The nation slid imperceptibly toward war, frightened and at
the same time attracted. People had not felt the shaking emotion of war in nearly
sixty years. The
Spanish affair was more nearly an expedition than a war. Mr. Wilson was reelected President
in
November on his platform promise to keep us out of war, and at the same time he was instructed to take a firm hand, which inevitably meant war. Business picked up and prices began to rise. British purchasing
agents roved
about the country, buying food and cloth and metals and chemicals.
A
charge of
excitement ran through the country. People didn’t really believe in war even while they planned it. The Salinas Valley lived about as it always had.
2
Cal walked to school with Aron.
โYou look tired,โ Aron said.
โDo I?โ
โI heard you come in last night. Four o’clock. What do you do so late?โ
โI was walking aroundโ
thinking. How would you like to quit school and go back to the ranch?โ
โWhat for?โ
โWe could make some money for Father.โ โI’m going to college. I wish
I
could go now.
Everybody is laughing at us. I want to get out of town.โ โYou act mad.โ
โI’m not mad. But I didn’t lose the money. I didn’t have a crazy lettuce
idea. But people laugh at me just the same. And I don’t know
if
there’s enough
money for college.โ โHe didn’t mean to lose the money.โ
โBut he lost it.โ
Cal said, โYou’ve got
this year to finish and next before you can go to college.โ โDo you think I don’t
know it?โ
โIf you worked hard, maybe
you could take
entrance examinations next summer and go in the fall.โ Aron swung around. โI couldn’t do it.โ
โI think you could. Why don’t
you talk to the
principal? And I bet the Reverend Rolf would help you.โ
Aron said, โI want to get
out of this town. I don’t ever want to come back. They still call us Lettuce-heads. They laugh at us.โ
โHow about Abra?โ โAbra will do what’s best.โ
Cal asked, โWould she want you to go away?โ โAbra’s going to do what I want her to do.โ
Cal thought for
a
moment. โI’ll tell you what. I’m going to try to make some money. If you knuckle down and pass examinations a year early, why, I’ll help you through college.โ
โYou will?โ โSure I will.โ
โWhy, I’ll go and see the principal right away.โ He quickened his steps.
Cal called, โAron, wait! Listen! If he says he thinks you can do it, don’t tell Father.โ
โWhy not?โ
โI was just thinking how nice it would be if you went to him and told him you’d done it.โ
โI
don’t see what
difference it makes.โ โYou don’t?โ
โNo, I don’t,โ said Aron. โIt sounds silly to me.โ Cal had a violent urge to shout, โI know who our
mother is! I can show her to you.โ That would cut through and get inside of Aron.
Cal met Abra in the hall before the schoolbell rang. โWhat’s the matter with Aron?โ he demanded.
โI don’t know.โ
โYes, you do,โ he said. โHe’s just in a cloud. I think it’s that minister.โ โDoes he walk home with you?โ
โSure he does. But I can see right through him. He’s wearing wings.โ
โHe’s still ashamed
about the lettuce.โ โI know he is,โ said
Abra. โI try to talk him out of it. Maybe he’s enjoying it.โ โWhat do you mean?โ โNothing,โ said Abra.
After supper that night
Cal said, โFather, would you mind if I went down to the ranch Friday afternoon?โ
Adam turned in his chair. โWhat for?โ โJust want to see. Just want to look around.โ โDoes Aron want to go?โ
โNo. I want to go alone.โ โI don’t see why you shouldn’t. Lee, do you see
any reason why he shouldn’t go?โ
โNo,โ said Lee. He studied
Cal. โThinking seriously of
going to
farming?โ
โI might. If you’d let me take it over, I’d farm it, Father.โ
โThe lease has more
than a year to run,โ Adam said.
โAfter that can I farm it?โ
โHow about school?โ โI’ll be through school.โ โWell, we’ll see,โ said
Adam. โYou might want to go to college.โ
When Cal started for the front door Lee followed and walked out with him.
โCan you tell me what it’s about?โ Lee asked. โI just want to look around.โ
โAll right, I guess I’m left out.โ Lee turned to go
back into the house. Then he called,
โCal!โ The boy
stopped. โYou worried, Cal?โ โNo.โ
โI’ve got five thousand
dollars if you ever need it.โ โWhy would I need it?โ
โI don’t know,โ said Lee.
3
Will Hamilton liked his glass cage of an office in the garage. His business interests were much wider than the automobile agency, but he did not get another office. He loved the movement that went on outside his square glass cage. And he had put in double glass to kill the noise of the garage.
He sat in his big red
leather swivel chair, and most of the time he enjoyed his life. When people spoke of his brother Joe making so much money in advertising in
the East, Will always said he himself was a big frog in a little puddle.
โI’d be afraid to go to a
big city,โ he said. โI’m just a country boy.โ And he liked the
laugh that always
followed. It proved to him that his friends knew he was well off.
Cal came in to see him one
Saturday morning.
Seeing Will’s puzzled look, he said, โI’m Cal Trask.โ โOh, sure. Lord, you’re getting to be a big boy. Is your father down?โ
โNo. I came alone.โ โWell, sit down. I don’t suppose you smoke.โ โSometimes.
Cigarettes.โ
Will slid a package of Murads across the desk. Cal opened the box and then closed it. โI don’t think I will right now.โ
Will looked at the dark-faced boy and he liked him. He thought, This boy is sharp.
He’s nobody’s fool. โI guess you’ll be going into business pretty soon,โ he said.
โYes, sir. I thought I
might run the ranch when I get out of high school.โ โThere’s no money in that,โ said Will. โFarmers don’t make any money. It’s
the man who buys from him
and sells. You’ll never make any money farming.โ Will knew that Cal was feeling him, testing him, observing him, and he approved of that.
And Cal had made up
his mind, but first he asked, โMr. Hamilton, you haven’t any children, have you?โ โWell, no. And I’m
sorry about that. I guess I’m sorriest about that.โ And then, โWhat makes you ask?โ
Cal ignored the question. โWould you give me some advice?โ
Will felt a glow of
pleasure. โIf I can, I’ll be glad to. What is it you want to know?โ
And then
Cal did
something Will Hamilton
approved even more. He used candor as a weapon. He said, โI want to make a lot of money. I want you to tell me how.โ
Will overcame his
impulse to laugh. Naรฏve as the statement was, he didn’t think
Cal was naรฏve.
โEverybody wants that,โ he said. โWhat do you mean by a lot of money?โ
โTwenty or
thirty
thousand dollars.โ โGood God!โ said Will,
and he screeched his chair forward. And now he did laugh, but not in derision. Cal smiled along with Will’s laughter.
Will said, โCan you tell
me why you want to make so much?โ
โYes, sir,โ said Cal, โI
can.โ And Cal opened the box of Murads and took out one of
the oval
cork-tipped
cigarettes and lighted it. โI’ll tell you why,โ he said.
Will leaned his chair back in enjoyment. โMy father lost a lot of money.โ
โI know,โ said Will. โI warned him not to try to ship lettuce across the country.โ โYou did? Why did
you?โ โThere were no
guarantees,โ said Will. โA businessman has to protect himself.
If anything
happened, he was finished. And it happened. Go on.โ โI want to make enough
money to give him back what he lost.โ
Will gaped at him. โWhy?โ he asked. โI want to.โ
Will said, โAre you fond of him?โ
โYes.โ Will’s fleshy face
contorted and a memory swept over him like a chilling wind. He did not move slowly over the past, it was all there in one flash, all of the years, a picture, a feeling and a despair, all stopped the way a fast camera stops the world. There was the flashing Samuel, beautiful as dawn with a fancy like a swallow’s flight,
and
the brilliant,
brooding Tom who was dark fire, Una who rode the storms, and the lovely Mollie, Dessie of laughter, George handsome
and with a
sweetness that filled a room like the perfume of flowers, and there was Joe, the youngest, the beloved. Each one without effort brought some gift into the family.
Nearly everyone has his box of secret pain, shared with no one. Will had concealed his well, laughed loud,
exploited
perverse
virtues, and never let his jealousy go wandering. He thought of himself as slow, doltish,
conservative,
uninspired. No great dream lifted him high and no despair forced self-destruction. He was always on the edge, trying to hold on to the rim of the family with what gifts he hadโcare,
and reason,
application. He kept the books, hired the attorneys, called the undertaker, and eventually paid the bills. The others didn’t even know they needed him. He had the ability to get money and to
keep it. He thought the Hamiltons despised him for his one ability. He had loved them doggedly, had always been at hand with his money to pull them out of their errors. He thought they were ashamed of him, and he fought
bitterly for their
recognition. All of this was in the frozen wind that blew through him.
His slightly bulging eyes were damp as he stared past Cal, and the boy asked, โWhat’s the matter, Mr.
Hamilton? Don’t you feel well?โ
Will had sensed his
family but he had not understood them. And they had accepted him without knowing there was anything to understand. And now this boy
came along.
Will
understood him, felt him, sensed him, recognized him. This was the son he should have had, or the brother, or the father. And the cold wind of memory changed to a warmth toward Cal which gripped him in the stomach and pushed up against his lungs.
He forced his attention
to the glass office. Cal was sitting back in his chair,
waiting.
Will did not know how
long his silence had lasted. โI was
thinking,โ he
said
lamely. He made his voice stern.
โYou asked me
something.
I’m a
businessman. I don’t give things away. I sell them.โ โYes, sir.โ Cal was
watchful but he felt that Will Hamilton liked him.
Will said, โI want to
know something and I want
the truth. Will you tell me the truth?โ
โI don’t know,โ said Cal. โI like that. How do you know until you know the question? I like that. That’s
smartโand honest. Listenโ you have a brother. Does your father like him better than you?โ
โEverybody does,โ said
Cal calmly. โEverybody loves Aron.โ
โDo you?โ
โYes, sir. At leastโyes, I do.โ
โWhat’s the โat least’?โ โSometimes I think he’s stupid but I like him.โ โNow how about your father?โ
โI love him,โ said Cal.
โAnd he loves your brother better.โ
โI don’t know.โ
โNow, you say you want
to give back the money your father lost. Why?โ
Ordinarily Cal’s eyes
were squinted and cautious, but now they were so wide that they seemed to look around and through Will. Cal was as close to his own soul as it is possible to get.
โMy father is good,โ he
said. โI want to make it up to him because I am not good.โ โIf you do that, wouldn’t you be good?โ
โNo,โ said Cal. โI think bad.โ
Will had never met anyone
who spoke so
nakedly. He was near to embarrassment because of the nakedness, and he knew how safe Cal was in his stripped honesty. โOnly one more,โ he said, โand I won’t mind if you don’t answer it. I don’t think I would answer it. Here it is.
Suppose you should get this money and give it to your fatherโwould it cross your mind that you were trying to buy his love?โ
โYes, sir. It would. And it would be true.โ โThat’s all I want to ask.
That’s all.โ Will leaned forward and put his hands against his sweating, pulsing
forehead.
He could not
remember when he had been so shaken. And in Cal there was a cautious leap of triumph. He knew he had won and he closed his face against showing it.
Will raised his head and
took off his glasses and wiped the moisture from them. โLet’s go outside,โ he said. โLet’s go for a drive.โ
Will drove a big Winton now, with a hood as long as a coffin
and a
powerful,
panting mutter in its bowels.
He drove south from King City over the county road, through the gathering forces of
spring, and the
meadowlarks flew
ahead,
bubbling melody from the fence wires. Pico Blanco stood up against the West with a full head of snow, and in the valley the lines of eucalyptus, which stretched across the valley to break the winds, were gleaming silver with new leaves.
When he came to the side road that led into the
home draw of the Trask place
Will pulled up on the side of the road. He had not spoken since the Winton rolled out of King City. The big motor idled with a deep whisper.
Will, looking straight ahead, said, โCalโdo you
want to be partners with me?โ โYes, sir.โ
โI don’t like to take a partner without money. I could lend you the money, but there’s only trouble in that.โ
โI can get money,โ said Cal.
โHow much?โ
โFive thousand dollars.โ โYouโI don’t believe it.โ
Cal didn’t answer.
โI believe it,โ said Will.
โBorrowed?โ โYes, sir.โ โWhat interest?โ โNone.โ
โThat’s a good trick. Where will you get it?โ โI won’t tell you, sir.โ
Will shook his head and laughed. He was filled with pleasure. โMaybe I’m being a fool, but I believe youโand I’m not a fool.โ He gunned his motor and then let it idle again. โI want you to listen.
Do you read the papers?โ โYes, sir.โ
โWe’re going to be in
this war any minute now.โ โThat’s what it looks like.โ
โWell, a lot of people
think so. Now, do you know
the present price of beans? I mean, what can you sell a hundred
sacks for in
Salinas?โ
โI’m not sure. I think
about three to three and a half cents a pound.โ
โWhat do you mean
you’re not sure? How do you know that?โ
โWell, I was thinking
about asking my father to let me run the ranch.โ
โI see. But you don’t want to farm. You’re too
smart. Your father’s tenant is named Rantani. He’s a Swiss Italian, a good farmer. He’s put nearly five hundred acres
under cultivation. If we can guarantee him five cents a pound and give him a seed loan, he’ll plant beans. So will
every other farmer around here.
We could
contract five thousand acres of beans.โ
Cal said, โWhat are we going to do with five-cent beans in a three-cent market? Oh, yes! But how can we be sure?โ
Will said, โAre we partners?โ
โYes, sir.โ
โYes, Will!โ
โYes, Will.โ
โHow soon can you get five thousand dollars?โ โBy next Wednesday.โ โShake!โ Solemnly the stout man and the lean dark boy shook hands.
Will, still holding Cal’s hand, said, โNow we’re partners. I have a contract with the British Purchasing Agency. And I have a friend in the Quartermaster Corps. I bet we can sell all the dried
beans we can find at ten cents a pound or more.โ
โWhen can you sell?โ โI’ll sell before we sign anything. Now, would you
like to go up to the old place and talk to Rantani?โ
โYes sir,โ said Cal.
Will double-clutched the Winton and the big green car lumbered into the side road
