Jennie Gerhardt

 
 
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CHAPTER XLVII 
The trip home did bring another week with Mrs. Gerald, for after mature 
consideration she had decided to venture to America for a while. Chicago 
and Cincinnati were her destinations, and she hoped to see more of Lester. 
Her presence was a good deal of a surprise to Jennie, and it started her 
thinking again. She could see what the point was. If she were out of the way 
Mrs. Gerald would marry Lester; that was certain. As it was—well, the 
question was a complicated one. Letty was Lester's natural mate, so far as 
birth, breeding, and position went. And yet Jennie felt instinctively that, on 
the large human side, Lester preferred her. Perhaps time would solve the 
problem; in the mean time the little party of three continued to remain 
excellent friends. When they reached Chicago Mrs. Gerald went her way, 
and Jennie and Lester took up the customary thread of their existence. 
On his return from Europe Lester set to work in earnest to find a business 
opening. None of the big companies made him any overtures, principally 
because he was considered a strong man who was looking for a control in 
anything he touched. The nature of his altered fortunes had not been made 
public. All the little companies that he investigated were having a hand-to-
mouth existence, or manufacturing a product which was not satisfactory to 
him. He did find one company in a small town in northern Indiana which 
looked as though it might have a future. It was controlled by a practical 
builder of wagons and carriages—such as Lester's father had been in his 
day—who, however, was not a good business man. He was making some 
small money on an investment of fifteen thousand dollars and a plant worth, 
say, twenty-five thousand. Lester felt that something could be done here if 
proper methods were pursued and business acumen exercised. It would be 
slow work. There would never be a great fortune in it. Not in his lifetime. He 
was thinking of making an offer to the small manufacturer when the first 
rumors of a carriage trust reached him. 
Robert had gone ahead rapidly with his scheme for reorganizing the carriage 
trade. He showed his competitors how much greater profits could be made 
through consolidation than through a mutually destructive rivalry. So 
convincing were his arguments that one by one the big carriage 
manufacturing companies fell into line. Within a few months the deal had 
been pushed through, and Robert found himself president of the United 
Carriage and Wagon Manufacturers' Association, with a capital stock of ten 
million dollars, and with assets aggregating nearly three-fourths of that sum 
at a forced sale. He was a happy man. 
While all this was going forward Lester was completely in the dark. His trip 
to Europe prevented him from seeing three or four minor notices in the 
newspapers of some of the efforts that were being made to unite the various 
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carriage and wagon manufactories. He returned to Chicago to learn that 
Jefferson Midgely, Imogene's husband, was still in full charge of the branch 
and living in Evanston, but because of his quarrel with his family he was in 
no position to get the news direct. Accident brought it fast enough, however, 
and that rather irritatingly. 
The individual who conveyed this information was none other than Mr. 
Henry Bracebridge, of Cleveland, into whom he ran at the Union Club one 
evening after he had been in the city a month. 
"I hear you're out of the old company," Bracebridge remarked, smiling 
blandly. 
"Yes," said Lester, "I'm out." 
"What are you up to now?" 
"Oh, I have a deal of my own under consideration, I'm thinking something of 
handling an independent concern." 
"Surely you won't run counter to your brother? He has a pretty good thing in 
that combination of his." 
"Combination! I hadn't heard of it," said Lester. "I've just got back from 
Europe." 
"Well, you want to wake up, Lester," replied Bracebridge. "He's got the 
biggest thing in your line. I thought you knew all about it. The Lyman-
Winthrop Company, the Myer-Brooks Company, the Woods Company—in 
fact, five or six of the big companies are all in. Your brother was elected 
president of the new concern. I dare say he cleaned up a couple of millions 
out of the deal." 
Lester stared. His glance hardened a little. 
"Well, that's fine for Robert. I'm glad of it." 
Bracebridge could see that he had given him a vital stab. 
"Well, so long, old man," he exclaimed. "When you're in Cleveland look us 
up. You know how fond my wife is of you." 
"I know," replied Lester. "By-by." 
He strolled away to the smoking-room, but the news took all the zest out of 
his private venture. Where would he be with a shabby little wagon company 
and his brother president of a carriage trust? Good heavens! Robert could 
put him out of business in a year. Why, he himself had dreamed of such a 
combination as this. Now his brother had done it. 
It is one thing to have youth, courage, and a fighting spirit to meet the blows 
with which fortune often afflicts the talented. It is quite another to see 
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middle age coming on, your principal fortune possibly gone, and avenue 
after avenue of opportunity being sealed to you on various sides. Jennie's 
obvious social insufficiency, the quality of newspaper reputation which had 
now become attached to her, his father's opposition and death, the loss of 
his fortune, the loss of his connection with the company, his brother's 
attitude, this trust, all combined in a way to dishearten and discourage him. 
He tried to keep a brave face—and he had succeeded thus far, he thought, 
admirably, but this last blow appeared for the time being a little too much. 
He went home, the same evening that he heard the news, sorely 
disheartened. Jennie saw it. She realized it, as a matter of fact, all during 
the evening that he was away. She felt blue and despondent herself. When 
he came home she saw what it was—something had happened to him. Her 
first impulse was to say, "What is the matter, Lester?" but her next and 
sounder one was to ignore it until he was ready to speak, if ever. She tried 
not to let him see that she saw, coming as near as she might affectionately 
without disturbing him. 
"Vesta is so delighted with herself to-day," she volunteered by way of 
diversion. "She got such nice marks in school." 
"That's good," he replied solemnly. 
"And she dances beautifully these days. She showed me some of her new 
dances to-night. You haven't any idea how sweet she looks." 
"I'm glad of it," he grumbled. "I always wanted her to be perfect in that. It's 
time she was going into some good girls' school, I think." 
"And papa gets in such a rage. I have to laugh. She teases him about it—the 
little imp. She offered to teach him to dance to-night. If he didn't love her so 
he'd box her ears." 
"I can see that," said Lester, smiling. "Him dancing! That's pretty good!" 
"She's not the least bit disturbed by his storming, either." 
"Good for her," said Lester. He was very fond of Vesta, who was now quite a 
girl. 
So Jennie tripped on until his mood was modified a little, and then some 
inkling of what had happened came out. It was when they were retiring for 
the night. "Robert's formulated a pretty big thing in a financial way since 
we've been away," he volunteered. 
"What is it?" asked Jennie, all ears. 
"Oh, he's gotten up a carriage trust. It's something which will take in every 
manufactory of any importance in the country. Bracebridge was telling me 
that Robert was made president, and that they have nearly eight millions in 
capital." 
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"You don't say!" replied Jennie. "Well, then you won't want to do much with 
your new company, will you?" 
"No; there's nothing in that, just now," he said. "Later on I fancy it may be 
all right. I'll wait and see how this thing comes out. You never can tell what 
a trust like that will do." 
Jennie was intensely sorry. She had never heard Lester complain before. It 
was a new note. She wished sincerely that she might do something to 
comfort him, but she knew that her efforts were useless. "Oh, well," she 
said, "there are so many interesting things in this world. If I were you I 
wouldn't be in a hurry to do anything, Lester. You have so much time." 
She didn't trust herself to say anything more, and he felt that it was useless 
to worry. Why should he? After all, he had an ample income that was 
absolutely secure for two years yet. He could have more if he wanted it. Only 
his brother was moving so dazzlingly onward, while he was standing still—
perhaps "drifting" would be the better word. It did seem a pity; worst of all, 
he was beginning to feel a little uncertain of himself.