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THE FINANCIER
won’t collect a crowd that way». Butler had many misgivings about
the matter. It was fraught with great danger of publicity. Still he
wanted to know. He wanted to terrify Aileen if he could – to reform
her drastically.
Within a week Alderson learned that Aileen and Cowperwood
were visiting an apparently private residence, which was anything
but that. The house on South Sixth Street was one of assignation
purely; but in its way it was superior to the average establishment of
its kind – of red brick, white-stone trimmings, four stories high,
and all the rooms, some eighteen in number, furnished in a showy
but cleanly way. It’s patronage was highly exclusive, only those
being admitted who were known to the mistress, having been introduced by others. This guaranteed that privacy which the illicit
affairs of this world so greatly required. The mere phrase, «I have
an appointment», was suffi cient, where either of the parties was
known, to cause them to be shown to a private suite. Cowperwood
had known of the place from previous experiences, and when it became necessary to abandon the North Tenth Street house, he had
directed Aileen to meet him here.
The matter of entering a place of this kind and trying to fi nd any
one was, as Alderson informed Butler on hearing of its character,
exceedingly diffi cult. It involved the right of search, which was diffi cult to get. To enter by sheer force was easy enough in most instances
where the business conducted was in contradistinction to the moral
sentiment of the community; but sometimes one encountered violent opposition from the tenants themselves. It might be so in this
case. The only sure way of avoiding such opposition would be to
take the woman who ran the place into one’s confi dence, and by
paying her suffi ciently insure silence. «But I do not advise that in
this instance», Alderson had told Butler, «for I believe this woman
is particularly friendly to your man. It might be better, in spite of
the risk, to take it by surprise». To do that, he explained, it would
be necessary to have at least three men in addition to the leader –
perhaps four, who, once one man had been able to make his en-
321
THEODORE DREISER
trance into the hallway, on the door being opened in response to
a ring, would appear quickly and enter with and sustain him. Quickness of search was the next thing – the prompt opening of all doors.
The servants, if any, would have to be overpowered and silenced in
some way. Money sometimes did this; force accomplished it at other times. Then one of the detectives simulating a servant could tap
gently at the different doors – Butler and the others standing by –
and in case a face appeared identify it or not, as the case might be. If
the door was not opened and the room was not empty, it could eventually be forced. The house was one of a solid block, so that there was
no chance of escape save by the front and rear doors, which were to
be safe-guarded. It was a daringly conceived scheme. In spite of all
this, secrecy in the matter of removing Aileen was to be preserved.
When Butler heard of this he was nervous about the whole terrible procedure. He thought once that without going to the house
he would merely talk to his daughter declaring that he knew and
that she could not possibly deny it. He would then give her her
choice between going to Europe or going to a reformatory. But
a sense of the raw brutality of Aileen’s disposition, and something
essentially coarse in himself, made him eventually adopt the other
method. He ordered Alderson to perfect his plan, and once he found
Aileen or Cowperwood entering the house to inform him quickly.
He would then drive there, and with the assistance of these men
confront her.
It was a foolish scheme, a brutalizing thing to do, both from
the point of view of affection and any corrective theory he might
have had. No good ever springs from violence. But Butler did not
see that. He wanted to frighten Aileen, to bring her by shock to
a realization of the enormity of the offense she was committing.
He waited fully a week after his word had been given; and then,
one afternoon, when his nerves were worn almost thin from fretting, the climax came. Cowperwood had already been indicted, and
was now awaiting trial. Aileen had been bringing him news, from
time to time, of just how she thought her father was feeling toward
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THE FINANCIER
him. She did not get this evidence direct from Butler, of course – he
was too secretive, in so far as she was concerned, to let her know
how relentlessly he was engineering Cowperwood’s fi nal downfall – but from odd bits confi ded to Owen, who confi ded them to
Callum, who in turn, innocently enough, confi ded them to Aileen.
For one thing, she had learned in this way of the new district attorney elect – his probable attitude – for he was a constant caller at
the Butler house or offi ce. Owen had told Callum that he thought
Shannon was going to do his best to send Cowperwood «up» – that
the old man thought he deserved it.
In the next place she had learned that her father did not want
Cowperwood to resume business – did not feel he deserved to be
allowed to. «It would be a God’s blessing if the community were
shut of him», he had said to Owen one morning, apropos of a notice in the papers of Cowperwood’s legal struggles; and Owen had
asked Callum why he thought the old man was so bitter. The two
sons could not understand it. Cowperwood heard all this from her,
and more – bits about Judge Payderson, the judge who was to try
him, who was a friend of Butler’s – also about the fact that Stener
might be sent up for the full term of his crime, but that he would be
pardoned soon afterward.
Apparently Cowperwood was not very much frightened.
He told her that he had powerful fi nancial friends who would
appeal to the governor to pardon him in case he was convicted;
and, anyhow, that he did not think that the evidence was strong
enough to convict him. He was merely a political scapegoat
through public clamor and her father’s infl uence; since the latter’s receipt of the letter about them he had been the victim of
Butler’s enmity, and nothing more. «If it weren’t for your father,
honey», he declared, «I could have this indictment quashed in no
time. Neither Mollenhauer nor Simpson has anything against me
personally, I am sure. They want me to get out of the street-railway
business here in Philadelphia, and, of course, they wanted to make
things look better for Stener at fi rst; but depend upon it, if your fa-
323
THEODORE DREISER
ther hadn’t been against me they wouldn’t have gone to any such
length in making me the victim. Your father has this fellow Shannon and these minor politicians just where he wants them, too.
That’s where the trouble lies. They have to go on».
«Oh, I know», replied Aileen. «It’s me, just me, that’s all. If it
weren’t for me and what he suspects he’d help you in a minute.
Sometimes, you know, I think I’ve been very bad for you. I don’t
know what I ought to do. If I thought it would help you any I’d not
see you any more for a while, though I don’t see what good that
would do now. Oh, I love you, love you, Frank! I would do anything
for you. I don’t care what people think or say. I love you».
«Oh, you just think you do», he replied, jestingly. «You’ll get over
it. There are others».
«Others!» echoed Aileen, resentfully and contemptuously. «After you there aren’t any others. I just want one man, my Frank. If you
ever desert me, I’ll go to hell. You’ll see».
«Don’t talk like that, Aileen», he replied, almost irritated.
«I don’t like to hear you. You wouldn’t do anything of the sort. I love
you. You know I’m not going to desert you. It would pay you to desert me just now».
«Oh, how you talk!» she exclaimed. «Desert you! It’s likely, isn’t
it? But if ever you desert me, I’ll do just what I say. I swear it».
«Don’t talk like that. Don’t talk nonsense».
«I swear it. I swear by my love. I swear by your success – my own
happiness. I’ll do just what I say. I’ll go to hell».
Cowperwood got up. He was a little afraid now of this deepseated passion he had aroused. It was dangerous. He could not tell
where it would lead.
It was a cheerless afternoon in November, when Alderson, duly
informed of the presence of Aileen and Cowperwood in the South
Sixth Street house by the detective on guard drove rapidly up to
Butler’s offi ce and invited him to come with him. Yet even now Butler could scarcely believe that he was to fi nd his daughter there.
The shame of it. The horror. What would he say to her? How re-
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THE FINANCIER
proach her? What would he do to Cowperwood? His large hands
shook as he thought. They drove rapidly to within a few doors of
the place, where a second detective on guard across the street approached. Butler and Alderson descended from the vehicle, and together they approached the door. It was now almost four-thirty in
the afternoon. In a room within the house, Cowperwood, his coat
and vest off, was listening to Aileen’s account of her troubles.
The room in which they were sitting at the time was typical of
the rather commonplace idea of luxury which then prevailed. Most of
the »sets» of furniture put on the market for general sale by the furniture companies were, when they approached in any way the correct idea of luxury, imitations of one of the Louis periods. The curtains were always heavy, frequently brocaded, and not infrequently
red. The carpets were richly fl owered in high colors with a thick,
velvet nap. The furniture, of whatever wood it might be made, was
almost invariably heavy, fl oriated, and cumbersome. This room contained a heavily constructed bed of walnut, with washstand, bureau,
and wardrobe to match. A large, square mirror in a gold frame was
hung over the washstand. Some poor engravings of landscapes and
several nude fi gures were hung in gold frames on the wall. The giltframed chairs were upholstered in pink-and-white-fl owered brocade, with polished brass tacks. The carpet was of thick Brussels,
pale cream and pink in hue, with large blue jardinieres containing
fl owers woven in as ornaments. The general effect was light, rich,
and a little stuffy.
«You know I get desperately frightened, sometimes», said Aileen. «Father might be watching us, you know. I’ve often wondered
what I’d do if he caught us. I couldn’t lie out of this, could I?»
«You certainly couldn’t», said Cowperwood, who never failed to
respond to the incitement of her charms. She had such lovely smooth
arms, a full, luxuriously tapering throat and neck; her golden-red
hair fl oated like an aureole about her head, and her large eyes sparkled. The wondrous vigor of a full womanhood was hers – errant,
ill-balanced, romantic, but exquisite, «but you might as well not
325
THEODORE DREISER
cross that bridge until you come to it», he continued. «I myself have
been thinking that we had better not go on with this for the present.
That letter ought to have been enough to stop us for the time».
He came over to where she stood by the dressing-table, adjusting
her hair.
«You’re such a pretty minx», he said. He slipped his arm about
her and kissed her pretty mouth. «Nothing sweeter than you this
side of Paradise», he whispered in her ear.
While this was enacting, Butler and the extra detective had
stepped out of sight, to one side of the front door of the house, while
Alderson, taking the lead, rang the bell. A negro servant appeared.
«Is Mrs. Davis in?» he asked, genially, using the name of
the woman in control. «I’d like to see her».
«Just come in», said the maid, unsuspectingly, and indicated
a reception-room on the right. Alderson took off his soft, widebrimmed hat and entered. When the maid went up-stairs he immediately returned to the door and let in Butler and two detectives.
The four stepped into the reception-room unseen. In a few moments the »madam» as the current word characterized this type of
woman, appeared. She was tall, fair, rugged, and not at all unpleasant to look upon. She had light-blue eyes and a genial smile. Long
contact with the police and the brutalities of sex in her early life
had made her wary, a little afraid of how the world would use her.
This particular method of making a living being illicit, and she
having no other practical knowledge at her command, she was as
anxious to get along peacefully with the police and the public generally as any struggling tradesman in any walk of life might have
been. She had on a loose, blue-fl owered peignoir, or dressing-gown,
open at the front, tied with blue ribbons and showing a little of
her expensive underwear beneath. A large opal ring graced her left
middle fi nger, and turquoises of vivid blue were pendent from her
ears. She wore yellow silk slippers with bronze buckles; and altogether her appearance was not out of keeping with the character of
the reception-room itself, which was a composite of gold-fl owered
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THE FINANCIER
wall-paper, blue and cream-colored Brussels carpet, heavily goldframed engravings of reclining nudes, and a gilt-framed pier-glass,
which rose from the fl oor to the ceiling. Needless to say, Butler was
shocked to the soul of him by this suggestive atmosphere which was
supposed to include his daughter in its destructive reaches.
Alderson motioned one of his detectives to get behind the woman – between her and the door – which he did.
«Sorry to trouble you, Mrs. Davis», he said, «but we are looking for a couple who are in your house here. We’re after a runaway
girl. We don’t want to make any disturbance – merely to get her
and take her away». Mrs. Davis paled and opened her mouth. «Now
don’t make any noise or try to scream, or we’ll have to stop you. My
men are all around the house. Nobody can get out. Do you know
anybody by the name of Cowperwood?»
Mrs. Davis, fortunately from one point of view, was not of a particularly nervous nor yet contentious type. She was more or less
philosophic. She was not in touch with the police here in Philadelphia, hence subject to exposure. What good would it do to cry
out? she thought. The place was surrounded. There was no one in
the house at the time to save Cowperwood and Aileen. She did not
know Cowperwood by his name, nor Aileen by hers. They were a Mr.
and Mrs. Montague to her.
«I don’t know anybody by that name», she replied nervously.
«Isn’t there a girl here with red hair?» asked one of Alderson’s
assistants. «And a man with a gray suit and a light-brown mustache? They came in here half an hour ago. You remember them,
don’t you?»
«There’s just one couple in the house, but I’m not sure whether
they’re the ones you want. I’ll ask them to come down if you wish.
Oh, I wish you wouldn’t make any disturbance. This is terrible».
«We’ll not make any disturbance», replied Alderson, «if you
don’t. Just you be quiet. We merely want to see the girl and take her
away. Now, you stay where you are. What room are they in?»
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THEODORE DREISER
«In the second one in the rear up-stairs. Won’t you let me go,
though? It will be so much better. I’ll just tap and ask them to
come out».
«No. We’ll tend to that. You stay where you are. You’re not
going to get into any trouble. You just stay where you are», insisted Alderson.
He motioned to Butler, who, however, now that he had embarked on his grim task, was thinking that he had made a mistake. What good would it do him to force his way in and make her
come out, unless he intended to kill Cowperwood? If she were
made to come down here, that would be enough. She would then
know that he knew all. He did not care to quarrel with Cowperwood, in any public way, he now decided. He was afraid to.
He was afraid of himself.
«Let her go», he said grimly, doggedly referring to Mrs. Davis,
«But watch her. Tell the girl to come down-stairs to me».
Mrs. Davis, realizing on the moment that this was some family
tragedy, and hoping in an agonized way that she could slip out of
it peacefully, started upstairs at once with Alderson and his assistants who were close at his heels. Reaching the door of the room occupied by Cowperwood and Aileen, she tapped lightly. At the time
Aileen and Cowperwood were sitting in a big arm-chair. At the fi rst
knock Aileen blanched and leaped to her feet. Usually not nervous,
to-day, for some reason, she anticipated trouble. Cowperwood’s eyes
instantly hardened.
«Don’t be nervous», he said, «no doubt it’s only the servant.
I’ll go».
He started, but Aileen interfered. «Wait», she said. Somewhat
reassured, she went to the closet, and taking down a dressing-gown,
slipped it on. Meanwhile the tap came again. Then she went to
the door and opened it the least bit.
«Mrs. Montague», exclaimed Mrs. Davis, in an obviously nervous, forced voice, «there’s a gentleman downstairs who wishes to
see you».
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THE FINANCIER
«A gentleman to see me!» exclaimed Aileen, astonished and paling. «Are you sure?»
«Yes; he says he wants to see you. There are several other men
with him. I think it’s some one who belongs to you, maybe».
Aileen realized on the instant, as did Cowperwood, what had in
all likelihood happened. Butler or Mrs. Cowperwood had trailed
them – in all probability her father. He wondered now what he
should do to protect her, not himself. He was in no way deeply concerned for himself, even here. Where any woman was concerned he
was too chivalrous to permit fear. It was not at all improbable that
Butler might want to kill him; but that did not disturb him. He really did not pay any attention to that thought, and he was not armed.
«I’ll dress and go down», he said, when he saw Aileen’s pale face.
«You stay here. And don’t you worry in any way for I’ll get you out of
this – now, don’t worry. This is my affair. I got you in it and I’ll get
you out of it». He went for his hat and coat and added, as he did so,
«You go ahead and dress; but let me go fi rst».
Aileen, the moment the door closed, had begun to put on her
clothes swiftly and nervously. Her mind was working like a rapidly moving machine. She was wondering whether this really could
be her father. Perhaps it was not. Might there be some other Mrs.
Montague – a real one? Supposing it was her father – he had been
so nice to her in not telling the family, in keeping her secret thus
far. He loved her – she knew that. It makes all the difference in
the world in a child’s attitude on an occasion like this whether she
has been loved and petted and spoiled, or the reverse. Aileen had
been loved and petted and spoiled. She could not think of her father doing anything terrible physically to her or to any one else.
But it was so hard to confront him – to look into his eyes. When
she had attained a proper memory of him, her fl uttering wits told
her what to do.
«No, Frank», she whispered, excitedly; «if it’s father, you’d better let me go. I know how to talk to him. He won’t say anything to
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THEODORE DREISER
me. You stay here. I’m not afraid – really, I’m not. If I want you,
I’ll call you».
He had come over and taken her pretty chin in his hands, and
was looking solemnly into her eyes.
«You mustn’t be afraid», he said. «I’ll go down. If it’s your father,
you can go away with him. I don’t think he’ll do anything either to
you or to me. If it is he, write me something at the offi ce. I’ll be there.
If I can help you in any way, I will. We can fi x up something. There’s
no use trying to explain this. Say nothing at all».
He had on his coat and overcoat, and was standing with
his hat in his hand. Aileen was nearly dressed, struggling with
the row of red current-colored buttons which fastened her dress in
the back. Cowperwood helped her. When she was ready – hat,
gloves, and all – he said:
«Now let me go fi rst. I want to see».
«No; please, Frank», she begged, courageously. «Let me, I know
it’s father. Who else could it be?» She wondered at the moment
whether her father had brought her two brothers but would not
now believe it. He would not do that, she knew. «You can come if
I call». She went on. «Nothing’s going to happen, though. I understand him. He won’t do anything to me. If you go it will only make
him angry. Let me go. You stand in the door here. If I don’t call, it’s
all right. Will you?»
She put her two pretty hands on his shoulders, and he weighed
the matter very carefully. «Very well», he said, «only I’ll go to
the foot of the stairs with you».
They went to the door and he opened it. Outside were Alderson with two other detectives and Mrs. Davis, standing perhaps
fi ve feet away.
«Well», said Cowperwood, commandingly, looking at Alderson.
«There’s a gentleman down-stairs wishes to see the lady», said
Alderson. «It’s her father, I think», he added quietly.
Cowperwood made way for Aileen, who swept by, furious at
the presence of men and this exposure. Her courage had entirely re-
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