THE END OF THE CONFLICT.
Peter had had some rough experiences two or three times in his fall
campaign, and Dennis, who had insisted on escorting him, took him to
task about his “physical culture.”
“It’s thirty pounds yez are too heavy, sir,” he told Peter. “An’ it’s
too little intirely yez afther knowin’ av hittin’.”
Peter asked his advice, bought Indian clubs, dumb-bells, and
boxing-gloves, and under Dennis’s tutelage began to learn the art of
self-defence. He was rather surprised, at the end of two months, to
find how much flesh he had taken off, how much more easily he moved,
how much more he was eating, and how much more he was able to do, both
mentally and physically.
“It seems as if somebody had oiled my body and brain,” he told Dennis.
Dennis let him into another thing, by persuading him to join the
militia regiment most patronized by the “sixth,” and in which Dennis
was already a sergeant. Peter received a warm welcome from the
regiment, for Dennis, who was extremely popular, had heralded his fame,
and Peter’s physical strength and friendly way did the rest. Ogden
Ogden laughed at him for joining a “Mick” regiment, and wanted to put
Peter into the Seventh. Peter only said that he thought his place was
where he was.
Society did not see much of Peter this winter. He called on his friends
dutifully, but his long visits to Albany, his evenings with Dennis, and
his drill nights, interfered badly with his acceptance of the
invitations sent him. He had, too, made many friends in his commission
work and politics, so that he had relatively less time to give to his
older ones. The absence of Miss De Voe and Lispenard somewhat reduced
his social obligations it is true, but the demands on his time were
multiplying fast.
One of these demands was actual law work. The first real case to come
to him was from the contractor who had served on the
tenement-commission. He was also employed by the Health Board as
special counsel in a number of prosecutions, to enforce clauses of his
Food Bill. The papers said it was because of his familiarity with the
subject, but Peter knew it was the influence of Green, who had become a
member of that Board. Then he began to get cases from the “district,”
and though there was not much money in each case, before long the
number of them made a very respectable total.
The growth of his practice was well proven by a suggestion from Dummer
that they should join forces. “Mr. Bohlmann wants to give you some of
his work, and it’s easier to go into partnership than to divide his
practice.”
Peter knew that Dummer had a very lucrative business of a certain kind,
but he declined the offer.
“I have decided never to take a case which has not right on its side.”
“A lawyer is just as much bound to try a case as a physician is bound
to take a patient.”
“That is what lawyers say outside, but they know better.”
“Well, have your scruples. We’ll make the firm cases only such as you
choose. I’ll manage the others.”
“I should like to,” said Peter. “I’m very grateful for the offer—but we
could hardly do that successfully. If the firm was good for anything,
we should be known as belonging to it, and the public could not well
discriminate.”
So that chance of success was passed. But every now and then Bohlmann
sent him something to do, and Dummer helped him to a joint case
occasionally.
So, though friends grew steadily in numbers, society saw less and less
of Peter. Those who cared to study his tastes came to recognize that to
force formal entertaining on him was no kindness, and left it to Peter
to drop in when he chose, making him welcome when he came.
He was pleased to get a letter from Lispenard during the winter, from
Japan. It was long, but only the first paragraph need be quoted, for
the rest related merely to his travels:
“The breezes of the Pacific have blown away all my bad temper,” he
wrote, “and I want to say that I was wrong, and regret my original
fault, as well as what it later led me into. You are quite right. We
must continue friends.”
Peter wrote a reply, which led to a regular correspondence. He sent
Miss De Voe, also, a line of Christmas greetings, and received a long
letter from her at Nice, which told him something of Watts and Helen:
“She is now well again, but having been six years in Europe, she and
her husband have become wedded to the life. I question if they ever
return. I spoke of you, and they both inquired with great warmth about
you.”
Peter replied, sending his “remembrance to Mr. and Mrs. D’Alloi in case
you again meet them.” From that time on Miss De Voe and he
corresponded, she telling him of her Italian, Greek and Egyptian
wanderings, and he writing of his doings, especially in regard to a
certain savings bank fund standing in the name of “Peter Stirling,
trustee” to which Miss De Voe had, the winter before, arranged to
contribute a thousand dollars yearly.
As his practice increased he began to indulge himself a little. Through
the instrumentality of Mr. Pell, he was put first into one and later
into a second of the New York clubs, and his dinners became far less
simple in consequence. He used these comforters of men, indeed, almost
wholly for dining, and, though by no means a club-man in other senses,
it was still a tendency to the luxurious. To counteract this danger he
asked Mr. Costell to pick him up a saddle-horse, whereupon that friend
promptly presented him with one. He went regularly now to a good
tailor, which conduct ought to have ruined him with the “b’ys,” but it
didn’t. He still smoked a pipe occasionally in the saloons or on the
doorsteps of the district, yet candor compels us to add that he now had
in his room a box of cigars labelled “Habana.” These were creature
pleasures, however, which he only allowed himself on rare occasions.
And most of these luxuries did not appear till his practice had
broadened beyond the point already noted.
Broaden it did. In time many city cases were thrown in his way. As he
became more and more a factor in politics, the judges began to send him
very profitable referee cases. Presently a great local corporation,
with many damage suits, asked him to accept its work on a yearly
salary.
“Of course we shall want you to look out for us at Albany,” it was
added.
“I’ll do what I can to prevent unfair legislation. That must be all,
though. As for the practice, you must let me settle every case where I
think the right is with the plaintiff.” This caused demur at first, but
eventually he was employed, and it was found that money was saved in
the long run, for Peter was very successful in getting people to settle
out of court.
Then the savings bank, for which Peter had done his best (not merely as
recorded, but at other times), turned over its law business to him,
giving him many real estate transactions to look into, besides papers
to draw. “He brings us a good many depositors,” Mr. Lapham told his
trustees, “and is getting to be a large depositor himself.”
Peter began to find help necessary, and took a partner. He did this at
the suggestion of Ogden Ogden, who had concluded his clerkship, and who
said to Peter:
“I have a lot of friends who promise me their work. I don’t know how
much it will be, but I should like to try it with you. Of course, yours
is the bigger practice, but we can arrange that.”
So after considerable discussion, the sign on Peter’s door became
“Stirling and Ogden,” and the firm blossomed out with an office boy—one
of Peter’s original “angle” friends, now six years older than when
Peter and he had first met.
Ogden’s friends did materialize, and brought good paying cases. As the
city, referee, corporation and bank work increased, their joint
practice needed more help, and Ray Rivington was, on Ogden’s request,
taken in.
“He doesn’t get on with his law studies, though he pretends to work
over them hard. In fact he’ll never be a good lawyer. He hasn’t a legal
mind. But he’ll bring cases, for he’s very popular in society, and
he’ll do all the palavering and running round very well. He’s just the
fellow to please people.” This was what Ogden urged, adding, “I might
as well tell you that I’m interested for another reason, too. He and
Dorothy will marry, if he can ever get to the marrying point. This, of
course, is to be between us.”
“I’ll be very glad to have him, both for his own sake, and for what
you’ve just told me,” said Peter.
Thus it was that the firm again changed its name, becoming “Stirling,
Ogden and Rivington,” and actually spread into two other rooms, Peter’s
original little “ten by twelve” being left to the possession of the
office boy. That functionary gazed long hours at the map of Italy on
the blank wall, but it did not trouble him. He only whistled and sang
street songs at it. As for Peter, he was too busy to need blank walls.
He had fought two great opponents. The world and himself. He had
conquered them both.