The day was drawing to a close. The sun, as it went down, broke through
the gathering clouds once more with a bright crimson glow which flooded
woods and hills with a brief transitory splendour. Only for a few
minutes; then the great red ball of fire sank slowly below the horizon,
and with it disappeared all the brilliancy and colour which it had lent
the earth for one fleeting moment.
Arthur Berkow had just opened the iron gate which gave egress from the
park, and stepped outside. There he stood still, arrested by the sight
before him, and gazed long and sadly at the departing sun. His
countenance bore the expression of that perfect calm for which he had
so striven, but it was not the confident calm of a man who, having
victoriously thrown off one weakness, girds himself up for fresh
endeavours.
He who stays behind on a sinking ship, and sees disappear in the
distance the boat which is bearing all he prizes on earth away to
safety and the far-off coast, while the ship itself drives helplessly
nearer and nearer the rocks on which it must inevitably perish, such a
one may hold out with unflinching courage, but he can be light-hearted
no more. When the last hope has fled, there comes a great hush. He is
able and ready then to meet the worst; and it was this stillness which
lay on Arthur's features. He had dreamt his dream, and the days at hand
were such as to require a full and complete awakening.
He crossed the meadow, and took the direction leading to the officials'
dwelling-houses. The broad ditch, full of water, which ran along the
upper end of the park, passed through this meadow-land; but, in place
of the graceful little bridge which spanned it higher up, there was
here only a simple plank, strong and safe enough, but so narrow as only
to afford room for one passenger at a time. Arthur stepped on to it
quickly, and had advanced a few steps, when he came suddenly to a stand
before Ulric Hartmann, who appeared to recognise him at the same
moment. Berkow stood still, supposing that the Deputy would retreat and
allow him to pass; but the latter thought possibly the time had now
arrived for that provocation to which the chief-engineer had alluded.
Whether he really were trying to force on a conflict, or only obeying
the instincts of his own rebellious nature, he stood motionless, and
made no sign of giving way.
"Well, Hartmann, are we going to stand still like this?" said Arthur
quietly, after he had waited a few seconds in vain. "The plank is too
narrow for us both; one of us must go back."
"Must I be the one?" asked Ulric, sharply.
"I should think so."
Hartmann was about to answer in an aggressive spirit, but all at once a
reflection struck him.
"Well, yes, we are upon your ground; I have forgotten that."
He went back, and let his employer cross over. Arthur stopped when he
reached the opposite side.
"Hartmann!"
Ulric, who had already one foot on the plank, turned round at this
address.
"I should have sent for you before this, if I had not feared my doing
so might be wrongly interpreted. As we have met, I should like to speak
to you."
A gleam of triumph shot over the other's face; but it passed quickly,
and his features re-assumed the reserved look which was habitual to
them.
"Here in the meadow?"
"The place does not signify; we are alone here."
Ulric approached slowly, and placed himself opposite his employer, who
was leaning against one of the willows which bordered the water-course.
The evening mists were beginning to rise, and yonder over the forest,
where the sun had lately set, the whole sky was suffused with a deep
crimson after-glow.
They were a strange contrast, these two. The slender, almost delicate
figure of the high-bred man with his pale face in complete repose, his
dark earnest eyes, whence that light had now vanished which gave to
them at times so inexplicable a charm, and the giant frame of the
miner, carrying his fair curly head so proudly, whose gaze, full of
fire and a sort of savage satisfaction, never swerved from his
adversary's pale countenance. The instinct of jealousy taught him to
see and mark that which was observed by no one else, and, if all the
world maintained that Arthur Berkow had passed by his beautiful wife
unmoved, that he had never felt the slightest interest in her, Ulric
knew well that no man could remain indifferent who called such a woman
as Eugenie Windeg his own, knew too all that the loss of such a woman
implied, since that morning when he had stood under the pines, watching
her carriage as it rolled away.
But, through all the pain of the separation, there rang a note of
triumph. A wife who loves her husband does not leave him at a time when
all around him is reeling and falling, yet she had gone, gone to the
safe protection of her father and brothers, and left him alone exposed
to all and everything. That must have struck home to him, to this proud
Berkow, whom neither hatred nor menace, neither fear of violence or
revolt, or even of ruin itself, could touch, and though he should
succeed in deceiving all about him with that calm brow of his, yet he
could not deceive his enemy. That blow had surely gone to his heart.
"I need not tell you now of all that has occurred of late," began
Arthur; "you must be as well acquainted with it as I am, perhaps even
better. The other works have followed your example; we are entering
upon a lengthened conflict. Can you answer for your comrades?"
Ulric started at this question.
"How do you mean, Herr Berkow?"
"I mean, shall we be able to settle this business ourselves without
foreign interference? On the other works they have found it impossible
to do this. Up at the forges they have already sent a request for help
from the town. You are no stranger to the tumults there, and you best
know whether this were necessary or not. I should assuredly only have
recourse to such a measure in a case of extreme need, and in legitimate
self-defence. But such a case may arise. Already several of my agents
have been insulted, I myself was within an ace of meeting with insult
in the woods. Do not build upon my patience or upon my weakness.
However much I may desire to avoid all extreme measures, I warn you I
shall oppose force to force."
At the first words Ulric had looked up in surprise. He had expected
something other than this declaration, but the quiet manner in which it
was made took from it all aggressive action and imposed a moderate tone
on him, the adversary. There was but a slight scoff in his voice as he
answered,
"That is nothing new to me. Force to force! I knew from the first we
should come to that some day."
Arthur looked steadily at him.
"And whose fault is it, if we must come to that? Is it brought about by
the resistance of the masses or by the obstinacy of one man?"
"By the obstinacy of one man, you are right there, Herr Berkow. You
know it needs only one single word from you for us all to be at work
again to-morrow."
"And you know that I cannot speak the word, because it involves that
which is impossible. It is for you to concede something now. I propose
it to you once again."
"Really?" said the miner, with an outburst of scorn. "No doubt, because
the whole province is astir, and we have got our mates to help and back
us."
Berkow drew himself up quickly, and his eyes flashed.
"Because we shall have to restore by force of arms that order and
discipline you are now trampling under foot, and because I wish, if it
be possible, to save my people from such a fate. Lay aside your scorn,
Hartmann, you do not believe in it yourself. Whatever has happened, or
may yet happen between us two, we may, I think, mutually absolve each
other of cowardice."
Again there came the look and tone which had struck all dumb with
astonishment that day in the committee-room. Ulric looked with mingled
wrath and admiration at his employer, who dared so to speak to him at
an hour like the present. The scene in the forest must have shown him
what the possible consequences of these chance meetings might be, and
yet he had himself sought an interview in this solitary place.
The park was quite empty; there was not a soul in sight across the
fields, and the houses lay at some considerable distance. Not one of
the officials would, under such circumstances, have stopped to
hold converse with the dreaded Hartmann, no, not even the bold
chief-engineer. It was only the once despised "milksop" who was ready
so to face danger. Truly, his enemy had absolved him of cowardice long
ago.
Arthur seemed conscious of the advantage he had gained. He came a step
nearer.
"Can you not see, Hartmann, that with such behaviour as this you are
making your future stay here quite impossible?" he asked gravely. "You
think, perhaps, that when we come to negotiate, your friends will put
pressure upon me. I shall yield to no constraint, I give you my word.
Nevertheless, I can and do appreciate your valuable powers, misguided
as they are. So far, they have been used to my injury alone, but, for
that very reason, I can better estimate the services they might render,
should you one day cease to be hostile to me. Listen now to the voice
of reason. Be satisfied with the practical concessions you have
obtained, and, of my own free will, I offer you to remain on the works
with the usual chances of promotion. I know there is a certain risk in
retaining an element of discord like yourself among my hands, but I am
willing to run the risk, if my trust in you meets with similar
confidence."
The offer in itself was somewhat hazardous perhaps, made, as it was, to
a man who looked on all moderation as a proof of weakness. Berkow,
however, had not altogether miscalculated his aim. Ulric did not
answer, but, for a nature like his, it was much that the proposal was
not at once repulsed with harsh distrust.
"So far I have asked for confidence in vain," continued Arthur. "Up to
this time you have refused to trust me. I came here as a stranger, if
not to the place itself, to you at least and to all that concerns the
works. You met me with a declaration of war, without even inquiring
what alterations and improvements I might be willing to make. You
received and treated me as an enemy, and yet you could not know whether
I were your enemy at heart or not."
"We are at war," said Ulric curtly. "Everything is fair at such times."
All around them as they stood blazed the reflection of the crimson
sunset, and Arthur's face, as he raised it, was tinted with the bright
warm colour.
"Must there be war between us? I do not mean the present strife, which
must come to an end sooner or later. I mean that secret embittered
warfare which hard treatment and oppression on the one side, and
rancour and hatred on the other, feed and foster continually. It has
been so all these years, I know, and it will be so again, if you submit
only through compulsion. We ought to make peace before there is blood
shed on either side. We can still do it. As yet, nothing has happened
to make the breach irreparable; in a few days it may be too late."
With all its quietness there was something in the young master's voice
which went home to the hearer's heart, and the emotion visible in
Hartmann's face showed that he had not been insensible to it.
Accustomed to rule over his equals, he was the more keenly alive to any
supercilious treatment on the part of his superiors, and also to any
evidence of an ill-concealed fear.
Now he found himself raised to a position which had never yet been
assigned him. He knew well that Arthur would not have so spoken to any
other of the men employed, perhaps not to any of the officials; he felt
it was solely due to his own personal qualities that he was dealt with
thus. The owner of the works spoke to him as man to man, on a matter
upon which the ill or well being of both depended, and he would surely
have carried the day had he been any other than Arthur Berkow. Ulric's
nature was too untrained, too passionate, for him to do justice there
where his hate was fully roused.
"Our confidence has cost us dearly," said he bitterly. "Your father
made such a claim upon it during all those long years that we have none
left now for his son. I believe you don't make the offer out of fear,
Herr Berkow, I should not believe it of any one else, but I do of you.
But, as we have set about helping ourselves, I think we had better
fight it out to the last. Let it be decided this way or that. One of us
must win in the end."
"And your comrades? Will you take upon yourself the responsibility of
all the care, the want, the chances of defeat, which this 'fighting it
out' may bring with it?"
"I can't help it. It is done for their sake."
"No, it is not done for their sake," said Arthur firmly; "but for the
sake of their leader's ambition. He wishes to get the domination over
them into his hands, and, were he to get it, he would prove a worse
despot than their former masters ever were. If you still have faith
left in your so-called mission, Hartmann, you can no longer impose on
me with it; for I see that you throw aside as worthless all that I
declare myself ready to do for the improvement of the people's
condition, and you keep steadily the one aim and end in view, the true
bearing of which I understand but too well. You wish to make me and my
agents powerless for the future, helpless in face of any resolution you
may be pleased to adopt, or any insurrection you may stir up. Now that
you speak in the name of the masses, blindly obedient to your dictates,
you wish to arrogate to yourself all the rights of a master, and, with
the empty title, leave me nothing but the onus of the position. You do
not wish for a recognition of your party; you wish for a subjugation of
every other. That is why you stake all upon a throw, and, believe me,
you will lose it."
This was a bold speech to be addressed to such a man; it stung Ulric to
fury.
"Well, as you seem to know so much about it, Herr Berkow, you may know
more for all I care! You are right. This is not a question of higher
wages or of a trifle more safety in the mines. That may be enough for
those who concern themselves only about their wives and children, and
think of nothing else all their lives long; the men of spirit among us
require more. We want to have the reins in our hands, to have our
rights as equals acknowledged and respected. It may be a hard lesson to
learn for those who have had unlimited authority up to this time, but
they will have now to treat with us. We have begun to understand at
last that it is we who toil and you who enjoy the fruits of our labour.
You have made use of our arms for this slavish work long enough, now
you shall learn to feel them."
He hurled forth these words with exceeding violence, as though each of
them were a weapon with which he would strike down and slay his enemy.
All his outrageous passion burst forth anew, and the rage, which
included an entire class, concentrated itself for the time being on the
individual member of it now before him. As he stood there with clenched
fists, the veins in his forehead swelling, he seemed ready to follow up
his words with deeds.
Arthur, however, did not move a muscle or attempt to retreat by so much
as a step from the dangerous neighbourhood. He stood in that attitude
of cold, proud repose peculiar to him, and looked his adversary
steadfastly in the face, as if by the power of his eyes alone he could
fascinate and tame him.
"I think, for the present, you will have to leave the reins in hands
which are accustomed and able to hold them. That also must be learnt.
You may rise in rebellion and destroy existing institutions by brute
force, but you will never create new ones with it. Try to conduct these
works by the strength of your arms alone, to the exclusion of that
powerful element you hate so much, which directs your labour, gives
impulse to the machinery, and lends mind to your work. As yet this
guiding faculty belongs to us. Keep to your own sphere and rank in
life, and the equality of your rights will no longer be disputed. At
present you can only throw into the balance the weight of numbers, and
that will not suffice to give you the mastery."
Ulric tried to answer, but his voice was choked by passion. Arthur cast
one look over at the forest where the red glow grew ever deeper and
deeper; then he turned to go.
"If I could have foreseen that all conciliating words would be
unavailing, I should not have sought this interview. I have offered to
make peace with you and to let you remain on the works. Hardly any
other man would have made such a sacrifice, and it cost me an effort
before I could bring myself to do it. You have rejected my proposal
with scorn and hatred. You will be my enemy. Well, be it so then, but
the whole responsibility of what may now happen must lie with you. I
have striven in vain to stem the torrent of disaster. Whatever may be
the issue of the strife between us, you and I have done with each other
for ever."
So saying, he turned his back on the miner and left him.
"Success to you," cried out Hartmann after him ironically, but Arthur
did not appear to hear. He was already at some little distance, and now
struck off into the road which led towards the houses.
Ulric remained behind. Above his head the willow-branches swayed to and
fro in the evening breeze; over the meadows floated and curled a soft
white vapour, and up yonder over the tops of the pines there came once
more a weird blood-red flush which paled gradually until it faded
completely away. As the Deputy gazed at the flaming sky, his own face
caught a tinge of that sanguinary hue.
"'We have done with each other.' No, no, Arthur Berkow, we are only
beginning now. I would not own to myself the cowardly feeling which
held me back, but I dared not attack him whilst she was by his side.
Now the way is open; now the time for a reckoning has come."