Part One - EIGHT

by Willa Cather

　　Niel met his uncle and Captain Forrester when they alighted fromthe morning train, and drove over to the house with them. Thebusiness on which they had gone to Denver was not referred to untilthey were sitting with Mrs. Forrester in the front parlour. Thewindows were open, and the perfume of the mock-orange and of Juneroses was blowing in from the garden. Captain Forrester introducedthe subject, after slowly unfolding his handkerchief and wiping hisforehead, and his fleshy neck, around his low collar.

　　"Maidy," he said, not looking at her, "I've come home a poor man.It took about everything there was to square up. You'll have thisplace, unencumbered, and my pension; that will be about all. Thelive-stock will bring in something."

　　Niel saw that Mrs. Forrester grew very pale, but she smiled andbrought her husband his cigar stand. "Oh, well! I expect we canmanage, can't we?"

　　"We can just manage. Not much more. I'm afraid Judge Pommeroyconsiders I acted foolishly."

　　"Not at all, Mrs. Forrester," the Judge exclaimed. "He acted justas I hope I would have done in his place. But I am an unmarriedman. There were certain securities, government bonds, whichCaptain Forrester could have turned over to you, but it would havebeen at the expense of the depositors."

　　"I've known men to do that," said the Captain heavily, "but I neverconsidered they paid their wives a compliment. If Mrs. Forresteris satisfied, I shall never regret my decision." For the firsttime his tired, swollen eyes sought his wife's.

　　"I never question your decisions in business, Mr. Forrester.I know nothing about such things."

　　The Captain put down the cigar he had taken but not lighted, rosewith an effort, and walked over to the bay window, where he stoodgazing out over his meadows. "The place looks very nice, Maidy,"he said presently. "I see you've watered the roses. They need it,this weather. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll lie down for a while.I did not sleep well on the train. Niel and the Judge will stayfor lunch." He opened the door into Mrs. Forrester's room andclosed it behind him.

　　Judge Pommeroy began to explain to Mrs. Forrester the situationthey had faced in Denver. The bank, about which Mrs. Forresterknew nothing but its name, was one which paid good interest onsmall deposits. The depositors were wage-earners; railroademployes, mechanics, and day labourers, many of whom had at sometime worked for Captain Forrester. His was the only well-knownname among the bank officers, it was the name which promisedsecurity and fair treatment to his old workmen and their friends.The other directors were promising young business men with manyirons in the fire. But, the Judge said with evident chagrin, theyhad refused to come up to the scratch and pay their losses likegentlemen. They claimed that the bank was insolvent, not throughunwise investments or mismanagement, but because of a nation-widefinancial panic, a shrinking in values that no one could haveforeseen. They argued that the fair thing was to share the losswith the depositors; to pay them fifty cents on the dollar, givinglong-time notes for twenty-five per cent, settling on a basis ofseventy-five per cent.

　　Captain Forrester had stood firm that not one of the depositorsshould lose a dollar. The promising young business men hadlistened to him respectfully, but finally told him they wouldsettle only on their own terms; any additional refunding must behis affair. He sent to the vault for his private steel box, openedit in their presence, and sorted the contents on the table. Thegovernment bonds he turned in at once. Judge Pommeroy was sent outto sell the mining stocks and other securities in the open market.

　　At this part of his narrative the Judge rose and began to pace thefloor, twisting the seals on his watch-chain. "That was what a manof honour was bound to do, Mrs. Forrester. With five of thedirectors backing down, he had either to lose his name or save it.The depositors had put their savings into that bank because CaptainForrester was president. To those men with no capital but theirback and their two hands, his name meant safety. As he tried toexplain to the directors, those deposits were above price; moneysaved to buy a home, or to take care of a man in sickness, or tosend a boy to school. And those young men, bright fellows, wellthought of in the community, sat there and looked down their nosesand let your husband strip himself down to pledging his lifeinsurance! There was a crowd in the street outside the bank allday, every day; Poles and Swedes and Mexicans, looking scared todeath. A lot of them couldn't speak English,--seemed like the onlyEnglish word they knew was 'Forrester.' As we went in and out we'dhear the Mexicans saying, 'Forrester, Forrester.' It was a tormentfor me, on your account, Ma'm, to see the Captain strip himself.But, 'pon my honour, I couldn't forbid him. As for those white-livered rascals that sat there,--" the Judge stopped before Mrs.Forrester and ruffled his bushy white hair with both hands, "ByGod, Madam, I think I've lived too long! In my day the differencebetween a business man and a scoundrel was bigger than thedifference between a white man and a nigger. I wasn't the rightone to go out there as the Captain's counsel. One of these smoothmembers of the bar, like Ivy Peters is getting ready to be, mighthave saved something for you out of the wreck. But I couldn't usemy influence with your husband. To that crowd outside the bankdoors his name meant a hundred cents on the dollar, and by God,they got it! I'm proud of him, Ma'm; proud of his acquaintance!"

　　It was the first time Niel had ever seen Mrs. Forrester flush. Aquick pink swept over her face. Her eyes glistened with moisture."You were quite right, Judge. I wouldn't for the world have hadhim do otherwise for me. He would never hold up his head again.You see, I know him." As she said this she looked at Niel, on theother side of the room, and her glance was like a delicate and verydignified rebuke to some discourtesy,--though he was not consciousof having shown her any.

　　When their hostess went out to see about lunch, Judge Pommeroyturned to his nephew. "Son, I'm glad you want to be an architect.I can't see any honourable career for a lawyer, in this newbusiness world that's coming up. Leave the law to boys like IvyPeters, and get into some clean profession. I wasn't the right manto go with Forrester." He shook his head sadly.

　　"Will they really be poor?"

　　"They'll be pinched. It's as he said; they've nothing left butthis place."

　　Mrs. Forrester returned and went to waken her husband for lunch.When she opened the door into her room, they heard stertorousbreathing, and she called to them to come quickly. The Captain wasstretched upon his iron bed in the antechamber, and Mrs. Forresterwas struggling to lift his head.

　　"Quick, Niel," she panted. "We must get pillows under him. Bringthose from my bed."

　　Niel gently pushed her away. Sweat poured from his face as he gothis strength under the Captain's shoulders. It was like lifting awounded elephant. Judge Pommeroy hurried back to the sitting-roomand telephoned Dr. Dennison that Captain Forrester had had astroke.

　　A stroke could not finish a man like Daniel Forrester. He was keptin his bed for three weeks, and Niel helped Mrs. Forrester and BenKeezer take care of him. Although he was at the house so muchduring that time, he never saw Mrs. Forrester alone,--scarcely sawher at all, indeed. With so much to attend to, she becameabstracted, almost impersonal. There were many letters to answer,gifts of fruit and wine and flowers to be acknowledged. Solicitousinquiries came from friends scattered all the way from the Missourito the mountains. When Mrs. Forrester was not in the Captain'sroom, or in the kitchen preparing special foods for him, she was ather desk.

　　One morning while she was seated there, a distinguished visitorarrived. Niel, waiting by the door for the letters he was to taketo the post, saw a large, red-whiskered man in a rumpled pongeesuit and a panama hat come climbing up the hill; Cyrus Dalzell,president of the Colorado & Utah, who had come over in his privatecar to enquire for the health of his old friend. Niel warned Mrs.Forrester, and she went to meet the visitor, just as he mounted thesteps, wiping his face with a red silk bandanna.

　　He took both the lady's hands and exclaimed in a warm, deep voice,"Here she is, looking as fresh as a bride! May I claim an oldprivilege?" He bent his head and kissed her. "I won't be in yourway, Marian," he said as they came into the house, "but I had tosee for myself how he does, and how you do."

　　Mr. Dalzell shook hands with Niel, and as he talked he moved aboutthe parlour clumsily and softly, like a brown bear. Mrs. Forresterstopped him to straighten his flowing yellow tie and pull down theback of his wrinkled coat. "It's easy to see that Kitty wasn'twith you this morning when you dressed," she laughed.

　　"Thank you, thank you, my dear. I've got a green porter downthere, and he doesn't seem to realize the extent of his duties.No, Kitty wanted to come, but we have two giddy nieces out fromPortsmouth, visiting us, and she felt she couldn't. I just had mycar hitched on to the tail of the Burlington flyer and came myself.Now tell me about Daniel. Was it a stroke?"

　　Mrs. Forrester sat down on the sofa beside him and told him abouther husband's illness, while he interrupted with sympatheticquestions and comments, taking her hand between his large, softpalms and patting it affectionately.

　　"And now I can go home and tell Kitty that he will soon be as goodas ever,--and that you look like you were going to lead the balltonight. You whisper to Daniel that I've got a couple cases ofport down in my car that will build him up faster than anything thedoctors give him. And I've brought along a dozen sherry, for alady that knows a thing or two about wines. And next winter youare both coming out to stay with us at the Springs, for a change ofair."

　　Mrs. Forrester shook her head gently. "Oh, that, I'm afraid, is apretty dream. But we'll dream it, anyway!" Everything about herhad brightened since Cyrus Dalzell came up the hill. Even the longgarnet earrings beside her cheeks seemed to flash with a deepercolour, Niel thought. She was a different woman from the one whosat there writing, half an hour ago. Her fingers, as they playedon the sleeve of the pongee coat, were light and fluttery asbutterfly wings.

　　"No dream at all, my dear. Kitty has arranged everything. Youknow how quickly she thinks things out. I am to come for you in mycar. We'll get my old porter Jim as a valet for Daniel, and youcan just play around and put fresh life into us all. We saw lastwinter that we couldn't do anything without our Lady Forrester.Nothing came off right without her. If we had a party, we sat downafterward and wondered what in hell we'd had it for. Oh, no, wecan't manage without you!"

　　Tears flashed into her eyes. "That's very dear of you. It's sweetto be remembered when one is away." In her voice there was theheart-breaking sweetness one sometimes hears in lovely, gentle oldsongs.