The Coal War (6 page)

Hal tried to explain, but there was no making Jessie see that a Socialist “goat” was different from any other kind of “goat”. A cheap and obvious device for people to attain prominence in college-life! Hal himself was generous, naive; he had no conception of the horrid insincerities of some people, their craving to thrust themselves forward, to make the acquaintance of their betters. Why, there was a Jew in this “Study Club” of Hal's! A fellow who, at the last commencement, had pushed himself into a group of Jessie's friends without being introduced! No, said Hal, that was another Jew. But Jessie was not pacified—all Jews looked alike to her.

What Hal was doing would ultimately cut him off entirely from social life. How could he expect people to tolerate him, if he persisted in discussing their private affairs? And so, of course, came an argument—what are a man's private affairs? His coal-mines where he works thousands of other men as serfs? If Percy Harrigan chose to take that attitude, and to “cut” Hal because he sympathized with the employes of the “G.F.C.”—why, Hal would simply forget that he knew the Coal King's son. Percy was a good fellow, but he wasn't the brainiest man in the college, by any means, nor the one Hal would prefer as an intimate. Had not Jessie herself expressed the opinion that he would never be able to get away with his important airs, if it were not for his father's millions?

Jessie admitted that Percy was not the greatest of her troubles. There was her brother, who was terribly stirred up; and more serious yet, there was her father. Someone had teased Mr. Arthur at his club, mentioning that he was to have a Socialist for a son-in-law, and the old gentleman talked about it all the time—he was threatening what he called “a serious talk”. What would Hal do about that?

Here indeed, was cause for uneasiness. Hal had never failed in tact in his dealings with Mr. Arthur; he had taken the proper interest in the country-place, he had duly inquired as to new developments, and gone promptly to see them—finding his consolation in the fact that Jessie went along, and that he could hold her hand while inspecting the Annamese rooster and sampling the Siberian strawberries. But there was one thing he could not pretend, no matter how much he might be in love with the lovely Jessie—that was, that he was impressed by the old gentleman's views on social questions. After once he had heard these views, he sought tactfully to shift the conversation, pleading an engagement on the tennis-court. But now the tennis-court was covered with snow; and before he and Jessie could think of another excuse, here came the old gentleman puffing in!

[14]

The head of the banking-house of Robert Arthur and Sons was a self-made man, and saw nothing to be ashamed of in the fact. He had begun life as a clerk of the mining-exchange, way back in the early days; he had been sober, plodding, and acquisitive, and now in his late years he was one of the financial powers of the city. All that he had, he had earned, and he was satisfied of his right to it. That jealous persons should dispute his right—the unsuccessful whom he had watched and condemned for their lack of sobriety and ploddingness and acquistiveness—that anyone could understand. That such persons should get together and found a school of thought; that they should start a political party and take to making speeches on street-corners—that too was comprehensible. The one incomprehensible thing was that these jealous and greedy spirits should receive the backing of men of education and responsibility—for example, a young man who had been permitted to become engaged to Robert Arthur's favorite daughter!

The old gentleman invited Hal into the library, and invited Jessie out; having got himself into his big leather arm-chair, and Hal in a smaller chair opposite to him, he began what was clearly to be the “serious talk”. He had recently heard about certain ideas adopted by his future son-in-law, and he desired to make an effort to understand these ideas.

Hal began very tactfully, taking his start from Little Jerry. And that was all very well—Little Jerry was a clever child, and if conditions in North Valley were as he described them, the matter ought to be brought to the attention of the executive officers of the General Fuel Company, who would correct the evils. And so at once came controversy; “Joe Smith”, ex-miner's “buddy”, revealed his notion that the heads of the General Fuel Company, gentlemen with whom Mr. Arthur did business every day, knew about these conditions, and deliberately maintained them! Such a notion revealed a disordered state in a young man's mind-it revealed that he had been listening to agitators!

And what was the young man's program—what did he expect to do about the wrongs he described? When the young man started to explain, his future father-in-law was unable to hear more than three sentences. Why, that was Socialism! And did not the young man realize that Socialists wanted to divide things up and start over again? Could not he see that if this were done, it would be only a short time before the capable men would have everything again? Socialists wanted to have everything owned and run by the state; and could not anyone see that that must lead to the building up of a political machine, worse than any ever known before?

Hal was so indiscreet as to attempt to point out to Mr. Arthur that these two ideas about Socialism were diametrically opposed, and so at least one of them must be incorrect; but at this the old gentleman became still more irritated; he made clear that his ideas were his ideas, and were to be treated respectfully, like his roosters. The old gentleman's face was round, and his eyes were round, and his two fists were round; he had a way of lifting both fists and pounding down with them to impress his arguments upon you. It was as if he were working a heavy churn, and at each thump would come a bounce in the big leather chair!

Hal was quite willing to be reduced to silence; but having definitely come out as an enemy of the system of things on which Robert Arthur's banking-business was built, he could not plausibly change his views at short notice. He realized, however, that the old gentleman desired exactly that; he was resolved either to reform this deluded young man, or else to make clear to him that he could not expect to be received into the Arthur family!

Before matters had got that far, however, Jessie came in; having been hovering outside the library in terror, ever since the discussion began. She put her arms around her father, and wet his white side-whiskers with her tears, ending the argument by sheer force of emotion. The old gentleman had never denied her anything in her life-time, so he could hardly let luncheon get cold while he debated Socialism with her lover. And after luncheon, she played the piano for him, and laughed and chatted all the time. Hal did his part—but it was like playing the piano and chatting on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius!

[15]

From this adventure Hal went for a call upon Adelaide Wyatt and the revolutionary parlor-maid. Already the miracle he had foretold had happened to Mary Burke. She had taken her mistress's hints, with a result that her fingernails were clean, her treasure of auburn hair shone dazzlingly under a white lace cap; she was the very picture of a parlor-maid! Her clean, straight figure had filled out in this new home, and her cheeks had again that vivid Irish color which had struck Hal when he had first encountered her, a rose in a mining-camp, taking in the family wash!

Mary was watching things about her, he could see. Yet she was sensible about it, free from self-consciousness; she would learn what a lady might have to teach, but without losing her head, or forgetting her people at home. Her steady grey eyes met Hal's with the old frankness. Apparently it was not an impossible thing for one to be a servant with dignity.

Mary was happy; for the first time since Hal had known her the burden of care was lifted from her life. Her brother and sister were living with Mrs. David, who was good to them; Tommie's wages as a “trapper-boy” sufficed for his keep, and Mary was sending three dollars a week for Jennie. As for Old Patrick, he was living in the cabin alone, and his drinking harmed no one but himself. Mary had long ago been forced to give him up, so the pain of this did not cut too deeply into her soul.

Yes, Mary was happy! That sense of fun which is never very deep below the surface of an Irish mind bubbled over when Hal told about Little Jerry's adventures at the New Year's party, and about his own adventures with the chancellor of Peter Harrigan's College. He told about the “social study” nights, and all the interesting things that went on there. As he talked, the thought came to him, How Mary would have liked to go to one of those “social study” nights! And how he would have liked to take her! But he could not take her, he could not even tell his friends about her. He had to keep her a dark secret—more so now than when she had been in North Valley. For a college boy to be interested in a rose in a mining-camp might conceivably be a romance; but for him to be interested in a parlor-maid could not possibly be anything but a scandal!

Hal ought to have been satisfied, as Mary was, now that she had a good home; but instead he was thinking about this dirty world which drove people to cringing and cowardice, when they had nothing of the kind in their nature. Mary was as fine and straight a girl as you would meet in a life-time; but nevertheless, there would be a line drawn, and Mary would be on the other side of that line. And this canting world would go on calling itself a democracy, a land of equal opportunity!

Poor Mary! She was so happy in her wonderful new role—so charming with her Irish fun! But let her not make the mistake of thinking that she had really been taken into this world of cleanness and ease! Let her not get the idea that she was dusting Mrs. Wyatt's bric-a-brac out of love and gratitude! Mrs. Wyatt herself would be as human as she dared, but the ladies who came to her tea-parties would be quick to put a revolutionary parlor-maid in her “place”! Hal was wondering how long it would be before something happened to break “Red Mary's” bubble of happiness. Suppose it was to occur to her in this new and wonderful prosperity to ask her friend “Joe Smith” to take her to a picture-show!

Just now, however, Mary did not need picture-shows. She was revelling in a more wonderful world to which she had secured admission—her mistress's library. Hal had told her what to read, and she had been sitting up half the night to finish “Comrade Yetta”. He was interested to see the effect upon her of this story of a Socialist working-girl. She told him about it with a thrill in her voice. “Joe, I never knew there were such things, so many movements, so many people helpin' to set free the workin'-class!”

She saw now what he had meant, when he urged her to get an education. She had thought she knew enough—what did a body need to know, save that the poor were being devoured, and must stand together and put an end to it? But now she was realizing how complicated was the problem; there were many evils, many remedies offered, many courses to choose among. Hal had sent her Socialist papers, and she had read every line of them, and had got her head in, a whirl! “Ye read what one man says and think he's got it right, and then ye read another man, and he sounds good too—only he says the other man's all wrong! I read about strikes in South Africa and New Zealand, places I never heard of, so I have to get the geography-book. And there are so many long words—why do they have to have such long words, Joe? Even Mrs. Wyatt don't always know what they mean!”

Adelaide put in with a laugh that she was educating herself, as well as Mary. They would be a team of revolutionists when they got through!

So Hal went away with a pleasant image of Mary. What a wonderful thing it was to see a mind unfolding, reaching out for new opportunities, discovering the world of ideas! Inevitably this brought another thought—why could not his sweetheart take hold of things like that? She really knew little more than Mary; she had the smattering of history and “polite letters” that young ladies obtain in boarding-schools, but of the great vital ideas of the day she was utterly ignorant. And when he offered her knowledge, why did she not take it?

He did not want to compare Jessie with Mary. It seemed disloyal, and he put the two in separate compartments of his mind, and strove to keep them there. But somehow they seemed always to come together! It was not their fault; for Mary never mentioned Jessie's name, and as for Jessie, she was not supposed to know about the revolutionary parlor-maid. But Hal had chanced to mention Adelaide Wyatt to Jessie, and he had noted a sudden silence, and a shadow on Jessie's fair brow. Could it be that she had heard the rumor? And if so, what was she thinking? Hal was not naturally alert to the subtleties of women's minds, but Adelaide had warned him here, and so, as he walked along, he had new quarrels with the world of caste and gossip!

[16]

Hal's next call was upon the Minettis. He learned that Big Jerry had come home, and got his head well, and gone off to resume his dangerous work. He had grown a mustache and beard for a disguise; and, how funny he looked! cried Little Jerry. They had just had a letter from him, smuggled out from the Western-American, where he was at work again. “I told you he fool them bosses!” proclaimed the youngster.

Mr. Wilmerding had called, said Rosa. He seemed to be a good man, in spite of the fact that he preached in Peter Harrigan's church. He had begged to have Little Jerry in his Sunday-school, so that the child might know the name of Jesus as something else than a “cuss-word”. Rosa was not sure what Big Jerry would say, but she had let the child go, and he had been given a nice picture-book; also a lady had called on them, bringing good things to eat, and a spinning top, and a rattle for the baby. Rosa, who was a Socialist like her husband, and a shrewd little body for all her child's face, remarked that perhaps Mr. Wilmerding wanted to make his conscience feel better, by getting some poor people into his fine church!

During this visit to Western City Hal went also to see Jim Moylan, the secretary of the district organization of the miners, who had just got back from a trip to the “field”. There had been a sudden flare-up of revolt at Harvey's Run, and it had spread to Pine Creek and Bonito, in spite of Moylan's best efforts. He had called Harmon, his chief, to his aid, but a number of the men were still refusing to go back to work. They were cursing the union officials up and down the line, calling them cowards and weaklings, some going so far as to call them traitors. They, the men, were on strike, and others wanted to join them; who was paying the leaders to hold them back? Such was the situation in the coal-country, at the time that everybody in Hal's world believed that the labor leaders were trying to stir up trouble.