THE BURNING OF THE BRIDGES
The success which attended the launching of the new Brotherhood of Man
with its million-dollar endowment fund was phenomenal.
The announcement that the books were ready for the enrollment of the
pioneer group of two thousand who should locate the enterprise on the
island of Ventura brought twenty-five thousand applicants.
The first shock Norman's faith in man received was to collide with the
army of cranks who came in troops to join. Every creed of Christendom,
every cult of the heathen world, every ism of all the philosophies of
the past and the present came in droves. They got into arguments with
one another in the waiting-rooms of the Socialist headquarters, and
sometimes came to blows. Each conceived the hour for establishing his
own particular patent for saving the human race had come. It was an
appalling revelation to Norman to find how many of these schemes were
at work in the brains of people who were evidently incapable of taking
care of themselves.
The first week he attempted to hear each one with courtesy and
sympathy. But after wasting six days in idiotic discussions of
preposterous schemes he was compelled to call on the Wolfs for advice.
Both Wolf and his wife had begun to call Norman "Chief" from the
moment of their first burst of enthusiasm over the gift of the
million. At times the young dreamer looked at the massive face of the
older man with a touch of suspicion at this sudden acceptance of his
premiership. And yet both Wolf and Catherine (she insisted that he
call her Catherine) seemed so utterly sincere in their admiration, so
enthusiastic in their faith in his ability, they always disarmed
suspicion. Catherine's repeated explanation of this faith when Norman
halted or hesitated was always flattering to his vanity, and yet
perfectly reasonable.
"My boy, we take off our hats to you! A man can't do the impossible
unless he tries. We didn't try. You did. The trouble with Herman, and
with every man of forty, is that he loses faith in himself. We get
careful and conservative. We lack the dash and fire and daring of
youth. I envy you. I salute you as the inspired leader of our
Cause--you've done the impossible! And you've just begun. We can only
hope to help you with our larger experience."
At the end of a week of futile and exhausting palaver with this army
of cranks who infest the West, Wolf, carefully watching his
opportunity, turned to Norman and said:
"I've been waiting for you to see things a little more clearly before
I say something to you--I think it's time."
"What is it?" the young leader asked.
Wolf hesitated a moment as if feeling his way.
"Something he should have said sooner," exclaimed Catherine.
"There's but one way, comrade. Kick these fools into the street!"
"But don't we begin to weaken the moment we do a thing like that? We
accept the brotherhood of man----"
"Of man, yes," the old leader broke in, "but these are not men--they
are what might have been had they lived in a sane world. They are the
results of the nightmare we call civilization. The kindest thing you
can do for a crank is to kill him. You are trying to do what God
Almighty never undertook--to make something out of nothing. You know,
when he made Adam he had a ball of mud to start with."
"I'm afraid you're right," Norman agreed.
"When the Brotherhood is established with picked men," Catherine
added, "we can take in new members with less care. Now it is of the
utmost importance that we select the pioneer group of the best blood
in the Socialist ranks--trained men and women who believe with
passionate faith what you and I believe."
"Then do it," Norman said, with emphasis. "I put you and Wolf in
charge of this first roll. I've more important work to do in
organizing the business details of the enterprise."
A look of joy flashed from Wolf's gray eyes into the woman's as he
calmly but quickly replied:
"I'll do the best I can."
"You ought to know by name every true Socialist on the Coast," Norman
added.
"I do, comrade, and I'll guarantee the pioneer group."
"Let all applicants for membership hereafter pass your scrutiny," were
his final orders.
He rose from his desk with a sigh of relief as Barbara entered the
room, her cheeks flushed with joy, her eyes sparkling with excitement
from the ovation she had just received from the crowd which packed the
corridor.
His first impulse was to ask her to accompany him to the country, rest
and play for a day. His heart beat more quickly at the thought, but as
the question trembled on his lips, his eyes rested on Wolf's shaggy
head bending over the piles of papers on his desk, and a grim fear
shadowed his imagination. Elena's laughter suddenly echoed through his
memory. He recalled his father's questions. A frown slowly settled on
his brow, and a firm resolution took shape in his mind.
"No woman's spell to blind your senses! Clear thinking, my boy! You're
on trial before the man who gave you life. You're on trial before the
men whose faith gave you a million dollars to put you to the test.
Success first, and then, perhaps, the joy of living!"
Barbara felt the chill of a sudden barrier between them, and looked at
him with a little touch of wounded pride.
He merely nodded pleasantly and hurried from the room.
He gave his whole energies at once to the larger business of the
enterprise. The title to the property was searched with the utmost
thoroughness and found to be perfect. Enormous sums of money had been
spent on the island by the bankrupt wild-cat real-estate company which
had bought it in for improvement and exploitation. They had built a
magnificent hotel with accommodations for one thousand five hundred
guests, had planted vineyards, established a winery planted vast
orchards of plums, apricots, olives, peaches, and oranges, built flour
mills, an ice factory, and had started a number of mining and
manufacturing enterprises. When the bubble burst the company was
bankrupt and the lawyers got the rest. A careful inventory showed to
Norman that they had acquired a property of enormous value. The
improvements alone had cost $1,250,000, and they were worth twice that
sum now to the colony.
He chartered a corporate society, known as "The Brotherhood of Man,"
for the purpose of legalizing the new social State of Ventura when it
had passed the experimental stage and he could surrender to it the
title and money held in trust under the deed of gift. Two hundred
thousand dollars was paid in cash for the island, and the remaining
capital held for work. A steamer was purchased to serve the colony by
plying between the island, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.
The Wolfs advised Norman that no mail service be asked or permitted.
"The reasons are many, comrade," the old leader urged. "The first
condition of success in this work is the complete isolation of the
colony from outside influences. If modern civilization is hell, you
can't build a heaven with daily communication between the two
places."
"Every man and woman who enters," Catherine added, "must sign a solemn
contract to remain five years, enlist as soldier, and communicate with
the outside world only by permission of the authority of the
Brotherhood."
"I see," laughed Norman. "I must have the Czar's power to examine
suspected mail if treason or rebellion threatens."
"Exactly," cried Wolf.
"A large power to put in one man's hands!" Norman protested.
"There's not a man or woman going to that island who wouldn't trust
you with life, to say nothing of a mail pouch," Catherine declared,
with a look of genuine admiration.
"You think such drastic measures to prevent communication with the
outside world will be needed?" Norman argued.
"Let us hope not," Wolf quickly replied. "But it's better to be on the
safe side. The history of every experiment made in Socialism by the
heroes and pioneers of the cause in the past shows that failure came
in every case from just this source. We will start under the most
favourable conditions ever tried. Our island will be a little world
within itself. Cut every line of possible communication with modern
competitive society, and we can prove the brotherhood of man a living
fact. Open our experiment to the lies and slanders of our enemies from
without, and they can destroy us before the work is fairly begun. Our
colony would be overrun with hostile reporters from the capitalist
press, for example----"
"You're right," exclaimed Norman.
"Let every volunteer enlist in the service of humanity for five
years," repeated Catherine, "agreeing to hold no communication with
the world. Make that agreement one impossible for them to break, and
our success is as sure as that man is made in the image of God. All we
ask is a chance to prove it without interference."
"I agree with you," cried Norman, at last. "Five years' service, with
every bridge burned behind us--we'll fight it out on that line."
A look of triumph came from beneath Wolf's shaggy brows as his eyes
rested again on the smiling madonna-like face of the woman by his
side.