CHAPTER XVI
THE ELEPHANT'S LOVE STORY
"Coyotes hunt weaker things. Humans hunt all things, even each other, which the coyote will not do."
MUSINGS OF THE ELEPHANT.
"Don't let me keep you here, Jim," exclaimed Pen so hastily that Jimcould not help smiling. She scuttled hastily up the trail ahead of him,her heavy little hunting boots doing wonders on the rough path.
The Secretary's letter disturbed Jim very much. It was not the result hehad expected from the Hearing at all. Nor was the letter itself easy forJim to understand.
"MY DEAR MR. MANNING:
"There are several facts connected with your work that I would like to call to your attention. The Reclamation Service is an experiment, a magnificent one. It is not a test of engineering efficiency, except indirectly. Engineers as a class are efficient. It is an experiment to discover whether or not the American people is capable of understanding and handling such an idea as the Service idea. It is a problem of human adjustment. Is an engineer capable of handling so gigantic a human as well as technical problem? I shall be interested in getting your ideas along this line.
"---- Secretary of the Interior."
Jim laid the letter down. He recalled the Secretary's fine, inscrutableface and that something back of its mask that he had liked andunderstood. He felt sure that the letter had been impelled by thatfar-seeing quality that he knew belonged to the Secretary but for whichhe had no lucid word. And yet the letter roused in Jim the old sense ofresentment. What did the Secretary want him to do; turn peanutpolitician and fight the water power trust? Did no one realize that theerecting of the dam was heavy enough responsibility for any one man?
His first impulse was to take the letter over to Pen. Then he smiledwryly. He must not take all his troubles to her or she would get norelief from the burdening that Sara put upon her. So he brooded over theletter until supper time when he went with Henderson down to the lowermess. Jim ate with the lower mess frequently. It was almost the only wayhe had now of keeping in touch personally with his workmen.
After supper and a pipe in the steward's room Jim climbed the long roadto the dam. The road hung high above the dam site. The mountains and thebulk of the Elephant were black in the shadowy regions beyond the arclights. Black and purple and silver below lay the mighty section ofconcrete, with black specks of workmen moving back and forth on it,pygmies aiding in the birth of a Colossus. The night sky was dim andremote here. Despite the roar of the cableways, the whistles of foremen,the rushing to and fro of workmen, the flicker of electric lights, onecould not lose the sense of the project's isolation. One knew that thedesert was pressing in on every side. One knew that old Jezebel, havingcrossed endless wastes, having fed on loneliness, whispered threats oftrouble to the narrow flume that for a moment throttled her. One knewthat the Elephant never for a moment lost his sardonic sense of theimpermanence of human effort.
When Jim reached his house, he found old Suma-theek camped on thedoorstep.
"What is it, Suma-theek?" asked Jim.
"Old Suma-theek, he want make talk with you," replied the Indian.
Jim nodded. "I'd like to talk with you, Suma-theek. Wait till I getenough tobacco for us both and we'll go up on the Elephant's back, eh?"
Suma-theek grunted. The two reached the Elephant's top withoutconversation and sat for perhaps half an hour, smoking and mute. Thiswas quite an ordinary procedure with them.
Finally Suma-theek said, "Why you make 'em this dam?"
"So that corn and cattle and horses will increase in the valley,"replied Jim.
The Indian grunted. "Much talk! Why _you_ make 'em?"
"It's my job; the kind of work I like."
"What use?" insisted Suma-theek. "People down in valley they much swearat you. Big Sheriff at Washington, he much swear at you. You muchlonely. Much sad. Why you stay? What use? Much old Suma-theek wonder atthat. Why old Iron Skull work on this dam? Why you, so young, so strong,no have wife, no have child, marry dam instead? You tell old Suma-theekwhy."
Jim had learned on the Makon that while war and hunting might have beenan Indian's business in life, his avocation was philosophizing. He hadlearned that many a pauperized and decrepit old Indian, warming his backin the sun, despised of the whites, held locked in his marvelous mindtreasures of philosophy, of comment on life and living, Indian andwhite, that the world can ill afford to lose, yet never will know.
Jim struggled for words. "Back east, five sleeps, where I was born,there are many people of many tribes. They fight for enough food to eat,for enough clothes to wear. When I was a boy I said to myself I wouldcome out here, make place for those people to come."
"But," said Suma-theek, "the dam it will no keep whites from fighting.They fight now in valley to see who can get most land. What use?"
"What use," returned Jim, "that you bring your young men up here andmake them work? I know the answer. You are their chief. It is yourbusiness to do what you can to keep their stomachs full and their backswarm. You don't ask why or the end."
The Indian rolled another cigarette. He was like a fine dim cameo in thestarlight. "I sabez!" he said at last. "Blood of man, it no belong toself but to tribe. So with Injuns. So with some whites. Not so with_hombres_."
Again the eagle, disturbed by voices, dipped across the canyon. "See,Suma-theek, make the story for me," said Jim. "There are the eagle andthe flag so young and the Elephant so old. Make the story for me."
There was a long silence once more. The desert wind sighed over the twomen. The noise of building came up faintly from below but the radianceof the stars was here undimmed.
Finally Suma-theek spoke:
"Long, long, many, many years ago, before whites were born, Injuns livedfar away to the west, maybe across the great water. All Injuns then hadone chief. He very great, very wise, very strong. But he no have son. Heheap wise. He know, man no stronger than number of his sons. He get old.No have son. Then he call all young men of tribe to him, and say: 'Thatyoung man shall be my son who shows me in one year the strongest thingin world, stronger than sun, stronger than wind, stronger than desert,than mountains, than rivers at flood.'
"All young men, they start out to hunt. All time they bring back to oldchief strong medicine, like rattlesnake poison, like ropes of yuccafiber, like fifty coyotes fastened together. But that old chief he laughand shake his head.
"One day young buck named Theeka, he start off with bow and arrow. Hesay he won't come back until he sure. Theeka, he walk through desertmany days. Injuns no have horses then. Walk till he get where no man gobefore. And far, far away on burning sand, he see heap big animal move.It was bigger than a hundred coyotes made into one. Theeka he run, getpretty close, see this animal is elephant.
"And he say to self, 'There is strongest thing in world.' And he startfollow this elephant. Many days he follow, never get closer. The more hefollow, the more he want that elephant. One morning he see other dotmove in desert. Dot come closer. It woman, young woman, much beautiful.She never say word. She just run long by Theeka.
"All time he look from elephant to her. All time he feel he love her.All time he think he no speak to her for fear he lose sight of elephant.By'mby, beautiful girl, she fall, no get up again. Theeka, he run on buthis heart, it ache. By'mby he no can stand it. He give one look atelephant, say, 'Good-by, you strongest thing! I go back to her I love.'Then his spirit, it die within him, while his heart, it sing.
"He go back to girl. She no hurt at all. She put her arms round Theeka'sneck and kiss him. Then Theeka say, 'Let strongest thing go. I love you,O sweet as arrow weed in spring!'
"And beautiful girl, she say: 'I show you strongest thing in world.Come!' And she take him by hand and lead him on toward elephant. Andthat elephant, all of a sudden, it stand still. They come up to it. Theysee it stand still because little To-hee bird, she circle round hishead, sing him love
songs.
"'O yahee! O yahai! Sweet as arrow weed in spring!'
sing that little bird to Elephant. And he stop, stop so long here byriver while that little bird build her nest in his side, he turn tostone and live forever.
"Then Theeka, he sabez. He lead his beautiful girl back to chief and hesay to chief: 'I have found strongest thing in world. It is love.'
"And chief, he say: 'You and your children's children shall be chiefs. Ihave not known love and so I die.'"
Suma-theek's mellow voice merged into the desert silence. "But the eagleand the flag?" asked Jim.
"Injuns no understand about them," replied the old chief. "You sabez thestory old Suma-theek tell you?"
"I understand," replied Jim.
"Then I go home to sleep," said Suma-theek, and he left Jim alone on theElephant's back.
Jim sat long alone on the night stars. The sense of failure was heavyupon him. Wherein, he asked himself, had he failed? How could he findhimself? Was his life to be like his father's after all? Had he put offuntil too late the mission he had set himself so long ago, that ofseeking the secret of his father's inadequacy? For a few wild moments,Jim planned to answer the Secretary's letter with his resignation, togive up the thankless fight and return--to what?
Jim could not picture for himself any work or life but that which he wasdoing; could not by the utmost effort of imagination separate himselffrom his job. His mind went back to Charlie Tuck. He wondered whatCharlie would have said to the Secretary's letter. It seemed to Jim thatCharlie had had more imagination than he. Perhaps Charlie would havebeen able to have helped him now. Then he thought of Iron Skull and ofthat last interrupted talk with him. What had Iron Skull planned to say?What had he foreseen that Jim had been unable to see? It seemed to Jimthat he would have given a year of his life to know what advice had beenin his old friend's mind.
A useless death! A life too soon withdrawn! Suddenly Jim's whole heartrose in longing for his friend and in loyalty to him. His death must notbe useless! The simple sweetness of the sacrifice must not gounrewarded. His life would not be ended!
Jim looked far over the glistening, glowing night and registered a vow.So help him God, he would not die childless and forlorn as Iron Skullhad done. Some day, some way, he would marry Penelope. And somehow hewould make the dam a success, that in it Iron Skull's last record ofachievement might live forever.
Strangely comforted, Jim went home.
The Secretary's letter remained unanswered for several days. The nextmorning Henderson reported that a section of the abutments showed signsof decomposition. At the first suggestion of a technical problem withwhich to wrestle, Jim thrust the Secretary's elusive one aside. Hestarted for the dam site eagerly, and refused to think again that day ofthe shadow that haunted his work.
In excavating for the abutments a thick stratum of shale had beenexposed that air-slaked as fast as it was uncovered. Jim gave ordersthat drifts be driven through the stratum until a safe distance frompossible exposure was reached. These were to be filled with concreteimmediately. It was careful and important work. The concrete of the dammust have a solid wall to which to tie and drift after drift must bedriven and filled to supply this wall. Jim would trust no one's judgmentbut his own in this work. He stayed on the dam all the morning, watchingthe shale and rock and directing the foremen.
At noon he went to the lower mess where he could talk with the masonryworkers. Five hundred workmen were polishing off their plates in thegreat room. Jim chuckled as he sat down with Henderson at one of thelong tables.
"If I could get the _hombres_ to work as fast as they eat," he said, "Icould take a year off the allotted time for the dam."
The masonry workers and teamsters at whose table Jim was sittinggrinned.
"There's only one form of persuasion to use with an _hombre_," commentedHenderson, gently. "There's just one kind of efficiency he gets, outsideof whisky."
"What kind is that?" asked a teamster.
"The kind you get with a good hickory pick-handle across his skull,"said Henderson in a tender, meditative way as he took down half a cup ofcoffee at a gulp. "I've worked hombres in Mexico and in South Americaand in America. You must never trust 'em. Just when you get where theirpoliteness has smoothed you down, look out for a knife in your back. Inever managed to make friends for but one bunch of hombres."
Henderson reached for the coffee pot and a fresh instalment of beef andwaited patiently while Jim talked with the master mason. Finally Jimsaid: "Go ahead with the story, Jack. I know you'll have heartburn ifyou don't!"
"It was in Arizona," began Henderson. The singing quality in his voicewas as tender as a girl's. "I had fifty hombres building a bridge over adraw, getting ready for a mining outfit. No whites for a million milesexcept my two cart drivers, Ryan and Connors. The hombres and the Irishdon't get on well together and I was always expecting trouble.
"One day I was in the tent door when Ryan ran up the trail and beckonedme with his arm. I started on the run. When I got to the draw I saw thefifty hombres altogether pounding something with their shovels. Igrabbed up a spade and dug my way through to the middle."
Henderson's voice was lovingly reminiscent. "There I found Ryan andConnors in bad shape. Connors had backed his cart over an _hombre_ andthe whole bunch had started in to kill him. Ryan had run for me and thengone in to help his friend. I used the spade freely and then dragged thetwo Irishmen down to the river and stuck their heads in. When they cameto, they were both for starting in to kill all the hombres. I arguedwith 'em but 'twas no use, so I had to hit 'em over the head with apick-handle and put 'em to sleep. Then I went back and subdued thehombres to tears with the same weapon."
"Did you ever have any more trouble?" asked a man.
"Trouble?" said Henderson, gently. "They didn't know but a word or twoof English, but from that time on they always called me 'Papa'!"
Jim roared with the rest and said as he rose, "If you think you'veabsorbed enough pie to ward off famine, let's get back to the dam."
Henderson followed the Big Boss meekly. They started up the road insilence, Jim leading his horse. Suddenly Jack pulled off his hat and ranhis fingers through his bush of hair.
"Boss," he said, "I chin a lot to keep me cheered up while I finish IronSkull's job. I wish he could have stayed to finish it. Of course hehelped on the Makon but he never had as good a job as he's got here.Ain't it hell when a man goes without a trace of anything living behindhim! A man ought to have kids even if he don't have ideas. I often toldIron Skull that. But he said he couldn't ask a woman to live the way hehad to. I always told him a woman would stand anything if you loved herenough."
Jim nodded. Iron Skull's life in many ways seemed a personal reproach toJim for his own way of living.
The work at the abutments absorbed Jim until late afternoon; absorbedhim and cheered him. About five o'clock he started off to call on Pen,and tell her about the Secretary's letter. He found her plodding up theroad toward the tent house with a pile of groceries in her arms.
"I missed the regular delivery," she replied to his protests as he tookthe packages from her, "and I love to go down to the store, shopping.It's like a glorified cross-roads emporium. All the hombres and theirwives and the 'rough-necks' and their wives and the Indians. Why it'sbetter than a bazaar!"
Jim laughed. "Pen, you are a good mixer. You ought to have my job. You'dmake more of it than I do."
"That reminds me," said Pen. "Jim, that man Fleckenstein is going to runfor United States Senator. He's going to promise the ranchers that he'llget the government to remit the building charges on the dam. Will thathurt you?"
"Where did you hear this?" asked Jim.
"Fleckenstein and Oscar came up this morning and they talked it overwith Oscar. Sara was guarded in what he said before me, but I believehe's going to get campaign money back East. Why should he, Jim?"
She eyed Jim anxiously. There was hardly a moment of the day that thethought of the responsibility that Iron Sk
ull had placed on hershoulders was not with her. But she was resolved to say nothing to Jimuntil she had a vital suggestion to make to him.
Jim looked at the shimmering lavenders and grays of the desert. It hadcome. A frank step toward repudiation. A blow at the fundamental idea ofthe Service. That was to be the next move of the Big Enemy. And what hadSara to do with it? All thought of the Secretary's letter left Jim. Hemust see Sara. But Penelope must not be unduly worried. He turned to herwith his flashing smile.
"Some sort of peanut politics, Pen. Is Sara alone now? I'll go talk tohim."
As if in answer Sara's voice came from the tent which they were almostupon. "Pen, come here!"
Pen did not quicken her pace. "I don't like to change speeds going up asteep grade," she called.
"You hustle when I call you!" roared Sara.
Jim pulled the reins off his arm and dropped them to the ground over thehorse's head, the simple process which hitches a desert horse. He leftPen with long strides and entered the tent.
"Sara, if I hear you talk to Pen that way again, I don't care if you areforty times a cripple, I'll punch your face in! What's the matter withyou, anyhow? Did your tongue get a twist with your back?"
"Get out of here!" shouted Sara.
Jim recovered his poise at the sight of Pen's anxious eyes. "NowSweetness," he said to Sara, "don't hurry me! You make me so nervouswhen you speak that way to me! I think I'll get a burro up here for youto talk to. He'd understand the richness of your vocabulary. Look herenow, Sara, we all know you're having a darned hard time and there isn'tanything we wouldn't do for you. Don't you realize that Pen issacrificing her whole life to being your nurse girl? Don't you think youought to make it as easy for her as you can?"
"Easy!" mocked Sara. "Easy for anyone that can walk and run and come andgo? What consideration do they need?"
Pen and Jim winced a little. There was a whole world of tragedy inSara's mockery. He looked fat and middle-aged. His hair was grayingfast. His fingers trembled a good deal although the strength in his armsstill was prodigious. Yet Pen and Jim both had a sense of resentmentthat Sara should take his life tragedy so ill, a feeling that he wasindecorous in flaunting his bitterness in their faces. As if he sensedtheir resentment, Sara went on sneeringly:
"Easy for you two, with your youth and good looks and health topatronize me and fancy how much more decently you could die than I. Iwish the two of you were chained to my inert body. How sweet and patientyou would be! Bah! You weary me. Pen, will you go over to Mrs. Flynn'sfor the root beer she promised me?"
Pen made her escape gladly. When she was out of hearing Jim said, "Sara,why do you want the building charges repudiated?"
"Who said I wanted them repudiated?" asked Sara.
"A tent is a poor place to hold secrets," replied Jim. "Did you comehere to do me dirt, Sara? Did I ever do you any harm?"
Sara turned purple. He raised himself on his elbow. "Why," he shouted,"did you destroy my chances with Pen by getting her love? You wanted itonly to discard it!"