Robert Kimberly

"No, this is a dream come true. I foresaw thistime and I have provided for it. Only delicacyhas kept me from asking you before about yourvery personal affairs and your private purse,Alice. Understand at once," he took her handsvehemently, "everything I have is yours withoutthe least reserve. Do you understand? Moneyis the last thing to make any one happy, I wellknow that, but in addition to the word of myheart to your heart-the transfers to you, Alice, have long been made and at this moment you have, merely waiting for you to draw upon them, morefunds than you could make use of in ten lifetimes.Everything is provided for. There are tears inyour eyes. Sit still for a moment and let me speak."

"No, I must speak. I am in a horrible position.I cannot at such a juncture receive anythingfrom you. But there are matters to be faced.Shall I stay here? If I do, he must go. Shall Igo? And if I do go, where?"

"Let me answer with a suggestion. My familyare all devoted to us. Dolly and Imogene are goodcounsellors. I will lay the matter before them.After a family council we shall know just what todo and how. I have my own idea; we shall seewhat the others say. Dolly, you know, has takenyou under her wing from the first, and Dollyyou will find is a powerful protector. If I tell youwhat I did to-day you will gasp with astonishment.I cabled for a whole new set of photographsof the Maggiore villa. I want our firstyear together, Alice, to be in Italy."

CHAPTER XXXI

Accompanied by Imogene, Dolly hastenedover to Cedar Lodge in the morning.Alice met them in the hall. "My dear," criedDolly, folding her impulsively in her arms, "youare charged with fate!"

Then she drew back, laid her hands on Alice'sshoulders and, bringing her face tenderly forward, kissed her. "How can I blame Robert for fallingin love with you? And yet!" She turned toImogene. "If we had been told that first nightthat this was the woman of our destiny! Howdo you bear your new honors, dearie? What!Tears! Nonsense, my child. You are freightedwith the Kimberly hopes now. You are one ofus. Tears are at an end. I, too, cried when Ifirst knew of it. Come, sit down. Imogene willtell you everything." And having announced thismuch, Dolly proceeded with the telling herself.

"When you first knew of it?" echoed Alice."Pray, when was that?"

"Oh, long, long ago-before ever you did, mydear. But no matter now. We talked last night,Arthur, Charles, Imogene, and Robert and Iuntil midnight. And this is what we said: 'Thedignity of your personal position is, beforeeverything else, to be rigidly maintained.' Mr. MacBirneywill be required to do this. He will becounselled on this point-made to understand thatthe obligation to maintain the dignity of his wife'sposition is primary. Robert, of course, objectedto this. He was for allowing no one but himselfto do anything-"

"I hope you clearly understand, Dolly, I shouldallow Mr. Kimberly to do nothing whatever atthis juncture," interposed Alice quickly.

"I understand perfectly, dear. But there areothers of us, you know, friends of your own dearmother, remember. Only, aside from all of that,we considered that the situation admitted of butone arrangement. Charles will tell Nelson exactlywhat MacBirney is to do, and Nelson will see thatit is done. The proper bankers will advise youof your credits from your husband, for thepresent-and they are to be very generous ones, mydear," added Dolly significantly. "So all that istaken care of and Mr. MacBirney will further becounselled not to come near Cedar Lodge orSecond Lake until further orders. Do you understand?"

"Why, yes, Dolly," assented Alice perplexed,"but Mr. MacBirney's acquiescence in all this isvery necessary it seems to me. And he may agreeto none of it."

"My dear, it isn't at all a question of hisagreeing. He will do as he is advised to do. Doyou imagine he can afford breaking with theKimberlys? A man that pursues money, dear heart,is no longer a free agent. His interests confronthim at every turn. Fledgling millionaires are inno way new to us. Mercy, they pass in and outof our lives every day! A millionaire, dear, isnothing but a million meannesses and they alldo exactly as they are told. Really, I am sorryfor some of them. Of all unfortunates they arenowadays the worst. They are simply ground topowder between the multi-millionaires and thelaboring classes. In this case, happily, it is onlya matter of making one do what he ought to do,so give it no thought."

Dolly proved a good prophet concerningMacBirney's course in the circumstances. MacBirney, desirous of playing at once to the lakepublic in the affair of his domestic difficulties, madeunexceptional allowances for his wife'smaintenance. Yet at every dollar that came to herfrom his abundance she felt humiliated. Sheknew now why she had endured so much at hishands for so long; it was because she had realizedher utter dependence on him and that her dreamsof self-support were likely, if she had ever actedon them, to end in very bitter realities.

At the first sign of hot weather, Charles andImogene put to sea with a party for a coastingcruise; Dolly sailed for the continent to bringGrace back with her. Robert Kimberly unwillingto leave for any extended period would notlet Alice desert him; accordingly, Fritzie wassent for and came over to stay with her. Thelake country made a delightful roaming placeand Alice was shown by Kimberly's confidenceshow close she was to him.

He confided to her the journal of the day, whatever it might be. Nothing was held back. Hissuccesses, failures, and worries all came to her atnight. He often asked her for advice upon hisaffairs and her wonder grew as the inwardnessof the monetary world in which he moved stoodrevealed to her. She spoke of it one day.

"To be sought after as you are-to have somany men running out here to find you; to beconsulted by so many-"

Kimberly interrupted her. "Do you knowwhy they seek me? Because I make money forthem, Alice. They would run after anybodythat could make them money. But they arewolves and if I lost for them they would try totear me to pieces. No man is so alone as theman the public follows for a day even while it hatesor fears him. And the man the bankers like is theman that can make money for them; their friendshipis as cold and thin as autumn ice."

"But even then, to have the ability for makingmoney and doing magnificent things; to be ableto succeed where so many men fail-it seems sowonderful to me."

"Don't cherish any illusions about it. Everyonethat makes money must be guilty of a thousandcold-blooded things, a thousand sharp turns, athousand cruelties; it's a game of cruelties.Fortunately, I'm not a brilliant success in that line, anyway; people merely think I am. The idealmoney-maker always is and always will be a manwithout a temper, without a heart, and with aninfusion, in our day, of hypocrisy. He takesrefuge in hypocrisy because the public hates himand he is forced to do it to keep from hatinghimself. When public opinion gets too strong forhim he plays to it. When it isn't too strong, heplays to himself. I can't do that; I have toomuch vanity to play to anybody. And therecollection of a single defeat rankles above thememory of a thousand victories. This is allwrong-far, far from the ideal of money getting; in fact,I'm not a professional in the game at all-merelyan amateur. A very successful man should neverbe trusted anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because success comes first with him. Itcomes before friendship and he will sacrifice youto success without a pang."

She looked at him with laughing interest."What is it?" he asked changing his tone.

"I was thinking of how I am impressed sometimesby the most unexpected things. You couldnever imagine what most put me in awe of youbefore I met you."

"There must have been a severe revulsion offeeling when you did meet me," suggested Kimberly.

"We were going up the river in your yacht andMr. McCrea was showing us the refineries. Allthat I then knew of you was what I had read innewspapers about calculating and cold-bloodedtrust magnates. Mr. McCrea was pointing outthe different plants as we went along."

"The river is very pretty at the Narrows."

"First, we passed the independent houses.They kept getting bigger and bigger until I couldn'timagine anything to overshadow them and Ibegan to get frightened and wonder what yourrefineries would be like. Then, just as we turned atthe island, Mr. McCrea pointed out a perfectlyhuge cluster of buildings and said those were theKimberly plants. Really, they took my breathaway. And in the midst of them rose thatenormous oblong chimney-stack. A soft, lazy columnof smoke hovered over it-such as hovers overVesuvius." She smiled at the remembrance."But the repose and size of that chimney seemedto me like the strength of the pyramids. Whenwe steamed nearer I could read, near the top, the great terra-cotta plaque: KIMBERLYS ANDCOMPANY. Then I thought: Oh, what atremendous personage Mr. Robert Kimberly must be!"

"The chimney is yours."

"Oh, no, keep it, pray-but it really did put mewondering just what you were like."

"It must have been an inspiration that mademe build that chimney. The directors thought Iwould embarrass the company before we got thefoundations in. I didn't know then whom I wasbuilding it for, but I know now; and if you gota single thrill out of it the expenditure is justified.And I think mention of the thrill should go into thedirectors' minutes on the page where they objectedto the bill-we will see about that. But you neverexpected at that moment to own the chimney, did you? You shall. I will have the trusteesrelease it from the general mortgage and conveyit to you."

"And speaking of Vesuvius, you never dreamedof a volcano lying in wait for you beneath thelazy smoke of that chimney, did you? And thatbefore very long you would not alone own thechimney but would be carrying the volcano aroundin your vanity bag?"

CHAPTER XXXII

One afternoon in the early autumn Kimberlycame to Cedar Lodge a little later than usualand asked Alice, as he often did, to walk to thelake. He started down the path with somethingmore than his ordinary decision and inclined fora time to reticence. They stopped at a benchnear an elm overlooking the water. "You havebeen in town to-day," said Alice.

"Yes; a conference this morning on the market.Something extraordinary happened."

"In the market?"

"Market conditions are bad enough, but thiswas something personal."

"Tell me about it."

"MacBirney was present at the conference.After the meeting he came to the head of the tablewhere I was talking with McCrea-and sat down.When McCrea joined the others in thelunchroom, MacBirney said he wanted to speak tome a moment. I told him to go ahead.

"He began at once about his differences withyou. His talk puzzled me. I was on thedefensive, naturally. But as far as I could see, hedesigned no attack on me; and of you he couldutter nothing but praise-it was rather trying tolisten to. I could not fathom his purpose in bringingthe matter before me in this singular way, buthe ended with an appeal-"

"An appeal!"

"He asked me to bring a message to you. Itold him I would deliver any message entrustedto me. He wants you to know that he is verysorry for what has taken place. He admits thathe has been in the wrong-"

"It is too late!" Alice in her emotion rose toher feet.

"And he asks you, through me," Kimberly spokeunder a strain he did not wholly conceal, "if hemay come back and let the past bury itself."

"It is too late."

"He said," Kimberly rose and faced Alice,"there had been differences about religion-"

"Ask him," she returned evenly, "whether Iever sought to interfere with his religious views orpractices."

"These, he promises, shall not come betweenyou again."

"Wretched man! His words are not theslightest guarantee of his conduct."

Kimberly took his hat from his head and wipedhis forehead. "This was the message, Alice;is he to come back to you?"

"Whatever becomes of me, I never will liveagain with him."