went over her recital, which his brother apparently found
+satisfactory. "It's not as serious as that," he said, answering the
+earlier question. "I help them a little now and then."
+
+"What do you do?"
+
+"Oh, advise them, mostly--tell them where to go and what to wear.
+When they first came to New York, they were dressed like paraquets,
+you know. And"--here Oliver broke into a laugh--"I refrain from
+making jokes about them. And when I hear other people abusing them,
+I point out that they are sure to land in the end, and will be
+dangerous enemies. I've got one or two wedges started for them."
+
+"And do they pay you for doing it?"
+
+"You'd call it paying me, I suppose," replied the other. "The old
+man carries a few shares of stock for me now and then."
+
+"Carries a few shares?" echoed Montague, and Oliver explained the
+procedure. This was one of the customs which had grown up in a
+community where people did not have to earn their money. The
+recipient of the favour put up nothing and took no risks; but the
+other person was supposed to buy some stock for him, and then, when
+the stock went up, he would send a cheque for the "profits." Many a
+man who would have resented a direct offer of money, would assent
+pleasantly when a powerful friend offered to "carry a hundred shares
+for him." This was the way one offered a tip in the big world; it
+was useful in the case of newspaper men, whose good opinion of a
+stock was desired, or of politicians and legislators, whose votes
+might help its fortunes. When one expected to get into Society, one
+must be prepared to strew such tips about him.
+
+"Of course," added Oliver, "what the family would really like me to
+do is to get the Robbie Wallings to take them up. I suppose I could
+get round half a million of them if I could manage that."
+
+To all of which Montague replied, "I see."
+
+A great light had dawned upon him. So that was the way it was
+managed! That was why one paid thirty thousand a year for one's
+apartments, and thirty thousand more for a girl's clothes! No wonder
+it was better to spend Christmas week at the Eldridge Devons than to
+labour at one's law books!
+
+"One more question," Montague went on. "Why are you introducing me
+to them?"
+
+"Well," his brother answered, "it won't hurt you; you'll find it
+amusing. You see, they'd heard I had a brother; and they asked me to
+bring you. I couldn't keep you hidden for ever, could I?"
+
+All this was while they were driving up town. The Evanses' place was
+on Riverside Drive; and when Montague got out of the cab and saw it
+looming up in the semi-darkness, he emitted an exclamation of
+wonder. It was as big as a jail!
+
+"Oh, yes, they've got room enough," said Oliver, with a laugh. "I
+put this deal through for them--it's the old Lamson palace, you
+know."
+
+They had the room; and likewise they had all the trappings of
+snobbery--Montague took that fact in at a glance. There were
+knee-breeches and scarlet facings and gold braid--marble balconies
+and fireplaces and fountains--French masters and real Flemish
+tapestry. The staircase of their palace was a winding one, and there
+was a white velvet carpet which had been specially woven for it, and
+had to be changed frequently; at the top of it was a white cashmere
+rug which had a pedigree of six centuries--and so on.
+
+And then came the family: this tall, raw-boned, gigantic man, with
+weather-tanned face and straggling grey moustache--this was Jack
+Evans; and Mrs. Evans, short and pudgy, but with a kindly face, and
+not too many diamonds; and the Misses Evans,--stately and slender
+and perfectly arrayed. "Why, they're all right!" was the thought
+that came to Montague.
+
+They were all right until they opened their mouths. When they spoke,
+you discovered that Evans was a miner, and that his wife had been
+cook on a ranch; also that Anne and Mary had harsh voices, and that
+they never by any chance said or did anything natural.
+
+They were escorted into the stately dining-room--Henri II., with a
+historic mantel taken from the palace of Fontainebleau, and four
+great allegorical paintings of Morning, Evening, Noon, and Midnight
+upon the walls. There were no other guests--the table, set for six,
+seemed like a toy in the vast apartment. And in a sudden fash--with
+a start of almost terror--Montague realized what it must mean not to
+be in Society. To have all this splendour, and nobody to share it!
+To have Henri II. dining-rooms and Louis XVI. parlours and Louis
+XIV. libraries--and see them all empty! To have no one to drive
+with or talk with, no one to visit or play cards with--to go to the
+theatre and the opera and have no ono to speak to! Worse than that,
+to be stared at and smiled at! To live in this huge palace, and know
+that all the horde of servants, underneath their cringing deference,
+were sneering at you! To face that--to live in the presence of it
+day after day! And then, outside of your home, the ever widening
+circles of ridicule and contempt--Society, with all its hangers-on
+and parasites, its imitators and admirers!
+
+And some one had defied all that--some one had taken up the sword
+and gone forth to beat down that opposition! Montague looked at this
+little family of four, and wondered which of them was the driving
+force in this most desperate emprise!
+
+He arrived at it by a process of elimination. It could not be Evans
+himself. One saw that the old man was quite hopeless socially;
+nothing could change his big hairy hands or his lean scrawny neck,
+or his irresistible impulse to slide down in his chair and cross his
+long legs in front of him. The face and the talk of Jack Evans
+brought irresistibly to mind the mountain trail and the prospector's
+pack-mule, the smoke of camp-fires and the odour of bacon and beans.
+Seventeen long years the man had tramped in deserts and mountain
+wildernesses, and Nature had graven her impress deep into his body
+and soul.
+
+He was very shy at this dinner; but Montague came to know him well
+in the course of time. And after he had come to realize that
+Montague was not one of the grafters, he opened up his heart. Evans
+had held on to his mine when he had found it, and he had downed the
+rivals who had tried to take it away from him, and he had bought the
+railroads who had tried to crush him--and now he had come to Wall
+Street to fight the men who had tried to ruin his railroads. But
+through it all, he had kept the heart of a woman, and the sight of
+real distress was unbearable to him. He was the sort of man to keep
+a roll of ten-thousand-dollar bills in his pistol pocket, and to
+give one away if he thought he could do it without offence. And, on
+the other hand, men told how once when he had seen a porter insult a
+woman passenger on his line, he jumped up and pulled the bell-cord,
+and had the man put out on the roadside at midnight, thirty miles
+from the nearest town!
+
+No, it was the women folks, he said to Montague, with his grim
+laugh. It didn't trouble him at all to be called a "noovoo rich";
+and when he felt like dancing a shakedown, he could take a run out
+to God's country. But the women folks had got the bee in their
+bonnet. The old man added sadly that one of the disadvantages of
+striking it rich was that it left the women folks with nothing to
+do.
+
+Nor was it Mrs. Evans, either. "Sarey," as she was called by the
+head of the house, sat next to Montague at dinner; and he discovered
+that with the very least encouragement, the good lady was willing to
+become homelike and comfortable. Montague gave the occasion, because
+he was a stranger, and volunteered the opinion that New York was a
+shamelessly extravagant place, and hard to get along in; and Mrs.
+Evans took up the subject and revealed herself as a good-natured and
+kindly personage, who had wistful yearnings for mush and molasses,
+and flap-jacks, and bread fried in bacon-grease, and similar
+sensible things, while her chef was compelling her to eat pate de
+foie gras in aspic, and milk-fed guinea-chicks, and biscuits glacees
+Tortoni. Of course she did not say that at dinner,--she made a game
+effort to play her part,--with the result of at least one diverting
+experience for Montague.
+
+Mrs. Evans was telling him what a dreadful place she considered the
+city for young men; and how she feared to bring her boy here. "The
+men here have no morals at all," said she, and added earnestly,
+"I've come to the conclusion that Eastern men are naturally
+amphibious!"
+
+Then, as Montague knitted his brows and looked perplexed, she added,
+"Don't you think so?" And he replied, with as little delay as
+possible, that he had never really thought of it before.
+
+It was not until a couple of hours later that the light dawned upon
+him, in the course of a conversation with Miss Anne. "We met Lady
+Stonebridge at luncheon to-day," said that young person. "Do you
+know her?"
+
+"No," said Montague, who had never heard of her.
+
+"I think those aristocratic English women use the most abominable
+slang," continued Anne. "Have you noticed it?"
+
+"Yes, I have," he said.
+
+"And so utterly cynical! Do you know, Lady Stonebridge quite shocked
+mother--she told her she didn't believe in marriage at all, and that
+she thought all men were naturally polygamous!"
+
+Later on, Montague came to know "Mrs. Sarey"; and one afternoon,
+sitting in her Petit Trianon drawing-room, he asked her abruptly,
+"Why in the world do you want to get into Society?" And the poor
+lady caught her breath, and tried to be indignant; and then, seeing
+that he was in earnest, and that she was cornered, broke down and
+confessed. "It isn't me," she said, "it's the gals." (For along with
+the surrender went a reversion to natural speech.) "It's Mary, and
+more particularly Anne."
+
+They talked it over confidentially--which was a great relief to Mrs.
+Sarey's soul, for she was cruelly lonely. So far as she was
+concerned, it was not because she wanted Society, but because
+Society didn't want her. She flashed up in sudden anger, and
+clenched her fists, declaring that Jack Evans was as good a man as
+walked the streets of New York--and they would acknowledge it before
+he got through with them, too! After that she intended to settle
+down at home and be comfortable, and mend her husband's socks.
+
+She went on to tell him what a hard road was the path of glory.
+There were hundreds of people ready to know them--but oh, such a
+riffraff! They might fill up their home with the hangers-on and the
+yellow, but no, they could wait. They had learned a lot since they
+set out. One very aristocratic lady had invited them to dinner, and
+their hopes had been high--but alas, while they were sitting by the
+fireplace, some one admired a thirty-thousand-dollar emerald ring
+which Mrs. Evans had on her finger, and she had taken it off and
+passed it about among the company, and somewhere it had vanished
+completely! And another person had invited Mary to a bridge-party,
+and though she had played hardly at all, her hostess had quietly
+informed her that she had lost a thousand dollars. And the great
+Lady Stonebridge had actually sent for her and told her that she
+could introduce her in some of the very best circles, if only she
+was willing to lose always! Mrs. Evans had possessed a very homely
+Irish name before she was married; and Lady Stonebridge had got five
+thousand dollars from her to use some great influence she possessed
+in the Royal College of Heralds, and prove that she was descended
+directly from the noble old family of Magennis, who had been the
+lords of Iveagh, way back in the fourteenth century. And now Oliver
+had told them that this imposing charter would not help them in the
+least!
+
+In the process of elimination, there were the Misses Evans left.
+Montague's friends made many jests when they heard that he had met
+them--asking him if he meant to settle down. Major Venable went so
+far as to assure him that there was not the least doubt that either
+of the girls would take him in a second. Montague laughed, and
+answered that Mary was not so bad--she had a sweet face and was
+good-natured; but also, she was two years younger than Anne; and he
+could not get over the thought that two more years might make
+another Anne of her.
+
+For it was Anne who was the driving force of the family! Anne who
+had planned the great campaign, and selected the Lamson palace, and
+pried the family loose from the primeval rocks of Nevada! She was
+cold as an iceberg, tireless, pitiless to others as to herself; for
+seventeen years her father had wandered and dug among the mountains;
+and for seventeen years, if need be, she would dig beneath the walls
+of the fortress of Society!
+
+After Montague had had his heart to heart talk with the mother, Miss
+Anne Evans became very haughty toward him; whereby he knew that the
+old lady had told about it, and that the daughter resented his
+presumption. But to Oliver she laid bare her soul, and Oliver would
+come and tell his brother about it: how she plotted and planned and
+studied, and brought new schemes to him every week. She had some of
+the real people bought over to secret sympathy with her; if there
+was some especial favour which she asked for, she would set to work
+with the good-natured old man, and the person would have some
+important money service done him. She had the people of Society all
+marked--she was learning all their weaknesses, and the underground
+passages of their lives, and working patiently to find the key to
+her problem--some one family which was socially impregnable, but
+whose finances were in such a shape that they would receive the
+proposition to take up the Evanses, and definitely put them in.
+Montague used to look back upon all this with wonder and
+amusement--from those days in the not far distant future, when the
+papers had cable descriptions of the gowns of the Duchess of Arden,
+nee Evans, who was the bright particular star of the London social
+season!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague had written a reluctant letter to Major Thorne, telling him
+that he had been unable to interest anyone in his proposition, and
+that he was not in position to undertake it himself. Then, according
+to his brother's injunction, he left his money in the bank, and
+waited. There would be "something doing" soon, said Oliver.
+
+And as they drove home from the Evanses', Oliver served notice upon
+him that this event might be expected any day. He was very
+mysterious about it, and would answer none of his brother's
+questions--except to say that it had nothing to do with the people
+they had just visited.
+
+"I suppose," Montague remarked, "you have not failed to realize that
+Evans might play you false."
+
+And the other laughed, echoing the words, "Might do it!" Then he
+went on to tell the tale of the great railroad builder of the West,
+whose daughter had been married, with elaborate festivities; and
+some of the young men present, thinking to find him in a sentimental
+mood, had asked him for his views about the market. He advised them
+to buy the stock of his road; and they formed a pool and bought, and
+as fast as they bought, he sold--until the little venture cost the
+boys a total of seven million and a half!
+
+"No, no," Oliver added. "I have never put up a dollar for anything
+of Evans's, and I never shall.--They are simply a side issue,
+anyway," he added carelessly.
+
+A couple of mornings later, while Montague was at breakfast, his
+brother called him up and said that he was coming round, and would
+go down town with him. Montague knew at once that that meant
+something serious, for he had never before known his brother to be
+awake so early.
+
+They took a cab; and then Oliver explained. The moment had
+arrived--the time to take the plunge, and come up with a fortune. He
+could not tell much about it, for it was a matter upon which he
+stood pledged to absolute secrecy. There were but four people in the
+country who knew about it. It was the chance of a lifetime--and in
+four or five hours it would be gone. Three times before it had come
+to Oliver, and each time he had multiplied his capital several
+times; that he had not made millions was simply because he did not
+have enough money. His brother must take his word for this and
+simply put himself into his hands.
+
+"What is it you want me to do?" asked Montague, gravely.
+
+"I want you to take every dollar you have, or that you can lay your
+hands on this morning, and turn it over to me to buy stocks with."
+
+"To buy on margin, you mean?"
+
+"Of course I mean that," said Oliver. Then, as he saw his brother
+frown, he added, "Understand me, I have absolutely certain
+information as to how a certain stock will behave to-day."
+
+"The best judges of a stock often make mistakes in such matters,"
+said Montague.
+
+"It is not a question of any person's judgment," was the reply. "It
+is a question of knowledge. The stock is to be MADE to behave so."
+
+"But how can you know that the person who intends to make it behave
+may not be lying to you?"
+
+"My information does not come from that person, but from a person
+who has no such interest--who, on the contrary, is in on the deal
+with me, and gains only as I gain."
+
+"Then, in other words," said Montague, "your information is stolen?"
+
+"Everything in Wall Street is stolen," was Oliver's concise reply.
+
+There was a long silence, while the cab rolled swiftly on its way.
+"Well?" Oliver asked at last.
+
+"I can imagine," said Montague, "how a man might intend to move a
+certain stock, and think that he had the power, and yet find that he
+was mistaken. There are so many forces, so many chances to be
+considered--it seems to me you must be taking a risk."
+
+Oliver laughed. "You talk like a child," was his reply. "Suppose
+that I were in absolute control of a corporation, and that I chose
+to run it for purposes of market manipulation, don't you think I
+might come pretty near knowing what its stock was going to do?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, slowly, "if such a thing as that were
+conceivable."
+
+"If it were conceivable!" laughed his brother. "And now suppose that
+I had a confidential man--a secretary, we'll say--and I paid him
+twenty thousand a year, and he saw chances to make a hundred
+thousand in an hour--don't you think he might conceivably try it?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "he might. But where do you come in?"
+
+"Well, if the man were going to do anything worth while, he'd need
+capital, would he not? And he'd hardly dare to look for any money in
+the Street, where a thousand eyes would be watching him. What more
+natural than to look out for some person who is in Society and has
+the ear of private parties with plenty of cash?"
+
+And Montague sat in deep thought. "I see," he said slowly; "I see!"
+Then, fixing his eyes upon Oliver, he exclaimed, earnestly, "One
+thing more!"
+
+"Don't ask me any more," protested the other. "I told you I was
+pledged--"
+
+"You must tell me this," said Montague. "Does Bobbie Walling know
+about it?"
+
+"He does not," was the reply. But Montague had known his brother
+long and intimately, and he could read things in his eyes. He knew
+that that was a lie. He had solved the mystery at last!
+
+Montague knew that he had come to a parting of the ways. He did not
+like this kind of thing--he had not come to New York to be a
+stock-gambler. But what a difficult thing it would be to say so; and
+how unfair it was to be confronted with such an issue, and compelled
+to decide in a few minutes in a cab!
+
+He had put himself in his brother's hands, and now he was under
+obligations to him, which he could not pay off. Oliver had paid all
+his expenses; he was doing everything for him. He had made all his
+difficulties his own, and all in frankness and perfect trust--upon
+the assumption that his brother would play the game with him. And
+now, at the critical moment, he was to face about, and say; "I do
+not like the game. I do not approve of your life!" Such a painful
+thing it is to have a higher moral code than one's friends!
+
+If he refused, he saw that he would have to face a complete break;
+he could not go on living in the world to which he had been
+introduced. Fifty thousand had seemed an enormous fee, yet even a
+week or two had sufficed for it to come to seem inadequate. He would
+have to have many such fees, if they were to go on living at their
+present rate; and if Alice were to have a social career, and
+entertain her friends. And to ask Alice to give up now, and retire,
+would be even harder than to face his brother here in the cab.
+
+Then came the temptation. Life was a battle, and this was the way it
+was being fought. If he rejected the opportunity, others would seize
+it; in fact, by refusing, he would be handing it to them. This great
+man, whoever he might be, who was manipulating stocks for his own
+convenience--could anyone in his senses reject a chance to wrench
+from him some part of his spoils? Montague saw the impulse of
+refusal dying away within him.
+
+"Well?" asked his brother, finally.
+
+"Oliver," said the other, "don't you think that I ought to know more
+about it, so that I can judge?"
+
+"You could not judge, even if I told you all," said Oliver. "It
+would take you a long time to become familiar with the
+circumstances, as I am. You must take my word; I know it is certain
+and safe."
+
+Then suddenly he unbuttoned his coat, and took out some papers, and
+handed his brother a telegram. It was dated Chicago, and read,
+"Guest is expected immediately.--HENRY." "That means, 'Buy
+Transcontinental this morning,'" said Oliver.
+
+"I see," said the other. "Then the man is in Chicago?"
+
+"No," was the reply. "That is his wife. He wires to her."
+
+"--How much money have you?" asked Oliver, after a pause.
+
+"I've most of the fifty thousand," the other answered, "and about
+thirty thousand we brought with us."
+
+"How much can you put your hands on?"
+
+"Why, I could get all of it; but part of the money is mother's, and
+I would not touch that."
+
+The younger man was about to remonstrate, but Montague stopped him,
+"I will put up the fifty thousand I have earned," he said. "I dare
+not risk any more."
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "As you please," he said. "You may
+never have another such chance in your life."
+
+He dropped the subject, or at least he probably tried to. Within a
+few minutes, however, he was back at it again, with the result that
+by the time they reached the banking-district, Montague had agreed
+to draw sixty thousand.
+
+They stopped at his bank. "It isn't open yet,--" said Oliver, "but
+the paying teller will oblige you. Tell him you want it before the
+Exchange opens."
+
+Montague went in and got his money, in six new, crisp,
+ten-thousand-dollar bills. He buttoned them up in his inmost pocket,
+wondering a little, incidentally, at the magnificence of the place,
+and at the swift routine manner in which the clerk took in and paid
+out such sums as this. Then they drove to Oliver's bank, and he drew
+a hundred and twenty thousand; and then he paid off the cab, and
+they strolled down Broadway into Wall Street. It lacked a quarter of
+an hour of the time of the opening of the Exchange; and a stream of
+prosperous-looking men were pouring in from all the cars and ferries
+to their offices.
+
+"Where are your brokers?" Montague inquired.
+
+"I don't have any brokers--at least not for a matter such as this,"
+said Oliver. And he stopped in front of one of the big buildings.
+"In there," he said, "are the offices of Hammond and
+Streeter--second floor to your left. Go there and ask for a member
+of the firm, and introduce yourself under an assumed name--"
+
+"What!" gasped Montague.
+
+"Of course, man--you would not dream of giving your own name! What
+difference will that make?"
+
+"I never thought of doing such a thing," said the other.
+
+"Well, think of it now."
+
+But Montague shook his head. "I would not do that," he said.
+
+Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "All right," he said; "tell him you
+don't care to give your name. They're a little shady--they'll take
+your money."
+
+"Suppose they won't?" asked the other.
+
+"Then wait outside for me, and I'll take you somewhere else."
+
+"What shall I buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand shares of Transcontinental Common at the opening
+price; and tell them to buy on the scale up, and to raise the stop;
+also to take your orders to sell over the 'phone. Then wait there
+until I come for you."
+
+Montague set his teeth together and obeyed orders. Inside the door
+marked Hammond and Streeter a pleasant-faced young man advanced to
+meet him, and led him to a grey-haired and affable gentleman, Mr.
+Streeter. And Montague introduced himself as a stranger in town,
+from the South, and wishing to buy some stock. Mr. Streeter led him
+into an inner office and seated himself at a desk and drew some
+papers in front of him. "Your name, please?" he asked.
+
+"I don't care to give my name," replied the other. And Mr. Streeter
+put down his pen.
+
+"Not give your name?" he said.
+
+"No," said Montague quietly.
+
+"Why?"--said Mr. Streeter--"I don't understand--"
+
+"I am a stranger in town," said Montague, "and not accustomed to
+dealing in stocks. I should prefer to remain unknown."
+
+The man eyed him sharply. "Where do you come from?" he asked.
+
+"From Mississippi," was the reply.
+
+"And have you a residence in New York?"
+
+"At a hotel," said Montague.
+
+"You have to give some name," said the other.
+
+"Any will do," said Montague. "John Smith, if you like."
+
+"We never do anything like this," said the broker.
+
+"We require that our customers be introduced. There are rules of the
+Exchange--there are rules--"
+
+"I am sorry," said Montague; "this would be a cash transaction."
+
+"How many shares do you want to buy?"
+
+"Ten thousand," was the reply.
+
+Mr. Streeter became more serious. "That is a large order," he said.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+"What do you wish to buy?" was the next question.
+
+"Transcontinental Common," he replied.
+
+"Well," said the other, after another pause-,-"we will try to
+accommodate you. But you will have to consider it--er--"
+
+"Strictly confidential," said Montague.
+
+So Mr. Streeter made out the papers, and Montague, looking them
+over, discovered that they called for one hundred thousand dollars.
+
+
+
+"That is a mistake," he said. "I have only sixty thousand."
+
+"Oh," said the other, "we shall certainly have to charge you a ten
+per cent, margin."
+
+Montague was not prepared for this contingency; but he did some
+mental arithmetic. "What is the present price of the stock?" he
+asked.
+
+"Fifty-nine and five-eighths," was the reply.
+
+"Then sixty thousand dollars is more than ten per cent, of the
+market price," said Montague.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Streeter. "But in dealing with a stranger we shall
+certainly have to put a 'stop loss' order at four points above, and
+that would leave you only two points of safety--surely not enough."
+
+"I see," said Montague--and he had a sudden appalling realization of
+the wild game which his brother had planned for him.
+
+"Whereas," Mr. Streeter continued, persuasively, "if you put up ten
+per cent., you will have six points."
+
+"Very well," said the other promptly. "Then please buy me six
+thousand shares."
+
+So they closed the deal, and the papers were signed, and Mr.
+Streeter took the six new, crisp ten-thousand-dollar bills.
+
+Then he escorted him to the outer office, remarking pleasantly on
+the way, "I hope you're well advised. We're inclined to be bearish
+upon Transcontinental ourselves--the situation looks rather
+squally."
+
+These words were not worth the breath it took to say them; but
+Montague was not aware of this, and felt a painful start within. But
+he answered, carelessly, that one must take his chance, and sat down
+in one of the customer's chairs. Hammond and Streeter's was like a
+little lecture-hall, with rows of seats and a big blackboard in
+front, with the initials of the most important stocks in columns,
+and yesterday's closing prices above, on little green cards. At one
+side was a ticker, with two attendants awaiting the opening click.
+
+In the seats were twenty or thirty men, old and young; most of them
+regular habitues, victims of the fever of the Street. Montague
+watched them, catching snatches of their whispered conversation,
+with its intricate and disagreeable slang. He felt intensely
+humiliated and uncomfortable--for he had got the fever of the Street
+into his own veins, and he could not conquer it. There were nasty
+shivers running up and down his spine, and his hands were cold.
+
+He stared at the little figures, fascinated; they stood for some
+vast and tremendous force outside, which could not be controlled or
+even comprehended,--some merciless, annihilating force, like the
+lightning or the tornado. And he had put himself at the mercy of it;
+it might do its will with him! "Tr. C. 59 5/8" read the little
+pasteboard; and he had only six points of safety. If at any time in
+the day that figure should be changed to read "53 5/8"--then every
+dollar of Montague's sixty thousand would be gone for ever! The
+great fee that he had worked so hard for and rejoiced so greatly
+over--that would be all gone, and a slice out of his inheritance
+besides!
+
+A boy put into his hand a little four-page paper--one of the
+countless news-sheets which different houses and interests
+distributed free for advertising or other purposes; and a heading
+"Transcontinental" caught his eye, among the paragraphs in the Day's
+Events. He read: "The directors' meeting of the Transcontinental
+R.R. will be held at noon. It is confidently predicted that the
+quarterly dividend will be passed, as it has been for the last three
+quarters. There is great dissatisfaction among the stock-holders.
+The stock has been decidedly weak, with no apparent inside support;
+it fell off three points just before closing yesterday, upon the
+news of further proceedings by Western state officials, and widely
+credited rumours of dissensions among the directors, with renewed
+opposition to the control of the Hopkins interests."
+
+Ten o'clock came and went, and the ticker began its long journey.
+There was intense activity in Transcontinental, many thousands of
+shares changing hands, and the price swaying back and forth. When
+Oliver came in, in half an hour, it stood at 59 3/8.
+
+"That's all right," said he. "Our time will not come till
+afternoon."
+
+"But suppose we are wiped out before afternoon?" said the other.
+
+"That is impossible," answered Oliver. "There will be big buying all
+the morning."
+
+They sat for a while, nervous and restless. Then, by way of breaking
+the monotony, Oliver suggested that his brother might like to see
+the "Street." They went around the corner to Broad Street. Here at
+the head stood the Sub-treasury building, with all the gold of the
+government inside, and a Gatling gun in the tower. The public did
+not know it was there, but the financial men knew it, and it seemed
+as if they had huddled all their offices and banks and safe-deposit
+vaults under its shelter. Here, far underground, were hidden the two
+hundred millions of securities of the Oil Trust--in a huge
+six-hundred-ton steel vault, with a door so delicately poised that a
+finger could swing it on its hinges. And opposite to this was the
+white Grecian building of the Stock Exchange. Down the street were
+throngs of men within a roped arena, pushing, shouting, jostling;
+this was "the curb," where one could buy or sell small blocks of
+stock, and all the wild-cat mining and oil stocks which were not
+listed by the Exchange. Rain or shine, these men were always here;
+and in the windows of the neighbouring buildings stood others
+shouting quotations to them through megaphones, or signalling in
+deaf and dumb language. Some of these brokers wore coloured hats, so
+that they could be distinguished; some had offices far off, where
+men sat all day with strong glasses trained upon them. Everywhere
+was the atmosphere of speculation--the restless, feverish eyes; the
+quick, nervous gestures; the haggard, care-worn faces. For in this
+game every man was pitted against every other man; and the dice were
+loaded so that nine out of every ten were doomed in advance to ruin
+and defeat. They procured passes to the visitors' gallery of the
+Exchange. From here one looked down into a room one or two hundred
+feet square, its floor covered with a snowstorm of torn pieces of
+paper, and its air a babel of shouts and cries. Here were gathered
+perhaps two thousand men and boys; some were lounging and talking,
+but most were crowded about the various trading-posts, pushing,
+climbing over each other, leaping up, waving their hands and calling
+aloud. A "seat" in this exchange was worth about ninety-five
+thousand dollars, and so no one of these men was poor; but yet they
+came, day after day, to play their parts in this sordid arena,
+"seeking in sorrow for each other's joy": inventing a thousand petty
+tricks to outwit and deceive each other; rejoicing in a thousand
+petty triumphs; and spending their lives, like the waves upon the
+shore, a very symbol of human futility. Now and then a sudden
+impulse would seize them, and they would become like howling demons,
+surging about one spot, shrieking, gasping, clawing each other's
+clothing to pieces; and the spectator shuddered, seeing them as the
+victims of some strange and dreadful enchantment, which bound them
+to struggle and torment each other until they were worn out and
+grey.
+
+But one felt these things only dimly, when he had put all his
+fortune into Transcontinental Common. For then he had sold his own
+soul to the enchanter, and the spell was upon him, and he hoped and
+feared and agonized with the struggling throng. Montague had no need
+to ask which was his "post"; for a mob of a hundred men were packed
+about it, with little whirls and eddies here and there on the
+outside. "Something doing to-day all right," said a man in his ear.
+
+It was interesting to watch; but there was one difficulty--there
+were no quotations provided for the spectators. So the sight of this
+activity merely set them on edge with anxiety--something must be
+happening to their stock! Even Oliver was visibly nervous--after
+all, in the surest cases, the game was a dangerous one; there might
+be a big failure, or an assassination, or an earthquake! They rushed
+out and made for the nearest broker's office, where a glance at the
+board showed them Transcontinental at 60. They drew a long breath,
+and sat down again to wait.
+
+That was about half-past eleven. At a quarter to twelve the stock
+went up an eighth, and then a quarter, and then another eighth. The
+two gripped their hands in excitement. Had the time come?
+
+Apparently it had. A minute later the stock leaped to 61, on large
+buying. Then it went three-eighths more. A buzz of excitement ran
+through the office, and the old-timers sat up in their seats. The
+stock went another quarter.
+
+Montague heard a man behind him say to his neighbour, "What does it
+mean?"
+
+"God knows," was the answer; but Oliver whispered in his brother's
+ear, "I know what it means. The insiders are buying."
+
+Somebody was buying, and buying furiously. The ticker seemed to set
+all other business aside and give its attention to the trading in
+Transcontinental. It was like a base-ball game, when one side begins
+to pile up runs, and the man in the coacher's box chants exultantly,
+and the dullest spectator is stirred--since no man can be
+indifferent to success. And as the stock went higher and higher, a
+little wave of excitement mounted with it, a murmur running through
+the room, and a thrill passing from person to person. Some watched,
+wondering if it would last, and if they had not better take on a
+little; then another point would be scored, and they would wish they
+had done it, and hesitate whether to do it now. But to others, like
+the Montagues, who "had some," it was victory, glorious and
+thrilling; their pulses leaped faster with every new change of the
+figures; and between times they reckoned up their gains, and hung
+between hope and dread for the new gains which were on the way, but
+not yet in sight.
+
+There was little lull, and the boys who tended the board had a
+chance to rest. The stock was above 66; at which price, owing to the
+device of "pyramiding." Montague was on "velvet," to use the
+picturesque phrase of the Street. His earnings amounted to sixty
+thousand dollars, and even if the stock were to fall and he were to
+be sold out, he would lose nothing.
+
+He wished to sell and realize his profits; but his brother gripped
+him fast by the arm. "No! no!" he said. "It hasn't really come yet!"
+
+Some went out to lunch--to a restaurant where they could have a
+telephone on their table, so as to keep in touch with events. But
+the Montagues had no care about eating; they sat picturing the
+directors in session, and speculating upon a score of various
+eventualities. Things might yet go wrong, and all their profits
+would vanish like early snow-flakes--and all their capital with
+them. Oliver shook like a leaf, but he would not stir. "Stay game!"
+he whispered.
+
+He took out his watch, and glanced at it. It was after two o'clock.
+"It may go over till to-morrow!" he muttered.--But then suddenly
+came the storm.
+
+The ticker recorded a rise in the price of Transcontinental of a
+point and a half, upon a purchase of five thousand shares; and then
+half a point for two thousand more. After that it never stopped. It
+went a point at a time; it went ten points in about fifteen minutes.
+And babel broke loose in the office, and in several thousand other
+offices in the street, and spread to others all over the world.
+Montague had got up, and was moving here and there, because the
+tension was unendurable; and at the door of an inner office he heard
+some one at the telephone exclaiming, "For the love of God, can't
+you find out what's the matter?"--A moment later a man rushed in,
+breathless and wild-eyed, and his voice rang through the office,
+"The directors have declared a quarterly dividend of three per cent,
+and an extra dividend of two!"
+
+And Oliver caught his brother by the arm and started for the door
+with him. "Get to your broker's," he said. "And if the stock has
+stopped moving, sell; and sell in any case before the close." And
+then he dashed away to his own headquarters.
+
+At about half after three o'clock, Oliver came into Hammond and
+Streeter's, breathless, and with his hair and clothing dishevelled.
+He was half beside himself with exultation; and Montague was
+scarcely less wrought up--in fact he felt quite limp after the
+strain he had been through.
+
+"What price did you get?" his brother inquired; and he answered, "An
+average of 78 3/8." There had been another sharp rise at the end,
+and he had sold all his stock without checking the advance.
+
+"I got five-eighths," said Oliver. "O ye gods!"
+
+There were some unhappy "shorts" in the office; Mr. Streeter was one
+of them. It was bitterness and gall to them to see the radiant faces
+of the two lucky ones; but the two did not even see this. They went
+out, half dancing, and had a drink or two to steady their nerves.
+
+They would not actually get thoir money until the morrow; but
+Montague figured a profit of a trifle under a quarter of a million
+for himself. Of this about twenty thousand would go to make up the
+share of his unknown informant; the balance he considered would be
+an ample reward for his six hours' work that day.
+
+His brother had won more than twice as much. But as they drove up
+home, talking over it in awe-stricken whispers, and pledging
+themselves to absolute secrecy, Oliver suddenly clenched his fist
+and struck his knee.
+
+"By God!" ho exclaimed. "If I hadn't been a fool and tried to save
+an extra margin, I could have had a million!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+
+
+
+After such a victory one felt in a mood for Christmas
+festivities,--for music and dancing and all beautiful and happy
+things.
+
+Such a thing, for instance, as Mrs. Winnie, when she came to meet
+him; clad in her best automobile coat, a thing of purest snowy
+ermine, so truly gorgeous that wherever she went, people turned and
+stared and caught their breath. Mrs. Winnie was a picture of joyful
+health, with a glow in her rich complexion, and a sparkle in her
+black eyes.
+
+She sat in her big touring-car--in which one could afford to wear
+ermine. It was a little private self-moving hotel; in the limousine
+were seats for six persons, with revolving easy chairs, and berths
+for sleeping, and a writing-desk and a wash-stand, and a beautiful
+electric chandelier to light it at night. Its trimmings were of
+South American mahogany, and its upholstering of Spanish and Morocco
+leathers; it had a telephone with which one spoke to the driver; an
+ice-box and a lunch hamper--in fact, one might have spent an hour
+discovering new gimeracks in this magic automobile. It had been made
+especially for Mrs. Winnie a couple of years ago, and the newspapers
+said it had cost thirty thousand dollars; it had then been quite a
+novelty, but now "everybody" was getting them. In this car one might
+sit at ease, and laugh and chat, and travel at the rate of an
+express train; and with never a jar or a quiver, nor the faintest
+sound of any sort.
+
+The streets of the city sped by them as if by enchantment. They went
+through the park, and out Riverside Drive, and up the river-road
+which runs out of Broadway all the way to Albany. It was a
+macadamized avenue, lined with beautiful and stately homes. As one
+went farther yet, he came to the great country estates-a whole
+district of hundreds of square miles given up to them. There were
+forests and lakes and streams; there were gardens and greenhouses
+filled with rare plants and flowers, and parks with deer browsing,
+and peacocks and lyre-birds strutting about. The road wound in and
+out among hills, the surfaces of which would be one unbroken lawn;
+and upon the highest points stood palaces of every conceivable style
+and shape.
+
+One might find these great domains anywhere around the city, at a
+distance of from thirty to sixty miles; there were two or three
+hundred of them, and incredible were the sums of money which had
+been spent upon their decoration. One saw an artificial lake of ten
+thousand acres, made upon land which had cost several hundred
+dollars an acre; one saw gardens with ten thousand rose-bushes, and
+a quarter of a million dollars' worth of lilies from Japan; there
+was one estate in which had been planted a million dollars' worth of
+rare trees, imported from all over the world. Some rich men, who had
+nothing else to amuse them, would make their estates over and over
+again, changing the view about their homes as one changes the
+scenery in a play. Over in New Jersey the Hegans were building a
+castle upon a mountain-top, and had built a special railroad simply
+to carry the materials. Here, also, was the estate of the tobacco
+king, upon which three million dollars had been spent before the
+plans of the mansion had even been drawn; there were artificial
+lakes and streams, and fantastic bridges and statuary, and scores of
+little model plantations and estates, according to the whim of the
+owner. And here in the Pocantico Hills was the estate of the oil
+king, about four square miles, with thirty miles of model driveways;
+many car-loads of rare plants had been imported for its gardens, and
+it took six hundred men to keep it in order. There was a golf
+course, a little miniature Alps, upon which the richest man in the
+world pursued his lost health, with armed guards and detectives
+patrolling the dace all day, and a tower with a search-light,
+whereby at night he could flood the grounds with light by pressing a
+button.
+
+In one of these places lived the heir of the great house of Devon.
+His cousin dwelt in Europe, saying that America was not a fit place
+for a gentleman to live in. Each of them owned a hundred million
+dollars' worth of New York real estate, and drew their tribute of
+rents from the toil of the swarming millions of the city. And
+always, according to the policy of the family, they bought new real
+estate. They were directors of the great railroads tributary to the
+city, and in touch with the political machines, and in every other
+way in position to know what was under way: if a new subway were
+built to set the swarming millions free, the millions would find the
+land all taken up, and apartment-houses newly built for them--and
+the Devons were the owners. They had a score of the city's greatest
+hotels--and also slum tenements, and brothels and dives in the
+Tenderloin. They did not even have to know what they owned; they did
+not have to know anything, or do anything--they lived in their
+palaces, at home or abroad, and in their offices in the city the
+great rent-gathering machine ground on.
+
+Eldridge Devon's occupation was playing with his country-place and
+his automobiles. He had recently sold all his horses, and turned his
+stables into a garage equipped with a score or so of cars; he was
+always getting a new one, and discussing its merits. As to Hudson
+Cliff, the estate, he had conceived the brilliant idea of
+establishing a gentleman's country-place which should be
+self-supporting--that is to say, which should furnish the luxuries
+and necessities of its owner's table for no more than it would have
+cost to buy them. Considering the prices usually paid, this was no
+astonishing feat, but Devon took a child's delight in it; he showed
+Montague his greenhouses, filled with rare flowers and fruits, and
+his model dairy, with marble stables and nickel plumbing, and
+attendants in white uniforms and rubber gloves. He was a short and
+very stout gentleman with red cheeks, and his conversation was not
+brilliant.
+
+To Hudson Cliff came many of Montague's earlier acquaintances, and
+others whom he had not met before. They amused themselves in all the
+ways with which-he had become familiar at house-parties; likewise on
+Christmas Eve there were festivities for the children, and on
+Christmas night a costume ball, very beautiful and stately. Many
+came from New York to attend this, and others from the
+neighbourhood; and in returning calls, Montague saw others of these
+hill-top mansions.
+
+Also, and most important of all, they played bridge--as they had
+played at every function which he had attended so far. Here Mrs.
+Winnie, who had rather taken him up, and threatened to supplant
+Oliver as his social guide and chaperon, insisted that no more
+excuses would be accepted; and so for two mornings he sat with her
+in one of the sun-parlours, and diligently put his mind upon the
+game. As he proved an apt pupil, he was then advised that he might
+take a trial plunge.
+
+And so Montague came into touch with a new social phenomenon;
+perhaps on the whole the most significant and soul-disturbing
+phenomenon which Society had exhibited to him. He had just had the
+experience of getting a great deal of money without earning it, and
+was fresh from the disagreeable memories of it--the trembling and
+suspense, the burning lustful greed, the terrible nerve-devouring
+excitement. He had hoped that he would not soon have to go through
+such an experience again-and here was the prospect of an endless
+dalliance with it!
+
+For that was the meaning of bridge; it was a penalty which people
+were paying for getting their money without earning it. The disease
+got into their blood, and they could no longer live without the
+excitement of gain and the hope of gain. So after their labours were
+over, when they were supposed to be resting and enjoying
+themselves, they would get together and torment themselves with an
+imitation struggle, mimicking the grim and dreadful gamble of
+business. Down in the Street, Oliver had pointed out to his brother
+a celebrated "plunger," who had sometimes won six or eight millions
+in a single day; and that man would play at stocks all morning, and
+"play the ponies" in the afternoon, and then spend the evening in a
+millionaires' gambling-house. And so it was with the bridge fiends.
+
+It was a social plague; it had run through all Society, high and
+low. It had destroyed conversation and all good-fellowship--it would
+end by destroying even common decency, and turning the best people
+into vulgar gamblers.--Thus spoke Mrs. Billy Alden, who was one of
+the guests; and Montague thought that Mrs. Billy ought to know, for
+she herself was playing all the time.
+
+Mrs. Billy did not like Mrs. Winnie Duval; and the beginning of the
+conversation was her inquiry why he let that woman corrupt him. Then
+the good lady went on to tell him what bridge had come to be; how
+people played it on the trains all the way from New York to San
+Francisco; how they had tables in their autos, and played while they
+were touring over the world. "Once," said she, "I took a party to
+see the America's Cup races off Sandy Hook; and when we got back to
+the pier, some one called, 'Who won?' And the answer was, 'Mrs.
+Billy's ahead, but we're going on this evening.' I took a party of
+friends through the Mediterranean and up the Nile, and we passed
+Venice and Cairo and the Pyramids and the Suez Canal, and they never
+once looked up--they were playing bridge. And you think I'm joking,
+but I mean just literally what I say. I know a man who was
+travelling from New York to Philadelphia, and got into a game with
+some strangers, and rode all the way to Palm Beach to finish it!"
+
+Montague heard later of a well-known Society leader who was totally
+incapacitated that winter, from too much bridge at Newport; and she
+was passing the winter at Hot Springs and Palm Beach--and playing
+bridge there. They played it even in sanitariums, to which they had
+been driven by nervous breakdown. It was an occupation so exhausting
+to the physique of women that physicians came to know the symptoms
+of it, and before they diagnosed a case, they would ask, "Do you
+play bridge?" It had destroyed the last remnants of the Sabbath--it
+was a universal custom to have card-parties on that day.
+
+It was a very expensive game, as they played it in Society; one
+might easily win or lose several thousand dollars in an evening, and
+there were many who could not afford this. If one did not play, he
+would be dropped from the lists of those invited; and when one
+entered a game, etiquette required him to stay in until it was
+finished. So one heard of young girls who had pawned their family
+plate, or who had sold their honour, to pay their bills at the game;
+and all Society knew of one youth who had robbed his hostess of her
+jewels and pawned them, and then taken her the tickets--telling her
+that her guests had robbed him. There were women received in the
+best Society, who lived as adventuresses pure and simple, upon their
+skill at the game; hostesses would invite rich guests and fleece
+them. Montague never forgot the sense of amazement and dismay with
+which he listened while first Mrs. Winnie and then his brother
+warned him that he must avoid playing with a certain aristocratic
+dame whom he met in this most aristocratic household--because she
+was such a notorious cheater!
+
+"My dear fellow," laughed his brother, when he protested, "we have a
+phrase 'to cheat at cards like a woman.'" And then Oliver went on to
+tell him of his own first experience at cards in Society, when he
+had played poker with several charming young debutantes; they would
+call their hands and take the money without showing their cards, and
+he had been too gallant to ask to see them. But later he learned
+that this was a regular practice, and so he never played poker with
+women. And Oliver pointed out one of these girls to his
+brother--sitting, as beautiful as a picture and as cold as marble,
+with a half-smoked cigarette on the edge of the table, and whisky
+and soda and glasses of cracked ice beside her. Later on, as he
+chanced to be reading a newspaper, his brother leaned over his
+shoulder and pointed out another of the symptoms of the craze--an
+advertisement headed, "Your luck will change." It gave notice that
+at Rosenstein's Parlours, just off Fifth Avenue, one might borrow
+money upon expensive gowns and furs!
+
+All during the ten days of this house-party, Mrs. Winnie devoted
+herself to seeing that Montague had a good time; Mrs. Winnie sat
+beside him at table--he found that somehow a convention had been
+established which assigned him to Mrs. Winnie as a matter of course.
+Nobody said anything to him about it, but knowing how relentlessly
+the affairs of other people were probed and analyzed, he began to
+feel exceedingly uncomfortable.
+
+There came a time when he felt quite smothered by Mrs. Winnie; and
+immediately after lunch one day he broke away and went for a long
+walk by himself. This was the occasion of his meeting with an
+adventure.
+
+An inch or two of snow had fallen, and lay gleaming in the sunlight.
+The air was keen, and he drank deep draughts of it, and went
+striding away over the hills for an hour or so. There was a gale
+blowing, and as he came over the summits it would strike him, and he
+would see the river white with foam. And then down in the valleys
+again all would be still.
+
+Here, in a thickly wooded place, Montague's attention was arrested
+suddenly by a peculiar sound, a heavy thud, which seemed to shake
+the earth. It suggested a distant explosion, and he stopped for a
+moment and then went on, gazing ahead. He passed a turn, and then he
+saw a great tree which had fallen directly across the road.
+
+He went on, thinking that this was what he had heard. But as he came
+nearer, he saw his mistake. Beyond the tree lay something else, and
+he began to run toward it. It was two wheels of an automobile,
+sticking up into the air.
+
+He sprang upon the tree-trunk, and in one glance he saw the whole
+story. A big touring-car had swept round the sharp turn, and swerved
+to avoid the unexpected obstruction, and so turned a somersault into
+the ditch.
+
+Montague gave a thrill of horror, for there was the form of a man
+pinned beneath the body of the car. He sprang toward it, but a
+second glance made him stop--he saw that blood had gushed from the
+man's mouth and soaked the snow all about. His chest was visibly
+crushed flat, and his eyes were dreadful, half-started from their
+sockets.
+
+For a moment Montague stood staring, as if turned to stone. Then
+from the other side of the car came a moan, and he ran toward the
+sound. A second man lay in the ditch, moving feebly. Montague sprang
+to help him.
+
+The man wore a heavy bearskin coat. Montague lifted him, and saw
+that he was a very elderly person, with a cut across his forehead,
+and a face as white as chalk. The other helped him to a position
+with his back against the bank, and he opened his eyes and groaned.
+
+Montague knelt beside him, watching his breathing. He had a sense of
+utter helplessness--there was nothing he could think of to do, save
+to unbutton the man's coat and keep wiping the blood from his face.
+
+"Some whisky," the stranger moaned. Montague answered that he had
+none; but the other replied that there was some in the car.
+
+The slope of the bank was such that Montague could crawl under, and
+find the compartment with the bottle in it. The old man drank some,
+and a little colour came back to his face. As the other watched him,
+it came to him that this face was familiar; but he could not place
+it.
+
+"How many were there with you?" Montague asked; and the man
+answered, "Only one."
+
+Montague went over and made certain that the other man--who was
+obviously the chauffeur--was dead. Then he hurried down the road,
+and dragged some brush out into the middle of it, where it could be
+seen from a distance by any other automobile that came along; after
+which he went back to the stranger, and bound his handkerchief about
+his forehead to stop the bleeding from the cut.
+
+The old man's lips were tightly set, as if he were suffering great
+pain. "I'm done for!" he moaned, again and again.
+
+"Where are you hurt?" Montague asked.
+
+"I don't know," he gasped. "But it's finished me! I know it--it's
+the last straw."
+
+Then he closed his eyes and lay back. "Can't you get a doctor?" he
+asked.
+
+"There are no houses very near," said Montague. "But I can run--"
+
+"No, no!" the other interrupted, anxiously. "Don't leave me! Some
+one will come.--Oh, that fool of a chauffeur--why couldn't he go
+slow when I told him? That's always the way with them--they're
+always trying to show off."
+
+"The man is dead," said Montague, quietly.
+
+The other started upon his elbow. "Dead!" ho gasped.
+
+"Yes," said Montague. "He's under the car."
+
+The old man's eyes had started wild with fright; and he caught
+Montague by the arm. "Dead!" he said. "O my God--and it might have
+been me!"
+
+There was a moment's pause. The stranger caught his breath, and
+whispered again: "I'm done for! I can't stand it! it's too much!"
+
+Montague had noticed when he lifted the man that he was very frail
+and slight of build. Now he could feel that the hand that held his
+arm was trembling violently. It occurred to him that perhaps the man
+was not really hurt, but that his nerves had been upset by the
+shock.
+
+And he felt certain of this a moment later, when the stranger
+suddenly leaned forward, clutching him with redoubled intensity, and
+staring at him with wide, horror-stricken eyes.
+
+"Do you know what it means to be afraid of death?" he panted. "Do
+you know what it means to be afraid of death?"
+
+Then, without waiting for a reply, he rushed on--"No, no! You
+can't! you can't! I don't believe any man knows it as I do! Think of
+it--for ten years I've never known a minute when I wasn't afraid of
+death! It follows me around--it won't let me be! It leaps out at me
+in places, like this! And when I escape it, I can hear it laughing
+at me--for it knows I can't get away!"
+
+The old man caught his breath with a choking sob. He was clinging to
+Montague like a frightened child, and staring with a wild, hunted
+look upon his face. Montague sat transfixed.
+
+"Yes," the other rushed on, "that's the truth, as God hears me! And
+it's the first time I've ever spoken it in my life! I have to hide
+it--because men would laugh at me--they pretend they're not afraid!
+But I lie awake all night, and it's like a fiend that sits by my
+bedside! I lie and listen to my own heart--I feel it beating, and I
+think how weak it is, and what thin walls it has, and what a
+wretched, helpless thing it is to have your life depend on
+that!--You don't know what that is, I suppose."
+
+Montague shook his head.
+
+"You're young, you see," said the other. "You have health--everybody
+has health, except me! And everybody hates me--I haven't got a
+friend in the world!"
+
+Montague was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this outburst.
+He tried to stop it, for he felt almost indecent in listening--it
+was not fair to take a man off his guard like this. But the stranger
+could not be stopped--he was completely unstrung, and his voice grew
+louder and louder.
+
+"It's every word of it true," he exclaimed wildly. "And I can't
+stand it any more. I can't stand anything any more. I was young and
+strong once--I could take care of myself; and I said: I'll make
+money, I'll be master of other men! But I was a fool--I forgot my
+health. And now all the money on earth can't do me any good! I'd
+give ten million dollars to-day for a body like any other man's--and
+this--this is what I have!"
+
+He struck his hands against his bosom. "Look at it!" he cried,
+hysterically. "This is what I've got to live in! It won't digest any
+food, and I can't keep it warm--there's nothing right with it! How
+would you like to lie awake at night and say to yourself that your
+teeth were decaying and you couldn't help it--your hair was falling
+out, and nobody could stop it? You're old and worn out--falling to
+pieces; and everybody hates you--everybody's waiting for you to die,
+so that they can get you out of the way. The doctors come, and
+they're all humbugs! They shake their heads and use long words--they
+know they can't do you any good, but they want their big fees! And
+all they do is to frighten you worse, and make you sicker than
+ever!"
+
+There was nothing that Montague could do save to sit and listen to
+this outburst of wretchedness. His attempts to soothe the old man
+only had the effect of exciting him more.
+
+"Why does it all have to fall on me?" he moaned. "I want to be like
+other people--I want to live! And instead, I'm like a man with a
+pack of hungry wolves prowling round him--that's what it's like!
+It's like Nature--hungry and cruel and savage! You think you know
+what life is; it seems so beautiful and gentle and pleasant--that's
+when you're on top! But now I'm down, and I KNOW what it is--it's a
+thing like a nightmare, that reaches out for you to clutch you and
+crush you! And you can't get away from it--you're helpless as a rat
+in a corner--you're damned--you're damned!" The miserable man's
+voice broke in a cry of despair, and he sank down in a heap in front
+of Montague, shaking and sobbing. The other was trembling slightly,
+and stricken with awe.
+
+There was a long silence, and then the stranger lifted his
+tear-stained face, and Montague helped to support him. "Have a
+little more of the whisky," said he.
+
+"No," the other answered feebly, "I'd better not."
+
+"--My doctors won't let me have whisky," he added, after a while.
+"That's my liver. I've so many don'ts, you know, that it takes a
+note-book to keep track of them. And all of them together do me no
+good! Think of it--I have to live on graham crackers and
+milk--actually, not a thing has passed my lips for two years but
+graham crackers and milk."
+
+And then suddenly, with a start, it came to Montague where he had
+seen this wrinkled old face before. It was Laura Hegan's uncle, whom
+the Major had pointed out to him in the dining-room of the
+Millionaires' Club! Old Henry S. Grimes, who was really only sixty,
+but looked eighty; and who owned slum tenements, and evicted more
+people in a month than could be crowded into the club-house!
+
+Montague gave no sign, but sat holding the man in his arms. A little
+trickle of blood came from under the handkerchief and ran down his
+cheek; Montague felt him tremble as he touched this with his ringer.
+
+"Is it much of a cut?" he asked.
+
+"Not much," said Montague; "two or three stitches, perhaps."
+
+"Send for my family physician," the other added. "If I should faint,
+or anything, you'll find his name in my card-case. What's that?"
+
+There was the sound of voices down the road. "Hello!"' Montague
+shouted; and a moment later two men in automobile costume came
+running toward him. They stopped, staring in dismay at the sight
+which confronted them.
+
+At Montague's suggestion they made haste to find a log by means of
+which they lifted the auto sufficiently to drag out the body of the
+chauffeur. Montague saw that it was quite cold.
+
+He went back to old Grimes. "Where do you wish to go?" he asked.
+
+The other hesitated. "I was bound for the Harrisons'--" he said.
+
+"The Leslie Harrisons?" asked Montague. (They were people he had met
+at the Devons'.)
+
+The other noticed his look of recognition. "Do you know them?" he
+asked.
+
+"I do," said Montague.
+
+"It isn't far," said the old man. "Perhaps I had best go
+there."--And then he hesitated for a moment; and catching Montague
+by the arm, and pulling him toward him, whispered, "Tell me--you-you
+won't tell--"
+
+Montague, comprehending what he meant, answered, "It will be between
+us." At the same time he felt a new thrill of revulsion for this
+most miserable old creature.
+
+They lifted him into the car; and because they delayed long enough
+to lay a blanket over the body of the chauffeur, he asked peevishly
+why they did not start. During the ten or fifteen minutes' trip he
+sat clinging to Montague, shuddering with fright every time they
+rounded a turn in the road.
+
+They reached the Harrisons' place; and the footman who opened the
+door was startled out of his studied impassivity by the sight of a
+big bundle of bearskin in Montague's arms. "Send for Mrs. Harrison,"
+said Montague, and laid the bundle upon a divan in the hall. "Get a
+doctor as quickly as you can," he added to a second attendant.
+
+Mrs. Harrison came. "It's Mr. Grimes," said Montague; and then he
+heard a frightened exclamation, and turned and saw Laura Hegan, in a
+walking costume, fresh from the cold outside.
+
+"What is it?" she cried. And he told her, as quickly as he could,
+and she ran to help the old man. Montague stood by, and later
+carried him upstairs, and waited below until the doctor came.
+
+It was only when he set out for home again that he found time to
+think about Laura Hegan, and how beautiful she had looked in her
+furs. He wondered if it would always be his fate to meet her under
+circumstances which left her no time to be aware of his own
+existence.
+
+At home he told about his adventure, and found himself quite a hero
+for the rest of the day. He was obliged to give interviews to
+several newspaper reporters, and to refuse to let one of them take
+his picture. Every one at the Devons' seemed to know old Harry
+Grimes, and Montague thought to himself that if the comments of this
+particular group of people were a fair sample, the poor wretch was
+right in saying that he had not a friend in the world.
+
+When he came downstairs the next morning, he found elaborate
+accounts of the accident in the papers, and learned that Grimes had
+nothing worse than a scalp wound and a severe shock. Even so, he
+felt it was incumbent upon him to pay a visit of inquiry, and rode
+over shortly before lunch.
+
+Laura Hegan came down to see him, wearing a morning gown of white.
+She confirmed the good news of the papers, and said that her uncle
+was resting quietly. (She did not say that his physician had come
+post-haste, with two nurses, and taken up his residence in the
+house, and that the poor old millionaire was denied even his graham
+crackers and milk). Instead she said that he had mentioned
+Montague's kindness particularly, and asked her to thank him.
+Montague was cynical enough to doubt this.
+
+It was the first time that he had ever had any occasion to talk with
+Miss Hegan. He noticed her gentle and caressing voice, with the
+least touch of the South in it; and he was glad to find that it was
+possible for her to talk without breaking the spell of her serene
+and noble beauty. Montague stayed as long as he had any right to
+stay.
+
+And all the way as he rode home he was thinking about Laura Hegan.
+Here for the first time was a woman whom he felt he should like to
+know; a woman with reserve and dignity, and some ideas in her life.
+And it was impossible for him to know her--because she was rich!
+
+There was no dodging this fact--Montague did not even try. He had
+met women with fortunes already, and he knew how they felt about
+themselves, and how the rest of the world felt about them. They
+might wish in their hearts to be something else besides the keepers
+of a treasure-chest, but their wishes were futile; the money went
+with them, and they had to defend it against all comers. Montague
+recalled one heiress after another--debutantes, some of them,
+exquisite and delicate as butterflies--but under the surface as hard
+as chain-armour. All their lives they had been trained to think of
+themselves as representing money, and of every one who came near
+them as adventurers seeking money. In every word they uttered, in
+every glance and motion, one might read this meaning. And then he
+thought of Laura Hegan, with the fortune she would inherit; and he
+pictured what her life must be--the toadies and parasites and
+flatterers who would lay siege to her--the scheming mammas and the
+affectionate sisters and cousins who would plot to gain her
+confidence! For a man who was poor, and who meant to keep his
+self-respect, was there any possible conclusion except that she was
+entirely unknowable to him?
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague came back to the city, and dug into his books again; while
+Alice gave her spare hours to watching the progress of the new gown
+in which she was to uphold the honour of the family at Mrs. Devon's
+opening ball. The great event was due in the next week and Society
+was as much excited about it as a family of children before
+Christmas. All whom Montague met were invited and all were going
+unless they happened to be in mourning. Their gossip was all of the
+disappointed ones, and their bitterness and heartburning.
+
+Mrs. Devon's mansion was thrown open early on the eventful evening,
+but few would come until midnight. It was the fashion to attend the
+Opera first, and previous to that half a dozen people would give big
+dinners. He was a fortunate person who did not hear from his liver
+after this occasion; for at one o'clock came Mrs. Devon's massive
+supper, and then again at four o'clock another supper. To prepare
+these repasts a dozen extra chefs had been imported into the Devon
+establishment for a week--for it was part of the great lady's pride
+to permit no outside caterer to prepare anything for her guests.
+
+Montague had never been able to get over his wonder at the social
+phenomenon known as Mrs. Devon. He came and took his chances in the
+jostling throngs; and except that he got into casual conversation
+with one of the numerous detectives whom he took for a guest he came
+off fairly well. But all the time that he was being passed about and
+introduced and danced with, he was looking about him and wondering.
+The grand staircase and the hall and parlours had been turned into
+tropical gardens, with palms and trailing vines, and azaleas and
+roses, and great vases of scarlet poinsettia, with hundreds of
+lights glowing through them. (It was said that this ball had
+exhausted the flower supply of the country as far south as Atlanta.)
+And then in the reception room one came upon the little old lady,
+standing' beneath a bower of orchids. She was clad in a robe of
+royal purple trimmed with silver, and girdled about with an
+armour-plate of gems. If one might credit the papers, the diamonds
+that were worn at one of these balls were valued at twenty million
+dollars.
+
+The stranger was quite overwhelmed by all the splendour. There was a
+cotillion danced by two hundred gorgeously clad women and their
+partners--a scene so gay that one could only think of it as
+happening in a fairy legend, or some old romance of knighthood. Four
+sets of favours were given during this function, and jewels and
+objects of art were showered forth as if from a magician's wand.
+Mrs. Devon herself soon disappeared, but the riot of music and
+merry-making went on until near morning, and during all this time
+the halls and rooms of the great mansion were so crowded that one
+could scarcely move about.
+
+Then one went home, and realized that all this splendour, and the
+human effort which it represented, had been for nothing but a
+memory! Nor would he get the full meaning of it if he failed to
+realize that it was simply one of thousands--a pattern which every
+one there would strive to follow in some function of his own. It was
+a signal bell, which told the world that the "season" was open. It
+loosed the floodgates of extravagance, and the torrent of
+dissipation poured forth. From then on there would be a continuous
+round of gaieties; one might have three banquets every single
+night--for a dinner and two suppers was now the custom, at
+entertainments! And filling the rest of one's day were receptions
+and teas and musicales--a person might take his choice among a score
+of opportunities, and never leave the circle he met at Mrs. Devon's.
+Nor was this counting the tens of thousands of aspirants and
+imitators all over the city; nor in a host of other cities, each
+with thousands of women who had nothing to do save to ape the ways
+of the Metropolis. The mind could not realize the volume of this
+deluge of destruction--it was a thing which stunned the senses, and
+thundered in one's ears like Niagara.
+
+The meaning of it all did not stop with the people who poured it
+forth; its effects were to be traced through the whole country.
+There were hordes of tradesmen and manufacturers who supplied what
+Society bought, and whose study it was to induce people to buy as
+much as possible. And so they devised what were called
+"fashions"--little eccentricities of cut and material, which made
+everything go out of date quickly. There had once been two seasons,
+but now there were four; and through window displays and millions of
+advertisements the public was lured into the trap. The "yellow"
+journals would give whole pages to describing "What the 400 are
+wearing"; there were magazines with many millions of readers, which
+existed for nothing save to propagate these ideas. And everywhere,
+in all classes of Society, men and women were starving their minds
+and hearts, and straining their energies to follow this phantom of
+fashion; the masses were kept poor because of it, and the youth and
+hope of the world was betrayed by it. In country villages poor
+farmers' wives were trimming their bonnets over to be "stylish"; and
+servant-girls in the cities were wearing imitation sealskins, and
+shop-clerks and sempstresses selling themselves into brothels for
+the sake of ribbons and gilt jewellery.
+
+It was the instinct of decoration, perverted by the money-lust. In
+the Metropolis the sole test of excellence was money, and the
+possession of money was the proof of power; and every natural desire
+of men and women had been tainted by this influence. The love of
+beauty, the impulse to hospitality, the joys of music and dancing
+and love--all these things had become simply means to the
+demonstration of money-power! The men were busy making more money--
+but their idle women had nothing in life save this mad race in
+display. So it had come about that the woman who could consume
+wealth most conspicuously--who was the most effective instrument for
+the destroying of the labour and the lives of other people--this was
+the woman who was most applauded and most noticed.
+
+The most appalling fact about Society was this utter blind
+materialism. Such expectations as Montague had brought with him had
+been derived from the literature of Europe; in a grand monde such as
+this, he expected to meet diplomats and statesmen, scientists and
+explorers, philosophers and poets and painters. But one never heard
+anything about such people in Society. It was a mark of eccentricity
+to be interested in intellectual affairs, and one might go about for
+weeks and not meet a person with an idea. When these people read, it
+was a sugar-candy novel, and when they went to the play, it was a
+musical comedy. The one single intellectual product which it could
+point to as its own, was a rancid scandal-sheet, used mainly as a
+moans of blackmail. Now and then some aspiring young matron of the
+"elite" would try to set up a salon after the fashion of the
+continent, and would gather a few feeble wits about her for a time.
+But for the most part the intellectual workers of the city held
+themselves severely aloof; and Society was loft a little clique of
+people whose fortunes had become historic in a decade or two, and
+who got together in each other's palaces and gorged themselves, and
+gambled and gossiped about each other, and wove about their
+personalities a veil of awful and exclusive majesty.
+
+Montague found himself thinking that perhaps it was not they who
+were to blame. It was not they who had set up wealth as the end and
+goal of things--it was the whole community, of which they were a
+part. It was not their fault that they had been left with power and
+nothing to use it for; it was not their fault that their sons and
+daughters found themselves stranded in the world, deprived of all
+necessity, and of the possibility of doing anything useful.
+
+The most pitiful aspect of the whole thing to Montague was this
+"second generation" who were coming upon the scene, with their lives
+all poisoned in advance. No wrong which they could do to the world
+would ever equal the wrong which the world had done them, in
+permitting them to have money which they had not earned. They were
+cut off for ever from reality, and from the possibility of
+understanding life; they had big, healthy bodies, and they craved
+experience--and they had absolutely nothing to do. That was the real
+meaning of all this orgy of dissipation--this "social whirl" as it
+was called; it was the frantic chase of some new thrill, some
+excitement that would stir the senses of people who had nothing in
+the world to interest them. That was why they were building palaces,
+and flinging largesses of banquets and balls, and tearing about the
+country in automobiles, and travelling over the earth in steam
+yachts and private trains.
+
+--And first and last, the lesson of their efforts was, that the
+chase was futile; the jaded nerves would not thrill. The most
+conspicuous fact about Society was its unutterable and agonizing
+boredom; of its great solemn functions the shop-girl would read with
+greedy envy, but the women who attended them would be half asleep
+behind their jewelled fans. It was typified to Montague by Mrs.
+Billy Alderi's yachting party on the Nile; yawning in the face of
+the Sphinx, and playing bridge beneath the shadow of the pyramids--
+and counting the crocodiles and proposing to jump in by way of
+"changing the pain"!
+
+People attended these ceaseless rounds of entertainments, simply
+because they dreaded to be left alone. They wandered from place to
+place, following like a herd of sheep whatever leader would
+inaugurate a new diversion. One could have filled a volume with the
+list of their "fads." There were new ones every week--if Society did
+not invent them, the yellow journals invented them. There was a
+woman who had her teeth filled with diamonds; and another who was
+driving a pair of zebras. One heard of monkey dinners and pyjama
+dinners at Newport, of horseback dinners and vegetable dances in New
+York. One heard of fashion-albums and autograph-fans and talking
+crows and rare orchids and reindeer meat; of bracelets for men and
+ankle rings for women; of "vanity-boxes" at ten and twenty thousand
+dollars each; of weird and repulsive pets, chameleons and lizards
+and king-snakes--there was one young woman who wore a cat-snake as a
+necklace. One would take to slumming and another to sniffing brandy
+through the nose; one had a table-cover made of woven roses, and
+another was wearing perfumed flannel at sixteen dollars a yard; one
+had inaugurated ice-skating in August, and another had started a
+class for the study of Plato. Some were giving tennis tournaments in
+bathing-suits, and playing leap-frog after dinner; others had got
+dispensations from the Pope, so that they might have private chapels
+and confessors; and yet others were giving "progressive dinners,"
+moving from one restaurant to another--a cocktail and blue-points at
+Sherry's, a soup and Madeira at Delmonico's, some terrapin with
+amontillado at the Waldorf--and so on.
+
+One of the consequences of the furious pace was that people's health
+broke down very quickly; and there were all sorts of bizarre ways of
+restoring it. One person would be eating nothing but spinach, and
+another would be living on grass. One would chew a mouthful of soup
+thirty-two times; another would eat every two hours, and another
+only once a week. Some went out in the early morning and walked
+bare-footed in the grass, and others went hopping about the floor on
+their hands and knees to take off fat. There were "rest cures" and
+"water cures," "new thought" and "metaphysical healing" and
+"Christian Science"; there was an automatic horse, which one might
+ride indoors, with a register showing the distance travelled.
+Montague met one man who had an electric machine, which cost thirty
+thousand dollars, and which took hold of his arms and feet and
+exercised him while he waited. Ho met a woman who told him she was
+riding an electric camel!
+
+Everywhere one went there were new people, spending their money in
+new and incredible ways. Here was a man who had bought a chapel and
+turned it into a theatre, and hired professional actors, and
+persuaded his friends to come and see him act Shakespeare. Hero was
+a woman who costumed herself after figures in famous paintings, with
+arrangements of roses and cherry leaves, and wreaths of ivy and
+laurel--and with costumes for her pet dogs to match! Hero was a man
+who paid six dollars a day for a carnation four inches across; and a
+girl who wore a hat trimmed with fresh morning-glories, and a ball
+costume with swarms of real butterflies tied with silk threads; and
+another with a hat made of woven silver, with ostrich plumes forty
+inches long made entirely of silvei films. Here was a man who hired
+a military company to drill all day long to prepare a floor for
+dancing; and another who put up a building at a cost of thirty
+thousand dollars to give a debutante dance for his daughter, and
+then had it torn down the day aftor. Here was a man who bred
+rattlesnakes and turned them loose by thousands, and had driven
+everybody away from the North Carolina estate of one of the
+Wallings. Here was a man who was building himself a yacht with a
+model dairy and bakery on board, and a French laundry and a brass
+band. Here was a million-dollar racing-yacht with auto-boats on it
+and a platoon of marksmen, and some Chinese laundrymen, and two
+physicians for its half-insane occupant. Here was a man who had
+bought a Rhine castle for three-quarters of a million, and spent as
+much in restoring it, and filled it with servants dressed in
+fourteenth-century costumes. Here was a five-million-dollar art
+collection hidden away where nobody ever saw it!
+
+One saw the meaning of this madness most clearly in the young men of
+Society. Some were killing themselves and other people in automobile
+races at a hundred and twenty miles an hour. Some went in for
+auto-boats, mere shells of things, shaped like a knife-blade, that
+tore through the water at forty miles an hour. Some would hire
+professional pugilists to knock them out; others would get up
+dog-fights and bear-fights, and boxing matches with kangaroos.
+Montague was taken to the home of one young man who had given his
+life to hunting wild gajne in every corner of the globe, and would
+travel round the world for a new species to add to his museum of
+trophies. He had heard that Baron Rothschild had offered a thousand
+pounds for a "bongo," a huge grass-eating animal, which no white man
+had ever seen; and he had taken a year's trip into the interior,
+with a train of a hundred and thtiry natives, and had brought out
+the heads of forty different species, including a bongo--which the
+Baron did not get! He met another who had helped to organize a
+balloon club, and two twenty-four-hour trips in the clouds. (This,
+by the way, was the latest sport--at Tuxedo they had races between
+balloons and automobiles; and Montague met one young lady who
+boasted that she had been up five times.) There was another young
+millionaire who sat and patiently taught Sunday School, in the
+presence of a host of reporters; there was another who set up a
+chain of newspapers all over the country and made war upon his
+class. There were others who went in for settlement work and Russian
+revolutionists--there were even some who called themselves
+Socialists! Montague thought that this was the strangest fad of all;
+and when he met one of these young men at an afternoon tea, he gazed
+at him with wonder and perplexity--thinking of the man he had heard
+ranting on the street-corner.
+
+This was the "second generation." Appalling as it was to think of,
+there was a third growing up, and getting ready to take the stage.
+And with wealth accumulating faster than ever, who could guess what
+they might do? There were still in Society a few men and women who
+had earned their money, and had some idea of the toil and suffering
+that it stood for; but when the third generation had taken
+possession, these would all be dead or forgotten, and there would no
+longer be any link to connect them with reality!
+
+In the light of this thought one was moved to watch the children of
+the rich. Some of these had inherited scores of millions of dollars
+while they were still in the cradle; now and then one of them would
+be presented with a million-dollar house for a birthday gift. When
+such a baby was born, the newspapers would give pages to describing
+its layette, with baby dresses at a hundred dollars each, and lace
+handkerchiefs at five dollars, and dressing-sets with tiny gold
+brushes and powder-boxes; one might see a picture of the precious
+object in a "Moses basket," covered with rare and wonderful
+Valenciennes lace.
+
+This child would grow up in an atmosphere of luxury and
+self-indulgence; it would be bullying the servants at the age of
+six, and talking scandal and smoking cigarettes at twelve. It would
+be petted and admired and stared at, and paraded about in state,
+dressed up like a French doll; it would drink in snobbery and
+hatefulness with the very air it breathed. One might meet in these
+great houses little tots not yet in their teens whose talk was all
+of the cost of things, and of the inferiority of their neighbours.
+There was nothing in the world too good for them.--They had little
+miniature automobiles to ride about the country in, and blooded
+Arabian ponies, and doll-houses in real Louis Seize, with jewelled
+rugs and miniature electric lights. At Mrs. Caroline Smythe's,
+Montague was introduced to a pale and anaemic-looking youth of
+thirteen, who dined in solemn state alone when the rest of the
+family was away, and insisted upon having all the footmen in
+attendance; and his unfortunate aunt brought a storm about her ears
+by forbidding the butler to take champagne upstairs into the nursery
+before lunch.
+
+A little remark stayed in Montague's mind as expressing the attitude
+of Society toward such matters. Major Venable had chanced to remark
+jestingly that children were coming to understand so much nowadays
+that it was necessary for the ladies to be careful. To which Mrs.
+Vivie Patton answered, with a sudden access of seriousness: "I don't
+know--do you find that children have any morals? Mine haven't."
+
+And then the fascinating Mrs. Vivie went on to tell the truth about
+her own children. They were natural-born savages, and that was all
+there was to it. They did as they pleased, and no one could stop
+them. The Major replied that nowadays all the world was doing as it
+pleased, and no one seemed to be able to stop it; and with that jest
+the conversation was turned to other matters. But Montague sat in
+silence, thinking about it--wondering what would happen to the world
+when it had fallen under the sway of this generation of spoiled
+children, and had adopted altogether the religion of doing as one
+pleased.
+
+In the beginning people had simply done as they pleased
+spontaneously, and without thinking about it; but now, Montague
+discovered, the custom had spread to such an extent that it was
+developing a philosophy. There was springing up a new cult, whose
+devotees were planning to make over the world upon the plan of doing
+as one pleased. Because its members were wealthy, and able to
+command the talent of the world, the cult was developing an art,
+with a highly perfected technique, and a literature which was subtle
+and exquisite and alluring. Europe had had such a literature for a
+century, and England for a generation or two. And now America was
+having it, too!
+
+Montague had an amusing insight into this one day, when Mrs. Vivie
+invited him to one of her "artistic evenings." Mrs. Vivie was in
+touch with a special set which went in for intellectual things, and
+included some amateur Bohemians and men of "genius." "Don't you come
+if you'll be shocked," she had said to him--"for Strathcona will be
+there."
+
+Montague deemed himself able to stand a good deal by this time. He
+went, and found Mrs. Vivie and her Count (Mr. Vivie had apparently
+not been invited) and also the young poet of Diabolism, whose work
+was just then the talk of the town. He was a tall, slender youth
+with a white face and melancholy black eyes, and black locks falling
+in cascades about his ears; he sat in an Oriental corner, with a
+manuscript copied in tiny handwriting upon delicately scented "art
+paper," and tied with passionate purple ribbons. A young girl clad
+in white sat by his side and held a candle, while he read from this
+manuscript his unprinted (because unprintable) verses.
+
+And between the readings the young poet talked. He talked about
+himself and his work--apparently. that was what he had come to talk
+about. His words flowed like a swift stream, limpid, sparkling,
+incessant; leaping from place to place--here, there, quick as the
+play of light upon the water. Montague laboured to follow the
+speaker's ideas, until he found his mind in a whirl and gave it up.
+Afterward, when he thought it over, he laughed at himself; for
+Strathcona's ideas were not serious things, having relationship to
+truth--they were epigrams put together to dazzle the hearer,
+studies in paradox, with as much relation to life as fireworks. He
+took the sum-total of the moral experience of the human race, and
+turned it upside down and jumbled it about, and used it as bits of
+glass in a kaleidoscope. And the hearers would gasp, and whisper,
+"Diabolical!"
+
+The motto of this "school" of poets was that there was neither good
+nor evil, but that all things were "interesting." After listening to
+Strathcona for half an hour, one felt like hiding his head, and
+denying that he had ever thought of having any virtue; in a world
+where all things were uncertain, it was presumptuous even to pretend
+to know what virtue was. One could only be what one was; and did not
+that mean that one must do as one pleased?
+
+You could feel a shudder run through the company at his audacity.
+And the worst of it was that you could not dismiss it with a laugh;
+for the boy was really a poet--he had fire and passion, the gift of
+melodious ecstacy. He was only twenty, and in his brief meteor
+flight he had run the gamut of all experience; he had familiarized
+himself with all human achievement--past, present, and future. There
+was nothing any one could mention that he did not perfectly
+comprehend: the raptures of the saints, the consecration of the
+martyrs--yes, he had known them; likewise he had touched the depths
+of depravity, he had been lost in the innermost passages of the
+caverns of hell. And all this had been interesting--in its time; now
+he was sighing for new worlds of experience--say for unrequited
+love, which should drive him to madness.
+
+It was at this point that Montague dropped out of the race, and took
+to studying from the outside the mechanism of this young poet's
+conversation. Strathcona flouted the idea of a moral sense; but in
+reality he was quite dependent upon it--his recipe for making
+epigrams was to take what other people's moral sense made them
+respect, and identify it with something which their moral sense made
+them abhor. Thus, for instance, the tale which he told about one of
+the members of his set, who was a relative of a bishop. The great
+man had occasion to rebuke him for his profligate ways, declaring in
+the course of his lecture that he was living off the reputation of
+his father; to which the boy made the crushing rejoinder: "It may be
+bad to live off the reputation of one's father, but it's better than
+living off the reputation of God."--This was very subtle and it was
+necessary to ponder it. God was dead; and the worthy bishop did not
+know it! But let him take a new God, who had no reputation, and go
+out into the world and make a living out of him!
+
+Then Strathcona discussed literature. He paid his tribute to the
+"Fleurs de Mal" and the "Songs before Sunrise"; but most, he said,
+he owed to "the divine Oscar." This English poet of many poses and
+some vices the law had seized and flung into jail; and since the law
+is a thing so brutal and wicked that whoever is touched by it is
+made thereby a martyr and a hero, there had grown up quite a cult
+about the memory of "Oscar." All up-to-date poets imitated his style
+and his attitude to life; and so the most revolting of vices had the
+cloak of romance flung about them--were given long Greek and Latin
+names, and discussed with parade of learning as revivals of Hellenic
+ideals. The young men in Strathcona's set referred to each other as
+their "lovers"; and if one showed any perplexity over this, he was
+regarded, not with contempt--for it was not aesthetic to feel
+contempt--but with a slight lifting of the eyebrows, intended to
+annihilate.
+
+One must not forget, of course, that these young people were poets,
+and to that extent were protected from their own doctrines. They
+were interested, not in life, but in making pretty verses about
+life; there were some among them who lived as cheerful ascetics in
+garret rooms, and gave melodious expression to devilish emotions.
+But, on the other hand, for every poet, there were thousands who
+were not poets, but people to whom life was real. And these lived
+out the creed, and wrecked their lives; and with the aid of the
+poet's magic, the glamour of melody and the fire divine, they
+wrecked the lives with which they came into contact. The new
+generation of boys and girls were deriving their spiritual
+sustenance from the poetry of Baudelaire and Wilde; and rushing with
+the hot impulsiveness of youth into the dreadful traps which the
+traders in vice prepared for them. One's heart bled to see them,
+pink-cheeked and bright-eyed, pursuing the hem of the Muse's robe in
+brothels and dens of infamy!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+
+
+
+The social mill ground on for another month. Montague withdrew
+himself as much as his brother would let him; but Alice, was on the
+go all night and half the day. Oliver had sold his racing automobile
+to a friend--he was a man of family now, he said, and his wild days
+were over. He had got, instead, a limousine car for Alice; though
+she declared she had no need of it--if ever she was going to any
+place, Charlie Carter always begged her to use his. Charlie's siege
+was as persistent as ever, as Montague noticed with annoyance.
+
+The great law case was going forward. After weeks of study and
+investigation, Montague felt that he had the matter well in hand;
+and he had taken Mr. Hasbrook's memoranda as a basis for a new work
+of his own, much more substantial. Bit by bit; as he dug into the
+subject, he had discovered a state of affairs in the Fidelity
+Company, and, indeed, in the whole insurance business and its allied
+realms of banking and finance, which shocked him profoundly. It was
+impossible for him to imagine how such conditions could exist and
+remain unknown to the public--more especially as every one in Wall
+Street with whom he talked seemed to know about them and to take
+them for granted.
+
+His client's papers had provided him with references to the books;
+Montague had taken this dry material and made of it a protest which
+had the breath of life in it. It was a thing at which he toiled with
+deadly earnestness; it was not merely a struggle of one man to get a
+few thousand dollars, it was an appeal in behalf of millions of
+helpless people whose trust had been betrayed. It was the first step
+in a long campaign, which the young lawyer meant should force a
+great evil into the light of day.
+
+He went over his bill of complaint with Mr. Hasbrook, and he was
+glad to see that the work he had done made its impression upon him.
+In fact, his client was a little afraid that some of his arguments
+might be too radical in tone--from the strictly legal point of view,
+he made haste to explain. But Montague reassured him upon this
+point.
+
+And then came the day when the great ship was ready for launching.
+The news must have spread quickly, for a few hours after the papers
+in the suit had been filed, Montague received a call from a
+newspaper reporter, who told him of the excitement in financial
+circles, where the thing had fallen like a bomb. Montague explained
+the purpose of the suit, and gave the reporter a number of facts
+which he felt certain would attract attention to the matter. When he
+picked up the paper the next morning, however, he was surprised to
+find that only a few lines had been given to the case, and that his
+interview had been replaced by one with an unnamed official of the
+Fidelity, to the effect that the attack upon the company was
+obviously for black-mailing purposes.
+
+That was the only ripple which Montague's work produced upon the
+surface of the pool; but there was a great commotion among the fish
+at the bottom, about which he was soon to learn.
+
+That evening, while he was hard at work in his study, he received a
+telephone call from his brother. "I'm coming round to see you," said
+Oliver. "Wait for me."
+
+"All right," said the other, and added, "I thought you were dining
+at the Waitings'."
+
+"I'm there now," was the answer. "I'm leaving."
+
+"What is the matter?" Montague asked.
+
+"There's hell to pay," was the reply--and then silence.
+
+When Oliver appeared, a few minutes later, he did not even stop to
+set down his hat, but exclaimed, "Allan, what in heaven's name have
+you been doing?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked the other.
+
+"Why, that suit!"
+
+"What about it?"
+
+"Good God, man!" cried Oliver. "Do you mean that you really don't
+know what you've done?"
+
+Montague was staring at him. "I'm afraid I don't," said he.
+
+"Why, you're turning the world upside down!" exclaimed the other.
+"Everybody you know is crazy about it."
+
+"Everybody I know!" echoed Montague. "What have they to do with it?"
+
+"Why, you've stabbed them in the back!" half shouted Oliver. "I
+could hardly believe my ears when they told me. Robbie Walling is
+simply wild--I never had such a time in my life."
+
+"I don't understand yet," said Montague, more and more amazed. "What
+has he to do with it?"
+
+"Why, man," cried Oliver, "his brother's a director in the Fidelity!
+And his own interests--and all the other companies! You've struck at
+the whole insurance business!"
+
+Montague caught his breath. "Oh, I see!" he said.
+
+"How could you think of such a thing?" cried the other, wildly. "You
+promised to consult me about things--"
+
+"I told you when I took this case," put in Montague, quickly.
+
+"I know," said his brother. "But you didn't explain--and what did I
+know about it? I thought I could leave it to your common sense not
+to mix up in a thing like this."
+
+"I'm very sorry," said Montague, gravely. "I had no idea of any such
+result."
+
+"That's what I told Robbie," said Oliver. "Good God, what a time I
+had!"
+
+He took his hat and coat and laid them on the bed, and sat down and
+began to tell about it. "I made him realize the disadvantage you
+were under," he said, "being a stranger and not knowing the ground.
+I believe he had an idea that you tried to get his confidence on
+purpose to attack him. It was Mrs. Robbie, I guess--you know her
+fortune is all in that quarter."
+
+Oliver wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "My!" he
+said.--"And fancy what old Wyman must be saying about this! And what
+a time poor Betty must be having! And then Freddie Vandam--the air
+will be blue for half a mile round his place! I must send him a wire
+and explain that it was a mistake, and that we're getting out of
+it."
+
+And he got up, to suit the action to the word. But half-way to the
+desk he heard his brother say, "Wait."
+
+He turned, and saw Montague, quite pale. "I suppose by 'getting out
+of it,'" said the latter, "you mean dropping the case."
+
+"Of course," was the answer.
+
+"Well, then," he continued, very gravely,--"I can see that it's
+going to be hard, and I'm sorry. But you might as well understand me
+at the very beginning--I will never drop this case."
+
+Oliver's jaw fell limp. "Allan!" he gasped.
+
+There was a silence; and then the storm broke. Oliver knew his
+brother well enough to realize just how thoroughly he meant what he
+said; and so he got the full force of the shock all at once. He
+raved and swore and wrung his hands, and declaimed at his brother,
+saying that he had betrayed him, that he was ruining him--dumping
+himself and the whole family into the ditch. They would be jeered at
+and insulted--they would be blacklisted and thrown out of Society.
+Alice's career would be cut short--every door would be closed to
+her. His own career would die before it was born; he would never get
+into the clubs--he would be a pariah--he would be bankrupted and
+penniless. Again and again Oliver went over the situation, naming
+person after person who would be outraged, and describing what that
+person would do; there were the Wallings and the Venables and the
+Havens, the Vandams and the Todds and the Wymans--they were all one
+regiment, and Montague had flung a bomb into the centre of them!
+
+It was very terrible to him to see his brother's rage and despair;
+but he had seen his way clear through this matter, and he knew that
+there was no turning back for him. "It is painful to learn that all
+one's acquaintances are thieves," he said. "But that does not change
+my opinion of stealing."
+
+"But my God!" cried Oliver; "did you come to New York to preach
+sermons?"
+
+To which the other answered, "I came to practise law. And the lawyer
+who will not fight injustice is a traitor to his profession."
+
+Oliver threw up his hands in despair. What could one say to a
+sentiment such as that?
+
+--But then again he came to the charge, pointing out to his brother
+the position in which he had placed himself with the Wallings. He
+had accepted their hospitality; they had taken him and Alice in, and
+done everything in the world for them--things for which no money
+could ever repay them. And now he had struck them!
+
+But the only effect of that was to make Montague regret that he had
+ever had anything to do with the Wallings. If they expected to use
+their friendship to tie his hands in such a matter, they were people
+he would have left alone.
+
+"But do you realize that it's not merely yourself you're ruining?"
+cried Oliver. "Do you know what you're doing to Alice?"
+
+"That is harder yet for me," the other replied. "But I am sure that
+Alice would not ask me to stop."
+
+Montague was firmly set in his own mind; but it seemed to be quite
+impossible for his brother to realize that this was the case. He
+would give up; but then, going back into his own mind, and facing
+the thought of this person and that, and the impossibility of the
+situation which would arise, he would return to the attack with new
+anguish in his voice. He implored and scolded, and even wept; and
+then he would get himself together again, and come and sit in front
+of his brother and try to reason with him.
+
+And so it was that in the small hours of the morning, Montague, pale
+and nervous, but quite unshaken, was sitting and listening while his
+brother unfolded before him a picture of the Metropolis as he had
+come to see it. It was a city ruled by mighty forces--money-forces;
+great families and fortunes, which had held their sway for
+generations, and regarded the place, with all its swarming millions,
+as their birthright. They possessed it utterly--they held it in the
+hollow of their hands. Railroads and telegraphs and telephones--
+banks and insurance and trust companies--all these they owned; and
+the political machines and the legislatures, the courts and the
+newspapers, the churches and the colleges. And their rule was for
+plunder; all the streams of profit ran into their coffers. The
+stranger who came to their city succeeded as he helped them in their
+purposes, and failed if they could not use him. A great editor or
+bishop was a man who taught their doctrines; a great statesman was a
+man who made the laws for them; a great lawyer was one who helped
+them to outwit the public. Any man who dared to oppose them, they
+would cast out and trample on, they would slander and ridicule and
+ruin.
+
+And Oliver came down to particulars--he named these powerful men,
+one after one, and showed what they could do. If his brother would
+only be a man of the world, and see the thing! Look at all the
+successful lawyers! Oliver named them, one after one--shrewd
+devisers of corporation trickery, with incomes of hundreds of
+thousands a year. He could not name the men who had refused to play
+the game--for no one had ever heard of them. But it was so evident
+what would happen in this case! His friends would cast him off; his
+own client would get his price--whatever it was--and then leave him
+in the lurch, and laugh at him! "If you can't make up your mind to
+play the game," cried Oliver, frantically, "at least you can give it
+up! There are plenty of other ways of getting a living--if you'll
+let me, I'll take care of you myself, rather than have you disgrace
+me. Tell me--will you do that? Will you quit altogether?"
+
+And Montague suddenly leaped to his feet, and brought his fist down
+upon the desk with a bang. "No!" he cried; "by God, no!"
+
+"Let me make you understand me once for all," he rushed on. "You've
+shown me New York as you see it. I don't believe it's the truth--I
+don't believe it for one single moment! But let me tell you this, I
+shall stay here and find out--and if it is true, it won't stop me! I
+shall stay here and defy those people! I shall stay and fight them
+till the day I die! They may ruin me,--I'll go and live in a garret
+if I have to,--but as sure as there's a God that made me, I'll never
+stop till I've opened the eyes of the people to what they're doing!"
+
+Montague towered over his brother, white-hot and terrible. Oliver
+shrank from him--he never had seen such a burst of wrath from him
+before. "Do you understand me now?" Montague cried; and he answered,
+in a despairing voice, "Yes, yes."
+
+"I see it's all up," he added weakly. "You and I can't pull
+together."
+
+"No," exclaimed the other, passionately, "we can't. And we might as
+well give up trying. You have chosen to be a time-server and a
+lick-spittle, and I don't choose it! Do you think I've learned
+nothing in the time I've been here? Why, man, you used to be daring
+and clever--and now you never draw a breath without wondering if
+these rich snobs will like the way you do it! And you want Alice to
+sell herself to them--you want me to sell my career to them!"
+
+There was a long pause. Oliver had turned very pale. And then
+suddenly his brother caught himself together, and said: "I'm sorry.
+I didn't mean to quarrel, but you've goaded me too much. I'm
+grateful for what you have tried to do for me, and I'll pay you back
+as soon as I can. But I can't go on with this game. I'll quit, and
+you can disown me to your friends--tell them that I've run amuck,
+and to forget they ever knew me. They'll hardly blame you for it--
+they know you too well for that. And as for Alice, I'll talk it out
+with her to-morrow, and let her decide for herself--if she wants to
+be a Society queen, she can put herself in your hands, and I'll get
+out of her way. On the other hand, if she approves of what I'm
+doing, why we'll both quit, and you won't have to bother with either
+of us."
+
+That was the basis upon which they parted for the night; but like
+most resolutions taken at white heat, it was not followed literally.
+It was very hard for Montague to have to confront Alice with such a
+choice; and as for Oliver, when he went home and thought it over, he
+began to discover gleams of hope. He might make it clear to every
+one that he was not responsible for his brother's business vagaries,
+and take his chances upon that basis. After all, there were wheels
+within wheels in Society; and if the Robbie Waitings chose to break
+with him--why, they had plenty of enemies. There might even be
+interests which would be benefited by Allan's course, and would take
+him up.
+
+Montague had resolved to write and break every engagement which he
+had made, and to sever his connection with Society at one stroke.
+But the next day his brother came again, with compromises and new
+protestations. There was no use going to the other extreme: he,
+Oliver, would have it out with the Wallings, and they might all go
+on their way as if nothing had happened.
+
+--So Montague made his debut in the role of knight-errant. He went
+with many qualms and misgivings, uncertain how each new person would
+take it. The next evening he was promised for a theatre-party with
+Siegfried Harvey; and they had supper in a private room at
+Delmonico's, and there came Mrs. Winnie, resplendent as an apple
+tree in early April--and murmuring with bated breath, "Oh, you
+dreadful man, what have you been doing?"
+
+"Have I been poaching on YOUR preserves?" he asked promptly.
+
+"No, not mine," she said, "but--" and then she hesitated.
+
+"On Mr. Duval's?" he asked.
+
+"No," she said, "not his--but everybody else's! He was telling me
+about it to-day--there's a most dreadful uproar. He wanted me to try
+to find out what you were up to, and who was behind it."
+
+Montague listened, wonderingly. Did Mrs. Winnie mean to imply that
+her husband had asked her to try to worm his business secrets out of
+him? That was what she seemed to imply. "I told him I never talked
+business with my friends," she said. "He can ask you himself, if he
+chooses. But what DOES it all mean, anyhow?"
+
+Montague smiled at the naive inconsistency.
+
+"It means nothing," said he, "except that I am trying to get justice
+for a client."
+
+"But can you afford to make so many powerful enemies?" she asked.
+
+"I've taken my chances on that," he replied.
+
+Mrs. Winnie answered nothing, but looked at him with wondering
+admiration in her eyes. "You arc different from the men about you,"
+she remarked, after a while-and her tone gave Montague to understand
+that there was one person who meant to stand by him.
+
+But Mrs. Winnie Duval was not all Society. Montague was amused to
+notice with what suddenness the stream of invitations slacked up; it
+was necessary for Alice to give her calling list many revisions.
+Freddie Vandam had promised to invite them to his place on Long
+Island, and of course that invitation would never come; likewise
+they would never again see the palace of the Lester Todds, upon the
+Jersey mountain-top.
+
+Oliver put in the next few days in calling upon people to explain
+his embarrassing situation. He washed his hands of his brother's
+affairs, he said; and his friends might do the same, if they saw
+fit. With the Robbie Waitings he had a stormy half hour, about which
+he thought it best to say little to the rest of the family. Robbie
+did not break with him utterly, because of their Wall Street
+Alliance; but Mrs. Robbie's feeling was so bitter, he said, that it
+would be best if Alice saw nothing of her for a while. He had a long
+talk with Alice, and explained the situation. The girl was utterly
+dumbfounded, for she was deeply grateful to Mrs. Robbie, and fond of
+her as well; and she could not believe that a friend could be so
+cruelly unjust to her.
+
+The upshot of the whole situation was a very painful episode. A few
+days later Alice met Mrs. Robbie at a reception; and she took the
+lady aside, and tried to tell her how distressed and helpless she
+was. And the result was that Mrs. Robbie flew into a passion and
+railed at her, declaring in the presence of several people that she
+had sponged upon her and abused her hospitality! And so poor Alice
+came home, weeping and half hysterical.
+
+All of which, of course, was like oil upon a fire; the heavens were
+lighted up with the conflagration. The next development was a
+paragraph in Society's scandal-sheet--telling with infinite gusto
+how a certain ultra-fashionable matron had taken up a family of
+stranded waifs from a far State, and introduced them into the best
+circles, and even gone so far as to give a magnificent dance in
+their honour; and how the discovery had been made that the head of
+the family had been secretly preparing an attack upon their business
+interests; and of the tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth which
+had followed--and the violent quarrel in a public place. The
+paragraph concluded with the prediction that the strangers would
+find themselves the centre of a merry social war.
+
+Oliver was the first to show them this paper. But lest by any chance
+they should miss it, half a dozen unknown friends were good enough
+to mail them copies, carefully marked.--And then came Reggie Mann,
+who as free-lance and gossip-gatherer sat on the fence and watched
+the fun; Reggie wore a thin veil of sympathy over his naked glee,
+and brought them the latest reports from all portions of the
+battle-ground. Thus they were able to know exactly what everybody
+was saying about them--who was amused and who was outraged, and who
+proposed to drop them and who to take them up.
+
+Montague listened for a while, but then he got tired of it, and went
+for a walk to escape it--but only to run into another trap. It was
+dark, and he was strolling down the Avenue, when out of a
+brilliantly lighted jewellery shop came Mrs. Billy Alden to her
+carriage. And she hailed him with an exclamation.
+
+"You man," she cried, "what have you been doing?"
+
+He tried to laugh it off and escape, but she took him by the arm,
+commanding, "Get in here and tell me about it."
+
+So he found himself moving with the slow stream of vehicles on the
+Avenue, and with Mrs. Billy gazing at him quizzically and asking him
+if he did not feel like a hippopotamus in a frog-pond.
+
+He replied to her raillery by asking her under which flag she stood.
+But there was little need to ask that, for anyone who was fighting a
+Walling became ipso facto a friend of Mrs. Billy's. She told
+Montague that if he felt his social position was imperilled, all he
+had to do was to come to her. She would gird on her armour and take
+the field.
+
+"But tell me how you came to do it," she said.
+
+He answered that there was very little to tell. He had taken up a
+case which was obviously just, but having no idea what a storm it
+would raise.
+
+Then he noticed that his companion was looking at him sharply. "Do
+you really mean that's all there is to it?" she asked.
+
+"Of course I do," said he, perplexed.
+
+"Do you know," was her unexpected response, "I hardly know what to
+make of you. I'm afraid to trust you, on account of your brother."
+
+Montague was embarrassed. "I don't know what you mean," he said.
+
+"Everybody thinks there's some trickery in that suit," she answered.
+
+"Oh," said Montague, "I see. Well, they will find out. If it will
+help you any to know it, I've been having no end of scenes with my
+brother."
+
+"I'll believe you," said Mrs. Billy, genially. "But it seems strange
+that a man could have been so blind to a situation! I feel quite
+ashamed because I didn't help you myself!"
+
+The carriage had stopped at Mrs. Billy's home, and she asked him to
+dinner. "There'll be nobody but my brother," she said,--"we're
+resting this evening. And I can make up to you for my negligence!"
+
+Montague had no engagement, and so he went in, and saw Mrs. Billy's
+mansion, which was decorated in imitation of a Doge's palace, and
+met Mr. "Davy" Alden, a mild-mannered little gentleman who obeyed
+orders promptly. They had a comfortable dinner of half-a-dozen
+courses, and then retired to the drawing-room, where Mrs. Billy sank
+into a huge easy chair, with a decanter of whisky and some cracked
+ice in readiness beside it. Then from a tray she selected a thick
+black cigar, and placidly bit off the end and lighted it, and then
+settled back at her ease, and proceeded to tell Montague about New
+York, and about the great families who ruled it, and where and how
+they had got their money, and who were their allies and who their
+enemies, and what particular skeletons were hidden in each of their
+closets.
+
+It was worth coming a long way to listen to Mrs. Billy tete-a-tete;
+her thoughts were vigorous, and her imagery was picturesque. She
+spoke of old Dan Waterman, and described him as a wild boar rooting
+chestnuts. He was all right, she said, if you didn't come under his
+tree. And Montague asked, "Which is his tree?" and she answered,
+"Any one he happens to be under at the time."
+
+And then she came to the Waitings. Mrs. Billy had been in on the
+inside of that family, and there was nothing she didn't know about
+it; and she brought the members up, one by one, and dissected them,
+and exhibited them for Montague's benefit. They were typical
+bourgeois people, she said. They were burghers. They had never shown
+the least capacity for refinement--they ate and drank, and jostled
+other people out of the way. The old ones had been boors, and the
+new ones were cads.
+
+And Mrs. Billy sat and puffed at her cigar. "Do you know the history
+of the family?" she asked. "The founder was a rough old ferryman. He
+fought his rivals so well that in the end he owned all the boats;
+and then some one discovered the idea of buying legislatures and
+building railroads, and he went into that. It was a time when they
+simply grabbed things--if you ever look into it, you'll find they're
+making fortunes to-day out of privileges that the old man simply sat
+down on and held. There's a bridge at Albany, for instance, to which
+they haven't the slightest right; my brother knows about it--they've
+given themselves a contract with their railroad by which they're
+paid for every passenger, and their profit every year is greater
+than the cost of the bridge. The son was the head of the family when
+I came in; and I found that he had it all arranged to leave thirty
+million dollars to one of his sons, and only ten million to my
+husband. I set to work to change that, I can tell you. I used to go
+around to see him, and scratch his back and tickle him and make him
+feel good. Of course the family went wild--my, how they hated me!
+They set old Ellis to work to keep me off--have you met Judge
+Ellis?"
+
+"I have," said Montague.
+
+"Well, there's a pussy-footed old hypocrite for you," said Mrs.
+Billy. "In those days he was Waiting's business lackey--used to pass
+the money to the legislators and keep the wheels of the machine
+greased. One of the first things I said to the old man was that I
+didn't ask him to entertain my butler, and he mustn't ask me to
+entertain his valet--and so I forbid Ellis to enter my house. And
+when I found that he was trying to get between the old man and me, I
+flew into a rage and boxed his ears and chased him out of the room!"
+
+Mrs. Billy paused, and laughed heartily over the recollection. "Of
+course that tickled the old man to death," she continued. "The
+Wallings never could make out how I managed to get round him as I
+did; but it was simply because I was honest with him. They'd come
+snivelling round, pretending they were anxious about his health;
+while I wanted his money, and I told him so."
+
+The valiant lady turned to the decanter. "Have some Scotch?" she
+asked, and poured some for herself, and then went on with her story.
+"When I first came to New York," she said, "the rich people's houses
+were all alike--all dreary brownstone fronts, sandwiched in on one
+or two city lots. I vowed that I would have a house with some room
+all around it--and that was the beginning of those palaces that all
+New York walks by and stares at. You can hardly believe it
+now--those houses were a scandal! But the sensation tickled the old
+man. I remember one day we walked up the Avenue to see how they were
+coming on; and he pointed with his big stick to the second floor,
+and asked, 'What's that?' I answered, 'It's a safe I'm building into
+the house.' (That was a new thing, too, in those days.)--'I'm going
+to keep my money in that,' I said. 'Bah!' he growled, 'when you're
+done with this house, you won't have any money left.'--'I'm planning
+to make you fill it for me,' I answered; and do you know, he
+chuckled all the way home over it!"
+
+Mrs. Billy sat laughing softly to herself. "We had great old battles
+in those days," she said. "Among other things, I had to put the
+Waitings into Society. They were sneaking round on the outside when
+I came--licking people's boots and expecting to be kicked. I said
+to myself, I'll put an end to that--we'll have a show-down! So I
+gave a ball that made the whole country sit up and gasp--it wouldn't
+be noticed particularly nowadays, but then people had never dreamed
+of anything so gorgeous. And I made out a list of all the people I
+wanted to know in New York, and I said to myself: 'If you come,
+you're a friend, and if you don't come, you're an enemy.' And they
+all came, let me tell you! And there was never any question about
+the Waitings being in Society after that."
+
+Mrs. Billy halted; and Montague remarked, with a smile, that
+doubtless she was sorry now that she had done it.
+
+"Oh, no," she answered, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I find that
+all I have to do is to be patient--I hate people, and think I'd like
+to poison them, but if I only wait long enough, something happens to
+them much worse than I ever dreamed of. You'll be revenged on the
+Robbies some day."
+
+"I don't want any revenge," Montague answered. "I've no quarrel with
+them--I simply wish I hadn't accepted their hospitality. I didn't
+know they were such little people. It seems hard to believe it."
+
+Mrs. Billy laughed cynically. "What could you expect?" she said.
+"They know there's nothing to them but their money. When that's
+gone, they're gone--they could never make any more."
+
+The lady gave a chuckle, and added: "Those words make me think of
+Davy's experience when he wanted to go to Congress! Tell him about
+it, Davy."
+
+But Mr. Alden did not warm to the subject; he left the tale to his
+sister.
+
+"He was a Democrat, you know," said she, "and he went to the boss
+and told him he'd like to go to Congress. The answer was that it
+would cost him forty thousand dollars, and he kicked at the price.
+Others didn't have to put up such sums, he said--why should he? And
+the old man growled at him, 'The rest have other things to give.
+One can deliver the letter-carriers, another is paid for by a
+corporation. But what can you do? What is there to you but your
+money?'--So Davy paid the money--didn't you, Davy?" And Davy grinned
+sheepishly.
+
+"Even so," she went on, "he came off better than poor Devon. They
+got fifty thousand out of him, and sold him out, and he never got to
+Congress after all! That was just before he concluded that America
+wasn't a fit place for a gentleman to live in."
+
+--And so Mrs. Billy got started on the Devons! And after that came
+the Havens and the Wymans and the Todds--it was midnight before she
+got through with them all.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+
+
+
+The newspapers said nothing more about the Hasbrook suit; but in
+financial circles Montague had attained considerable notoriety
+because of it. And this was the means of bringing him a number of
+new cases.
+
+But alas, there were no more fifty-thousand-dollar clients! The
+first caller was a destitute widow with a deed which would have
+entitled her to the greater part of a large city in
+Pennsylvania--only unfortunately the deed was about eighty years
+old. And then there was a poor old man who had been hurt in a
+street-car accident and had been tricked into signing away his
+rights; and an indignant citizen who proposed to bring a hundred
+suits against the traction trust for transfers refused. All were
+contingency cases, with the chances of success exceedingly remote.
+And Montague noticed that the people had come to him as a last
+resort, having apparently heard of him as a man of altruistic
+temper.
+
+There was one case which interested him particularly, because it
+seemed to fit in so ominously with the grim prognosis of his
+brother. He received a call from an elderly gentleman, of very
+evident refinement and dignity of manner, who proceeded to unfold to
+him a most amazing story. Five or six years ago he had invented a
+storage-battery, which was the most efficient known. He had
+organised a company with three million dollars' capital to
+manufacture it, himself taking a third interest for his patents, and
+becoming president of the company. Not long afterward had come a
+proposal from a group of men who wished to organize a company to
+manufacture automobiles; they proposed to form an alliance which
+would give them the exclusive use of the battery. But these men were
+not people with whom the inventor cared to deal--they were traction
+and gas magnates widely known for their unscrupulous methods. And so
+he had declined their offer, and set to work instead to organize an
+automobile company himself. He had just got under way when he
+discovered that his rivals had set to work to take his invention
+away from him. A friend who owned another third share in his company
+had hypothecated his stock to help form the new company; and now
+came a call from the bank for more collateral, and he was obliged to
+sell out. And at the next stockholders' meeting it developed that
+their rivals had bought it, and likewise more stock in the open
+market; and they proceeded to take possession of the company,
+ousting the former president--and then making a contract with their
+automobile company to furnish the storage-battery at a price which
+left no profit for the manufacturers! And so for two years the
+inventor had not received a dollar of dividends upon his million
+dollars' worth of paper; and to cap the climax, the company had
+refused to sell the battery to his automobile company, and so that
+had gone into bankruptcy, and his friend was ruined also!
+
+Montague went into the case very carefully, and found that the story
+was true. What interested him particularly in it was the fact that
+he had met a couple of these financial highwaymen in social life; he
+had come to know the son and heir of one of them quite well, at
+Siegfried Harvey's. This gilded youth was engaged to be married in a
+very few days, and the papers had it that the father-in-law had
+presented the bride with a cheque for a million dollars. Montague
+could not but wonder if it was the million that had been taken from
+his client!
+
+There was to be a "bachelor dinner" at the Millionaires' on the
+night before the wedding, to which he and Oliver had been invited.
+As he was thinking of taking up his case, he went to his brother,
+saying that he wished to decline; but Oliver had been getting back
+his courage day by day, and declared that it was more important than
+ever now that he should hold his ground, and face his enemies--for
+Alice's sake, if not for his own. And so Montague went to the
+dinner, and saw deeper yet into the history of the stolen millions.
+
+It was a very beautiful affair, in the beginning. There was a large
+private dining-room, elaborately decorated, with a string orchestra
+concealed in a bower of plants. But there were cocktails even on the
+side-board at the doorway; and by the time the guests had got to the
+coffee, every one was hilariously drunk. After each toast they would
+hurl their glasses over their shoulders. The purpose of a "bachelor
+dinner," it appeared, was a farewell to the old days and the boon
+companions; so there were sentimental and comic songs which had been
+composed for the occasion, and were received with whirlwinds of
+laughter.
+
+By listening closely and reading between the lines, one might get
+quite a history of the young host's adventurous career. There was a
+house up on the West Side; and there was a yacht, with, orgies in
+every part of the world. There was the summer night in Newport
+harbour, when some one had hit upon the dazzling scheme of freezing
+twenty-dollar gold pieces in tiny blocks of ice, to be dropped down
+the girls' backs! And there was a banquet in a studio in New York,
+when a huge pie had been brought on, from which a half-nude girl had
+emerged, with a flock of canary birds about her! Then there was a
+damsel who had been wont to dance upon the tops of supper tables,
+clad in diaphanous costume; and who had got drunk after a
+theatre-party, and set out to smash up a Broadway restaurant. There
+was a cousin from Chicago, a wild lad, who made a speciality of this
+diversion, and whose mistresses were bathed in
+champagne.--Apparently there were numberless places in the city
+where such orgies were carried on continually; there were private
+clubs, and artists' "studios"--there were several allusions to a
+high tower, which Montague did not comprehend. Many such matters,
+however, were explained to him by an elderly gentleman who sat on
+his right, and who seemed to stay sober, no matter how much he
+drank. Incidentally he gravely advised Montague to meet one of the
+young host's mistresses, who was a "stunning" girl, and was in the
+market.
+
+Toward morning the festivities changed to a series of
+wrestling-bouts; the young men stripped off their clothing and tore
+the table to pieces, and piled it out of the way in a corner,
+smashing most of the crockery in the process. Between the matches,
+champagne would be opened by knocking off the heads of the bottles;
+and this went on until four o'clock in the morning, when many of the
+guests were lying in heaps upon the floor.
+
+Montague rode home in a cab with the elderly gentleman who had sat
+next to him; and on the way he asked if such affairs as this were
+common. And his companion, who was a "steel man" from the West,
+replied by telling him of some which he had witnessed at home. At
+Siegfried Harvey's theatre-party Montague had seen a popular actress
+in a musical comedy, which was then the most successful play running
+in New York. The house was sold out weeks ahead, and after the
+matinee you might observe the street in front of the stage-entrance
+blocked by people waiting to see the woman come out. She was lithe
+and supple, like a panther, and wore close-fitting gowns to reveal
+her form. It seemed that her play must have been built with one
+purpose in mind, to see how much lewdness could be put upon a stage
+without interference by the police.--And now his companion told him
+how this woman had been invited to sing at a banquet given by the
+magnates of a mighty Trust, and had gone after midnight to the most
+exclusive club in the town, and sung her popular ditty, "Won't you
+come and play with me?" The merry magnates had taken the invitation
+literally--with the result that the actress had escaped from the
+room with half her clothing torn off her. And a little while later
+an official of this trust had wished to get rid of his wife and
+marry a chorus-girl; and when public clamour had forced the
+directors to ask him to resign, he had replied by threatening to
+tell about this banquet!
+
+The next day--or rather, to be precise, that same morning--Montague
+and Alice attended the gorgeous wedding. It was declared by the
+newspapers to be the most "important" social event of the week; and
+it took half a dozen policemen to hold back the crowds which filled
+the street. The ceremony took place at St. Cecilia's, with the
+stately bishop officiating, in his purple and scarlet robes. Inside
+the doors were all the elect, exquisitely groomed and gowned, and
+such a medley of delicious perfumes as not all the vales in Arcady
+could equal. The groom had been polished and scrubbed, and looked
+very handsome, though somewhat pale; and Montague could not but
+smile as he observed the best man, looking so very solemn, and
+recollected the drunken wrestler of a few hours before, staggering
+about in a pale blue undershirt ripped up the back.
+
+The Montagues knew by this time whom they were to avoid. They were
+graciously taken under the wing of Mrs. Eldridge Devon--whose real
+estate was not affected by insurance suits; and the next morning
+they had the satisfaction of seeing their names in the list of those
+present--and even a couple of lines about Alice's costume. (Alice
+was always referred to as "Miss Montague"; it was very pleasant to
+be the "Miss Montague," and to think of all the other would-be Miss
+Montagues in the city, who were thereby haughtily rebuked!) In the
+"yellow" papers there were also accounts of the trousseau of the
+bride, and of the wonderful gifts which she had received, and of the
+long honeymoon which she was to spend in the Mediterranean upon her
+husband's yacht. Montague found himself wondering if the ghosts of
+its former occupants would not haunt her, and whether she would have
+been as happy, had she known as much as he knew.
+
+He found food for a good deal of thought in the memory of this
+banquet. Among the things which he had gathered from the songs was a
+hint that Oliver, also, had some secrets, which he had not seen fit
+to tell his brother. The keeping of young girls was apparently one
+of the established customs of the "little brothers of the
+rich"--and, for that matter, of many of the big brothers, also. A
+little later Montague had a curious glimpse into the life of this
+"half-world." He had occasion one evening to call up a certain
+financier whom he had come to know quite well-a man of family and a
+member of the church. There were some important papers to be signed
+and sent off by a steamer; and the great man's secretary said that
+he would try to find him. A minute or two later he called up
+Montague and asked him if he would be good enough to go to an
+address uptown. It was a house not far from Riverside Drive; and
+Montague went there and found his acquaintance, with several other
+prominent men of affairs whom he knew, conversing in a drawing-room
+with one of the most charming ladies he had ever met. She was
+exquisite to look at, and one of the few people in New York whom he
+had found worth listening to. He spent such an enjoyable evening,
+that when he was leaving, he remarked to the lady that he would like
+his cousin Alice to meet her; and then he noticed that she flushed
+slightly, and was embarrassed. Later on he learned to his dismay
+that the charming and beautiful lady did not go into Society.
+
+Nor was this at all rare; on the contrary, if one took the trouble
+to make inquiries, he would find that such establishments were
+everywhere taken for granted. Montague talked about it with Major
+Venable; and out of his gossip storehouse the old gentleman drew
+forth a string of anecdotes that made one's hair stand on end. There
+was one all-powerful magnate, who had a passion for the wife of a
+great physician; and he had given a million dollars or so to build a
+hospital, and had provided that it should be the finest in the
+world, and that this physician should go abroad for three years to
+study the institutions of Europe! No conventions counted with this
+old man--if he saw a woman whom he wanted, he would ask for her; and
+women in Society felt that it was an honour to be his mistress. Not
+long after this a man who voiced the anguish of a mighty nation was
+turned out of several hotels in New York because he was not married
+according to the laws of South Dakota; but this other man would take
+a woman to any hotel in the city, and no one would dare oppose him!
+
+And there was another, a great traction king, who kept mistresses in
+Chicago and Paris and London, as well as in New York; he had one
+just around the corner from his palatial home, and had an
+underground passage leading to it. And the Major told with glee how
+he had shown this to a friend, and the latter had remarked, "I'm too
+stout to get through there."--"I know it," replied the other, "else
+I shouldn't have told you!"
+
+And so it went. One of the richest men in New York was a sexual
+degenerate, with half a dozen women on his hands all the time; he
+would send them cheques, and they would use these to blackmail him.
+This man's young wife had been shut up in a closet for twenty-four
+hours by her mother to compel her to marry him.--And then there was
+the charming tale of how he had gone away upon a mission of state,
+and had written long messages full of tender protestations, and
+given them to a newspaper correspondent to cable home "to his wife."
+The correspondent had thought it such a touching example of conjugal
+devotion that he told about it at a dinner-party when he came back;
+and he was struck by the sudden silence that fell. "The messages had
+been sent to a code address!" chuckled the Major. "And every one at
+the table knew who had got them!"
+
+A few days after this, Montague received a telephone message from
+Siegfried Harvey, who said that he wanted to see him about a matter
+of business. He asked him to lunch at the Noonday Club; and Montague
+went--though not without a qualm. For it was in the Fidelity
+Building, the enemy's bailiwick: a magnificent structure with halls
+of white marble, and a lavish display of bronze. It occurred to
+Montague that somewhere in this structure people were at work
+preparing an answer to his charges; he wondered what they were
+saying.
+
+The two had lunch, talking meanwhile about the coming events in
+Society, and about politics and wars; and when the coffee was served
+and they were alone in the room, Harvey settled his big frame back
+in his chair, and began:--
+
+"In the first place," he said, "I must explain that I've something
+to say that is devilish hard to get into. I'm so much afraid of your
+jumping to a wrong conclusion in the middle of it--I'd like you to
+agree to listen for a minute or two before you think at all."
+
+"All right," said Montague, with a smile. "Fire away."
+
+And at once the other became grave. "You've taken a case against
+this company," he said. "And Ollie has talked enough to me to make
+me understand that you've done a plucky thing, and that you must be
+everlastingly sick of hearing from cowardly people who want you to
+drop it. I'd be very sorry to be classed with them, for even a
+moment; and you must understand at the outset that I haven't a
+particle of interest in the company, and that it wouldn't matter to
+me if I had. I don't try to use my friends in business, and I don't
+let money count with me in my social life. I made up my mind to take
+the risk of speaking to you about this case, simply because I happen
+to know one or two things about it that I thought you didn't know.
+And if that's so, you are at a great disadvantage; but in any case,
+please understand that I have no motive but friendship, and so if I
+am butting in, excuse me."
+
+When Siegfried Harvey talked, he looked straight at one with his
+clear blue eyes, and there was no doubting his honesty. "I am very
+much obliged to you," said Montague. "Pray tell me what you have to
+say."
+
+"All right," said the other. "It can be done very quickly. You have
+taken a case which involves a great many sacrifices upon your part.
+And I wondered if it had ever occurred to you to ask whether you
+might not be taken advantage of?"
+
+"How do you mean?" asked Montague.
+
+"Do you know the people who are behind you?" inquired the other. "Do
+you know them well enough to be sure what are their motives in the
+case?"
+
+Montague hesitated, and thought. "No," he said, "I couldn't say that
+I do."
+
+"Then it's just as I thought," replied Harvey. "I've been watching
+you--you are an honest man, and you're putting yourself to no end of
+trouble from the best of motives. And unless I'm mistaken, you're
+being used by men who are not honest, and whom you wouldn't work
+with if you knew their purposes."
+
+"What purposes could they have?"
+
+"There are several possibilities. In the first place, it might be a
+'strike' suit--somebody who is hoping to be bought off for a big
+price. That is what nearly every one thinks is the case. But I
+don't; I think it's more likely some one within the company who is
+trying to put the administration in a hole."
+
+"Who could that be?" exclaimed Montague, amazed.
+
+"I don't know that. I'm not familiar enough with the situation in
+the Fidelity--it's changing all the time. I simply know that there
+are factions struggling for the control of it, and hating each other
+furiously, and ready to do anything in the world to cripple each
+other. You know that their forty millions of surplus gives an
+enormous power; I'd rather be able to swing forty millions in the
+Street than to have ten millions in my own right. And so the giants
+are fighting for the control of those companies; and you can't tell
+who's in and who's out--you can never know the real meaning of
+anything that happens in the struggle. All that you can be sure of
+is that the game is crooked from end to end, and that nothing that
+happens in it is what it pretends to be."
+
+Montague listened, half dazed, and feeling as if the ground he stood
+on were caving beneath his feet.
+
+"What do you know about those who brought you this case?" asked his
+companion, suddenly.
+
+"Not much," he said weakly.
+
+Harvey hesitated a moment. "Understand me, please," he said. "I've
+no wish to pry into your affairs, and if you don't care to say any
+more, I'll understand it perfectly. But I've heard it said that the
+man who started the thing was Ellis."
+
+Montague, in his turn, hesitated; then he said, "That is
+correct--between you and me."
+
+"Very good," said Harvey, "and that is what made me suspicious. Do
+you know anything about Ellis?"
+
+"I didn't," said the other. "I've heard a little since."
+
+"I can fancy so," said Harvey. "And I can tell you that Ellis is
+mixed up in life-insurance matters in all sorts of dubious ways. It
+seems to me that you have reason to be most careful where you follow
+him."
+
+Montague sat with his hands clenched and his brows knitted. His
+friend's talk had been like a flash of lightning; it revealed huge
+menacing forms in the darkness about him. All the structure of his
+hopes seemed to be tottering; his case, that he had worked so hard
+over--his fifty thousand dollars that he had been so proud of! Could
+it be that he had been tricked, and had made a fool of himself?
+
+"How in the world am I to know?" he cried.
+
+"That is more than I can tell," said his friend. "And for that
+matter, I'm not sure that you could do anything now. All that I
+could do was to warn you what sort of ground you were treading on,
+so that you could watch out for yourself in future."
+
+Montague thanked him heartily for that service; and then he went
+back to his office, and spent the rest of the day pondering the
+matter.
+
+What he had heard had made a vast change in things. Before it
+everything had seemed simple; and now nothing was clear. He was
+overwhelmed with a sense of the utter futility of his efforts; he
+was trying to build a house upon quicksands. There was nowhere a
+solid spot upon which he could set his foot. There was nowhere any
+truth--there were only contending powers who used the phrases of
+truth for their own purposes! And now he saw himself as the world
+saw him,--a party to a piece of trickery,--a knave like all the
+rest. He felt that he had been tripped up at the first step in his
+career.
+
+The conclusion of the whole matter was that he took an afternoon
+train for Albany; and the next morning he talked the matter out with
+the Judge. Montague had realized the need of going slowly, for,
+after all, he had no definite ground for suspicion; and so, very
+tactfully and cautiously he explained, that it had come to his ears
+that many people believed there were interested parties behind the
+suit of Mr. Hasbrook; and that this had made him uncomfortable, as
+he knew nothing whatever about his client. He had come to ask the
+Judge's advice in the matter.
+
+No one could have taken the thing more graciously than did the great
+man; he was all kindness and tact. In the first place, he said, he
+had warned him in advance that enemies would attack him and slander
+him, and that all kinds of subtle means would be used to influence
+him. And he must understand that these rumours were part of such a
+campaign; it made no difference how good a friend had brought them
+to him--how could he know who had brought them to that friend?
+
+The Judge ventured to hope that nothing that anyone might say could
+influence him to believe that he, the Judge, would have advised him
+to do anything improper.
+
+"No," said Montague, "but can you assure me that there are no
+interested parties behind Mr. Hasbrook?"
+
+"Interested parties?" asked the other.
+
+"I mean people connected with the Fidelity or other insurance
+companies."
+
+"Why, no," said the Judge; "I certainly couldn't assure you of
+that."
+
+Montague looked surprised. "You mean you don't know?"
+
+"I mean," was the answer, "that I wouldn't feel at liberty to tell,
+even if I did know."
+
+And Montague stared at him; he had not been prepared for this
+frankness.
+
+"It never occurred to me," the other continued, "that that was a
+matter which could make any difference to you."
+
+"Why--" began Montague.
+
+"Pray understand me, Mr. Montague," said the Judge. "It seemed to me
+that this was obviously a just case, and it seemed so to you. And
+the only other matter that I thought you had a right to be assured
+of was that it was seriously meant. Of that I felt assured. It did
+not seem to me of any importance that there might be interested
+individuals behind Mr. Hasbrook. Let us suppose, for instance, that
+there were some parties who had been offended by the administration
+of the Fidelity, and were anxious to punish it. Could a lawyer be
+justified in refusing to take a just case, simply because he knew of
+such private motives? Or, let us assume an extreme case--a
+factional fight within the company, as you say has been suggested to
+you. Well, that would be a case of thieves falling out; and is there
+any reason why the public should not reap the advantage of such a
+situation? The men inside the company are the ones who would know
+first what is going on; and if you saw a chance to use such an
+advantage in a just fight--would you not do it?"
+
+So the Judge went on, gracious and plausible--and so subtly and
+exquisitely corrupting! Underneath his smoothly flowing sentences
+Montague could feel the presence of one fundamental thought; it was
+unuttered and even unhinted, but it pervaded the Judge's discourse as a
+mood pervades a melody. The young lawyer had got a big fee, and he had a
+nice easy case; and as a man of the world, he could not really wish to
+pry into it too closely. He had heard gossip, and felt that his
+reputation required him to be disturbed; but he had come, simply to be
+smoothed down the back and made at ease, and enabled to keep his fee
+without losing his good opinion of himself.
+
+Montague quit, because he concluded that it was not worth while to
+try to make himself understood. After all, he was in the case now,
+and there was nothing to be gained by a breach. Two things he felt
+that he had made certain by the interview--first, that his client
+was a "dummy," and that it was really a case of thieves falling out;
+and second, that he had no guarantee that he might not be left in
+the lurch at any moment--except the touching confidence of the
+Judge in some parties unknown.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+
+
+
+Montague came home with his mind made up that there was nothing he
+could do except to be more careful next time. For this mistake he
+would have to pay the price.
+
+He had still to learn what the full price was. The day after his
+return there came a caller--Mr. John C. Burton, read his card. He
+proved to be a canvassing agent for the company which published the
+scandal-sheet of Society. They were preparing a de luxe account of
+the prominent families of New York; a very sumptuous affair, with a
+highly exclusive set of subscribers, at the rate of fifteen hundred
+dollars per set. Would Mr. Montague by any chance care to have his
+family included?
+
+And Mr. Montague explained politely that he was a comparative
+stranger in New York, and would not belong properly in such a
+volume. But the agent was not satisfied with this. There might be
+reasons for his subscribing, even so; there might be special cases;
+Mr. Montague, as a stranger, might not realize the important nature
+of the offer; after he had consulted his friends, he might change
+his mind--and so on. As Montague listened to this series of broad
+hints, and took in the meaning of them, the colour mounted, to his
+cheeks--until at last he rose abruptly and bid the man good
+afternoon.
+
+But then as he sat alone, his anger died away, and there was left
+only discomfort and uneasiness. And three or four days later he
+bought another issue of the paper, and sure enough, there was a new
+paragraph!
+
+He stood on the street-corner reading it. The social war was raging
+hotly, it said; and added that Mrs. de Graffenried was threatening
+to take up the cause of the strangers. Then it went on to picture a
+certain exquisite young man of fashion who was rushing about among
+his friends to apologize for his brother's indiscretions. Also, it
+said, there was a brilliant social queen, wife of a great banker,
+who had taken up the cudgels.--And then came three sentences more,
+which made the blood leap like flame into Montague's cheeks:
+
+"There have not been lacking comments upon her suspicious ardour. It
+has been noticed that since the advent of the romantic-looking
+Southerner, this restless lady's interest in the Babists and the
+trance mediums has waned; and now Society is watching for the
+denouement of a most interesting situation."
+
+To Montague these words came like a blow in the face. He went on
+down the street, half dazed. It seemed to him the blackest shame
+that New York had yet shown him. He clenched his fists as he walked,
+whispering to himself, "The scoundrels!"
+
+He realized instantly that he was helpless. Down home one would
+have thrashed the editor of such a paper; but here he was in the
+wolves' own country, and he could do nothing. He went back to his
+office, and sat down at the desk.
+
+"My dear Mrs. Winnie," he wrote. "I have just read the enclosed
+paragraph, and I cannot tell you how profoundly pained I am that
+your kindness to us should have made you the victim of such an
+outrage. I am quite helpless in the matter, except to enable you to
+avoid any further annoyance. Please believe me when I say that we
+shall all of us understand perfectly if you think that we had best
+not meet again at present; and that this will make no difference
+whatever in our feelings."
+
+This letter Montague sent by a messenger; and then he went home.
+Perhaps ten minutes after he arrived, the telephone bell rang--and
+there was Mrs. Winnie.
+
+"Your note has come," she said. "Have you an. engagement this
+evening?"
+
+"No," he answered.
+
+"Well," she said, "will you come to dinner?"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he protested.
+
+"Please come," she said. "Please!"
+
+"I hate to have you--" he began.
+
+"I wish you to come!" she said, a third time.
+
+So he answered, "Very well."
+
+He went; and when he entered the house, the butler led him to the
+elevator, saying, "Mrs. Duval says will you please come upstairs,
+sir." And there Mrs. Winnie met him, with flushed cheeks and eager
+countenance.
+
+She was even lovelier than usual, in a soft cream-coloured gown, and
+a crimson rose in her bosom. "I'm all alone to-night," she said, "so
+we'll dine in my apartments. We'd be lost in that big room
+downstairs."
+
+She led him into her drawing-room, where great armfuls of new roses
+scattered their perfume. There was a table set for two, and two big
+chairs before the fire which blazed in the hearth. Montague noticed
+that her hand trembled a little, as she motioned him to one of them;
+he could read her excitement in her whole aspect. She was flinging
+down the gauntlet to her enemies!
+
+"Let us eat first and talk afterward," she said, hurriedly. "We'll
+be happy for a while, anyway."
+
+And she went on to be happy, in her nervous and eager way. She
+talked about the new opera which was to be given, and about Mrs. de
+Graffenried's new entertainment, and about Mrs. Ridgley-Clieveden's
+ball; also about the hospital for crippled children which she wanted
+to build, and about Mrs. Vivie Patton's rumoured divorce. And,
+meantime, the sphinx-like attendants amoved here and there, and the
+dinner came and went. They took their coffee in the big chairs by
+the fire; and the table was swept clear, and the servants vanished,
+closing the doors behind them.
+
+Then Montague set his cup aside, and sat gazing sombrely into the
+fire. And Mrs. Winnie watched him. There was a long silence.
+
+Suddenly he heard her voice. "Do you find it so easy to give up our
+friendship?" she asked.
+
+"I didn't think about it's being easy or hard," he answered. "I
+simply thought of protecting you."
+
+"And do you think that my friends are nothing to me?" she demanded.
+"Have I so very many as that?" And she clenched her hands with a
+sudden passionate gesture. "Do you think that I will let those
+wretches frighten me into doing what they want? I'll not give in to
+them--not for anything that Lelia can do!"
+
+A look of perplexity crossed Montague's face. "Lelia?" he asked.
+
+"Mrs. Robbie Walling!" she cried. "Don't you suppose that she is
+responsible for that paragraph?"
+
+Montague started.
+
+"That's the way they fight their battles!" cried Mrs. Winnie. "They
+pay money to those scoundrels to be protected. And then they send
+nasty gossip about people they wish to injure."
+
+"You don't mean that!" exclaimed the man.
+
+"Of course I do," cried she. "I know that it's true! I know that
+Robbie Walling paid fifteen thousand dollars for some trumpery
+volumes that they got out! And how do you suppose the paper gets its
+gossip?"
+
+"I didn't know," said Montague. "But I never dreamed--"
+
+"Why," exclaimed Mrs. Winnie, "their mail is full of blue and gold
+monogram stationery! I've known guests to sit down and write gossip
+about their hostesses in their own homes. Oh, you've no idea of
+people's vileness!"
+
+"I had some idea," said Montague, after a pause.--"That was why I
+wished to protect you."
+
+"I don't wish to be protected!" she cried, vehemently. "I'll not
+give them the satisfaction. They wish to make me give you up, and
+I'll not do it, for anything they can say!"
+
+Montague sat with knitted brows, gazing into the fire. "When I read
+that paragraph," he said slowly. "I could not bear to think of the
+unhappiness it might cause you. I thought of how much it might
+disturb your husband--"
+
+"My husband!" echoed Mrs. Winnie.
+
+There was a hard tone in her voice, as she went on. "He will fix it
+up with them," she said,--"that's his way. There will be nothing
+more published, you can feel sure of that."
+
+Montague sat in silence. That was not the reply he had expected, and
+it rather disconcerted him.
+
+"If that were all--" he said, with hesitation. "But I could not
+know. I thought that the paragraph might disturb him for another
+reason--that it might be a cause of unhappiness between you and
+him--"
+
+There was a pause. "You don't understand," said Mrs. Winnie, at
+last.
+
+Without turning his head he could see her hands, as they lay upon
+her knees. She was moving them nervously. "You don't understand,"
+she repeated.
+
+When she began to' speak again, it was in a low, trembling voice. "I
+must tell you," she said; "I have felt sure that you did not know."
+
+There was another pause. She hesitated, and her hands trembled; then
+suddenly she'hurried on.--"I wanted you to know. I do not love my
+husband. I am not bound to him. He has nothing to say in my
+affairs."
+
+Montague sat rigid, turned to stone. He was half dazed by the words.
+He could feel Mrs. Winnie's gaze fixed upon him; and he could feel
+the hot flush that spread over her throat and cheeks.
+
+"It--it was not fair for you not to know," she whispered. And her
+voice died away, and there was again a silence. Montague was dumb.
+
+"Why don't you say something?" she panted, at last; and he caught
+the note of anguish in her voice. Then he turned and stared at her,
+and saw her tightly clenched hands, and the quivering of her lips.
+
+He was shocked quite beyond speech. And he saw her bosom heaving
+quickly, and saw the tears start into her eyes. Suddenly she sank
+down, and covered her face with her hands and broke into frantic
+sobbing.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie!" he cried; and started to his feet.
+
+Her outburst continued. He saw that she was shuddering violently.
+"Then you don't love me!" she wailed.
+
+He stood trembling and utterly bewildered. "I'm so sorry!" he
+whispered. "Oh, Mrs. Winnie--I had no idea--"
+
+"I know it! I know it!" she cried. "It's my fault! I was a fool! I
+knew it all the time. But I hoped--I thought you might, if you
+knew--"
+
+And then again her tears choked her; she was convulsed with pain and
+grief.
+
+Montague stood watching her, helpless with distress. She caught hold
+of the arm of the chair, convulsively, and he put his hand upon
+hers.
+
+"Mrs. Winnie--" he began.
+
+But she jerked her hand away and hid it. "No, no!" she cried, in
+terror. "Don't touch me!"
+
+And suddenly she looked up at him, stretching out her arms. "Don't
+you understand that I love you?" she exclaimed. "You despise me for
+it, I know--but I can't help it. I will tell you, even so! It's the
+only satisfaction I can have. I have always loved you! And I
+thought--I thought it was only that you didn't understand. I was
+ready to brave all the world--I didn't care who knew it, or what
+anybody said. I thought we could be happy--I thought I could be free
+at last. Oh, you've no idea how unhappy I am--and how lonely--and
+how I longed to escape! And I believed that you--that you might--"
+
+And then the tears gushed into Mrs. Winnie's eyes again, and her
+voice became the voice of a little child.
+
+"Don't you think that you might come to love me?" she wailed.
+
+Her voice shook Montague, so that he trembled to the depths of him.
+But his face only became the more grave.
+
+"You despise me because I told you!" she exclaimed.
+
+"No, no, Mrs. Winnie," he said. "I could not possibly do that--"
+
+"Then--then why--" she whispered.--"Would it be so hard to love me?"
+
+"It would be very easy," he said, "but I dare not let myself."
+
+She looked at him piteously. "You are so cold--so merciless!" she
+cried.
+
+He answered nothing, and she sat trembling. "Have you ever loved a
+woman?" she asked.
+
+There was a long pause. He sat in the chair again. "Listen, Mrs.
+Winnie"--he began at last.
+
+"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed. "Call me Evelyn--please."
+
+"Very well," he said--"Evelyn. I did not intend to make you
+unhappy--if I had had any idea, I should never have seen you again.
+I will tell you--what I have never told anybody before. Then you
+will understand."
+
+He sat for a few moments, in a sombre reverie.
+
+"Once," he said, "when I was young, I loved a woman--a quadroon
+girl. That was in New Orleans; it is a custom we have there. They
+have a world of their own, and we take care of them, and of the
+children; and every one knows about it. I was very young, only about
+eighteen; and she was even younger. But I found out then what women
+are, and what love means to them. I saw how they could suffer. And
+then she died in childbirth--the child died, too."
+
+Montague's voice was very low; and Mrs. Winnie sat with her hands
+clasped, and her eyes riveted upon his face. "I saw her die," he
+said. "And that was all. I have never forgotten it. I made up my
+mind then that I had done wrong; and that never again while I lived
+would I offer my love to a woman, unless I could devote all my life
+to her. So you see, I am afraid of love. I do not wish to suffer so
+much, or to make others suffer. And when anyone speaks to me as you
+did, it brings it all back to me--it makes me shrink up and wither."
+
+He paused, and the other caught her breath.
+
+"Understand me," she said, her voice trembling. "I would not ask any
+pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay--I am
+not afraid to suffer."
+
+"I do not wish you to suffer," he said. "I do not wish to take
+advantage of any woman."
+
+"But I have nothing in the world that I value!" she cried. "I would
+go away--I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I
+have no ties--no duties--"
+
+He interrupted her. "You have your husband--" he said.
+
+And she cried out in sudden fury--"My husband!"
+
+"Has no one ever told you about my husband?" she asked, after a
+pause.
+
+"No one," he said.
+
+"Well, ask them!" she exclaimed. "Meantime, take my word for it--I
+owe nothing to my husband."
+
+Montague sat staring into the fire. "But consider my own case," he
+said. "_I_ have duties--my mother and my cousin--"
+
+"Oh, don't say any more!" cried the woman, with a break in her
+voice. "Say that you don't love me--that is all there is to say!
+And you will never respect me again! I have been a fool--I have
+ruined everything! I have flung away your friendship, that I might
+have kept!"
+
+"No," he said.
+
+But she rushed on, vehemently--"At least, I have been honest--give
+me credit for that! That is how all my troubles come--I say what is
+in my mind, and I pay the price for my blunders. It is not as if I
+were cold and calculating--so don't despise me altogether."
+
+"I couldn't despise you," said Montague. "I am simply pained,
+because I have made you unhappy. And I did not mean to."
+
+Mrs. Winnie sat staring ahead of her in a sombre reverie. "Don't
+think any more about it," she said, bitterly. "I will get over it. I
+am not worth troubling about. Don't you suppose I know how you feel
+about this world that I live in? And I'm part of it--I beat my
+wings, and try to get out, but I can't. I'm in it, and I'll stay in
+till I die; I might as well give up. I thought that I could steal a
+little joy--you have no idea how hungry I am for a little joy! You
+have no idea how lonely I am! And how empty my life is! You talk
+about your fear of making me unhappy; it's a grim jest--but I'll
+give you permission, if you can! I'll ask nothing--no promises, no
+sacrifices! I'll take all the risks, and pay all the penalties!"
+
+She smiled through her tears, a sardonic smile. He was watching her,
+and she turned again, and their eyes met; again he saw the blood
+mount from her throat to her cheeks. At the same time came the old
+stirring of the wild beasts within him. He knew that the less time
+he spent in sympathizing with Mrs. Winnie, the better for both of
+them.
+
+He had started to rise, and words of farewell were on his lips; when
+suddenly there came a knock upon the door.
+
+Mrs. Winnie sprang to her feet. "Who is that?" she cried.
+
+And the door opened, and Mr. Duval entered.
+
+"Good evening," he said pleasantly, and came toward her.
+
+Mrs. Winnie flushed angrily, and stared at him. "Why do you come
+here unannounced?" she cried.
+
+"I apologize," he said--"but I found this in my mail--"
+
+And Montague, in the act of rising to greet him, saw that he had the
+offensive clipping in his hand. Then he saw Duval give a start, and
+realized that the man had not been aware of his presence in the
+room.
+
+Duval gazed from Montague to his wife, and noticed for the first
+time her tears, and her agitation. "I beg pardon," he said. "I am
+evidently trespassing."
+
+"You most certainly are," responded Mrs. Winnie.
+
+He made a move to withdraw; but before he could take a step, she had
+brushed past him and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
+
+And Duval stared after her, and then he stared at Montague, and
+laughed. "Well! well! well!" he said.
+
+Then, checking his amusement, he added, "Good evening, sir."
+
+"Good evening," said Montague.
+
+He was trembling slightly, and Duval noticed it; he smiled genially.
+"This is the sort of material out of which scenes are made," said
+he. "But I beg you not to be embarrassed--we won't have any scenes."
+
+Montague could think of nothing to say to that.
+
+"I owe Evelyn an apology," the other continued. "It was entirely an
+accident--this clipping, you see. I do not intrude, as a rule. You
+may make yourself at home in future."
+
+Montague flushed scarlet at the words.
+
+"Mr. Duval," he said, "I have to assure you that you are mistaken--"
+
+The other stared at him. "Oh, come, come!" he said, laughing. "Let
+us talk as men of the world."
+
+"I say that you are mistaken," said Montague again.
+
+The other shrugged his shoulders. "Very well," he said genially. "As
+you please. I simply wish to make matters clear to you, that's all.
+I wish you joy with Evelyn. I say nothing about her--you love her.
+Suffice it that I've had her, and I'm tired of her; the field is
+yours. But keep her out of mischief, and don't let her make a fool
+of herself in public, if you can help it. And don't let her spend
+too much money--she costs me a million a year already.--Good
+evening, Mr. Montague."
+
+And he went out. Montague, who stood like a statue, could hear him
+chuckling all the way down the hall.
+
+At last Montague himself started to leave. But he heard Mrs. Winnie
+coming back, and he waited for her. She came in and shut the door,
+and turned toward him.
+
+"What did he say?" she asked.
+
+"He--was very pleasant," said Montague.
+
+And she smiled grimly. "I went out on purpose," she said." I wanted
+you to see him--to see what sort of a man he is, and how much 'duty'
+I owe him! You saw, I guess."
+
+"Yes, I saw," said he.
+
+Then again he started to go. But she took him by the arm. "Come and
+talk to me," she said. "Please!"
+
+And she led him back to the fire. "Listen," she said. "He will not
+come here again. He is going away to-night--I thought he had gone
+already. And he does not return for a month or two. There will be no
+one to disturb us again."
+
+She came close to him and gazed up into his face. She had wiped her
+tears away, and her happy look had come back to her; she was
+lovelier than ever.
+
+"I took you by surprise," she said, smiling. "You didn't know what
+to make of it. And I was ashamed--I thought you would hate me. But
+I'm not going to be unhappy any more--I don't care at all. I'm glad
+that I spoke!"
+
+And Mrs. Winnie put up her hands and took him by the lapels of his
+coat. "I know that you love me," she said; "I saw it in your eyes
+just now, before he came in: It is simply that you won't let
+yourself go. You have so many doubts and so many fears. But you will
+see that I am right; you will learn to love me. You won't be able to
+help it--I shall be so kind and good! Only don't go away--"
+
+Mrs. Winnie was so close to him that her breath touched his cheek.
+"Promise me, dear," she whispered--"promise me that you won't stop
+seeing me--that you will learn to love me. I can't do without you!"
+
+Montague was trembling in every nerve; he felt like a man caught in
+a net. Mrs. Winnie had had everything she ever wanted in her life;
+and now she wanted him! It was impossible for her to face any other
+thought.
+
+"Listen," he began gently.
+
+But she saw the look of resistance in his eyes, and she cried "No
+no--don't! I cannot do without you! Think! I love you! What more can
+I say to you? I cannot believe that you don't care for me--you HAVE
+been fond of me--I have seen it in your face. Yet you're afraid of
+me--why? Look at me--am I not beautiful to look at I And is a
+woman's love such a little thing--can you fling it away and trample
+upon it so easily? Why do you wish to go? Don't you understand--no
+one knows we are here--no one cares! You can come here whenever you
+wish--this is my place--mine! And no one will think anything about
+it. They all do it. There is nothing to be afraid of!"
+
+She put her arms about him, and clung to him so that he could feel
+the beating of her heart upon his bosom. "Oh, don't leave me here
+alone to-night!" she cried.
+
+To Montague it was like the ringing of an alarm-bell deep within his
+soul. "I must go," he said.
+
+She flung back her head and stared at him, and he saw the terror and
+anguish in her eyes. "No, no!" she cried, "don't say that to me! I
+can't bear it--oh, see what I have done! Look at me! Have mercy on
+me!"
+
+"Mrs. Winnie," he said, "you must have mercy on ME!"
+
+But he only felt her clasp him more tightly. He took her by the
+wrists, and with quiet force he broke her hold upon him; her hands
+fell to her sides, and she stared at him, aghast.
+
+"I must go," he said, again.
+
+And he started toward the door. She followed him dumbly with her
+eyes.
+
+"Good-bye," he said. He knew that there was no use of any more
+words; his sympathy had been like oil upon flames. He saw her move,
+and as he opened the door, she flung herself down in a chair and
+burst into frantic weeping. He shut the door softly and went away.
+
+He found his way down the stairs, and got his hat and coat, and went
+out, unseen by anyone. He walked down the Avenue-and there suddenly
+was the giant bulk of St. Cecilia's lifting itself into the sky. He
+stopped and looked at it--it seemed a great tumultuous surge of
+emotion. And for the first time in his life it seemed to him that he
+understood why men had put together that towering heap of stone!
+
+Then he went on home.
+
+He found Alice dressing for a ball, and Oliver waiting for her. He
+went to his room, and took off his coat; and Oliver came up to him,
+and with a sudden gesture reached over to his shoulder, and held up
+a trophy.
+
+He drew it out carefully, and measured the length of it, smiling
+mischievously in the meanwhile. Then he held it up to the light, to
+see the colour of it.
+
+"A black one!" he cried. "Coal black!" And he looked at his brother,
+with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "Oh, Allan!" he chuckled.
+
+Montague said nothing.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+
+
+
+
+It was about a week from the beginning of Lent, when there would be
+a lull in the city's gaieties, and Society would shift the scene of
+its activities to the country clubs, and to California and Hot
+Springs and Palm Beach. Mrs. Caroline. Smythe invited Alice to join
+her in an expedition to the last-named place; but Montague
+interposed, because he saw that Alice had been made pale and nervous
+by three months of night-and-day festivities. Also, a trip to
+Florida would necessitate ten or fifteen thousand dollars' worth of
+new clothes; and these would not do for the summer, it
+appeared--they would be faded and passe by that time.
+
+So Alice settled back to rest; but she was too popular to be let
+alone--a few days later came another invitation, this time from
+General Prentice and his family. They were planning a railroad
+trip--to be gone for a month; they would have a private train, and
+twenty five people in the party, and would take in California and
+Mexico--"swinging round the circle," as it was called. Alice was
+wild to go, and Montague gave his consent. Afterward he learned to
+his dismay that Charlie Carter was one of those invited, and he
+would have liked to have Alice withdraw; but she did not wish to,
+and he could not make up his mind to insist.
+
+These train trips were the very latest diversion of the well-to-do;
+a year ago no one had heard of them, and now fifty parties were
+leaving New York every month. You might see a dozen of such
+hotel-trains at once at Palm Beach; there were some people who lived
+on board all the time, having special tracks built for them in
+pleasant locations wherever they stopped. One man had built a huge
+automobile railroad car, shaped like a ram, and having accommodation
+for sixty people. The Prentice train had four cars, one of them a
+"library car," finished in St. lago mahogany, and provided with a
+pipe-organ. Also there were bath-rooms and a barber-shop, and a
+baggage car with two autos on board for exploring purposes.
+
+Since the episode of Mrs. Winnie, Oliver had apparently concluded
+that his brother was one of the initiated. Not long afterward he
+permitted him to a glimpse into that side of his life which had been
+hinted at in the songs at the bachelors' dinner.
+
+Oliver had planned to take Betty Wyman to the theatre; but Betty's
+grandfather had come home from the West unexpectedly, and so Oliver
+came round and took his brother instead.
+
+"I was going to play a joke on her," he said. "We'll go to see one
+of my old flames."
+
+It was a translation of a French farce, in which the marital
+infidelities of two young couples were the occasion of many mishaps.
+One of the characters was a waiting-maid, who was in love with a
+handsome young soldier, and was pursued by the husband of one of the
+couples. It was a minor part, but the young Jewish girl who played
+it had so many pretty graces and such a merry laugh that she made it
+quite conspicuous. When the act was over, Oliver asked him whose
+acting he liked best, and he named her.
+
+"Come and be introduced to her," Oliver said.
+
+He opened a door near their box. "How do you do, Mr. Wilson," he
+said, nodding to a man in evening dress, who stood near by. Then he
+turned toward the dressing-rooms, and went down a corridor, and
+knocked upon one of the doors. A voice called, "Come in," and he
+opened the door; and there was a tiny room, with odds and ends of
+clothing scattered about, and the girl, clad in corsets and
+underskirt, sitting before a mirror. "Hello, Rosalie," said he.
+
+And she dropped her powder-puff, and sprang up with a cry--"Ollie!"
+'In a moment more she had her arms about his neck.
+
+"Oh, you wretched man," she cried. "Why don't you come to see me any
+more? Didn't you get my letters?"
+
+"I got some," said he. "But I've been busy. This is my brother, Mr.
+Allan Montague."
+
+The other nodded to Montague, and said, "How do you do?"--but
+without letting go of Oliver. "Why don't you come to see me?" she
+exclaimed.
+
+"There, there, now!" said Oliver, laughing good-naturedly. "I
+brought my brother along so that you'd have to behave yourself."
+
+"I don't care about your brother!" exclaimed the girl, without even
+giving him another glance. Then she held Oliver at arm's length, and
+gazed into his face. "How can you be so cruel to me?" she asked.
+
+"I told you I was busy," said he, cheerfully. "And I gave you fair
+warning, didn't I? How's Toodles?"
+
+"Oh, Toodles is in raptures," said Rosalie. "She's got a new
+fellow." And then, her manner changing to one of merriment, she
+added: "Oh, Ollie! He gave her a diamond brooch! And she looks like
+a countess--she's hoping for a chance to wear it in a part!"
+
+"You've seen Toodles," said Oliver, to his brother "She's in 'The
+Kaliph of Kamskatka.'".
+
+"They're going on the road next week," said Rosalie. "And then I'll
+be all alone." She added, in a pleading voice: "Do, Ollie, be a good
+boy and take us out to-night. Think how long it's been since I've
+seen you! Why, I've been so good I don't know myself in the
+looking-glass. Please, Ollie!"
+
+"All right," said he, "maybe I will."
+
+"I'm not going to let you get away from me," she cried. "I'll come
+right over the footlights after you!"
+
+"You'd better get dressed," said Oliver. "You'll be late."
+
+He pushed aside a tray with some glasses on it, and seated himself
+upon a trunk; and Montague stood in a corner and watched Rosalie,
+while she powdered and painted herself, and put on an airy summer
+dress, and poured out a flood of gossip about "Toodles" and
+"Flossie" and "Grace" and some others. A few minutes later came a
+stentorian voice in the hallway: "Second act!" There were more
+embraces, and then Ollie brushed the powder from his coat, and went
+away laughing.
+
+Montague stood for a few moments in the wings, watching the
+scene-shifters putting the final touches to the new set, and the
+various characters taking their positions. Then they went out to
+their seats. "Isn't she a jewel?" asked Oliver.
+
+"She's very pretty," the other admitted.
+
+"She came right out of the slums," said Oliver--"over on Rivington
+Street. That don't happen very often."
+
+"How did you come to know her?" asked his brother.
+
+"Oh, I picked her out. She was in a chorus, then. I got her first
+speaking part."
+
+"Did you?" said the other, in surprise. "How did you do that?"
+
+"Oh, a little money," was the reply. "Money will do most anything.
+And I was in love with her--that's how I got her."
+
+Montague said nothing, but sat in thought.
+
+"We'll take her out to supper and make her happy," added Oliver, as
+the curtain started up. "She's lonesome, I guess. You see, I
+promised Betty I'd reform."
+
+All through that scene and the next one Rosalie acted for them; she
+was so full of verve and merriment that there was quite a stir in
+the audience, and she got several rounds of applause. Then, when the
+play was over, she extricated herself from the arms of the handsome
+young soldier, and fled to her dressing-room, and when Oliver and
+Montague arrived, she was half ready for the street.
+
+They went up Broadway, and from a group of people coming out of
+another stage-entrance a young girl came to join them--an airy
+little creature with the face of a doll-baby, and a big hat with a
+purple feather on top. This was "Toodles"--otherwise known as Helen
+Gwynne; and she took Montague's arm, and they fell in behind Oliver
+and his companion.
+
+Montague wondered what one said to a chorus-girl on the way to
+supper. Afterward his brother told him that Toodles had been the
+wife of a real-estate agent in a little town in Oklahoma, and had
+run away from respectability and boredom with a travelling
+theatrical company. Now she was tripping her part in the musical
+comedy which Montague had seen at Mrs. Lane's; and incidentally
+swearing devotion to a handsome young "wine-agent." She confided to
+Montague that she hoped the latter might see her that evening--he
+needed to be made jealous.
+
+"The Great White Way" was the name which people had given to this
+part of Broadway; and at the head of it stood a huge hotel with
+flaming lights, and gorgeous marble and bronze, and famous paintings
+upon the walls and ceilings inside. At this hour every one of its
+many dining-rooms was thronged with supper-parties, and the place
+rang with laughter and the rattle of dishes, and the strains of
+several orchestras which toiled heroically in the midst of the
+uproar. Here they found a table, and while Oliver was ordering
+frozen poached eggs and quails in aspic, Montague sat and gazed
+about him at the revelry, and listened to the prattle of the little
+ex-sempstress from Rivington Street.
+
+His brother had "got her," he said, by buying a speaking part in a
+play for her; and Montague recalled the orgies of which he had heard
+at the bachelors' dinner, and divined that here he was at the source
+of the stream from which they were fed. At the table next to them
+was a young Hebrew, whom Toodles pointed out as the son and heir of
+a great clothing manufacturer. He was "keeping" several girls, said
+she; and the queenly creature who was his vis-a-vis was one of the
+chorus in "The Maids of Mandalay." And a little way farther down the
+room was a boy with the face of an angel and the air of a prince of
+the blood--he had inherited a million and run away from school, and
+was making a name for himself in the Tenderloin. The pretty little
+girl all in green who was with him was Violet Pane, who was the
+artist's model in a new play that had made a hit. She had had a
+full-page picture of herself in the Sunday supplement of the
+"sporting paper" which was read here--so Rosalie remarked.
+
+"Why don't you ever do that for me?" she added, to Oliver.
+
+"Perhaps I will," said he, with a laugh. "What does it cost?"
+
+And when he learned that the honour could be purchased for only
+fifteen hundred dollars, he said, "I'll do it, if you'll be good."
+And from that time on the last trace of worriment vanished from the
+face and the conversation of Rosalie.
+
+As the champagne cocktails disappeared, she and Oliver became
+confidential. Then Montague turned to Toodles, to learn more about
+how the "second generation" was preying upon the women of the stage.
+
+"A chorus-girl got from ten to twenty dollars a week," said Toodles;
+and that was hardly enough to pay for her clothes. Her work was very
+uncertain--she would spend weeks at rehearsal, and then if the play
+failed, she would get nothing. It was a dog's life; and the keys of
+freedom and opportunity were in the keeping of rich men, who haunted
+the theatres and laid siege to the girls. They would send in notes
+to them, or fling bouquets to them, with cards, or perhaps money,
+hidden in them. There were millionaire artists and bohemians who
+kept a standing order for seats in the front rows at opening
+performances; they had accounts with florists and liverymen and
+confectioners, and gave carte blanche to scores of girls who lent
+themselves to their purposes. Sometimes they were in league with the
+managers, and a girl who held back would find her chances
+imperilled; sometimes these men would even finance shows to give a
+chance to some favourite.
+
+Afterward Toodles turned to listen to Oliver and his companion; and
+Montague sat back and gazed about the room. Next to him was a long
+table with a dozen, people at it; and he watched the buckets of
+champagne and the endless succession of fantastic-looking dishes of
+food, and the revellers, with their flushed faces and feverish eyes
+and loud laughter. Above all the tumult was the voice of the
+orchestra, calling, calling, like the storm wind upon the mountains;
+the music was wild and chaotic, and produced an indescribable sense
+of pain and confusion. When one realized that this same thing was
+going on in thousands of places in this district it seemed that here
+was a flood of dissipation that out-rivalled even that of Society.
+
+It was said that the hotels of New York, placed end to end, would
+reach all the way to London; and they took care of a couple of
+hundred thousand people a day--a horde which had come from all over
+the world in search of pleasure and excitement. There were
+sight-seers and "country customers" from forty-five states; ranchers
+from Texas, and lumber kings from Maine, and mining men from Nevada.
+At home they had reputations, and perhaps families to consider; but
+once plunged into the whirlpool of the Tenderloin, they were hidden
+from all>the world. They came with their pockets full of money; and
+hotels and restaurants, gambling-places and pool-rooms and
+brothels--all were lying in wait for them! So eager had the
+competition become that there was a tailoring establishment and a
+bank that were never closed the year round, except on Sunday.
+
+Everywhere about one's feet the nets of vice were spread. The head
+waiter in one's hotel was a "steerer" for a "dive," and the house
+detective was "touting" for a gambling-place. The handsome woman who
+smiled at one in "Peacock Alley" was a "madame"; the pleasant-faced
+young man who spoke to one at the bar was on the look-out for
+customers for a brokerage-house next door. Three times in a single
+day in another of these great caravanserais Montague was offered
+"short change"; and so his eyes were opened to a new kind of
+plundering. He was struck by the number of attendants in livery who
+swarmed about him, and to whom he gave tips for their services. He
+did not notice that the boys in the wash-rooms and coat-rooms could
+not speak a word of English; he could not know that they were
+searched every night, and had everything taken from them, and that
+the Greek who hired them had paid fifteen thousand dollars a year to
+the hotel for the privilege.
+
+So far had the specialization in evil proceeded that there were
+places of prostitution which did a telephone-business exclusively,
+and would send a woman in a cab to any address; and there were
+high-class assignation-houses, which furnished exquisite apartments
+and the services of maids and valets. And in this world of vice the
+modern doctrine of the equality of the sexes was fully recognized;
+there were gambling-houses and pool-rooms and opium-joints for
+women, and drinking-places which catered especially for them. In the
+"orange room" of one of the big hotels, you might see rich women of
+every rank and type, fingering the dainty leather-bound and
+gold-embossed wine cards. In this room alone were sold over ten
+thousand drinks every day; and the hotel paid a rental of a minion a
+year to the Devon estate. Not far away the Devons also owned
+negro-dives, where, in the early hours of the morning, you might see
+richly-gowned white women drinking.
+
+In this seething caldron of graft there were many strange ways of
+making money, and many strange and incredible types of human beings
+to be met. Once, in "Society," Montague had pointed out to him a
+woman who had been a "tattooed lady" in a circus; there was another
+who had been a confederate of gamblers upon the ocean steamships,
+and another who had washed dishes in a mining-camp. There was one of
+these great hotels whose proprietor had been a successful burglar;
+and a department-store whose owner had begun life as a "fence." In
+any crowd of these revellers you might have such strange creatures
+pointed out to you; a multimillionaire who sold rotten jam to the
+people; another who had invented opium soothing-syrup for babies; a
+convivial old gentleman who disbursed the "yellow dog fund" of
+several railroads; a handsome chauffeur who had run away with an
+heiress. 'Once a great scientist had invented a new kind of
+underwear, and had endeavoured to make it a gift to humanity; and
+here was a man who had seized upon it and made millions out of it!
+Here was a "trance medium," who had got a fortune out of an imbecile
+old manufacturer; here was a great newspaper proprietor, who
+published advertisements of assignations at a dollar a line; here
+was a cigar manufacturer, whose smug face was upon every
+billboard--he had begun as a tin manufacturer, and to avoid the
+duty, he had had his raw material cast in the form of statues, and
+brought them in as works of art!
+
+And terrible and vile as were the sources from which the fortunes
+had been derived, they were no viler nor more terrible than the
+purposes for which they had been spent. Mrs. Vivie Patton had hinted
+to Montague of a "Decameron Club," whose members gathered in each
+others' homes and vied in the telling of obscene stories; Strathcona
+had told him about another set of exquisite ladies and gentlemen who
+gave elaborate entertainments, in which they dressed in the costumes
+of bygone periods, and imitated famous characters in history, and
+the vices and orgies of courts and camps. One heard of "Cleopatra
+nights" on board of yachts at Newport. There was a certain Wall
+Street "plunger," who had begun life as a mining man in the West;
+and when his customers came in town, he would hire a trolley-car,
+and take a load of champagne and half a dozen prostitutes, and spend
+the night careering about the country. This man was now quartered in
+one of the great hotels in New York; and in his apartments he would
+have prize fights and chicken fights; and bloodthirsty exhibitions
+called "purring matches," in which men tried to bark each other's
+shins; or perhaps a "battle royal," with a diamond scarf-pin
+dangling from the ceiling, and half a dozen negroes in a
+free-for-all fight for the prize.
+
+No picture of the ways of the Metropolis would be complete which did
+not force upon the reluctant reader some realization of the extent
+to which new and hideous incitements to vice were spreading. To say
+that among the leisured classes such practices were raging like a
+pestilence would be no exaggeration. Ten years ago they were
+regarded with aversion by even the professionally vicious; but now
+the commonest prostitute accepted them as part of her fate. And
+there was no height to which they had not reached--ministers of
+state were enslaved by them; great fortunes and public events were
+controlled by them. In Washington there had been an ambassador whose
+natural daughter taught them in the houses of the great, until the
+scandal forced the minister's recall. Some of these practices were
+terrible in their effects, completely wrecking the victim in a short
+time; and physicians who studied their symptoms would be horrified
+to see them appearing in the homes of their friends.
+
+And from New York, the centre of the wealth and culture of the
+country, these vices spread to every corner of it. Theatrical
+companies and travelling salesmen carried them; visiting merchants
+and sightseers acquired them. Pack-pedlers sold vile pictures and
+books--the manufacturing or importing of which was now quite an
+industry; one might read catalogues printed abroad in English, the
+contents of which would make one's flesh creep. There were cheap
+weeklies, costing ten cents a year, which were thrust into
+area-windows for servant-girls; there were yellow-covered French
+novels of unbelievable depravity for the mistress of the house. It
+was a curious commentary upon the morals of Society that upon the
+trains running to a certain suburban community frequented by the
+ultra-fashionable, the newsboys did a thriving business in such
+literature; and when the pastor of the fashionable church eloped
+with a Society girl, the bishop publicly laid the blame to the
+morals of his parishioners!
+
+The theory was that there were two worlds, and that they were kept
+rigidly separate. There were two sets of women; one to be toyed with
+and flung aside, and the other to be protected and esteemed. Such
+things as prostitutes and kept women might exist, but people of
+refinement did not talk about them, and were not concerned with
+them. But Montague was familiar with the saying, that if you follow
+the chain of the slave, you will find the other end about the wrist
+of the master; and he discovered that the Tenderloin was wreaking
+its vengeance upon Fifth Avenue. It was not merely that the men of
+wealth were carrying to their wives and children the diseases of
+vice; they were carrying also the manners and the ideals.
+
+Montague had been amazed by the things he had found in New York
+Society; the smoking and drinking and gambling of women, their hard
+and cynical views of life, their continual telling of coarse
+stories. And here, in this under-world, he had come upon the
+fountain head of the corruption. It was something which came to him
+in a sudden flash of intuition;--the barriers between the two worlds
+were breaking down!
+
+He could picture the process in a hundred different forms. There was
+Betty Wyman. His brother had meant to take her to the theatre, to
+let her see Rosalie, by way of a joke! So, of course, Betty knew of
+his escapades, and of those of his set; she and her girl friends
+were whispering and jesting about them. Hero sat Oliver, smiling and
+cynical, toying with Rosalie as a cat might toy with a mouse; and
+to-morrow he would be with Betty--and could anyone doubt any longer
+whence Betty had derived her attitude towards life? And the habits
+of mind that Oliver had taught her as a girl she would not forget as
+a wife; he might be anxious to keep her to himself, but there would
+be others whose interest was different.
+
+And Montague recalled other things that he had seen or heard in.
+Society, that he could put his finger upon, as having come out of
+this under-world. Tho more he thought of the explanation, the more
+it seemed to explain. This "Society," which had perplexed him--now
+he could describe it: its manners and ideals of life were those
+which he would have expected to find in the "fast" side of stage
+life.
+
+It was, of course, the women who made Society, and gave it its tone;
+and the women of Society were actresses. They were actresses in
+their love of notoriety and display; in their taste in clothes and
+jewels, their fondness for cigarettes and champagne. They made up
+like actresses; they talked and thought like actresses. The only
+obvious difference was that the women of the stage were carefully
+selected--were at least up to a certain standard of physical
+excellence; whereas the women of Society were not selected at all,
+and some were lean, and some were stout, and some were painfully
+homely.
+
+Montague recalled cases where the two sets had met as at some of the
+private entertainments. It was getting to be the fashion to hobnob
+with the stage people on such occasions; and he recalled how
+naturally the younger people took to this. Only the older women held
+aloof; looking down upon the women of the stage from an ineffable
+height, as belonging to a lower caste--because they were obliged to
+work for their livings. But it seemed to Montague, as he sat and
+talked with this poor chorus-girl, who had sold herself for a little
+pleasure, that it was easier to pardon her than the woman who had
+been born to luxury, and scorned those who produced her wealth.
+
+But most of all, one's sympathies went out to a person who was not
+to be met in either of these sets; to the girl who had not sold
+herself, but was struggling for a living in the midst of this
+ravening corruption. There were thousands of self-respecting women,
+even on the stage; Toodles herself had been among them, she told
+Montague. "I kept straight for a long time," she said, laughing
+cheerfully--"and on ten dollars a week! I used to go out on the
+road, and then they paid me sixteen; and think of trying to live on
+one-night stands--to board yourself and stop at hotels and dress for
+the theatre--on sixteen a week, and no job half the year! And all
+that time--do you know Cyril Chambers, the famous church painter?"
+
+"I've heard of him," said Montague.
+
+"Well, I was with a show here on Broadway the next winter; and every
+night for six months he sent me a bunch of orchids that couldn't
+have cost less than seventy-five dollars! And he told me he'd open
+accounts for me in all the stores I chose, if I'd spend the next
+summer in Europe with him. He said I could take my mother or my
+sister with me--and I was so green in those days, I thought that
+must mean he didn't intend anything wrong!"
+
+Toodles smiled at the memory. "Did you go?" asked the man.
+
+"No," she answered. "I stayed here with a roof-garden show that
+failed. And I went to my old manager for a job, and he said to me,
+'I can only pay you ten a week. But why are you so foolish?' 'How do
+you mean?' I asked; and he answered, 'Why don't you get a rich
+sweetheart? Then I could pay you sixty.' That's what a girl hears on
+the stage!"
+
+"I don't understand," said Montague, perplexed. "Did he mean he
+could get money out of the man?"
+
+"Not directly," said Toodles; "but tickets--and advertising. Why,
+men will hire front-row seats for a whole season, if they're
+interested in a girl in the show. And they'll take all their friends
+to see her, and she'll be talked about--she'll be somebody, instead
+of just nobody, as I was."
+
+"Then it actually helps her on the stage!" said Montague.
+
+"Helps her!" exclaimed Toodles. "My God! I've known a girl who'd
+been abroad with a tip-top swell--and had the gowns and the jewels
+to prove it--to come home and get into the front row of a chorus at
+a hundred dollars a week."
+
+Toodles was cheerful and all unaware; and that only made the tragedy
+of it all one shade more black to Montague. He sat lost in sombre
+reverie, forgetting his companions, and the blare and glare of the
+place.
+
+In the centre of this dining-room was a great cone-shaped stand,
+containing a display of food; and as they strolled out, Montague
+stopped to look at it. There were platters garnished with flowers
+and herbs, and containing roast turkeys and baked hams, jellied
+meats and game in aspic, puddings and tarts and frosted cakes--every
+kind of food-fantasticality imaginable. One might have spent an hour
+in studying it, and from top to bottom he would have found nothing
+simple, nothing natural. The turkeys had paper curls and rosettes
+stuck over them; the hams were covered with a white gelatine, the
+devilled crabs with a yellow mayonnaise-and all painted over in pink
+and green and black with landscapes and marine views--with "ships
+and shoes and sealing-wax and cabbages and kings." The jellied meats
+and the puddings were in the shape of fruits and flowers; and there
+were elaborate works of art in pink and white confectionery--a
+barn-yard, for instance, with horses and cows, and a pump, and a
+dairymaid--and one or two alligators.
+
+And all this was changed every day! Each morning you might see a
+procession of a score of waiters bearing aloft a new supply.
+Montague remembered Betty Wyman's remark at their first interview,
+apropos of the whipped cream made into little curleques; how his
+brother had said, "If Allan were here, he'd be thinking about the
+man who fixed that cream, and how long it took him, and how he might
+have been reading 'The Simple Life'!"
+
+He thought of that now; he stood here and gazed, and wondered about
+all the slaves of the lamp who served in this huge temple of luxury.
+He looked at the waiters--pale, hollow-chested, harried-looking men:
+he imagined the hordes of servants of yet lower kinds, who never
+emerged into the light of day; the men who washed the dishes, the
+men who carried the garbage, the men who shovelled the coal into the
+furnaces, and made the heat and light and power. Pent up in dim
+cellars, many stories under ground, and bound for ever to the
+service of sensuality--how terrible must be their fate, how
+unimaginable their corruption! And they were foreigners; they had
+come here seeking liberty. And the masters of the new country had
+seized them and pent them here!
+
+From this as a starting-point his thought went on, to the hordes of
+toilers in every part of the world, whose fate it was to create the
+things which these blind revellers destroyed; the women and children
+in countless mills and sweatshops, who spun the cloth, and cut and
+sewed it; the girls who made the artificial flowers, who rolled the
+cigarettes, who gathered the grapes from the vines; the miners who
+dug the coal and the precious metals out of the earth; the men who
+watched in ten thousand signal-towers and engines, who fought the
+elements from the decks of ten thousand ships--to bring all these
+things here to be destroyed. Step by step, as the flood of
+extravagance rose, and the energies of the men were turned to the
+creation of futility and corruption--so, step by step, increased the
+misery and degradation of all these slaves of Mammon. And who could
+imagine what they would think about it--if ever they came to think?
+
+--And then, in a sudden flash, there came back to Montague that
+speech he had heard upon the street-corner, the first evening he had
+been in New York! He could hear again the pounding of the elevated
+trains, and the shrill voice of the orator; he could see his haggard
+and hungry face, and the dense crowd gazing up at him. And there
+came to him the words of Major Thorne:
+
+"It means another civil war!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+
+
+
+Alice had been gone for a couple of weeks, and the day was drawing
+near when the Hasbrook case came up for trial. The Saturday before
+that being the date of the Mi-careme dance of the Long Island Hunt
+Club, Siegfried Harvey was to have a house-party for the week-end,
+and Montague accepted his invitation. He had been working hard,
+putting the finishing touches to his brief, and he thought that a
+rest would be good for him.
+
+He and his brother went down upon Friday afternoon, and the first
+person he met was Betty Wyman, whom he had not seen for quite a
+while. Betty had much to say, and said it. As Montague had not been
+seen with Mrs. Winnie since the episode in her house, people had
+begun to notice the break, and there was no end of gossip; and
+Mistress Betty wanted to know all about it, and how things stood
+between them.
+
+But he would not tell her, and so she saucily refused to tell him
+what she had heard. All the while they talked she was eyeing him
+quizzically, and it was evident that she took the worst for granted;
+also that he had become a much more interesting person to her
+because of it. Montague had the strangest sensatibns when he was
+talking with Betty Wyman; she was delicious and appealing, almost
+irresistible; and yet her views of life were so old! "I told you you
+wouldn't do for a tame cat!" she said to him.
+
+Then she went on to talk to him about his case, and to tease him
+about the disturbance he had made.
+
+"You know," she said, "Ollie and I were in terror--we thought that
+grandfather would be furious, and that we'd be ruined. But somehow,
+it didn't work out that way. Don't you say anything about it, but
+I've had a sort of a fancy that he must be on your side of the
+fence."
+
+"I'd be glad to know it," said Montague, with a laugh--"I've been
+trying for a long time to find out who is on my side of the fence."
+
+"He was talking about it the other day," said Betty, "and I heard
+him tell a man that he'd read your argument, and thought it was
+good."
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," said Montague.
+
+"So was I," replied she. "And I said to him afterward, 'I suppose
+you don't know that Allan Montague is my Ollie's brother.' And he
+did you the honour to say that he hadn't supposed any member of
+Ollie's family could have as much sense!"
+
+Betty was staying with an aunt near by, and she went back before
+dinner. In the automobile which came for her was old Wyman himself,
+on his way home from the city; and as a snowstorm had begun, he came
+in and stood by the fire while his car was exchanged for a closed
+one from Harvey's stables. Montague did not meet him, but stood and
+watched him from the shadows-a mite of a man, with a keen and eager
+face, full of wrinkles. It was hard to realize that this little body
+held one of the great driving minds of the country. He was an
+intensely nervous and irritable man, bitter and implacable--by all
+odds the most hated and feared man in Wall Street. He was swift,
+imperious, savage as a hornet. "Directors at meetings that I attend
+vote first and discuss afterward," was one of his sayings that
+Montague had heard quoted. Watching him here by the fireside,
+rubbing his hands and chatting pleasantly, Montague had a sudden
+sense of being behind the scenes, of being admitted to a privilege
+denied to ordinary mortals--the beholding of royalty in everyday
+attire!
+
+After dinner that evening Montague had a chat in the smoking-room
+with his host; and he brought up the subject of the Hasbrook case,
+and told about his trip to Washington, and his interview with Judge
+Ellis.
+
+Harvey also had something to communicate. "I had a talk with Freddie
+Vandam about it," said he.
+
+"What did he say?" asked Montague.
+
+"Well," replied the other, with a laugh, "he's indignant, needless
+to say. You know, Freddie was brought up by his father to regard the
+Fidelity as his property, in a way. He always refers to it as 'my
+company.' And he's very high and mighty about it--it's a personal
+affront if anyone attacks it. But it was evident to me that he
+doesn't know who's behind this case."
+
+"Did he know about Ellis?" asked Montague.
+
+"Yes," said the other, "he had found out that much. It was he who
+told me that originally. He says that Ellis has been sponging off
+the company for years--he has a big salary that he never earns, and
+has borrowed something like a quarter of a million dollars on
+worthless securities."
+
+Montague gave a gasp.
+
+"Yes," laughed Harvey. "But after all, that's a little matter. The
+trouble with Freddie Vandam is that that sort of thing is all he
+sees; and so he'll never be able to make out the mystery. He knows
+that this clique or that in the company is plotting to get some
+advantage, or to use him for their purposes--but he never realizes
+how the big men are pulling the wires behind the scenes. Some day
+they'll throw him overboard altogether, and then he'll realize how
+they've played with him. That's what this Hasbrook case means, you
+know--they simply want to frighten him with a threat of getting the
+company's affairs into the courts and the newspapers."
+
+Montague sat for a while in deep thought.
+
+"What would you think would be Wyman's relation to the matter?" he
+asked, at last.
+
+"I wouldn't know," said Harvey. "He's supposed to be Freddie's
+backer--but what can you tell in such a tangle?"
+
+"It is certainly a mess," said Montague.
+
+"There's no bottom to it," said the other. "Absolutely--it would
+take your breath away! Just listen to what Vandain told me to-day!"
+
+And then Harvey named one of the directors of the Fidelity who was
+well known as a philanthropist. Having heard that the wife of one of
+his junior partners had met with an accident in childbirth, and that
+the doctor had told her husband that if she ever had another child,
+she would die, this man had asked, "Why don't you have her life
+insured?" The other replied that he had tried, and the companies had
+refused her. "I'll fix it for you," said he; and so they put in
+another application, and the director came to Freddie Vandam and had
+the policy put through "by executive order." Seven months later the
+woman died, and the Fidelity had paid her husband in full--a hundred
+thousand or two!
+
+"That's what's going on in the insurance world!" said Siegfried
+Harvey.
+
+And that was the story which Montague took with him to add to his
+enjoyment of the festivities at the country club. It was a very
+gorgeous affair; but perhaps the sombreness of his thoughts was to
+blame; the flowers and music and beautiful gowns failed entirely in
+their appeal, and he saw only the gluttony and drunkenness--more of
+it than ever before, it seemed to him.
+
+Then, too, he had an unpleasant experience. He met Laura Hegan; and
+presuming upon her cordial reception of his visit, he went up and
+spoke to her pleasantly. And she greeted him with frigid politeness;
+she was so brief in her remarks and turned away so abruptly as
+almost to snub him. He went away quite bewildered. But later on he
+recalled the gossip about himself and Mrs. Winnie, and he guessed
+that that was the explanation of Miss Hegar's action.
+
+The episode threw a shadow over his whole visit. On Sunday he went
+out into the country and tramped through a snowstorm by himself,
+filled with a sense of disgust for all the past, and of foreboding
+for the future. He hated this money-world, in which all that was
+worst in human beings was brought to the surface; he hated it, and
+wished that he had never set foot within its bounds. It was only by
+tramping until he was too tired to feel anything that he was able to
+master himself.
+
+--And then, toward dark, he came back, and found a telegram which
+had been forwarded from New York.
+
+"Meet me at the Penna depot, Jersey City, at nine to-night. Alice."
+
+This message, of course, drove all other thoughts from his mind. He
+had no time even to tell Oliver about it--he had to jump into an
+automobile and rush to catch the next train for the city. And all
+through the long, cold ride in ferry-boats and cabs he pondered this
+mystery. Alice's party had not been expected for two weeks yet; and
+only two days before there had come a letter from Los Angeles,
+saying that they would probably be a week over time. And here she
+was home again!
+
+He found there was an express from the West due at the hour named;
+apparently, therefore, Alice had not come in the Prentice's train at
+all. The express was half an hour late, and so he paced up and down
+the platform, controlling his impatience as best he could. And
+finally the long train pulled in, and he saw Alice coming down the
+platform. She was alone!
+
+"What does it mean?" were the first words he said to her.
+
+"It's a long story," she answered. "I wanted to come home.";
+
+"You mean you've come all the way from the coast by yourself!" he
+gasped.
+
+"Yes," she said, "all the way."
+
+"What in the world--" he began.
+
+"I can't tell you here, Allan," she said. "Wait till we get to some
+quiet place."
+
+"But," he persisted. "The Prentice? They let you come home alone?"
+
+"They didn't know it," she said. "I ran away."
+
+He was more bewildered than ever. But as he started to ask more
+questions, she laid a hand upon his arm. "Please wait, Allan," she
+said. "It upsets me to talk about it. It was Charlie Carter."
+
+And so the light broke. He caught his breath and gasped, "Oh!"
+
+He said not another word until they had crossed the ferry and
+settled themselves in a cab, and started. "Now," he said, "tell me."
+
+Alice began. "I was very much upset," she said. "But you must
+understand, Allan, that I've had nearly a week to think it over, and
+I don't mind it now. So I want you please not to get excited about
+it; it wasn't poor Charlie's fault--he can't help himself. It was my
+mistake. I ought to have taken your advice and had nothing to do
+with him."
+
+"Go on," said he; and Alice told her story.
+
+The party had gone sight-seeing, and she had had a headache and had
+stayed in the car. And Charlie Carter had come and begun making love
+to her. "He had asked me to marry him already--that was at the
+beginning of the trip," she said. "And I told him no. After that he
+would never let me alone. And this time he went on in a terrible
+way--he flung himself down on his knees, and wept, and said he
+couldn't live without me. And nothing I could say did any good. At
+last he--he caught hold of me--and he wouldn't let me go. I was
+furious with him, and frightened. I had to threaten to call for help
+before he would stop. And so--you see how it was."
+
+"I see," said Montague, gravely. "Go on."
+
+"Well, after that I made up my mind that I couldn't stay anywhere
+where I had to see him. And I knew he would never go away without a
+scene. If I had asked Mrs. Prentice to send him away, there would
+have been a scandal, and it would have spoiled everybody's trip. So
+I went out, and found there was a train for the East in a little
+while, and I packed up my things, and left a note for Mrs. Prentice.
+I told her a story--I said I'd had a telegram that your mother was
+ill, and that I didn't want to spoil their good time, and had gone
+by myself. That was the best thing I could think of. I wasn't afraid
+to travel, so long as I was sure that Charlie couldn't catch up with
+me."
+
+Montague said nothing; he sat with his hands gripped tightly.
+
+"It seemed like a desperate thing to do," said Alice, nervously.
+"But you see, I was upset and unhappy. I didn't seem to like the
+party any more--I wanted to be home. Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes," said Montague, "I understand. And I'm glad you are here."
+
+They reached home, and Montague called up Harvey's and told his
+brother what had happened. He could hear Oliver gasp with
+astonishment. "That's a pretty how-do-you-do!" he said, when he had
+got his breath back; and then he added, with a laugh, "I suppose
+that settles poor Charlie's chances."
+
+"I'm glad you've come to that conclusion," said the other, as he
+hung up the receiver.
+
+This episode gave Montague quite a shock. But he had little time to
+think about it--the next morning at eleven o'clock his case was to
+come up for trial, and so all his thoughts were called away. This
+case had been the one real interest of his life for the last three
+months; it was his purpose, the thing for the sake of which he
+endured everything else that repelled him. And he had trained
+himself as an athlete for a great race; he was in form, and ready
+for the effort of his life. He went down town that morning with
+every fibre of him, body and mind, alert and eager; and he went into
+his office, and in his mail was a letter from Mr. Hasbrook. He
+opened it hastily and read a message, brief and direct and decisive
+as a sword-thrust:
+
+"I beg to inform you that I have received a satisfactory proposition
+from the Fidelity Company. I have settled with them, and wish to
+withdraw the suit. Thanking you for your services, I remain,
+sincerely."
+
+To Montague the thing came like a thunderbolt. He sat utterly
+dumbfounded--his hands went limp, and the letter fell upon the desk
+in front of him.
+
+And at last, when he did move, he picked up the telephone, and told
+his secretary to call up Mr. Hasbrook. Then he sat waiting; and when
+the bell rang, picked up the receiver, expecting to hear Mr.
+Hasbrook's voice, and to demand an explanation. But he heard,
+instead, the voice of his own secretary: "Central says the number's
+been discontinued, sir."
+
+And he hung up the receiver, and sat motionless again. The dummy had
+disappeared!
+
+To Montague this incident meant a change in the prospect of his
+whole life. It was the collapse of all his hopes. He had nothing
+more to work for, nothing more to think about; the bottom had fallen
+out of his career!
+
+He was burning with a sense of outrage. He had been tricked and made
+a fool of; he had been used and flung aside. And now there was
+nothing he could do--he was utterly helpless. What affected him
+most was his sense of the overwhelming magnitude of the powers which
+had made him their puppet; of the utter futility of the efforts that
+he or any other man could make against them. They were like
+elemental, cosmic forces; they held all the world in their grip, and
+a common man was as much at their mercy as a bit of chaff in a
+tempest.
+
+All day long he sat in his office, brooding and nursing his wrath.
+He had moods when he wished to drop everything, to shake the dust of
+the city from his feet, and go back home and recollect what it was
+to be a gentleman. And then again he had righting moods, when he
+wished to devote all his life to punishing the men who had made use
+of him. He would get hold of some other policy-holder in the
+Fidelity, one whom he could trust; he would take the case without
+pay, and carry it through to the end! He would force the newspapers
+to talk about it--he would force the people to heed what he said!
+
+And then, toward evening, he went homo, bitter and sore. And there
+was his brother sitting in his study, waiting for him.
+
+"Hello," he said, and took off his coat, preparing his mind for one
+more ignominy--the telling of his misfortune to Oliver, and
+listening to his inevitable, "I told you so."
+
+But Oliver himself had something to communicate something that would
+not bear keeping. He broke out at once--"Tell me, Allan! What in the
+world has happened between you and Mrs. Winnie?"
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Montague, sharply.
+
+"Why," said Oliver, "everybody is talking about some kind of a
+quarrel."
+
+"There has been no quarrel," said Montague.
+
+"Well, what is it, then?"
+
+"It's nothing."
+
+"It must be something!" exclaimed Oliver. "What do all the stories
+mean?"
+
+"What stories?"
+
+"About you two. I met Mrs. Vivie Patton just now, and she swore me
+to secrecy, and told me that Mrs. Winnie had told some one that you
+had made love to her so outrageously that she had to ask you to
+leave the house."
+
+Montague shrunk as from a blow. "Oh!" he gasped.
+
+"That's what she said," said he.
+
+"It's a lie!" he cried.
+
+"That's what I told Mrs. Vivie," said the other; "it doesn't sound
+like you--"
+
+Montague had flushed scarlet. "I don't mean that!" he cried. "I mean
+that Mrs. Winnie never said any such thing."
+
+"Oh," said Oliver, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe not,"
+he added. "But I know she's furious with you about
+something--everybody's talking about it. She tells people that
+she'll never speak to you again. And what I want to know is,
+why is it that you have to do things to make enemies of
+everybody you know?"
+
+Montague said nothing; he was trembling with anger.
+
+"What in the world did you do to her?" began the other. "Can't you
+trust me---"
+
+And suddenly Montague sprang to his feet. "Oh, Oliver," he
+exclaimed, "let me alone! Go away!"
+
+And he went into the next room and slammed the door, and began
+pacing back and forth like a caged animal.
+
+It was a lie! It was a lie! Mrs. Winnie had never said such a thing!
+He would never believe it--it was a nasty piece of backstairs
+gossip!
+
+But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did it matter
+Whether it was true or not--whether anything was true or not? What
+did it matter if anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome
+things that everybody else said they had done? It was what everybody
+was saying! It was what everybody believed--what everybody was
+interested in! It was the measure of a whole society--their ideals
+and their standards! It was the way they spent their time, repeating
+nasty scandals about each other; living in an atmosphere of
+suspicion and cynicism, with endless whispering and leering, and
+gossip of lew intrigue.
+
+A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him, away--rage
+against the world into which he had come, and against himself for
+the part he had played in it. Everything seemed to have come to a
+head at once; and he hated everything--hated the people he had met,
+and the things they did, and the things they had tempted him to do.
+He hated the way he had got his money, and the way he had spent it.
+He hated the idleness and wastefulness, the drunkenness and
+debauchery, the meanness and the snobbishneps.
+
+And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of the room where
+Oliver still sat. And he stood in the doorway, exclaiming, "Oliver,
+I'm done with it!"
+
+Oliver stared at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
+
+"I mean," cried his brother, "that I've had all I can stand of
+'Society!' And I'm going to quit. You can go on--but I don't intend
+to take another step with you! I've had enough--and I think Alice
+has had enough, also. We'll take ourselves off your hands--we'll
+get out!"
+
+"What are you going to do?" gasped Oliver.
+
+"I'm going to give up these expensive apartments--give them up
+to-morrow, when our week is up. And I'm going to stop squandering
+money for things I don't want. I'm going to stop accepting
+invitations, and meeting people I don't like and don't want to know.
+I've tried your game--I've tried it hard, and I don't like it; and
+I'm going to get out before it's too late. I'm going to find some
+decent and simple place to live in; and I'm going down town to find
+out if there isn't some way in New York for a man to earn an honest
+living!"
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metropolis, by Upton Sinclair
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE METROPOLIS ***
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