“And you, Rattlinger, I would like your view of it, most assuredly I would—that is, the legal view.”
“Certainly, you are welcome to my point of view both legal and experimental,” replied Rattlinger. “I should say to begin with that the uprising is too respectable and tee-total to be ignored. Experimentally I know that a woman is the deuce for persistence when she once gets after a thing. I should say that when a whole army of them get on the war-path the library would have to come. Legally considered, you have not given a promissory note, but you have given them promissory words. There’s a point of honor, you see.”
“Well, really, gentlemen, I have always intended to give a library or something of that kind, in the end, you know, but I don’t fancy being forced to do it—prematurely, so to speak; and you can’t blame me for that, most assuredly you can’t.”
“No! No! Mr. Schwarmer,” sang the President:
“You’re a free untrammeled soul
An undivided atom within a mighty whole.”
“But you’d better divide up with the ladies, Mr. Schwarmer,” laughed Rattlinger, “or you will have to enter the field against them; I don’t believe you want to do that. At least I shouldn’t. I should know that I would have to beat a retreat in the end and I should rather beat a retreat in the beginning while I could do it and save my honor; as the famous French General always did. I would not wait ’til I had a lot of indictments social or otherwise tacked onto my coat-skirts. As I understand it they have quite a number of things laid up against you; and you know the ladies are famous for making things look picturesque.”
The laugh of the President at this remark was so contagious that Schwarmer couldn’t help joining in.
“It’s all over with you, my good man,” said the President, slapping him on the shoulder as he proceeded to put on his hat.
“The women people have pleaded guilty—guilty of doing a good deed and they have won their case according to Lawyer Rattlinger’s opinion. You had better send the library along at once. A little concession of that sort makes everything run as smooth as silk.”
The President and the lawyer went home to tea and Schwarmer returned to the city on the next train. Nothing was heard from him until September first. Then he came on in his rushing way with a surveyor, two architects and half a dozen contractors. The news ran through the town like wild fire that he was really going to begin the long looked for library building. It was to be on the vacant lot where he was born. The house not being of a substantial character had been demolished long ago and the lot itself had been voted a nuisance by the adjacent neighbors; so there were more reasons than one for rejoicing. The ladies were especially delighted.