THE DRINK OF GALL
Mr. Clegg was not long in convincing Graydon that his proposition
to him was sincere and not the outgrowth of sentiment. A dozen men
in the office greeted Graydon with a warmth that had an uplifting
effect. He went away with a heart lighter than he had once imagined
it could ever be again. In two weeks he was to be in absolute
control of the New York branch; he assured the firm that his physical
condition was such that he could go to work at once, if necessary.
As he hastened to the Annex, misgivings again entered into his soul.
The newspapers had heralded his return and had hinted broadly at
romantic developments in connection with Miss Cable, "who is at
the Annex with Mr. and Mrs. Cable." There were brief references to
the causes which sent both of them to the Philippines, find that
was all.
Without hesitation, he came to the point by asking if she knew what
had befallen his father. Jane had heard the news the night before.
He thereupon put the whole situation before her just as it had
been suggested in Droom's ironical remark. It was not until after
the question had been passed upon by Mr. and Mrs. Cable that
she reluctantly consented to visit Graydon's father--solely for
the purpose of gleaning what information she could regarding her
parentage.
They left the next day with Elias Droom, depressed, nervous, dreading
the hour ahead of them. Neither was in the mood to respond to the
eager, excited remarks of the old clerk. The short railroad trip
was one never to be forgotten; impressions were left in their lives
that could not be effaced.
James Bansemer, shorn and striped, was not expecting visitors. He
was surprised and angry when he was told that visitors were waiting
to see him. For four weeks he had laboured clumsily and sourly in
the shoe factory of the great prison, a hauler and carrier. His
tall figure was bent with unusual toil, his hands were sore and his
heart was full of the canker of rebellion. Already, in that short
time, his face had taken on the look of the convict. All the
viciousness in his nature had gone to his face and settled there.
He had the sullen, dogged, patient look of the man who has a number
but no name.
The once dignified, aggressive walk had degenerated into a slouch;
he shuffled as he came to the bars where he was to meet his first
visitors. He was not pleased but he was curious. Down in his heart
he found a hope that his attorney had come with good news. It was
not until he was almost face to face with his son that he realised
who it was; not until then that he felt the full force of shame,
ignominy, loathing for himself.
He started back with an involuntary oath and would have slunk
away had not Graydon called out to him--called out in a voice full
of pain and misery. The convict's face was ashen and his jaw hung
loose with the paralysis of dismay; his heart dropped like a chunk
of ice, his feet were as leaden weights. A look of utter despair
came into his hard eyes as he slowly advanced to the bars.
"My God, Graydon, why did you come? Why did you come here?" he
muttered. Then he caught sight of Jane and Elias Droom. His eyes
dropped and his fingers twitched; to save his life he could not
have kept his lower lip from trembling nor the burning tears from
his eyes. His humiliation was complete.
A malevolent grin was on Droom's face; his staring blue eyes looked
with a great joy upon the shamed, beaten man in the stripes. The
one thing that he had longed for and cherished had come to pass;
he had lived to see James Bansemer utterly destroyed even in his
own eyes.
"Father, I can't believe it. I can't tell you how it hurts me.
I would willingly take your place if it were possible. Forgive me
for deserting you--" Graydon was saying incoherently when his father
lifted his face suddenly, a fierce, horrified look of understanding
in the eyes that flashed upon Elias Droom. Even as he clasped his
son's hand in the bitterness of small joy, his lips curled into
a snarl of fury. Droom's eyes shifted instantly, his uneasy gaze
directing itself as usual above the head of its victim.
"You did this, curse you!" came from the convict's livid lips. "And
this girl, too! Good God, you knew I would rather have died than
to meet Graydon as I am now. You knew it and you brought him here.
I hope you will rot in hell for this, Elias Droom. She comes here,
too, to gloat--to rejoice--to see how I look before my son in
prison stripes!" He went on violently for a long stretch, ending
with a sob of rage. "I suppose you are satisfied," he said hoarsely
to Droom.
Graydon and Jane looked on in surprise and distress. Droom's gaze
did not swerve nor his expression change.
"Father, didn't you expect me to come?" asked Graydon. "Don't you
want to see me?"
"Not here. Why should I have tried to keep you from returning to
this country? God knows how I hoped and prayed that you'd not see
me here. Elias Droom knew it. That's why he brought you here. Don't
lie to me, Droom. I know it!"
"What could you expect?" mumbled Droom. "Down in your heart you
wanted to see him. I've done you a kindness."
"For which I'll repay you some day," cried the prisoner, a steady
look in his eyes. "Now go away, all of you! I'm through with you.
You've seen me. The girl is satisfied. Go--"
"Nonsense, father," cried Graydon, visibly distressed by his father's
anguish. "Elias said that you wanted to see us. Jane did not come
out of curiosity. She is here to ask justice of you; she's not
seeking vengeance."
"I'll talk to you alone," said the prisoner shortly. "Send her
away. I've nothing to say to her or Droom."
Jane turned and walked swiftly away, followed by Droom, who rubbed
his long fingers together and tried to look sympathetic. The interview
that ensued between father and son was never to be forgotten by
either. Graydon heard his father's bitter story in awed silence;
heard him curse deeply and vindictively; heard all this and marvelled
at the new and heretofore unexposed side of his nature.
There was something pathetic in the haggard face and the expressions
of impotent rage. His heart softened when his father bared his
shame to him and cried out against the fate which had brought them
together on this day.
"It doesn't matter, father," said Graydon hoarsely. "I deserted
you and I'm sorry. No matter what you've done to bring you here,
I'm glad I've come to see you. I don't blame Elias. For a while
I'm afraid I rather held out against coming. Now, I am glad for my
own sake. I won't desert you now. I am going to work for a pardon,
if your appeal does not go through."
"Don't! I won't have it!" exclaimed the other. "I'm going to stay
it out. It will give me time to forget, so that I can be a better
man. If they let me out now I'd do something I'd always regret. I
want to serve my time and start all over again. Don't worry about
me. I won't hamper you. I'll go away--abroad, as Harbert suggested.
Damn him, his advice was good, after all. Understand, Graydon, I do
not want parole or pardon. You must not undertake it. I am guilty
and I ought to be punished the same as these other fellows in here.
Don't shudder. It's true. I'm no better than they."
"I hate to think of you in this awful place--" began Graydon.
"Don't think of me."
"But, my God, I've seen you here, father," cried the son.
"A pretty spectacle for a son," laughed the father bitterly. "Why
did you bring that girl here? That was cruel--heartless."
Graydon tried to convince him that Jane had not come to gloat but
to ask a favour of him.
"A favour, eh? She expects me to tell all I know about her, eh?
That's good!" laughed Bansemer.
"Father, she has done you no wrong. Why are you so bitter against
her? It's not right--it's not like you."
Bansemer looked steadily at him for a full minute.
"Is she going to marry you, Graydon?"
"She refuses, absolutely."
"Then, she's better than I thought. Perhaps I'm wrong in hating
her as I do. It's because she took you away from me. Give me time,
Graydon. Some day I may tell you all I know. Don't urge me now; I
can't do it now. I don't want to see her again. Don't think I'm a
fool about it, boy, and don't speak of it again. Give me time."
"She is the gentlest woman in the world."
"You love her?"
"Better than my life."
"Graydon, I--I hope she will change her mind and become your wife."
"You do? I don't understand."
"That's why I'd rather she never could know who her parents are.
The shadow is invisible now; it wouldn't help matters for her if it
were visible. She's better off by not knowing. Has Droom intimated
that he knows?"
"He says he does not."
"He lies, but at the same time he won't tell her. It's not in him
to do it. God, he has served me ill to-day. He has always hated
me, but he was always true to me. He did me a vile trick when he
changed the cartridges in my revolver. By God, I discharged him for
that. I told him to appear against me if he would. He was free to
do so. But, curse him, he would not give me the satisfaction of
knowing that he was a traitor. He knew I'd go over the road, anyhow.
He's been waiting for this day to come. He has finally given me
the unhappiest hour in my life."
After a few moments he quieted down and asked Graydon what his plans
were for the future. In a strained uncertain way the two talked of
the young man's prospects and the advantages they promised.
"Go ahead, Graydon, and don't let the shadow of your father haunt
you. Don't forget me, boy, because I love you better than all the
world. These are strange words for a man who has fallen as I have
fallen, but they are true. Listen to this: you will be a rich man
some day; I have a fortune to give you, my boy. They can't take my
money from me, you know. It's all to be yours--every cent of it.
You see--"
"Father--I--let us not talk about it now," said Graydon hastily,
a shadow of repugnance in his eyes. Bansemer studied his face for
a moment and a deep red mounted to his brow.
"You mean, Graydon," he stammered, "that you--you do not want my
money?"
"Why should we talk about it now?"
"Because it suggests my death?"
"No, no, father. I--"
"You need not say it. I understand. It's enough. You feel that my
money was not honestly made. Well, we won't discuss it. I'll not
offer it to you again."
"It won't make any difference, dad. I love you. I don't love your
money."
"Or the way I earned it. Some day, my boy, you'll learn that very
few make money by dealing squarely with their fellow men. It's not
the custom. My methods were a little broader than common, that's
all. I now notify you that I intend to leave all I have to sweet
charity. I earned most of my ill-gotten wealth in New York and
Chicago, and I'm going to give it back to these cities. Charity
will take anything that is offered, but it doesn't always give in
return."
At the expiration of the time allotted to the visitor, Graydon took
his departure.
"Graydon, ask her to think kindly of me if she can."
"I'll come down again, father before I go East."
"No!" almost shouted James Bansemer. "I won't have it! For my sake,
Graydon, don't ever come here again. Don't shame me more than you
have to-day. I'll never forget this hour. Stay away and you'll be
doing me the greatest kindness in the world. Promise me, boy!"
"I can't promise that, dad. It isn't a sane request. I am your
son--"
"My God, boy, don't you see that I can't bear to look at you through
these bars? Go! Please go! Good-bye! Write to me, but don't come
here again. Don't! It's only a few years."
He turned away abruptly, his shoulder drawn upward as if in pain,
and Graydon left the place, weakened and sick at heart.
Jane and Droom were awaiting him in an outer office. The former
looked into his eyes searchingly, tenderly.
"I'm so sorry, Graydon," she said as she took his hand in hers.
All the way back to Chicago Elias Droom sat and watched them from
under lowered brows, wondering why it was that he felt so much
lonelier than he ever had felt before,--wondering, too, in a vague
sort of way, why he was not able to exult, after all.