Mr. Foote stood motionless, staring after his son as he might have
stared at some phenomenon which violated a law of nature; for instance,
as he might have stared at the sun rising in the west, at a stream
flowing uphill, at Newton's apple remaining suspended in air instead of
falling properly to the ground. He was not angry--yet. That personal
and individual emotion would come later; what he experienced now was a
FAMILY emotion, a staggering astonishment participated in by five
generations of departed Bonbright Footes.
He was nonplussed. Here had happened a thing which could not happen. In
the whole history of the Foote family there had never been recorded an
instance of a son uttering such words to his father or of his family.
There was no instance of an outburst even remotely resembling this one.
It simply could not be.... And yet it was. He had witnessed it,
listened to it, had been the target at which his son's hot words had
been hurled.
For most occurrences in his life Mr. Foote could find a family
precedent. This matter had been handled thus, and that other matter had
been handled so. But this thin--it had never been handled because it
had never happened. He was left standing squarely on his own feet,
without aid or support.
Mortification mingled with his astonishment. It had remained for
him--who had thought to add to the family laurels the literary
achievement of portraying philosophically the life of the Marquis
Lafayette--to father a son who could be guilty of thinking such
thoughts and uttering such words. He looked about the room
apprehensively, as if he feared to find assembled there the shades of
departed Bonbrights who had been eavesdropping, as the departed are
said to do by certain psychic persons.... He hoped they had not been
listening at his keyhole, for this was a squalid happening that he must
smother, cover up, hide forever from their knowledge.
These sensations were succeeded by plain, ordinary, common, uncultured,
ancestorless anger. Bonbright Foote VI retained enough personality,
enough of his human self, to be able to become angry. True, he did not
do it as one of his molders would have done; he was still a Foote, even
in passion. It was a dignified, a cultured, a repressed passion... but
deep-seated and seething for an outlet, just the same. What he felt
might be compared distantly to what other men feel when they seize upon
the paternal razor strop and apply it wholesomely to that portion of
their son's anatomy which tradition says is most likely to turn boys to
virtue.... He wanted to compel Bonbright to make painful reparation to
his ancestors. He wanted to inflict punishment of some striking,
uncommon, distressing sort....
His anger increased, and he became even more human. With a trifle more
haste than was usual, with the studied, cultured set of his lips less
studied and cultured than ever they had been before, he strode to his
son's door. Something was going to happen. He was restraining himself,
but something would happen now. He felt it and feared it. ... His rage
must have an outlet. Vaguely he felt that fire must be fought with
fire--and he all unaccustomed to handling that element. But he would
rise to the necessities....
He stepped into Bonbright's room, keyed up to eruption, but he did not
erupt. Nobody was there to erupt AT. Bonbright was gone....
Mr. Foote went back to his desk and sat there nervously drumming on its
top with his fingers. He was not himself. He had never been so
disturbed before and did not know it was possible for him to be upset
in this manner. There had been other crises, other disagreeable
happenings in his life, but he had met them calmly, dispassionately,
with what he was pleased to call philosophy. He had liked to fancy
himself as ruled wholly by intellect and not at all by emotion. And now
emotion had caught him up as a tidal wave might catch up a strong
swimmer, and tossed him hither and thither, blinded by its spray and
helpless.
His one coherent thought was that something must be done about it. At
such a moment some fathers would have considered the advisability of
casting their sons loose to shift for themselves as a punishment for
too much independence and for outraging the laws requiring
unquestioning respect for father from son. This course did not even
occur to Mr. Foote. It was in the nature of things that it should not,
for in his mind his son was a permanent structure, a sort of extension
on the family house. He was THERE. Without him the family ended, the
family business passed into the hands of strangers. There would be no
Bonbright Foote VIII who, in his turn, should become the father of
Bonbright Foote IX, and so following. No, he did not hold even
tentatively the idea of disinheritance.
Something, however, must be done, and the something must result in his
son's becoming what he wanted his son to become. Bonbright must be
grasped and shoved into the family groove and made to travel and
function there. There could be no surrender, no wavering, no concession
made by the family.... The boy must be made into what he ought to
be--but how? And he must have his lesson for this day's scene. He must
be shown that he could not, with impunity, outrage the Family Tradition
and flout the Family Ghosts.... Again--how?
What Bonbright intended in his present state of boyish rage and revolt,
his father did not consider. It was characteristic of him that he
failed to think of that. All his considerations were of what he and the
Family should do to Bonbright.... A general would doubtless have called
this defective strategy. To win battles one must have some notion of
the enemy's intentions--and of his potentialities.... His
determination--set and stiff as cold metal--was that something
unpleasant should happen to the boy and that the boy should be brought
to his senses.... If anyone had hinted to him that the boy was just
coming to his senses he would have listened as one listens to a patent
absurdity.
He pressed the buzzer which summoned Rangar, and presently that
soft-footed individual appeared silently in the door--looking as Mr.
Foote had never seen him look before. Rangar was breathing hard, he was
flustered, his necktie was awry, and his face was ivory white. Also,
though Mr. Foote did not take in this detail, his eyes smoldered with
restrained malignancy.
"Why, Rangar," said Mr. Foote, "what's wrong?"
"Wrong, Mr. Foote!... I--It was Mr. Bonbright."
"What about Mr. Bonbright?"
"A moment ago he came rushing out of his office--I use the word rushing
advisedly.... He was in a rage, sir. He was, you could see it plain.
I--I was in his way, sir, and I stepped aside. But he wouldn't have it.
No, sir, he wouldn't.... He reached out, Mr. Foote, and grabbed me;
yes, sir, grabbed me right before the whole office. It was by the front
of the shirt and the necktie, and he shook me.... He's a strong young
man.... And he said, 'You're the sneak that's been running to father
with lies,' and then he shook me again. 'I suppose,' he says in a
second, 'that I've got to expect to be spied on.... Go ahead, it's a
job that fits you.' Yes, sir, that's exactly what he said in his own
words. 'Fits me,' says he. And then he shook me again and threw me
across the alleyway so that I fell over on a desk. 'Spy ahead,' he
says, so that everybody in the office heard him and was snickering at
me, 'but report what you see after this--and see to it it's the
truth.... One more lie like this one,' he says, and then stopped and
rushed on out of the office. It was a threat, Mr. Foote, and he meant
it. He means me harm."
"Nonsense!" said Mr. Foote, holding himself resolutely in the character
he had built for himself. "A fit of boyish temper."
Rangar's eyes glinted, but he made no rejoinder.
"He rather lost his temper with ME," said Mr. Foote, "when I accused
him of a liaison with that girl.... He denied it, Rangar, or so I
understood. He was very young and--tempestuous about it. Are you sure
you were right?"
"What else would he be going there for, Mr. Foote?"
"My idea exactly."
"Unless, sir, he fancies he's in love with the girl.... I once knew a
young man in a position similar to Mr. Bonbright's who fell in love
with a girl who sold cigars in a hotel.... He fairly DOGGED her, sir.
Wanted to marry her. You wouldn't believe it, but that's what he did,
and his family had to buy her off and send her away or he'd have done
it, too.... It might happen to any young man, Mr. Foote."
"Not to a member of my family, Rangar."
"I can't agree with you, sir.... Nobody's immune to it. You can't deny
that Mr. Bonbright has been going to see her regularly. Five or six
times he's been there, and stayed a long time every visit.... It was
one thing or the other he went for, and you can't deny that. If he says
it wasn't what you accused him of, then it was the other."
"You mean that my son--a Foote--could fall in love, as you call it,
with the daughter of a boarding house and a companion of anarchists?"
"I hate to say it to you, sir, but there isn't anything else to
believe.... He's young, Mr. Foote, and fiery. She isn't bad looking,
either, and she's clever. A clever girl can do a lot with a boy, no
matter who he is, if she sets her heart on him. It wouldn't be a bad
match for a girl like her if she was to entice Mr. Bonbright into a
marriage."
"Impossible, Rangar.... However, you have an eye kept on him. I want to
be told every move he makes, where he goes, who he sees. I want to know
everything about him, Rangar. Will you see to it?"
"Yes, sir," said Rangar, a gleam of malice again visible in his eyes.
"What do you know about this girl? Have you had her looked up?"
"Not fully, sir. But I've heard she was heart and soul with what these
anarchists believe. Her father was one of them. Killed by the police or
soldiers or somebody.... The unions educated her. That's why Dulac went
to live there--to help them out.... And it's been reported to me, Mr.
Foote, that Dulac was sweet on her himself. That came from a reliable
source."
"My son a rival of an anarchist for the favor of the daughter of a
cheap boarding house!" exclaimed Mr. Foote.
"This Dulac was seen, Mr. Foote, with reference to the strike. He's a
fanatic. Nothing could be done with him. He actually offered violence
to our agent who attempted to show him how it would be to his benefit
to--to be less energetic. We offered him--"
"I don't care to hear what we offered him. Such details are
distasteful, Rangar. That's what I hire you for, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir.... Anyhow, Mr. Foote, he couldn't be bought."
"Yes.... Yes. Well, we'll have to continue along the lines we've been
following. They have been not unsuccessful."
"True enough. It's just a question of time now. It might do some good,
Mr. Foote, to have the rumor get about that we wouldn't take back any
men who did not apply for reinstatement before the end of next week....
There's considerable discontent, due largely to insufficient
nourishment. Yes, we can lay it to that, I imagine. It's this man Dulac
that holds the strike together. If only every laboring man had a dozen
babies there'd be less strikes," Rangar finished, not exactly
callously, but in a matter-of-fact way. If he had thought of it he
might have added, "and a sick wife." Rangar would not have hesitated to
provide each striker with the babies and the wife, purely as a
strike-breaking measure, if he could have managed the matter.
"They're improvident," said Mr. Foote, sagaciously. "If they must
strike and cut off their earnings every so often, why don't they lay up
savings to carry them through?"
"They seem to have the notion, sir, that they don't earn enough to
save. That, while it isn't their main grievance, is an important one.
But the idiots put nonsensical, immaterial grievances ahead of money
matters mostly.... Rights! Rights to do this or not to do that--to
organize or to sit at board meetings. They're not practical, Mr. Foote.
If it was just money they wanted we might get on with them. It's men
like this Dulac putting notions into their heads that they haven't
brains enough to think of themselves. Social revolution, you know--that
sort of thing."
"Do what you like about it. You might have notices tacked up outside
the gates stating that we wouldn't take back men who weren't back by
the date you named. And, Rangar, be sure Mr. Bonbright's name is signed
to it. I want to rid the men thoroughly of any absurd ideas about him."
"You have, sir. If Dulac is a fair sample, you have. Why, he seems
regularly to HATE Mr. Bonbright. Called him names, and that sort of
thing.... Maybe, though, there's something personal mixed up in it."
"That girl?..."
"Very likely, sir."
"You know her, Rangar. She worked under you. What sort of girl is
she?... I mean would you consider it wise to approach her with a
proposition--delicately put, of course--to--say--move to another city,
or something of the sort?"
"My observation of her--while not close--(you understand I have little
opportunity for close observations of unimportant subordinates)--was
that it would be unwise and--er--futile. She seemed to have quite a
will. Indeed, I may say she seemed stubborn ... and no fool. If she's
got a chance at Mr. Bonbright she wouldn't give it up for a few
dollars. Not her, sir."
"I don't recall her especially. Small--was she not? Not
the--ah--ripe--rounded type to attract a boy? Eh?"
"Curves and color don't always do it, Mr. Foote, I've observed. I've
known scrawny ones, without a thing to stir up the imagination, that
had ten boys running after them to one running after the kind they have
pictures of on calendars.... I don't know if it's brains, or what, but
they've got something that attracts."
"Hum!... Can't say I've had much experience. Probably you're right.
Anyhow, we're faced by something definite in the way of a condition.
... If the thing is merely a liaison--we can break it up, I imagine,
without difficulty. If my son is so blind to right and wrong, and to
his position, as to want to MARRY the girl, we'll have to resort
promptly to effective measures."
"Promptly," said Rangar. "And quietly, Mr. Foote. If she got an idea
there was trouble brewing, she might off with him and get married
before we could wink."
"Heavens!... An anarchistic boarding-house girl for a daughter-in-law!
We'd be a proud family, Rangar."
"Yes, sir. I understand you leave it with me?"
"I leave it with you to keep an eye on Bonbright. Consult with me
before acting. My son is in a strange humor. He'll take some handling,
I'm afraid, before we bring him to see things as my son ought to see
them. But I'll bring him there, Rangar. I should be doing my duty very
indifferently, indeed, if I did not. He's resentful. He wants to
display a thing he calls his individuality--as if our family had use
for such things. We're Footes, and I rather fancy the world knows what
that means.... My son shall be a Foote, Rangar. That's all.... Stay a
moment, though. Hereafter bear in mind I do not care to be troubled
with squalid details. If things have to be done, do them.... If babies
must be hungry--why, I suppose it is a condition that must exist from
time to time. The fault of their fathers.... However, I do not care to
hear about them. I am engaged on an important literary work, as you
know, and such things tend to distract me."
"Naturally, sir," said Rangar.
"But you will on no account relax your firmness with these strikers.
They must be shown."
"They're being shown," said Rangar, grimly, and walked out of the
office. In the corridor his face, which had been expressionless or
obsequious when he saw the need, changed swiftly. His look was that of
a man thinking of an enemy. There was malice, vindictiveness, hatred in
that look, and it expressed with exactness his sentiments toward young
Bonbright Foote.... It did not express all of them, for, lurking in the
background, unseen, was a deep contempt. Rangar despised Bonbright as a
nincompoop, as he expressed it privately.
"If I didn't think," he said, "I'd get all the satisfaction I need by
leaving him to his father, I'd take a hand myself. But the Foote spooks
will give it to him better than I could.... I can't wish him any worse
luck than to be left to THEM." He chuckled and felt of his disarranged
tie.
As for Bonbright Foote VI, he was frightened. No other word can
describe his sensations. The idea that his son might marry--actually
MARRY--this girl, was appalling. If the boy should actually take such
an unthinkable step before he could be prevented, what a situation
would arise!
"Of course it wouldn't last," he said to himself. "Such marriages never
do.... But while it did last--And there might be a child--a SON!" A
Bonbright Foote VIII come of such a mother, with base blood in his
veins! He drew his aristocratic shoulders together as though he felt a
chill.
"When he comes back," Mr. Foote said, "we'll have this thing out."
But Bonbright did not come back that day, nor was he visible at home
that night.... The next day dragged by and still he did not appear. ...