I reckon if Katherine's brother, Tom Kimberly, had of knowed how much we
was waiting for a look at him he might of been some fussed up about it;
but when our William brought him and Katherine in he didn't seem
rattled.
He was a right tallish young fellow, maybe twenty-four years or
thereabouts, slim, and with a wide mouth. He had a good deal of brown
hair, which he combed back from his forehead, without no part in it. He
was dressed up like city folks do for dinner, and his necktie wasn't
tied careless, but right careful. He looked a good deal like a picture
in a tailor shop. His hands didn't even seem to bother him like mine do
me sometimes--I often wisht a man could have forty pockets to put all
his hands into.
When he seen Bonnie Bell he lit up. Katherine hurried him over and put
her hand on Bonnie Bell's arm.
"Honey," says she to Bonnie Bell, "I've brought over my brother Tom; and
I want you to like him and I want him to like you."
"That's going to be the easiest thing you know," says he smiling.
He had right good teeth. Bonnie Bell she give him her hand, her arm
straight out in front of her, and I didn't think she shook hands very
hard; but he did. He kept on looking at her like he was fascernated. It
was plain to see that the kid had him on the ropes in the first round.
We went on to the big dining-room right soon. This was the first time
the Kimberlys had ever et at our house, except cookies and tea and
things in the parlor or in the ranch room. When Mrs. Kimberly come into
our big dining-room she taken one look up and down. Maybe she'd been
thinking it was like the ranch room all the way through. That showed how
little she knew about Bonnie Bell.
They was arranged in pairs as long as the women lasted--this Tom and
Bonnie Bell, of course, together; and Mrs. Kimberly and Old Man Wright;
and then Katherine and me and Old Man Kimberly. William helped Old Lady
Kimberly and Bonnie Bell set down, like they had rheumatism, and I done
what I could for Katherine, her and me being pretty good pals. Old Man
Kimberly found his cocktail without no help. Right soon he set down to
have a pleasant time, him.
We had a good dining-room--large, with white trimmings--and some
carpets that cost as much as two thousand dollars each, and chairs that
matched the table, and plenty of pictures.
I been around now a lot among our best people and I notice that unless
you've got some pictures of sheep in your house you're no good. Any
artist just natural has to paint sheep; yet that's the meanest anermal
there is, and I don't see why a cowman especial should have sheep in his
house. But we done so because it was correct--though I've never et sheep
meat. Also, a couple of gondolas, by some Italian, near the sheep.
Besides them, if you've got a good house you've got to have one picture
about twilight on a lake, with a broken tree on it and some weeds, and a
crane standing there like it didn't have no friends. We had one of them
crane pictures too.
When Old Lady Kimberly seen we had sheep and gondolas and weeds and
cranes in our house, same as anybody else, she seemed to feel more
comfortable. I told Katherine some of those things I'd found out about
art and she come near choking in her soup, and said I was awful funny,
though I was serious.
"Everything you've got," says she, "is perfectly lovely."
"She done it," says I, which was true. The old man and me, if we was
left alone, would never of had even a picture of sheep in the whole
house.
Like enough you've been at dinners in cities where they don't have
everything on the table in big dishes, like at a ranch, but a little at
a time; so you've got to guess frequent whether you're going to get
enough to eat out of things that's coming on later. We was pretty well
trained, Old Man Wright and me, since we come to our new house, for
Bonnie Bell and William and all the rest run a regular city system on
us.
Bonnie Bell was easy as Mrs. Kimberly would of been at her house. She
didn't have to say a word to William; he shore was some butler--I reckon
he buttled as good as anyone in the Row. I reckon he was born a orphan,
he looked so sad.
We had some soup made out of turtle, which is better'n you'd think, to
look at a turtle. Afterward was fish I couldn't name. Then there was
ducks and potatoes, cooked together so you couldn't tell 'em apart, and
considerable other birds with things put on; and alfalfa, with kerosene
on it, maybe. After a while comes soft cheese, with strawberries, and
yet softer cheese, with little onions cut in it, if you liked that
better--I can't remember all them things now or how they come, but we
was a couple of hours there and got considerable to eat before we quit.
Also, Old Man Kimberly got plenty to drink. He says to the boss:
"You'll excuse me, Colonel," says he, "but I can't help saying a word
in favor of your choice in wines."
And then--"Wilfred!" says his wife, as though it wasn't polite to say
you liked things.
Since Katherine was talking to me all the time, and since Tom couldn't
see nothing but Bonnie Bell, I reckon the whole party was pretty well
suited.
After dinner, while we was setting in the ranch room--which they all
liked so well--and could have sherry or coffee, or both, or maybe
Scotch, Mrs. Kimberly kept on saying to the old man:
"Wilfred, I'm surprised!"
"So'm I, my dear," says he--"surprised that we've never been here all
the time before. You may mark us down as steadies now," says he.
We had in the middle of the house, offen the ranch room, a long room,
with a piano in it, and a smooth floor, and rugs that could be easy
pushed away. Nothing'd do for them folks but they must go to dancing
now. Sometimes Katherine played the piano and sometimes Bonnie Bell; she
shore could slug a piano plenty when she wanted. She didn't get to play
much, because Tom he wanted to dance with her all the time--turkeys'
trots, I think they called it, or fox hops, or something of the kind.
Seems like she could do that, too, for she had lessons downtown. When
Katherine got Old Man Wright to dance with her there wasn't no one left
to play; so we set a music box going, and Katherine made me play on a
Jew's-harp too.
Tom Kimberly certainly was up in all the late steps of dancing; that was
one thing he could do. While him and Bonnie Bell was dancing I could see
all the old folks looking at them quietlike. It was plain that he was
mighty hard hit with Bonnie Bell. Old Man Wright he'd look at him once
in a while--right close too. As for Bonnie Bell, she was pleasant, like
she always was; but it didn't seem to me she laughed as much as usual.
We was all of us showing off our goods.
When they come to go away, Katherine she hugged Bonnie Bell tighter than
ever, and Old Man Kimberly held her hand for quite a while.
"You'll take pity on a old man, won't you," says he, "and come to see us
often? You really must."
"Yes, my dear," says Mrs. Kimberly; "come and liven us up sometimes.
It's been very delightful to see you young people enjoy yourselves so
much--and you old people too," says she, and laughed at her husband, who
maybe was some illuminated.
It was plain enough to me when they went away that our place had turned
out better'n they thought it would. Bonnie Bell, too, if she'd been on
inspection for them, same as Tom Kimberly was with us, certainly'd more
than made good. Likewise, I suppose our sheep and gondola pictures must
of made good too. We couldn't exactly of been classed as heathen--not
unless me and Old Man Wright was.
We didn't say nothing to Bonnie Bell about these things, and pretty soon
she kissed her pa good night and went upstairs to her room. The old man
and me set for a while thinking things over.
"What do you think of him, Curly?" says he to me after a while.
"Well," says I, "it ain't just as though the cat had brought him in.
He's good-looking," says I, "and he can dance; and he's a pleasant
fellow enough. I only sort of got it in for people that drink cocktails
instead of straight liquor and push their hair back thataway."
"Well now," he went on, "you've got to allow for differences in
different places. Riding and roping ain't so important in Chicago as
dining and dancing--not among our best people," says he. "You've got to
take account of that. A girl might do a lot worse."
"There ain't nobody good enough for Bonnie Bell," says I, "when it comes
to that; but I was just sort of thinking I like a man to know something
about riding and shooting, and that sort of thing, as well as dancing."
"Curly," says he, "you said your pa was a hard-shell?"
"Yes," says I.
"A hard-shell Presbyterian?" says he. "Anyhow, your folks must of been
right exacting. Now don't be too hard on young folks."
"Listen to me, Colonel," says I. "Suppose you had two of 'em right
here--one that didn't have no family nor no money, but took to ranch
work sort of natural; and one that could dance and dine like you say.
One of these men parts his hair on one side and one combs it back,
without no part. Which one of 'em would you like most?"
"I'd have to see both men and size 'em up," says he. "But what makes you
ask? The other kind of young man you're talking about ain't showed up
yet. Besides, one thing that favors Tom is he don't have to marry for
money. Bless you; he ain't thinking of her money--not one dollar; just
thinking of her, right the way she is. He's gone--that's what he is."
"That's so," says I; "that's certainly so. But how about her?"
"They all take their chances," says Old Man Wright, solemn, after a
while. "Anyway you can fix it a woman takes a chance. She's in a gamble
all her whole born life. She's a gamble herself and she has to play in
a gamble from the time she begins to toddle till the time they fold her
hands. She can't tell if her husband's going to stick; she can't tell if
her husband's going to make good; she can't tell how her kids is going
to turn out--that's all a gamble too.
"Do your best, Curly, and try your damnedest, there ain't no way you can
protect no woman against them gambles. If I wait for exactly the right
man to come along, that don't comb his hair back, how do I know he'll
ever come? If he does come maybe he'll have a eye on her bank roll, or
maybe he'll measure forty inches around his pants. Either one--ary
one--it's all a gamble for a girl.
"No," he went on; "about the only thing she can do, after all, is to use
her own head and her own heart. It ain't in the nature of things that
you can look ahead and see how the game's coming out for any girl--she
has to take her chances. We've got to stand by and see her do it. I
wisht it wasn't so. I loved her ma so much, and she looks so much like
her ma--why, I wisht--why, I wisht---- Damn it, don't I wisht it wasn't
such a dash-blamed, all-fired, hell-for-certain gamble for the kid!"
It wasn't no time for me to say anything about any hired man now! By and
by the old man quit looking into the fire and got up and went off to
bed.