THE GILA CLUB
The class of cowboys soon outgrew the living room at Clayton Ranch, and now occupied the schoolhouse three consecutive evenings a week. Although the class had organized as the Gila Club, for study and social life, the meetings thus far had been for the purpose of study only.
From the inception of the club, it had met with popular favor. For many a day, nothing had been so much talked of, and talked of with such unqualified approval. The knowledge of the teacher, her unselfish interest in the men, her goodness and kindness, were themes upon which many a rough man grew eloquent. Had Esther Bright been a Sister of Mercy, in the sacred garb of the Church, she could hardly have been revered more than she was. It never occurred to her as she went and came among them, that she needed a protector. Before the year was over, many a one in that group would have risked his life to save hers.
And yet, Esther Bright was not such an unusual woman. Such as she may be found almost anywhere in this land, sanctifying the home; rearing children to be true men and women; teaching in the schools; ministering to the sick; protecting the pure; rescuing the fallen; and exemplifying in every act of their lives, Christ's teachings of love and mercy. And the work of this great sisterhood goes quietly, unfalteringly on, making, as no other force does, for the real progress of the race.
An Esther Bright is never written up in glaring headlines of yellow journalism; an Esther Bright is never offered in barter for a foreign title and a degenerate husband; such as she are never seen at the gaming table, nor among the cigarette and cocktail devotees. We find her in places where the world's needs are great, calm, well-poised, intelligent, capable, sympathetic; the greatest moral force of the age.
The common man, if decent, always respects such a woman. She becomes to him a saint, an ideal; and in proportion to his respect for her, is his own moral uplift possible.
So those rough men of Gila, in those days of long ago, came to look upon Esther Bright as a sort of saint, their Angel, as they called her; and with this deepening respect for her, there gradually grew up in them, faint at first, but sure at last, a wholesome respect for all womankind. Such was the atmosphere of the Gila Club.
Among the first to attend the meetings, after the organization of the club, was Patrick Murphy, whom Esther had not seen since the night of the ball. He came with John Harding, and as he entered the room, he took his pipe from his mouth, jerked his slouch hat from his head, and gave a queer little duck in lieu of a bow.
"I am plazed to be wid yez, Miss." He smiled broadly.
She assured him of a cordial welcome from all, extending her hand as she spoke. He gripped it till she winced, and became so engrossed in hearing himself talk that he forgot to release it.
"The byes has been tellin' av me as yez learn 'em ter git on. Now that's what Oi allus preach,—git on. There's no use allus bein' wid yer nose ter the grindstone."
He released her hand to stuff more tobacco in his pipe. After a puff or two, he continued his remarks:
"The childthren has been gittin' on so well, Oi sez to mesilf, sez Oi, p'raps the schoolma'am can learn me ter figger, an' read an' write. So here Oi am," (slapping his chest heartily, as that portion of his anatomy rose an inch higher) "here Oi am!"
Just then Esther's attention was sought by a group of newcomers. Kenneth watched her attitude towards the people. She was gracious and cordial, but there was about her a fine reserve that the commonest man felt, and tacitly respected.
At first, this young Englishman had been attracted to the young New England girl by the delicate loveliness of her face, and the elegance of her manner. He had felt, from the first, that in his social intercourse with her, he must rise above the empty platitudes of society. There were times when he flattered himself he had made progress in her favor. Then, when he presumed upon this, he was met by a strong wall of reserve.
Here she was now, bestowing smiles and gracious words upon just common men. He was filled with disgust. Then he, gentleman as he was, man of the world, university graduate, engineer, felt his self-love wounded; and he thereupon had an acute attack of sulks.
What was she to him, anyway?
The stern patrician face looked coldly, cynically on at the men around him. The "vulgar herd," he called them.
Just in the midst of his morbid reflections, he heard a merry, contagious laugh from Esther. He did not glance up. But, in an instant, she was at his side, telling with great glee the skit that had provoked the laughter. It was so irresistibly funny, Kenneth laughed with them, and the ice was broken.
To be sure, he did not know Esther Bright as he did the alphabet, but what of that? Who could sound the deeps of such a rare woman's soul? She was a rare woman. He conceded that every time he held an argument with himself, when she was the question of the argument. Always in her life, he was sure, there would be a reserve, through which no one could pass, unless it might be the ordained of God. She fascinated him more and more. One moment, in his adoration, he could have humbled himself to the dust to win one gracious word from her; at other times, his pride made him as silent and immovable as a sphinx.
On this particular night at the club, Kenneth was in one of his moods. If Esther saw, she did not betray it. She came to him, telling in a straightforward way, that the work had grown so she could not do it all herself, and do justice to the men? Would he help her? There was a class in arithmetic. Would he kindly teach that for her to-night? Kenneth looked savage.
"Oh, don't say no," she urged appealingly. "They are working in compound numbers and are doing so well. Won't you take the class?" she urged, again. And Kenneth consented.
It is but justice to say that the selection of the teacher proved wise. What this did for Kenneth himself is not the least part of the good resulting therefrom.
Soon the click of pencils, and occasional questions and answers indicated that the arithmetic classes were at work. In one corner, the dignified and scholarly John Clayton sat helping a young miner learn to write. By her desk, sat Esther Bright, teaching Patrick Murphy to read.
Learning to read when a man is forty-five is no easy task. Patrick Murphy did not find it so. He found it rather humiliating, but his unfailing good humor helped him out.
The teacher began with script sentences, using objects to develop these. She wrote the sentences on the blackboard. Again and again the sentences were erased and then rewritten. But the pupil at last remembered.
One sentence was, "I am a man." Patrick hesitated; then solemnly said, as though reading:
"Oi certainly am not a woman, manin' no disrespict to women folk, Miss."
She read quietly from the blackboard again, "I am a man."
"Perhaps, Miss, it would be more intilligint fur me ter say, 'Oi am an Oirishman.'"
"Very well," she said, smiling, "I will write the sentence that way."
"You see, Miss," he continued, with droll seriousness, "it is ividint Oi am a man. Let me read the sintinces agin!" And he read them correctly.
Here the classes changed, each teacher helping a group of men with a simple reading lesson. Then followed the lesson in penmanship, taught by Esther Bright, and the work of the evening was over.
As the three teachers left the schoolhouse door, Mr. Clayton laid his hand on Kenneth's shoulder, and said:
"Come over to see Mrs. Clayton a little while. It's still early."
Kenneth hesitated.
"Yes, do," urged Esther. "We have some plans to work out for the club, you know, and we need your help."
Again there was an appeal in her voice. What a brute he had been! What a fool! So he strolled along with the two. As they stepped on the veranda, they heard a deep voice.
"Lord Kelwin!" exclaimed John Clayton.
The greetings over, the meeting of the club and its possibilities became the subject of discussion.
"Why can't you join us, Lord Kelwin?" questioned the host.
"Yes, why not?" said Esther, with sudden animation.
Kenneth Hastings' face darkened.
"Ah—I—well—" stammered Lord Kelwin. "I didn't suppose my services—ah—would—ah—would be agreeable to the teacher,"—and he looked first at Esther Bright, and then at Kenneth Hastings.
A single, hectic flush suddenly appeared in one of Esther's cheeks. Then Mr. Clayton spoke.
"You do not seem to understand, Lord Kelwin, that Miss Bright's class has grown so rapidly she has had to have assistance, and Mr. Hastings and I, for lack of better material, have been pressed into service. Come, yourself, and you'll want to help the good work on." Lord Kelwin raised his monocle.
Esther spoke quickly, with more enthusiasm than usual.
"The girls have been seeking the same opportunity we are giving the men. They need help just as much, and so we must plan to help them too!"
"Yes, and kill yourself!" growled Kenneth Hastings.
John Clayton smiled.
"Not if Miss Bright has sufficient help. If she will organize the work, we can surely assist her."
For a time, it seemed as though a club for girls was doomed. Then Mrs. Clayton came to Esther's rescue.
"Miss Bright is already in touch with the girls, and knows something of their great need."
"But they're such a tough lot," rejoined Lord Kelwin.
"Then they need her influence all the more. She can help them if anyone in the world can." Again Mrs. Clayton had helped her out. The hectic flush deepened. Esther's eyes grew brilliant. Her voice, when she spoke, was low, calm, sweet, but vibrating with an earnestness the group about her had occasionally heard in her voice before. She spoke with decision:
"I shall help the girls!"
"That settles it!" responded Kenneth, half in admiration, half in disgust. He could not understand what it was that could make a girl of her fine and sensitive nature, a girl of her beauty and culture and great attainments, not only willing, but eager, to help a group of coarse, uncouth men and women, of doubtful reputation, and who, to his mind, were utterly incapable of appreciating her.
John Clayton spoke again.
"Won't you join us, Lord Kelwin?"
Again the Irishman looked at the teacher, but her eyes were fixed on the glowing fire.
"I—well—I suppose—I could."
"Suppose we have a joint meeting of the men and women next Saturday evening," said Esther. "Have a programme that would not be very long, but interesting. Then let them have a social time, and treat them to some cake and coffee."
"That is a happy thought, Miss Bright," said Mrs. Clayton in hearty approval.
Now plans began to be discussed in earnest. And before the guests departed, it had been decided that the first social function ever given by the people of Gila should be given in the schoolhouse the following Saturday night.
As the two men walked toward the camp, Lord Kelwin questioned his companion.
"What did Clayton mean by Miss Bright's being of the 'blood royal'?"
"That is what he meant."
"Related to some royal house of Europe, some native ruler here, eh?"
His companion stopped and laughed.
"Royal by nature. It is such blood as hers that should flow in the veins of the rulers of the earth."
"Then she has no vast estates coming to her?"
The darkness concealed the contempt on Kenneth's face.
"If there is a God, (and I begin to believe there is) she has a rich reward before her."
"Poor in this world's goods, eh?"
"Rich as few women are."
His companion whistled. Kenneth stopped. Lord Kelwin stopped too.
"Deuced fine girl, isn't she?" said the Irishman. His companion made no reply. After another remark from Lord Kelwin, Kenneth said sharply:
"I do not care to discuss Miss Bright."
So the conversation ended. But something rankled in the heart of the Englishman.
Saturday night came. Such jollity! Such overflow of spirits! The laughter was loud and frequent. People came in a steady stream until the little schoolhouse was full to overflowing.
Among the first arrivals, were Patrick Murphy and his wife. He was beaming with good nature. But Mrs. Murphy had come (as she expressed it) "agin her jedgment." She viewed the company with a chilly glance. Patrick chuckled.
"It's plazed Oi am wid this evint. Oi've persuaded me woman, here, as this is quoite equal ter anythin' she iver attinded in York State, not even barrin' a barrn raisin'."
Mrs. Murphy's beady black eyes seemed to come closer together. Her mouth set. Her nose rose by gradual gradations into the air, and her spinal column stiffened. She delivered herself to the following effect:
"I will confess as I have never been at a club afore. Back in York State they was only fur men folks. But my 'lations as lives on Lexity Street, York City, knows what clubs be, an' parties too, I reckon."
But here John Harding, the president of the club, called the meeting to order. He announced that the first number on the programme would be a talk on physics, by Mr. Hastings.
After the applause, Patrick Murphy, in facetious mood, exclaimed:
"Begorra, if yez are not commincin' wid physic fur our stomachs!"
"No," responded the speaker, "but physics for your head, Patrick."
When the laugh at Patrick's expense had subsided, Kenneth announced the subject of his talk as "Magnetism." He talked simply, illustrating as he talked. Occasionally he was interrupted by questions that showed a fair degree of intelligence, and a desire to know. At the close of his talk Patrick, the irrepressible, burst forth again:
"Yez said that a natural magnit could magnetize a bar o' steel, makin' the steel a sthronger magnit than the iron, an' yit this natural magnit be jist as magnitic as it was before?"
"Yes."
"Begorra!" said Patrick, slapping his knee, "yez'll have a harrd toime makin' me belave that. The idea! that anythin' can give to another more nor it has itself, an' at the same toime have as much lift itself as it had before it gave away more nor it had!"
Patrick drew himself up. He had assumed a sudden importance in the community. Did he not know?
The teacher smiled indulgently. As she spoke, there was quiet, respectful attention.
"You see, Mr. Murphy, the natural magnet is like a human being. The more strength a man puts forth, the more he will have. If we give of ourselves, of our talents, to help other people, we are enriched by it. So the magnet teaches us a lesson, don't you see?"
Patrick scratched his head dubiously. The teacher continued:
"A natural magnet may not have much power in itself, but when it shares its power with a steel bar, the bar can do vastly more than the piece of iron could. In the same way, the influence we exert, though it may not be great in itself, may enable other people to do greater things than we could possibly do."
The lesson went home.
Patrick shook his head approvingly.
"All right, Miss, all right! Oi'll belave the sthory if yez say so. Oi foind it hard to understhand what makes a bit o' iron a natural magnit. What Oi does understhand is yez are loike the steel magnit, an' yez draws the rist av us to yez!"
And having delivered himself of this compliment, which apparently met with the hearty approval of the company, he subsided.
Then John Harding announced the next number on the programme,—a talk on Ireland by Lord Kelwin, illustrated by Mr. Clayton with his magic lantern. Again there was applause; and as the lights were put out, the giggling and laughter grew boisterous. In an instant, a picture flashed on the screen, and the laughter changed to quiet attention.
Lord Kelwin's voice soon made itself heard. He was well-known in camp, and popular. He spoke in a bright, attractive way, with occasional flashes of Irish wit, when he provoked laughter and comment again. On one of these occasions, Patrick burst forth. Patrick was in fine spirits. He had stopped at the saloon on the way to the party.
"Begorra, the ould counthry is all foine enough in a picture or lecture; but Oi loike the Imerald Oile on this soide betther. The Imerald Oile of Ameriky, bounded on the north, by the North Pole; on the east, by the Atlanthic; on the south, by the South Pole; on the wist, by the Pacific; an' on the top, by the rist o' the universe. Hoorah fur the Imerald Oile of Ameriky!"
A howl went up, and a laugh from everyone, followed by much clapping.
"Where did you learn so much geography?" asked one. Again there was a laugh.
"And this," said the speaker, as a new picture flashed before their eyes, "is Blarney Castle. Here is where Patrick learned his blarney."
But Patrick was not to be outdone. He chuckled.
"The blairney stone was all roight whin Oi was at Blairney Castle in the ould counthry; but whin Oi landed in Ameriky, Oi wint to Plymouth, an' there Oi found an Oirish saint holdin' a rock. Oi sez ter him, sez Oi, 'Phat do yez call the rock where the Pilgrims landed'? An' he looks at me scornful loike, an' sez he ter me, sez he, 'Y're mishthaken', sez he, 'this is the blairney stone of Killairney. Ameriky imports all the bist things from the ould counthry."
The people fairly howled.
"Includin' you, eh, Patrick?" shouted an Englishman, above the uproar of laughter.
The address held everyone's attention, and at its close, both Lord Kelwin and Mr. Clayton were loudly applauded.
"This closes our programme," said John Harding. "We hope ye'll talk an' have a good time, an' look about the room ter see what the children of the school have been doin'. Then the women folks will feed yer cake an' coffee."
This announcement, too, was applauded.
Mrs. Murphy, belle of the back East barn raisings, separated herself from the company. She came upon a good-sized play house, neatly painted and papered. It was furnished tastefully with little woven rugs, wire furniture, and crocheted window curtains. Over different articles, were placed the names of the children who had made them. Mrs. Murphy stood in amazed admiration, for her own children had been among the most skilled workers. She found simple garments, neatly made, and here and there bits of sewing, clumsy, and botched in some cases, because baby fingers had been at work.
The teacher joined Mrs. Murphy, who said to her:
"You don't say, schoolma'am, as you learns the young uns to do sich things as this?"
"Yes. Don't you like it?"
"Like it! I should say! Why, fust I know, they'll be makin' their own cloes, an' their pap's an' mine!"
"Perhaps."
But in another part of the room, a different conversation was going on.
"I tell ye," said Jessie Roth, who was talking to Bobbie Burns, "schoolma'am kens an awfu' lot."
"How dae ye ken?" he asked with an air of scorn, "ye dinna ken muckle yirsel'."
"Ye jist shut up, Bob Burns," she replied testily. "I may not ken muckle, neither do ye. Ye has no manners. I tell ye I want ter learn. I'm a mind ter quit the range an' go ter school."
"What's the matter, Jessie?" asked the teacher, coming up at this moment, and slipping her arm about the girl's waist. "I believe Bob has been teasing you. Make up, children;" and smiling kindly, and with a reassuring grasp of Jessie's hand, she passed on.
"What'd I tell ye?" asked the girl.
"Oh, she's only a woman. Anyway, she don't care much for you lasses, or she'd had a club for girls."
This was more than Jessie could stand.
"A woman, did ye say? A woman?" Jessie's eyes flashed with anger. "An' wasna' y'r mither a woman, Bob Burns?"
"I believe she was," answered the boy with a broad grin. He was enjoying himself.
"An' as fur the schoolma'am's not carin' fur the girls, y're mistaken. I'm sure she will have a club fur us."
"Yes," taunted the burly fellow, "to hammer things into y'r heads with."
At this Jessie left him in high dudgeon. She sought Esther and asked:
"Don't ye like we girls as much as the boys?"
"Just a little bit better, perhaps. Why, Jessie?"
"Bob Burns says ye don't care fur the girls, an' he knows ye don't 'cause ye hain't made no club fur them."
"Bob's mistaken, isn't he? We girls," and the teacher paused and smiled into several faces, "we girls are to have a club soon. Don't you say so?"
The girls gathered about her. Bob's remark, repeated by Jessie, had been most timely, and crystallized what had been in the girls' minds,—to organize such a club for women as had been organized for the men.
They talked rapidly, several at a time; but at last they listened to Esther, as she asked them to visit the school at an hour they could agree upon, on the following Monday. This they promised to do. But at this juncture, John Harding interrupted the conversation.
"They want ter know as will yer tell 'em a short story, Miss Bright."
"A story? Let—me—see—! What shall I tell them, Jack?"
"Tell 'em about Abraham Lincoln, as didn't have no chance till he made it hisself."
So she told them a story of a hero, a plain, simple man, a man of toil, a man of great heart. She pictured his faithfulness to simple duties, his rise to the highest position his countrymen could bestow upon him, his death and the nation's sorrow.
As she finished, a cowboy asked, "Did yer say that Abraham Lincoln was onct president of the United States?"
"Yes."
"My!" he exclaimed, "I wisht I'd 'a knowed him! I wisht I could 'a fit on his side!"
"It is not too late to fight on his side," she said. "Every time you try to live a more sober, honest, decent life, every time you try to be more manly and true, you are fighting on the same side he did."
"Gosh!" he said. "I didn't know that. I thought fightin' meant jest killin' off the other fellers."
While the refreshments were being served, John Harding extended an invitation to the men to attend the club regularly, and suggested that the girls see Miss Bright about a club for girls, adding:
"I believe a club fer women is in the air."
Vociferous applause. Patrick Murphy stepped forward.
"John Harding, y'r honor, I jist wish ter say as this is the foinest toime Oi've had in Ameriky; an' I tells yez all this: that if any young feller wishes ter git on, he will have a chance here in this club. Schoolma'am learns us a lot (the Saints bliss her!). She's a foine lady! She believes in givin' a man a chance ter be a man. Instid o' wastin' our earnin's in the saloons Saturday nights, let's come here t' the club, an' learn how ter git on. Save y'r money, lads. Now who'll give three cheers f'r Miss Bright?"
The room rang with the cheers.
The festivities were over, the last guest, gone. The officers had taken their leave, and the Claytons walked on ahead, leaving Kenneth Hastings to escort Esther Bright home.
"It was a great success," he said enthusiastically.
When Esther spoke, there was an expression of weariness in her voice.
"Tired?" he asked gently, with sudden sympathy.
"A little."
She looked so slight, so fragile, to shoulder a man's work in the world, he felt a sudden shame at the insignificance of what he had done. He would stand between her and the world, this he would do.
"You gave an instructive and interesting talk," she was saying. He recalled his wandering thoughts.
After thanking her, he said he had liked Patrick's remarks about her being a magnet.
"Patrick's great fun, isn't he?" she laughed.
"Yes, but he usually hits the right nail on the head. It is true, as he said, you do draw people to you. You draw me to you as no one has ever done."
"Don't!" she began.
"You have taught me to believe in true womanhood. I used to despise women. I thought they were a vain, frivolous lot, at the bottom of all the wrong-doing of the world."
"Indeed! I understand that some Englishmen have very little respect for woman; that she is regarded as the inferior of man, a little higher in the scale of intelligence than a horse or dog."
"How sarcastic we are to-night!" he said ironically.
"The Englishwoman trains her daughters to wait on their father and brothers."
"How extensive has your acquaintance been with the English?"
"Many American men grow up as their fathers have done before them, chivalrous toward the women of their families, and often chivalrous to women everywhere."
"Indeed! A paragon of animals, the American man!"
"England kept her universities closed to women, because English men were afraid bright English women would carry off scholastic honors, if admitted to the universities."
"What remarkable wisdom you possess in the matter!"
"I read the magazines."
"Indeed!"
"And the daily papers," she added, chuckling.
"Remarkable!"
"I read several English periodicals. I am interested in English politics."
"The deuce!"
"The—what?" she asked, with a suggestion of suppressed mirth in her voice.
"The gentleman with horns."
"Ah, yes," she said. "I have heard something of the gentleman. A very bad-tempered fellow, isn't he? Have you known him long?"
"By George, you think you're funny, don't you?" But by this time he laughed, too.
"Come in, Kenneth," called John Clayton, when they reached the veranda.
"No, I thank you," said Kenneth. "Miss Bright has been abusing men, and Englishmen in particular."
"Well," responded John Clayton laughingly, "you stood up for our sex, I hope."
"I tried to, but Miss Bright came out ahead. Good night, Miss Bright. I hope you'll change your opinion of the Englishman, and that he will not always suffer when compared with your pink of perfection, the American man."
When he had gone a short distance, she called him back.
"Well?" he said, turning.
"I just wished to remind you that it isn't becoming to you to be grouchy."
"You wretch!" And he turned on his heel and stalked away.
"What's the matter with Kenneth?" asked John Clayton.
"Oh," said Esther, indifferently, "he thinks altogether too much of Mr. Kenneth Hastings. He must learn there are other people in the world besides K.H."
"Don't be too hard on him," said her host warningly.
"No," she said, "I won't. I'll teach him to respect the human being, irrespective of sex, color or previous condition of servitude. Good night."