The Rough Rider (17 page)

“I don’t see how one man can do so much—or one newspaper,” said Aaron.

“Oh, they keep up a steady front-page sensation about the so-called atrocity in Cuba. Look at this!” She picked up a paper from the table and placed her finger on a sentence. “Look—it explains how the Spanish troops have ‘resumed the inhuman practice of beating Cuban prisoners to death and even drowning them and feeding prisoners to sharks!’ That sort of story’s been going on every day, and it’s got the whole country worked up to a fever pitch ready for war.”

“And Lewis is ready to join up?”

“Ready? He’s already gone ahead and signed the papers! He’s waiting for a place with Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, as they call them. He’s dying to get in!” Lola snorted and shook her head. “I admire Mr. Roosevelt as a politician, but he’s no soldier.”

Aaron leaned back and sipped the lemonade. He listened to the pleasant hum of bees as they buzzed around the clover that bordered the grape arbor. He thought of the contrast this warm comfortable setting was to the frozen, icy waste of the Klondike. For a moment he wondered what Cass and Serena were doing at this time. Finally, he said slowly, “I’ll talk to him, Aunt Lola. I don’t know how much good it will do, though.”

“It’s not just the war,” Lola said abruptly. “There’s a girl involved.”

“A girl?”

“Yes, her name is Alice Cates. She’s a wealthy, young socialite—a beautiful girl, but I never have seen a more selfish one. Lewis has lost his senses and gone crazy over her.”

“What does she have to do with his going to war?”

“Her latest fad was the bicycle, but now it’s all the excitement surrounding the war. She’s always caught up with a cause or some celebrity or other. When the strongman Sandow
came to New York, she got into a physical culture kick. Everybody had to lift barbells and things like that to look like Sandow.”

“Doesn’t sound like she’d be too attractive to me,” Aaron observed.

“She is, though—a beautiful girl! Lewis can’t see straight when he’s around her. She’s taken him as her escort to dozens of social galas. He’s quite caught up in it all. Esther can tell you about it—she goes everywhere with them. She’ll be in later this afternoon.” Lola bit her lip, then shook her head with a discouraging motion. “I don’t want to be negative, but Lewis is a very stubborn young man.”

As she smiled suddenly, Aaron saw some of the youthful attractiveness that she’d had as a young woman, and he wondered what she must have looked like then.

“All Winslow men are stubborn, and I expect that you’re no exception! But we’ll do the best we can. God can help us.”

At the mention of God, Aaron ducked his head, and Lola saw that he had thrown up a wall. Quickly she said, “Come along and I’ll show you to your room. Lewis and Esther will be home soon.”

Aaron followed her back to the house and upstairs, where she left him inside a large room. He stripped off his coat and shoes, then lay down on the bed, tired after his long journey. He had just dozed off to sleep, when he woke with a start, hearing voices outside in the hall. Suddenly, the door burst open and Lewis came barreling in, his face alight at the sight of his brother. “Aaron! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming!” He threw his coat on a chair, and then tackled Aaron, throwing his arm around him as Aaron struggled to get out of bed. The two fell backward and the bed collapsed with a crash.

“You crazy fool! Get off me!” Aaron cried out.

But Lewis hung on to him, ruffled his brother’s hair, then moved back, saying, “Gosh, I’m glad to see you! Tell me about the Klondike! What about Cass?”

Aaron struggled to his feet, then looked ruefully at the bed. “First, let’s put the bed back together, then we can talk.”

As the two reassembled the fractured bed, Aaron related some of his trip to the Klondike to his brother. They had just set it back together and put the mattress on when he turned and shook his head. “I didn’t get rich.” He hesitated, then said grimly, “And Jubal was killed. I wish I’d never heard of the place.”

Lewis, who was a sensitive young man, could sense his brother’s heavy burden. Putting his hand on Aaron’s shoulder, he said, “I know—but we’ll talk about it later. Come downstairs and see Esther.”

“Just a minute! Before we go down—Mom and Dad are worried about you signing up with the army. They both think you’re making a mistake.”

“Oh, Aaron, they just don’t understand! They’re stuck away in a little college town in an ivory tower. They have no idea of the oppression the Cubans are suffering from the Spanish. We’ve got to fight for the freedom of those people.”

“From what I hear, it’s more of a newspaper fight than anything else.”

Lewis’s face reddened and his lips met in a stubborn line. Shaking his head obstinately, he said, “No—that’s not right! That’s what some people are saying about it, but if it were our people being butchered by a military dictator, they’d feel differently. And they’d do something!”

“Sit down and let’s talk about it, Lewis,” Aaron said.

“I’ll hear you out, Aaron. I at least owe you that as my brother,” said Lewis.

The two sat down, and for the next half hour, Aaron tried everything he knew to convince Lewis to change his mind. He quickly saw, however, that it was like arguing with a stone wall. Lewis’s mind was made up, and nothing he could say was going to change it. Finally, he said diplomatically, “Well, let’s go talk to Esther. We can talk more about this later.”

“It’s good to see you, Aaron, but I’ve got my mind set on this.”

The two went downstairs and Aaron renewed his acquaintance with his cousin Esther, a young woman whose beauty he admired. She threw her arms around him and smiled, saying, “Aaron! I’m so glad you’ve come! Now you can tell everyone about the Yukon—gold, sled dogs, and everything . . . !”

****

The following day, Aaron accompanied Lewis and Esther to a party at the Cates’ estate. Actually, after hearing a little from Esther the night before, Aaron was anxious to go meet the young woman who seemed to wield so much power over Lewis.

As the carriage pulled up to the house, Aaron looked around and remarked, “Some shack!” The Cates’ mansion was an enormous Georgian house built of red brick, with a sweeping driveway that led to a set of pillars standing like two sentries at the front entrance. When they reached the large front door and knocked, they were met by a tall butler dressed in a dark suit, who smiled at once, saying, “Mr. Winslow—Miss Cates said to bring you to her as soon as you arrived.”

“Where is she, Jordan?” Lewis asked eagerly.

“The guests are meeting in the small ballroom on the east side. Do you know where it is, or should I take you?”

“I know the way,” Lewis said. “Come along!” He led Aaron and Esther down a series of halls and then through a double door. Inside, at least thirty people were gathered in the large room, and the sound of animated conversation bubbled through the air. It was growing dark, but two large chandeliers glittered overhead, throwing their golden light across the polished hard-pine floor. At once, a young woman dressed in a cream-colored gown with an emerald necklace adorning her neck separated herself from a group and came forward, saying, “Lewis, where have you been? You’re late!”

“I’m sorry,” Lewis said, taking the young woman’s hands.
“I had to wait on this brother of mine—he’s always late. Let me introduce—my brother, Aaron Winslow. This is Alice Cates, Aaron.”

Alice put her hand out, and when Aaron took it, she said, “I’ve heard so much about you! Come, sit down—we want to hear all about your adventure in the Yukon. Everybody’s talking about it!”

“I’m afraid I’m not one of the winners, Miss Cates,” Aaron shrugged. “For every ten people who went looking for gold, nine of them came back discouraged and, in fact, empty-handed. I’m one of the quitters.”

“Oh, I can’t believe that!” Alice said, raising her eyebrows in an arched look. “Come now—there are some gentlemen who were just talking about this.” She led them to a small cluster of men who were standing around a table savoring some hors d’oeuvres a servant had just brought in. One of them turned at once. He had a long face, matched with an equally long nose and a pair of pale blue eyes.

“Mr. Hearst, you were talking about the Klondike, and this is Mr. Aaron Winslow—he’s just returned from there! Aaron, this is Mr. William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper publisher.”

Aaron shook the hand of the newspaper tycoon and found it strong and firm.

“I’m glad to meet you, Winslow,” Hearst said. “You say you’ve just come back from the Yukon?”

“I’ve still got some of the mud on my feet, Mr. Hearst. But I’m no expert—I got stopped at the Chilkoot Pass.”

“I’d like to hear all about it,” Hearst said. As the others listened, he began to draw Aaron out, and the young man soon found that Hearst had an analytical mind. He was a natural-born conversationalist, always interested in hearing about people’s lives. Hearst probed Aaron’s experience and had the newpaperman’s gift for picking out the dramatic details. The whole time, Alice clung to Lewis’s arm, listening
intently to Aaron’s description of the hardships he faced in the far north.

After a while, Aaron grew restless from all the questions. “Really, Mr. Hearst, I’m not the man to tell you about all of this. Surely there are others with more experience, and more success.”

“No, no, my young man. Americans want to know what’s going on. You may not have made it to the gold fields, but just the struggle to get there—they’re interested in that and in the people who are making this great venture!” Hearst stood there silently for a moment, then said, “Would it be possible for you to write down some of your experiences? I think there’d be some interesting points that could make for a feature story.”

“Why, I’m no writer!” scoffed Aaron.

“Of course you’re a writer,” Lewis said, nudging him suddenly. “Remember how you were always writing something in college. It would be a good chance for you to get your experiences before the public.”

Of all the things Aaron did
not
want, getting his experience “before the public” was one of them. The death of Jubal still burned in Aaron like an open and painful wound. He wanted to put all that behind him and get on with his life. Suddenly, now he was being asked to lay it bare before the public. Not knowing why, he shrugged, and said, “I’ll do the best I can, Mr. Hearst.”

“Fine—Fine!” Mr. Hearst beamed. “Why don’t you bring it by my office tomorrow. If you come early enough, we can print it in the next day’s
Journal.
”

The rest of the party was an eye-opening experience for Aaron. He’d never been around extremely wealthy people before, and some of the men there, along with Hearst, were among the top magnates in the country, wielding considerable political and financial power.

Aaron, however, was more interested in Alice Cates than in railroad tycoons and political buffoons. He did not have
to maneuver her into a corner to talk, for he had not been there any longer than half an hour when she sought him out, leaving Lewis talking with a group of friends.

“I want to know all about you, and especially about Lewis. I’m sure you have some stories you could tell.” She led him by the arm to a quiet alcove, and when anyone approached them, she waved them off with an autocratic gesture. Aaron readily spoke of Lewis and of himself in earlier days. After a few minutes, he finally understood why she was so interested. When she began to speak of the war, her eyes grew brighter. Grabbing his arm, she said, “Isn’t it noble for Lewis to join the forces to go to free the Cubans?”

At first Aaron felt strangely tempted to tell her what he actually thought, but instead he said rather diplomatically, “Lewis is a very idealistic man. I’m not too surprised at his decision.”

His lack of enthusiasm at what she believed to be an honorable cause prompted Alice to look at him in dismay. “Don’t you feel the same way, Aaron?”

“I really don’t know what I feel. I’ve been out of the country while this whole thing was brewing. I haven’t had much time to think about it.”

Alice beamed one of her coquettish smiles at him and said, “Oh, when you hear more about it you’ll change your mind. My father’s a friend of Mr. Roosevelt. I’m quite positive I’m going to be able to get Lewis into the Rough Riders.” She hesitated, then said, “I think he might make a place for two, if I ask him.”

Aaron smiled. She was a bold young woman, and he could tell she was accustomed to getting her own way. He shook his head and said, “Well—give me a few days to think about that.”

Right then, a tall, dark admirer of Alice’s walked up and insisted on whisking her away for a dance. Aaron stood and watched as the two walked back to the ballroom floor.

The party went on until nearly midnight, when Esther
finally convinced Lewis it was time to go. Aaron and Esther walked to the carriage that had been brought around, and waited a few minutes as Lewis lingered in an arbor to say goodbye to Alice.

As the three made their way home, Lewis turned to his brother and asked eagerly, “Well, what did you think of Alice?”

“She’s a beautiful young woman.”

“Oh, I know that—I mean, what do think about her as a person?”

“Never seen a stronger one,” Aaron said truthfully. He tried somehow to think of a way to warn Lewis against the girl, but he was aware that his brother would not welcome any criticism of Alice Cates. Tentatively, he said, “It was an interesting time. I heard so many new ideas and insights tonight, I’ll have to think about it.” He paused a moment, and then said, “I have to write that piece for Hearst, too.”

“Maybe he’ll give you a job as a reporter and send you back to the Klondike or something,” Esther said.

“He might make me a reporter, but I’m not going back to the Yukon,” Aaron said flatly. His statement brought a somber silence into the carriage.

“Well, we can talk about it tomorrow,” said Lewis as they rode on.

****

For the next two days, Aaron stayed as close to Lewis as he could. If he thought, however, to have any influence on the young man, he was sorely mistaken, for Lewis was adamant in his decision. Aaron discussed the matter with Mark, who returned from Chicago the following day. “He’s just like a runaway train on a downhill track, Uncle Mark,” Aaron complained. He shook his head, a despondent expression in his eyes. “He’s bound and determined to get his head blown off, and he doesn’t have the vaguest idea of what war is all about!”