CHAPTER XXII.
GUISEPPE BARETTI’S THEORY
Regardless of her optimistic assertion to Robin and Peter Graham that right must triumph in the end, Marjorie found it hard to resign herself to watchful inaction in regard to the dormitory. The winter days came and went with no change in the situation save perhaps the addition of a dozen men to Peter Graham’s working force. It consisted of himself and his quartette of carpenters. He scoured the region extending for twenty-five miles about Hamilton for men. Labor happened to be scarce. Workmen invariably demanded twice as much money for their services as he would pay. The affair of the walk-out had been circulated far and wide in that section. The numbers of workmen he talked with demanded as much as “the Thorne and Foster crew” were receiving.
Miss Susanna Hamilton sputtered volubly to Jonas, Peter Graham and Marjorie at the dire situation. She sent for Marjorie, Robin and the builder on an average of once in every three or four days to discuss the situation. She was at first for bringing in a crew of workmen from one of the large cities and paying them their own price within a certain limit to hurry the completion of the dormitory. She offered to pay the sum needed to do this from her own resources. To this neither Page and Dean nor Peter Graham would hear. In the end they won her over to their way of thinking.
Marjorie’s chief private disappointment lay in the fact that she could not conscientiously begin the compilation of Brooke Hamilton’s papers, prior to writing his biography, until the dormitory question was settled and off her mind. This had been the chief reason for Miss Susanna’s generous proposal.
“I want you and Jerry to come to the Arms in March, sure and certain,” she said more than once to Marjorie. “You are such a conscientious child! You will not humor me at all. Suppose Peter should have to cripple along all spring with a handful of men? Then you and Jerry will miss the dawn of spring at the Arms. Let me tell you you will miss something.”
“Miss Susanna, I’ve made up my mind to come to the Arms the first of March, whether or not the dormitory business is settled.” Marjorie finally made this concession one February afternoon while taking tea with the old lady.
“You are my own Marvelous Manager, and a dear child.” Miss Susanna unexpectedly left her chair, walked around the tea table to Marjorie and hugged her.
“And you are the dearest of dears. I ought to come here by the first of March. I feel it as my duty. And I shall love to be with you. The girls are resigned to Jerry’s and my move. They’ll be here about half the time. I give you warning beforehand. I’ve nothing but chemistry on my list since the beginning of the semester. I only devote a few hours a week to it now. I do wish something would happen to bring some more workmen to the dormitory,” Marjorie ended wistfully.
“Yes, so do I. I could take that Cairns girl and treat her to a good shaking with my own strength of arm.” Miss Susanna resentfully straightened up from her embrace of Marjorie and vengefully worked her arms. “And to think, I’ve never seen her except once, and at a distance.” Miss Susanna resumed her chair and continued: “It is too bad Baretti can do nothing with those Italians at the quarter. It’s the old story. Money changes the color of everything.”
“I was hopeful of Signor Baretti,” Marjorie said, faint disappointment in her reply. “He went over to the quarter several times. He said some one besides Leslie Cairns herself had been influencing the Italians. He thought she might have hired someone. The Italians swore that only Thorne and Foster were responsible for the walk-out. They told Signor Baretti the bosses had offered much money to have the work done quickly. He says they are not telling the truth, but he can’t get at the truth among them. I had a talk with him yesterday. Robin and I stopped at the inn for ice cream. He says he will try again after a while to make the Italians tell him the truth.”