Chapter 34
Warning Signs

I did speak both times Mr. Dalton had told me about. How could I say no when Cal practically begged me? And why would I have wanted to say no, anyway? I wouldn’t have turned down another chance to be with Cal.

The most memorable part of September, however, wasn’t the two speeches I gave. They weren’t much different than the first, although I wasn’t quite so nervous even though there were more people listening. But after we were through in San Francisco, instead of going straight back home, Cal invited me down to Mr. Stanford’s ranch south of San Francisco in a little town called Palo Alto.

“He raises horses,” Cal said. “There’s a big ranch house where you’ll be very comfortable. I’ll show you his estate. We’ll saddle up two of his finest horses and I’ll show you the peninsula. It’s beautiful country!”

“I . . . I don’t know,” I hesitated. “I suppose it would be all right. It does sound fun.” Inside, my heart was beating wildly. It sounded like a dream come true—a fairy tale!

“How will we get there?” I asked, not even knowing what I was saying.

“I’ve got one of Mr. Stanford’s finest carriages here in the city. I’m heading back down to the estate bright and early in the morning. Say you’ll join me!”

“But . . . how will I get back here, and then home?”

“Don’t worry, Corrie. With a man of the world like me to take care of everything, you need have no concerns. I’ll see to your every need!”

In the thrill of the moment, I totally believed him. Not until later, as I lay in bed that night, did I realize that something about his words had struck a tiny chord of dissonance somewhere inside my brain.

Just then, as we were still talking about it, Mr. Dalton walked up. He greeted me kindly, congratulated me on a job well done, as he put it, and then turned to Cal and began speaking more quietly and more seriously. It was clear they didn’t intend for me to listen, but they made no particular attempt to keep me from hearing, either. Men have a way of ignoring women when they want to, and paying attention to them when they want to. And when they’re ignoring them, they seem to think they’re not there at all, or that their minds don’t work because they’re not being paid attention to. But women are generally smarter and more aware of things than men realize. In this case I was listening, and I found their conversation very interesting, even though I know they probably thought my head was off in the clouds someplace.

“One of Senator Gwin’s Breckinridge people is making trouble for us down in the South,” Dalton was saying. “There’s talk of a Breckinridge-Douglas coalition to smear Lincoln, to insure that one of the two Democrats wins California. Apparently they’ve sent someone up this way to spread the lies into northern California, too.”

“What’s his name?” asked Cal.

“Jewks . . . Terrance Jewks.”

“Where is he? How do I find him?”

“Their people are said to be putting him up someplace in the city.”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Cal said after a while. “I’ll take care of it. If he’s in one of the San Francisco hotels, I’ll find him.”

“You know what to do?”

“I’ve run into just this sort of thing with Mr. Stanford. I’ve got ways of handling his sort.”

“Leland tells me you are very resourceful,” said Mr. Dalton, a grin breaking over his face.

“My goal is to be useful,” replied Cal, returning the smile.

“Nothing more?” queried Dalton. “Leland is a powerful man, a man whose star is on the rise.”

The look on Cal’s face told that he knew exactly what that meant.

“All the more reason for me to serve him faithfully,” said Cal, “as well as the whole party. To answer your question—yes, I know what to do. And I’ve got just the people to do it. Believe me, Mr. Jewks will not prove troublesome. He’ll wish he stayed in the South and left northern politics to the Republicans!”

“Good. I knew I could count on you,” said Dalton. The two shook hands, and I was left alone with Cal again.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“Nothing . . . nothing, Corrie, my dear. Just the details of politics.”

“It didn’t sound too pleasant.”

“Politics sometimes gets a little messy, Corrie. You must know that. Your father is a politician.”

“He’s mayor of Miracle Springs,” I replied. “I don’t know that I’d call him a politician.”

“Well, he soon will be, from what I understand,” Cal persisted. “Once he’s sitting in the statehouse in Sacramento, his hands will get dirty, too.”

“Not Pa’s,” I insisted.

Cal laughed. “Don’t worry, Corrie. I’m not talking about anything serious. But it can’t be helped. Your pa will explain it to you someday. In the meantime, you and I don’t have to worry about all that! How about me taking you out for a fancy first-class dinner and a night on the town to celebrate your speech today? Then I’ll get you safe and sound back to Miss Bean’s later, and pick you up tomorrow morning for Palo Alto!”

Cal made me feel special, more like a real woman than I’d ever imagined I’d feel. I don’t suppose I really believed half the sweet things he said to me. Yet I wanted to believe them so badly that I convinced myself to ignore the uncomfortable warning signs.

Besides, Cal Burton was not the kind of man a girl says no to. And I didn’t really want to say no, after all.