A Chicago Princess

“Well, now, look here, Tremorne,” cried Cammerford, with a fine assumption of honest bluffness, “let us talk as man to man. We’re not school-boys or sentimental girls. You know as well as I do that there is not one chance in ten million for my seeing old Hemster if the choice in the matter lies with you. You are exceedingly polite, and speak as sweetly as molasses, but I wasn’t born yesterday, and am not such a darned fool as to suppose you are going to put in a good word for me.”

“You are quite right, Mr. Cammerford; I shall put in no good word for you that I can possibly keep out. Nevertheless I shall report fairly to Mr. Hemster exactly what you place before me.”

“Oh, that’s all guff. You’ll knife me because you’ve got the chance to do it. I quite admit it will be done with smooth talk, but it will be effective nevertheless.”

“If you believe that, Mr. Cammerford, I shall make no endeavour to convince you of the contrary. You will act, of course, as best serves your own interest. Personally I do not care a halfpenny whether the great beef combine is formed in the interest of the dear public, or goes to smash through the non-agreement of its promoters. I fancy you cannot float such a trust and leave Mr. Hemster out, but you know more about that than I. Now it’s your next move. What are you going to do?”

Cammerford leaned across the table, showing me his crafty eyes narrowing as he seemed trying to find out what my game really was. I knew exactly where his error lay in dealing with me. He could not believe that I was honestly trying to serve my employer, and so he was bound to go wrong in any assumption formed by taking such false premises for granted.

“See here, Tremorne, I’m going to talk straight business to you. Whatever may be our pretences, we are none of us engaged in this for our health; we want to make money. I want to make money; Hemster wants to make money; don’t you want to make money?”

“Certainly,” I replied, “that’s what I’m here for.”

“Now you’re shouting,” exclaimed Cammerford, an expression of great relief coming into his face. He thought that at last he had reached firm ground. “I confess, then,” he went on, “that it is supremely important I should meet Hemster, and he should be favourably disposed toward me. It is not likely I should have taken a journey clear from New York to Nagasaki if there wasn’t a good deal at stake. You see, I’m perfectly frank with you. You’ve got the drop on me. Just now my hands are right up toward the ceiling, and I’m willing to do the square thing. Did you know whom you were going to meet when you left the yacht?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Mr. Hemster mentioned my name to you?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Did you tell him anything of our former dealings?”

“No, I did not.”

“He does know you lost half a million in the States a while since?”

“Oh, yes, he knows that, but he doesn’t know you’re the man who got it.”

“Hang it all, Tremorne; don’t put it that way. I’m not the man who got it; I lost money as well as you did.”

“Oh, I beg your pardon; I thought we were talking frankly and honestly to each other. Well, be that as it may, Mr. Hemster knows I lost the money, but he doesn’t know you’re the man who was so unfortunate as to be in the business with me.”

“Well now, Tremorne, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. You say nothing of this former company of ours, and if you will report favourably on what I have to tell you so that old Hemster will come and see me, or allow me to go to him, I’ll give you two hundred thousand dollars cash as soon as our deal is completed.”

“I refuse it.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“No, I do not, but I refuse it nevertheless. I should refuse it if you offered me the money here and now.”

Cammerford leaned back in his chair.

“You want to go the whole hog?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said I.

“You want the whole five hundred thousand or nothing. Well, I tell you at once I can’t afford to give that much. I’ll raise fifty thousand dollars, and make the total amount two hundred and fifty; but I can’t go a cent more, and there is no use trying to bluff me.”

“I am not trying to bluff you, Mr. Cammerford. I should refuse the bribe if you made it five hundred thousand.”

“Oh, it’s not a bribe at all, it’s – well, whatever you like to call it. Restitution if you prefer to put it that way.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is called, I have come for the purpose of hearing what you have to say regarding the great beef combine. If you have nothing to say I shall leave, because, as I told you, Mr. Hemster has a good deal of work on his hands, and I’m trying to help him.”

“Well,” said Cammerford, in a hopeless tone of voice, “you are the darndest fool I ever met in my life.”

“You are not the first person who has said as much, Mr. Cammerford, although not in precisely the same language. Now, for the last time, give me a list of the names of those who are behind you.”

“I’ll do that if you will promise me not to say anything to old Hemster about our former relations.”

“I regret that I cannot make you any such promise, Mr. Cammerford. It is my duty to lay before Mr. Hemster everything you place before me, and it is also my duty to warn him that I consider you as big a scoundrel as you consider me a fool.”

“That’s plain talk,” said Cammerford, scowling.

“I intend it to be. Now, without further loss of time, let me see your documents.”

For some minutes Cammerford maintained silence, a heavy frown on his brow, and his eyes fixed on the carpet beneath the table. At last he muttered, “Well, I’m damned!” – and, taking a bundle of papers from before him, he slipped off the elastic band, picked out one after another which he perused with care, then handed them across the table to me, watching me very narrowly as he did so. I took the papers one by one and read them over, making a note with my pencil now and then in my pocket-book. They proved to be exactly what he had said they were in his letter to Mr. Hemster. I pushed them back toward him again, saying:

“I see by some of these documents that the option is for six months, but others make no mention of the time. Why is that?”

“Because we have bought the businesses and the options are ours for ever.”

“Have you anything to prove that?”

Without further reply he selected several other papers and presented them to me. These also were satisfactory.

“I shall report to Mr. Hemster that your position appears to be quite as strong as you stated it to be, and so I wish you good-morning, Mr. Cammerford.”

“Hold your horses a minute,” he cried, seeing me about to arise. “As you have asked me a whole lot of questions, I’d like you to answer a few of mine. Who’s in this other combine?”

“I know nothing of it, except that it is in existence.”

“Do you imagine it’s a bluff?”

“I tell you I don’t know. I should think Mr. Hemster is not a man to engage in bluff.”

“Oh, isn’t he? That shows how little you know of him. Have you been with him ever since he left Chicago?”

“No.”

“How long have you been in his employ?”

“That is a private matter, Mr. Cammerford, which concerns no one but myself and Mr. Hemster. Besides, to tell you the truth, I came here to receive information, not to impart it; so it is useless to question me further.”

“Oh, one more won’t do any harm,” said Cammerford, rising when I had risen; “do you think old Hemster will consent to see me?”

“I am almost certain that he will.”

“Through your recommendation, eh?”

“No, I shall strongly advise him not to see you.”

“Well, I’m damned if I understand your game. It’s either too deep or too mighty shallow for me.”

“It doesn’t occur to you, Mr. Cammerford, that there’s no game at all, and therefore there can be neither depth nor shallowness. You are troubling your mind about what does not exist.”

“Then I am forced to take refuge in my former assumption, not at all a flattering one, which is that you’re a fool.”

“I think that’s the safest position to assume, Mr. Cammerford; so, finally, good-bye.”

I left the man standing at the head of the stairs, his hands on the banister, gazing after me with an expression of great discontent.

CHAPTER XIX

When I arrived at the landing I saw the little naphtha launch making a trip from the yacht to the shore. As it swung to the steps I noticed that Gertrude Hemster was aboard with her new companion, a Japanese lady, said to be of extremely high rank, whom the girl had engaged on the first day of our arrival at Nagasaki, when her father was so deeply immersed in business. The old gentleman told me later that his daughter had taken an unfortunate dislike to Miss Stretton, and had very rapidly engaged this person, who, it was, alleged, could speak Chinese, Japanese, Corean, and pidgin English.

In spite of what her father had said, I thought the engaging of this woman with so many lingual advantages was rather a stroke aimed at myself than an action deposing Hilda Stretton. I suppose Miss Hemster thought to give proof that I was no longer necessary as interpreter on board the yacht. I doubted the accomplishments of the Japanese high dame, thinking it impossible to select such a treasure on such short notice, and so the evening before had ventured to address her in Corean; but she answered me very demurely and correctly in that language, with a little oblique smile, which showed that she knew why I had spoken to her, and I saw that I had been mistaken in slighting her educational capacities.

I went down the steps and proffered my escort to the young woman, but she was so earnestly engaged in thanking the crew of the naphtha launch that she quite ignored my presence. She sprang lightly up the steps and walked away to the nearest ’rickshaw, followed by the toddling Japanese creature. The boat’s crew, who were champions of Miss Hemster to a man, each embued with intense admiration for her, as was right and natural, may or may not have noticed her contemptuous treatment of me; but after all it did not much matter, so I stepped into the launch and we set out for the yacht.

I found Mr. Hemster immersed in his papers as usual. Apparently he had never been on deck to get a breath of fresh air since his steamship arrived in the harbour.

“Well,” he said shortly, looking up; “you saw Mr. Cammerford?”

“Yes.”

“Did he give down or hold up?”

“He seemed very much startled when he saw me, and I had some difficulty in getting him to discuss the matter in hand.”

“Was he afraid you had come to rob him, or did he think he had got me in a corner?”

“No. He knew who it was that approached him, but I should have told you, Mr. Hemster, that this is the man who got my five hundred thousand dollars some years ago, and he was under the mistaken impression that I had come to wring some part of it back from him.”

“Ah, he thought you were camping on his trail, did he? What did you do?”

“I explained that I was there merely as your representative. He made some objection at first to showing his hand, as he called it; but finally, seeing that he could not come at his desired interview with you unless he took me into his confidence, he did so, although with extreme reluctance.”

“Yes, and what were your conclusions?”

“My conclusions are that his letter to you was perfectly truthful. He has the following firms behind him on a six months’ option, and these others have sold their businesses to him outright. His position, therefore, is all that he asserted it to be,” and with this I placed my notes before my chief.

“You are thoroughly convinced of that?”

“Yes, I am; but of course you will see the papers he has to show, and may find error or fraud where I was unable to detect either.”

“All right, I shall see him then.”

“There is one thing further, Mr. Hemster. He offered me two hundred thousand dollars, then two hundred and fifty thousand, if I would conceal from you the fact that he had formerly defrauded me.”

“Yes, and what did you say?”

“I refused the money, of course.”

The old gentleman regarded me with an expression full of pity.

“I am sorry to mention it, Tremorne, but you are a numskull. Why didn’t you take the money? I’m quite able to look after myself. It doesn’t matter in the least to me whether or not the man has cheated everyone in the United States. If he cheats me as well, he’s entitled to all he can make. ‘The laborer is worthy of his hire,’ as the good Book says.”

As I had used this quotation to his daughter, I now surmised that she had told her father something of our stormy conversation.

“Quite true, Mr. Hemster, but the good Book also says, ‘Avoid the very appearance of evil,’ and that I have done by refusing his bribe.”

“Ah, well, you don’t get anything for nothing in this world, and I think your duty was to have closed with his offer so long as you told me the truth about the documents I sent you to search.”

“He is a man I would have nothing whatever to do with, Mr. Hemster.”

“There’s where you are wrong. If he happens to possess something I want, why in the world should I not deal with him. His moral character is of no interest to me. As well refuse to buy a treatise on the English language because the bookseller drops his ‘h’s.’ I am very much disappointed in your business capacity, Mr. Tremorne.”

“I am sorry I don’t come up to your expectations, sir; but he is a man whom I should view with the utmost distrust.”

“Oh, if you are doing business with him, certainly. I view everyone with distrust and never squeal if I’m cheated. Tell me about this deal with Cammerford in which you lost your money.”

I related to him the circumstances of the case, which need not be set down here. When I had finished Mr. Hemster said slowly:

“If you will excuse me, Mr. Tremorne, never say that this man swindled you. Such an expression is a misuse of language. Everything done was perfectly legal.”

“Oh, I know that well enough. In fact he mentioned its legality during our interview this morning. Nevertheless, he was well aware that the mine was valueless.”

“What of that? It wasn’t his business to inform you; it was your business to find out the true worth of the mine. You are simply blaming Cammerford for your own carelessness. If Cammerford had not got the money, the next man who met you would; so I suppose he sized you up, and thought he might as well have it, and, to tell you the truth, I quite agree with him. Now, if I told you this bag contained a thousand dollars in gold, would you accept my word for it without counting the money?”

“Certainly I would.”

The old gentleman seemed taken aback by this reply, and stared at me as if I were some new human specimen he had not met before.

“You would, eh?” he cried at last. “Well, you’re hopeless! I don’t know but you were right to refuse his bribe. The money would not do you the least good if you got it again.”

“Oh, yes, it would, Mr. Hemster. I should invest it in Government securities, and risk not a penny of it in any speculation.”

“I don’t believe you’d have that much sense,” demurred the old gentleman, turning again to his desk. “However, you have served me well, even if you have served yourself badly. I will write a letter to Cammerford and let him know the terms on which I will join his scheme.”

“You surely don’t intend to do that, Mr. Hemster, without seeing the documents yourself?”

“Oh, have no fear; you must not think I am going to adopt your business tactics at my age. Run away and let Hilda give you some lunch. I shall not have time for anything but the usual sandwich. My daughter’s gone ashore. She wants lunch at the Nagasaki Hotel, being tired of our ship’s fare. I’ll have this document ready for you to take to Cammerford after you have eaten.”

Nothing loth, I hurried away in search of my dear girl, of whom I had caught only slight glimpses since her sudden dismissal by Gertrude Hemster. I was glad to know that we should have the ship practically to ourselves, and I flatter myself she was not sorry either. Lunch was not yet ready, so I easily persuaded her to come upon deck with me, and there I placed the chairs and table just as they had been at the moment when Miss Hemster had come so unexpectedly upon us.

“Now, Hilda,” I began when we had seated ourselves, “I want an answer to that question.”

“What question?”

“You know very well what question; the answer was just hovering on your lips when we were interrupted.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Hilda, there was an expression in your eyes which I had never seen before, and if your lips were about to contradict the message they sent to me – ”

“Seemed to send to you,” she interrupted with a smile.

“Was it only seeming, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m very much disappointed with myself. I don’t call this a courtship at all. My idea of the preliminaries to a betrothal was a long friendship, many moonlight walks, and conversations about delightful topics in which both parties are interested. I pictured myself waiting eagerly under some rose-covered porch while the right person hurried toward me, – on horseback for choice. And now turn from that picture to the actuality. We have known each other only a few days; our first conversation was practically a quarrel; we have talked about finance, and poverty, and a lot of repulsive things of that sort. If I were to say, ‘Yes,’ I should despise myself ever after. It would appear as if I had accepted the first man who offered.”

“Am I the first man, Hilda? I shall never believe it.”

“I’m not going to tell you. You ask altogether too many questions.”

“Well, despite your disclaimer, I shall still insist that the right answer was on your lips when it and you were so rudely chased away.”

“Well, now, Mr. Tremorne – ”

“Rupert, if you please, Hilda!”

“Well, now, Prince Rupert, to show you how far astray you may be in predicting what a woman is about to say, I shall tell you exactly what was in my mind when the thread of my thought was so suddenly cut across. There were conditions, provisos, stipulations, everything in the world except the plain and simple ‘Yes’ you seemed to anticipate.”

“Even in that case, Hilda, I am quite happy, because these lead to the end. It cannot be otherwise, and all the provisos and stipulations I agree to beforehand, so let us get directly to the small but important word ‘Yes!’”

“Ah, if you agreed beforehand that would not be legal. You could say you had not read the document, or something of that kind, and were not in your right mind when you signed it.”

“Then let us have the conditions one by one, Hilda, if you please.”

“I was going to ask you to say no more at present, but to wait until I get home. I wanted you to come to me, and ask your question then if you were still in the same mind.”

“What an absurd proviso! And how long would that be? When shall you reach your own home?”

“Perhaps within a year, perhaps two years. It all depends on the duration of Mr. Hemster’s voyage. Of course it is quite possible that at any minute he may make up his mind to return. I could not leave him alone here, but once he is in Chicago he will become so absorbed in business that he would never miss me.”

“There is an uncertain quality about that proviso, Hilda, which I don’t at all admire.”

“Now, you see how it is,” she answered archly; “my very first proposition is found fault with.”

“On the contrary, it is at once agreed to. Proceed with the next.”

“The next pertains more particularly to yourself. I suppose you have no occupation in view as yet, and I also suppose, if you think of marrying, you do not expect to lead a life of idleness.”

“Far from it.”

“Very well. I wish that you would offer your services to Mr. Hemster. I am sure he has great confidence in you, and as he grows older he will feel more and more the need of a friend. He has had no real friend since my father died.”

“You forget about yourself, Hilda.”

“Oh, I don’t count; I am but a woman, and what he needs near him is a clear-headed man who will give him disinterested advice. That is a thing he cannot buy, and he knows it.”

“I quite believe you, but nevertheless where is the clear-headedness? He has just asserted that I am a fool.”

“He surely never called you that.”

“Well, not that exactly, but as near as possible to it, and somehow, now that I am sitting opposite to you, I rather think that he is right, and I have been quixotic.”

“Now I come to another condition,” Hilda said with some perceptible hesitation. “It is not a condition exactly, but an explanation. I have often wondered whether I acted rightly or not in the circumstances, and perhaps your view of the case may differ from the conclusion at which I arrived. The one man with whom I should most naturally have consulted in a business difficulty – Mr. Hemster himself – was out of the question in this case, so I tried to imagine what my father would have had me do, and I acted accordingly, but not without some qualms of conscience then and since. I fear I did not do what an independent girl should have done, but now that we have become so friendly you shall be my judge.”

“You will find me a very lenient one, Hilda; in fact the verdict is already given: you did exactly right whatever it was.”

“Sir, you must not pronounce until you hear. We approach now the dread secret of a woman with a past. That always crops up, you know, at the critical moment. I think I told you my father and Mr. Hemster were friends from boyhood; that they went to school together; that their very differences of character made the friendship sincere and lasting. My father was a quiet, scholarly man, fond of his books, while Mr. Hemster cared nothing for literature or art, but only for an outdoor life and contest with his fellow men. It is difficult to imagine that one so sedate and self-restrained as Mr. Hemster now seems to be should have lived the life of a reckless cowboy on the plains, riding like a centaur, and shooting with an accuracy that saved his life on more than one occasion, whatever the result to his opponents. Nevertheless, in the midst of this wild career he was the first, or one of the first, to realize the future of the cattle business, and thus he laid the foundation of the colossal fortune he now possesses. I can imagine him the most capable man on the ranch, and I believe he was well paid for his services and saved his money, there being no way of spending it, for he neither drank nor gambled. While yet a very young man an opportunity came to him, and he had not quite enough capital to take advantage of it. My father made up the deficit, and, small as the amount was, Mr. Hemster has always felt an undue sense of obligation for a loan which was almost instantly repaid. When my father died he left me practically penniless so far as money was concerned, but with a musical education which would have earned me a comfortable living. Shortly after my father’s death the manager of our local bank informed me that there had been deposited to my order one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of stock in Mr. Hemster’s great business. Now the question is, Should I have kept that, or should I have returned it to Mr. Hemster?”

“I beg your pardon, Hilda, but there is no question there at all. Your father, by reason of his most opportune loan, was quite honestly entitled to a share in the business the creation of which his money had made possible.”

“But the sum given to me was out of all proportion to the amount lent. It is even more out of proportion than the figures I have mentioned would lead you to suppose, for the interest paid is so great that such an income could not be produced by four or five times the face value of the stock. Then Mr. Hemster was under no obligation to have given me a penny.”

“Surely a man may be allowed to do the right thing without being legally bound to do it. I hope you accepted without hesitation.”

“Yes, I accepted, but with considerable hesitation. Now, I think Mr. Hemster would be greatly annoyed if he knew I had told you all this. His own daughter has not the slightest suspicion of it, and I imagine her father would be even more disturbed if she gathered any hint of the real state of affairs. Indeed, I may tell you that she has dismissed me since this Japanese Countess came.”

“Then we are in the same plight, for the young lady ordered me to resign.”

“And are you going to?”