Lanny wasn't sure if it was a good idea, for of course all the Cap knew what these men were
there for, and it served as much to advertise the baby as to protect her. But no use telling that
to the ladies!
Bub came by way of Paris, so as to consult with Lanny and Irma. He had always been a pal of
Robbie's son, and now they had a confidential talk, in the course of which Bub revealed the fact
that he had become a Socialist. A great surprise to the younger man, for Bub's jobs had been
among the most hardboiled, and Bub himself, with his broken nose and cold steely eyes, didn't
bear the appearance of an idealist. But he had really read the papers and the books and knew
what he was talking about, and of course that was gratifying to the young employer. The man
went down to the Cap and began attending the Socialist Sunday school in his free time,
becoming quite a pal of the devoted young Spaniard, Raoul Palma.
That went on for a year or more before Lanny discovered what it was all about. The bright
idea had sprung in the head of Robbie Budd—to whom anarchists, Communists, and
kidnapers were all birds of a feather. Robbie had told Bub that this would be a quick and easy
way to get in touch with the underworld of the Midi; so before stepping onto the steamer,
Bub had got himself a load of Red literature, and all the way across had been boning up as if
for a college entrance examination. He had "passed" with Lanny, and then with Raoul and the
other comrades, who naturally had no suspicions of anybody coming from Bienvenu. It was
somewhat awkward, because Bub was also maintaining relations with the French police; but
Lanny didn't know just what to do about it. It was one more consequence of trying to live in
the camps of two rival armies getting ready for battle.
IV
Hearing and thinking so much about the Lindbergh case had had an effect upon Irma's
maternal impulses; she decided that she couldn't do any more traveling without having at least
a glimpse of Baby. She proposed that they hop into the car and run down to Bienvenu—the
weather was hot there, and they could have a swim, also. The young Robins hadn't seen
Baby for more than a year; so come along! Hansi had been motored to Paris by Bess, in her
car; now the couples "hopped" into two cars, and that evening were in Bienvenu, with Irma
standing by the bedside of her sleeping darling, making little moaning sounds of rapture and
hardly able to keep from waking the child.
The next two days she had a debauch of mother emotions, crowding everything into a short
time. She didn't want anybody else to touch the baby; she washed her, dressed her, fed her,
played with her, walked with her, talked to her, exclaimed over every baby word she managed to
utter. It must have been bewildering to a twenty-seven-month child, this sudden irruption into
her well-ordered life; but she took it serenely, and Miss Severne permitted some rules to be
suspended for a brief period.
Lanny had another talk with Bub Smith, keeper of the queen's treasure and sudden convert
to the cause of social justice. Bub reported on his experiences at the school, and expressed his
appreciation of the work being done there; a group of genuine idealists, he said, and it was a
source of hope for the future. Lanny found it a source of hope that an ex-cowboy and
company guard should have seen the light and acknowledged his solidarity with the workers.
Also Bub told about conditions in Newcastle, where some kind of social change seemed
impossible to postpone. There wasn't enough activity in those great mills to pay for the taxes
and upkeep, and there was actual hunger among the workers. The people had mortgaged their
homes, sold their cars, pawned their belongings; families had moved together to save rent; half a
dozen people lived on the earnings of a single employed person. So many New Englanders were
proud and wouldn't ask for charity; they just withdrew into a corner and starved. Impossible
not to be moved by such distress, or to realize that something must be done to get that great
manufacturing plant to work again.
Bub Smith had always been close to Robbie Budd, and so this change of mind appeared
important. There was no secret about it, the man declared; he had told Mr. Robert how he felt,
and Mr. Robert had said it would make no difference. Lanny thought that, too, was important;
for some fifteen years or so he had been hoping that his father would see the light, and now
apparently it was beginning to dawn. In a letter to Robbie he expressed his gratification; and
Robbie must have had a smile!
V
The young people had their promised swim, diving off the rocks into that warm blue
Mediterranean water. Afterward they sat on the shore and Bub lugged a couple of heavy boxes
from the car, one containing Budd automatics and other weapons, the other containing several
hundred rounds of ammunition. Bub had brought a liberal supply from Newcastle, enough to
stave off a siege by all the bandits in France. He said the family ought to keep in practice, for
