Dernburg

“ No, Herr Dernburg--since you desire to know the truth--as things are now, a permanent sojourn in the South is a condition of life with your son. He can come to Odensburg, for a few months in summer, but he can never stand another winter in our mountains, no more than he can the fatigues of an active calling. ”

“ Calmly, but with sharper intonation, he replied: "Those are your views, Herr Dernburg; I regret that mine differ from them."
"And it is not for me to disturb myself about them, you think," supplemented Dernburg. "There you are mistaken, though. I do concern myself about the political opinions of my employés. But I do not condescend to enter into explanations with them. Whoever does not like Odensburg can quit. I force nobody to stay; but he who does remain has to submit absolutely to its regulations. Either----or! There is no third way here." ”

“ Dernburg got up and stood close in front of him.
"Why did you come back to Odensburg, if you knew that the difference between us was an irreconcilable one? You did not need the position that I offered you. The whole world stood open to you. Yet why do I ask? The thing was to prepare for the contest with me; to undermine the ground upon which I stand; to betray me first on my own soil, and then strike----"
"No, I did not do that!" impetuously declared Runeck. "When I came here, nobody dreamed of the possibility of my election, and I least of all. Landsfeld was alone in our eye. ”

“ Dernburg, indeed, took the arrival of reports and telegrams, going and coming of officers and their announcements, with his wonted calmness. For him it involved no mere question of ambition, he sacrificed to his seat in the Reichstag, time and strength which were needed in his calling, the want of which he sometimes felt now, at the coming on of old age. He would willingly have resigned his seat to a representative of his own way of thinking, but as things stood, the victory of his party linked itself with his name, and, besides, it was Odensburg that would decide his election. ”

“ The Baron leaned against the stone parapet and looked out again, then he said slowly:
"I had already heard a great deal of your Odensburg from Eric and others, but to form a conception of the magnificence of the scale upon which the enterprise is planned one must see it with his own eyes. It must be an intoxicating feeling to know one's self to be the absolute ruler of such a world, and to be able to put ten thousand men in motion by a single word."
"It took me thirty years to reach that point," answered Dernburg coolly. ”

“ It was Eberhard Dernburg, the proprietor of the Odensburg Works, who thus declined the plans laid before him by his officers, in this decided manner. The gentlemen shrugged their shoulders and looked at the plans and drawings that were spread out upon the table, when, finally, one of them said:
"But, you see, Herr Dernburg, that we have to contend here with the greatest difficulties. The land lies in the most unfavorable of all ways, mountains and valleys alternating along the whole line." ”

“ Hark, it seems to me that your wings have been clipped since we played you against the old man at Odensburg. What you have spoken, these last weeks in Berlin, was tolerably flat and tiresome. Formerly you sparkled with fire and enthusiasm and carried everything before you, now when everything depends on it, you are neither cold nor hot. Can you really be as besotted over this Dernburg as he over you? I do believe he found the death of his son easier to bear than your defection. It will be a touching spectacle, to see you two pitted against one another in a life to life struggle. ”

“ Doctor Dernburg had arrived in the Noordam with Count Bernstorff, and along with them came Captain Boy-Ed, the Naval Attaché at Washington. I knew personally, from Berlin days, both the ex-Colonial Secretary and the sailor. Dernburg, before he was pitchforked into Government office from the comparatively humble station of a bank director in 1906, was the most approachable of men. His command of the American language was remarkable--an inheritance from his youth, part of which was spent as a volunteer clerk in a Wall Street bank. ”

“ It was already twilight; the servant brought the lamp, and with it came Wildenrod and Maia into the room. The Baron looked gloomy and excited. Dernburg quickly turned to him.
"Well, how goes it, Oscar? What news do you bring? Nothing good. I see from your countenance! Have new returns come in?"
"Yes, from the city. Our fears have been confirmed, the Socialists have gotten the majority there."
"Ah, indeed!" cried Dernburg hotly. "It is the first time that they have accomplished that. We shall soon, however, dampen the joy of their triumph with the half of our Odensburg votes!" ”

“ Are you perfectly sure of those votes too? Much has altered in the last three years."
"Not with me," said Dernburg quietly. "My workmen and I have known each other for tens of years. I know that insurrectionary influences have been at work--insinuations and the like. Trying with all my might I have not been able to protect Odensburg from these, and perhaps here and there these whisperings may have found individuals who would listen; but the mass of my men stand fast by me." ”

“ Dernburg bore his grief for his son as he was accustomed to bear every hard thing in life, composedly and silently, seeking his consolation in that occupation, to which he gave himself up with greater zeal than ever. Between him and his daughter-in-law Eric's death had unexpectedly formed a close and tender tie. For, although the father had received the betrothed of his son with cordiality, and treated her as a daughter, yet in his inmost soul, he had never become really reconciled to this union; the vain, haughty child of the world had always been a creature apart from the man of strict duty. ”

“ I thought you had outgrown my discipline," said Dernburg, with intense bitterness, although he did indeed drop the mocking tone. "Once more, what will you have here? Would you, perhaps, offer to protect me from those over there? They will obey the mere nod of their own delegate. I thank you, I shall cope with them single-handed. Half the men already repent of their enforced resolve to lay down their work, and to-morrow will resume it. But I forbid them to go to work unless they submit unconditionally and renounce their leaders." ”

“ I should prefer a quiet life, in a modest home, located in such a terrestrial paradise as this delicious climate supplies; but it is not worth while to talk; as an only son, it must one day devolve on me to superintend the work at Odensburg."
"You are ungrateful, Dernburg! A good fairy endowed you, when in your cradle, with a destiny such as thousands aspire to, with eager longing--and I verily believe you sigh over it." ”

“ Here at Odensburg a grand new field opens before me, and Dernburg is to find in me what his son could never be to him. You will be Eric's wife; he loves, idolizes you; you can make him happy, and yourself be happy at his side! ”

“ I have long since felt that my life lacked serious purpose and will feel this yet more sensibly after Cecilia leaves me. Deep dissatisfaction results from leading such an existence."
"For which you have to bear the sole responsibility, yourself," said Dernburg gravely. "You are still in the enjoyment of a full manly vigor, you have an independent fortune--Only come to a resolve." ”

“ To guide thousands by a word, a nod; to fling forth burning words in the Reichstag, such as the whole country shall hear; to be lifted upon a shield, like a conqueror, that is power, that would charm you. Do not contradict me, Egbert; with my experience I see farther than you do--in ten years let us talk together again!"
Whether the words hit home was not to be decided. Runeck stood there with lowering brow and compressed lips, but replied by not a syllable.
"Well, I suppose my Odensburg will have to do without you, meanwhile," began Dernburg again. ”

“ He broke off, for, just now Dernburg entered with a book in his hand, and responded to the young engineer's greeting as composedly as if there was no agitating subject to be broached between them.
"You enjoy meeting after your long separation, do you not?" asked he. "You see Eric for the first time to-day--how do you find him?"
"He looks rather delicate yet, and will have to be prudent for a while longer, it seems to me," said Runeck, with a glance at his friend's pale face.
"The doctor is of the same opinion. And to-day you do look especially feeble, Eric! ”

“ She had so many to choose from and chose me!"
"That is just what surprises me," said Dernburg, coolly. "You do not possess one of those shining qualities which girls of her claims and education covet. However, that may be--first of all, I want to get personally acquainted with Fräulein von Wildenrod and her brother. Let us invite them to Odensburg, and we shall see what will come of it. ”

“ The old man"--Landsfeld used this designation for Dernburg by preference, because he knew that it wounded his comrade--"the old man, to be sure, feels himself impregnable in his high tower, and his eyes will not be opened, either, until election-day. But we have worked bravely, and that really was no easy matter in this case. Now it is for you to prove your strength! Much depends upon your speech this evening, perhaps everything. A part of the Odensburg workmen still stick firmly to Dernburg, the rest waver, and those are the ones that you are to capture this evening and draw over to us. ”

“ There, in the midst of green, fir-clad hills, was situated that mighty hive of industry, Odensburg. The rolling-mills had long since arisen from their ashes, more capacious in extent than before, and new establishments of a different kind had been associated with them, for there was no standstill in the Dernburg works, and they expanded with every year.
The bride, in a simple, gray traveling-suit, leaned out of the open carriage, eager to catch a glimpse of the Manor-house, now visible behind the trees of the park. ”

“ He had offered a costly sacrifice, when he consented to the separation and lasting abode of the young pair in the South, but the infinite rapture depicted upon Eric's face indemnified the father for it, in some measure. Then Dernburg's glance fell upon Maia, who now entered by Wildenrod's side. He surveyed the proud bearing and handsome appearance of the man, who seemed just fitted, one day, to be the presiding genius of Odensburg. He saw the sweet countenance of his darling equally illumined by the light of joy, and then the shadow passed away also from his own brow. ”

“ The blind subjection that you demand of the man, I cannot and will not take upon myself. I must have free course in life."
"Which you have not with me?" asked Dernburg in an irritated tone.
"No!" said Egbert firmly. "You are a father to your subordinates so long as they submit themselves unquestioningly, but in Odensburg they recognize only one law--viz., your will. The director yields just as unconditionally as does the lowest laborer; no one has an opinion of his own at your works, or ever will have, so long as you are at the head of things." ”

“ But we do not like that, do we, Puck? We, at least, want to be merry." And so saying, she seized Puck by the fore-paws, and made him dance on his hind-legs, although he gave unmistakable signs of displeasure.
Maia Dernburg, who objected so emphatically to being rational, was evidently in the first bloom of young girlhood, not being a day over seventeen years of age. She was one of those creatures, at sight of whom the heart bounds, and who gladden the beholder as does bright sunshine. ”

“ At Odensburg nobody either finds fault with the chief or presumes to regret what he does--they simply obey him. Herr Dernburg always knows what he is about, and is not going to make any mistake in this case, either, unless his protégé should, perchance, disappoint him. ”

“ You are a child of a workman, have grown up in their midst, and even now have intimate relations with their chief. They will listen to you, and follow you too, if it comes to that."
"And to what end?" asked Runeck moodily. "I have often enough explained to you that a strike at Odensburg would be perfectly futile. Dernburg is not a man to be coerced: I know him--he would rather close his works. He is a man after this sort, that he would rather take any loss upon himself than to yield, and he is rich enough to resist to the uttermost." ”

“ You must make allowances, father, and give me time to fit into harness again."
"You have always had to be on your guard against over-exertion, and been restricted in work," said Dernburg with a frown. "On account of your continual sickness, you were never able to pursue any serious study, or engage in anything that required bodily activity. I fixed all my hope upon your return from the South, and now--do not look so disconsolate, Eric! ”

“ Under the circumstances, you will readily comprehend why I challenge you to vacate the place that you now occupy at Odensburg. They say that you are the betrothed of the daughter of the house: but you yourself best know how you have forfeited the right to link your fate with that of a pure young girl. It were a crime against Herr Dernburg and his family if I should allow such a thing to happen without opening his eyes. Spare me the bitter necessity of having to come forward as your accuser. ”

“ A man of my years and station does not commit such follies."
Again Victor let his hand drop and stepped back.
"Herr Dernburg, you have been a fatherly friend to me for years, Odensburg has been a second home for me, and you are the father of Maia, whom I----"
"Whom you love," said Dernburg, with bitter irony, "you were about to say."
"Yes, I do love her!" cried Victor, drawing himself up to his full height, and his eye met clearly and openly that of the infuriated man. "This became clear to me the moment when I met again as a blooming girl the child who still lived in my memory. ”