The Stoic

THE STOIC

for a glance of approval, and, receiving it, said they would be glad to have him call on them at the Cecil.

At this moment Cowperwood was enjoying to the fullest extent the sense of importance and well-being surrounding him. Once he had landed and disposed of Aileen, there would be Berenice, with her mother, at Claridge’s awaiting him. He actually felt young: Ulysses upon a new and truly mysterious voyage! His feelings were heightened also by the fact that in the midst of all this there arrived a messenger with a telegram in Spanish: «The sun shines on the England you step upon. It is a silver door that opens upon your greatest achievement and your greatest fame. The sea has been grey without you, Oro del Oro». It was from Berenice, of course, and he smiled to himself at the thought of seeing her.

And now the reporters. «Where was he bound for?» «Had he divested himself of all of his Chicago holdings?» «Was it true that he had come to England to buy a famous private art collection, as had been rumored?» To all of which questions, he vouchsafed guarded but smiling replies. To be exact, he was seeking a holiday of some duration, since it had been so long since he had had one, he explained. No, he had not gotten rid of his Chicago holdings; he was merely rearranging them. No, he had not come to buy the Fairbanks collection. He had once seen it and admired it enormously. But he had not even heard that it was for sale.

Throughout all this Aileen posed near at hand, pleased at the revival of her former grandeur. The Illustrated News had sent a man to make a sketch of her.

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At the first lull in the buzz of talk, however, Jarkins, with Kloorfain at his elbow, rushed forward to pay his respects and to ask Cowperwood not to make any statements until he had an opportunity to talk to him. To which Cowperwood replied, «Very well, if you wish».

After that, at the hotel, Jamieson reporting on various telegrams which had been received. Also, there was Mr. Sippens in Room 741, waiting to be called. Then there was a message from Lord Haddonfield, whom Cowperwood had met years before in Chicago – he would like to have the pleasure of entertaining the Cowperwoods over the week end. Also, a certain distinguished South African banker – a Jewish gentleman – then in London, asked him to luncheon in order to talk of important matters relating to South Africa. The German Ambassador sent his compliments and would be happy if Mr. Cowperwood would have dinner with him at the Embassy at his convenience. From Paris a message from Mr. Dolan, of Philadelphia: «If you go through this burg without doing the town with me, I’ll have you stopped at the border. Remember, I know as much about you as you know about me».

The wings of fortune could be heard whirring over his head.

Later, having seen Aileen comfortably established in her suite, he sent for Sippens and learned from him all that he had to report. There was no doubt, Sippens said, eager and birdlike in a new spring suit, that Greaves and Henshaw were at their wits’ end. And yet there was no better opening wedge for Cowperwood than the act for the line which they controlled. He would go over the proposed route with

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him the next day. Far more important, though, was the ultimate control of this central loop, since on that depended any general system. The Charing Cross could most profitably be joined with the loop, and if he owned or controlled that, he would be in a far better position to move in connection with the loop and some other lines. Besides, there were many acts floating about, which had been secured by speculators with the hope of finding operators and investors afterward, and these might all be investigated.

«It’s a question, yes, of how to go about all this», said Cowperwood, thoughtfully. «You say Greaves and Henshaw are in a mess, but they haven’t approached me yet. In the meantime, Jarkins has apparently talked to this fellow Johnson, of Traffic Electrical, and Johnson agreed with him that if I did nothing until he had a chance to bring together a group that appears to be interested in this central loop – your man, Stane, I assume, is one of them – he would arrange for me to meet them all and talk this over, the entire loop scheme, I suppose. But that would mean, I assume, that I would have to ignore Greaves and Henshaw and let this Charing Cross line drop back into Traffic Electrical by default, which is just what I don’t want to do. It would give them an extra club to swing over me».

But at that Sippens was on his feet in an instant.

«Don’t you do that, Chief!» he fairly squeaked. «Don’t you do that! You’ll be sorry if you do. These people over here stick together like glue! They’ll fight each other singly, but when it comes to a foreigner, they’ll combine and you’ll be made to pay dearly unless you have something to fight them with. Better wait until tomorrow or the next day and see whether you

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hear from Greaves and Henshaw. They’re sure to read of your arrival in today’s papers, and, unless I miss my guess, they’ll get in touch with you, for they haven’t a thing to gain by waiting, not a thing. Tell Jarkins to stay away from Johnson, and you do whatever you have to do, but first come with me to look over this Charing Cross route».

But at that moment Jamieson, who was occupying a room next door, entered with a letter brought by hand. Noting the name on the outside of the envelope, Cowperwood smiled, and then, after reading the letter, turned it over to Sippens.

«There you are, De Sota! Now, what about that?» he queried, genially. The letter was from Greaves and Henshaw, and read:

DEAR MR. COWPERWOOD:

We note in today’s paper your arrival in London. If convenient and of interest to you, we would like to arrange an appointment, preferably for Monday or Tuesday of next week. Our purpose is, of course, to discuss the matter laid before you in New York about March 15th last.

Felicitating you upon your safe arrival, and wishing you a very pleasant stay, we are

Cordially yours, Greaves and Henshaw per Montague Greaves

Sippens snapped his fingers triumphantly. «There! What did I tell you?» he fairly cackled. «Bringing it to you on your own terms. And the finest route in all London. With that in your bag, Chief, you can afford to sit back and wait, particular-

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ly if you start picking up some of these other options that are floating around, for they’ll hear of it and have to come to you. This fellow Johnson! He’s got a nerve, asking you to do nothing until after you see him», he added, a little sourly, for already he had heard that Johnson was an assured and dictatorial person, and he was prepared not to like him. «Of course, he has some good connections», he continued, «he and this fellow Stane. But without your money and ability and experience, what can they do? They couldn’t even swing this Charing Cross line, let alone these others! And they won’t, without you!»

«You’re probably right, De Sota», said Cowperwood, smiling genially on his loyal associate. «I’ll see Greaves and Henshaw, probably on Tuesday, and you may be sure that I won’t let anything slip through my fingers. How about tomorrow afternoon for that ride over the Charing Cross? I suppose I ought to see that and these loop lines at one and the same time».

«Great, Chief! How about one o’clock? I can show you everything and have you back here by five».

«Good! Only, just a moment. Do you remember Haddonfield, Lord Haddonfield, who came out to Chicago a few years ago and created such a stir out there? The Palmers, the Fields, the Lesters, were all running after him, remember? I entertained him out at my place, too. Sporty, jaunty type».

«Sure, sure! I remember», returned Sippens. «Wanted to go into the packing business, I believe».

«And into my business, too. I guess I never told you that». «No, you never did», said Sippens, interestedly.

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Chapter 24

Cowperwood’s attitude toward Berenice at this time was a mixture of father and lover. His greater age and unchanging admiration for her mentality and beauty caused him to wish to protect and develop her aesthetically. At the same time, and that decidedly, he shared her sensual emotions, although sensing at times an oddness about the relation, since he could not publicly harmonize his sixty years with her extreme youth. On the other hand, privately, her practical prevision, which so often seemed to match his own, gave him a sense of added strength as well as pride. For her independence and force united not so much with his thoughts of material self-aggrandize- ment as with that portion of its possible fruits which might by her be utilized to achieve temperamental and social perfection. It explained his presence here in London and gave it real weight. Now, finding her buoyant and enthusiastic as ever, as he took her in his arms he actually absorbed not a little of her gaiety and confidence.

«Welcome to London!» were her first words. «So Caesar has crossed the Rubicon!»

«Thanks, Bevy», he said, releasing her. «I got your message, too, and treasure it. But let me look at you. Walk across the room!»

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He surveyed her with intense satisfaction as, smiling an ironic smile, she stepped away and walked, posing in the manner of a fashion model, finally curtseying, and saying: «Direct from Madame Sari! The price is a mere – secret!» and she pouted her lips.

She was wearing a deep-blue velvet frock, cut princess style, with tiny pearls outlining the neck and girdle.

Cowperwood took her hand and led her to a small sofa, just large enough for the two of them. «Exquisite!» he said. «I can’t tell you how glad I am to be with you again». He then inquired after her mother, and continued: «This is a new sensation for me, Bevy. I never really cared much for London before, but this time, knowing you were to be here, I found myself delighting in the sight of it».

«And what else?» she asked.

«And seeing you, of course», he beamed, and kissed her, touching her eyes, hair, mouth with his lips and fingers until at last she cautioned him that there was to be no love-mak- ing until later. Forced to accept this for the moment, he began giving a brisk account of his passage and all that had occurred.

«Aileen is with me at the Cecil», he went on. «She has just been sketched for the papers. And your friend Tollifer did a great deal, I must say, to make things agreeable for her».

«My friend! I don’t know him!»

«Of course, you don’t, but, anyway, he turns out to be a very clever fellow. You should have seen him when he came to me in New York and again on the boat. Aladdin and the wonderful lamp called money! By the way, he went on to Paris,

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partially to cover his tracks, I take it. I have seen to it, of course, that he is amply supplied with cash for the present».

«You met him on the boat?» queried Berenice.

«Yes, he was introduced by the captain. But then, he is just the sort of person who could arrange that sort of thing for himself. And he appears to have a positive genius for ingratiating himself with the ladies. He practically monopolized all of the attractive ones».

«With you there? Do you expect me to believe that?»

«A miracle, I admit, but the man is uncanny. He seemed to sense exactly what was needed. I personally saw very little of him, but he managed to impress Aileen – so much so that she wants to have him dine with us».

He looked solemnly at Berenice, and she in turn gazed congratulatingly upon him, adding after a moment. «I’m glad; I really am. She needs just such a change as this. She should have had it long ago».

«I agree», said Cowperwood. «Since I can’t be to her what she would like me to be, why not someone else? Anyway, I hope he keeps his head, and I’m rather inclined to think he will. Aileen is already planning to go to Paris to shop. So things are going well enough, I think».

«Very well», said Berenice, smiling. «It looks as though our plans might work out. So who is to blame?»

«Well, not you, and not me. It’s one of those things that have to be – like your coming to me last Christmas when I least expected you».

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He began caressing her again, but, interested in her own plans, she resisted him, saying: «Now, now, I want to hear about London, and then I have something to tell you».

«London? Everything looks most promising so far. I told you in New York about those two men, Greaves and Henshaw, and how I turned them down. Well, just now at the hotel, before I left, there was a letter from them. They want to see me, and I have an appointment with them. As for the larger plan, there is a group here with whom I am planning to talk. As soon as there is anything definite, I’ll let you know. But meanwhile, I want to steal away with you somewhere. We should be able to take a vacation for a little while before I go into all this. Of course, there’s Aileen. And until she is out of the way...

». he paused, «my plan, of course, is to urge her to go to Paris, and then we might sail up toward the North Cape or down to the Mediterranean. One of my agents tells me of a yacht he knows of that can be leased for the summer».

«Yacht! Yacht!» exclaimed Berenice, excitedly, and at the same time laying a finger on his lips. «Oh, no, no! Now you’re treading on my plans. Fixing things I want to fix. You see – –» But before she could finish he seized her and silenced

her with a kiss.

«You are impatient!» she said, softly, «but wait... ». and she led him to a table set by an open window in the adjoining room. «You see, my lord, a feast is laid for two. It is your slave who invites you. If you will be seated, and have a drink with me, and behave yourself, I shall tell you about myself. Believe it or not, I have solved everything!»

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