II.
In Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, he descended from his brougham infront of the offices of Messrs. Slosson, Hodge, Budge, Slosson,Maveringham, Slosson, and Vulto, Solicitors, known in the profession bythe compendious abbreviation of Slossons. Edward Henry, having been alawyer's clerk some twenty-five years earlier, was aware of Slossons.Although on the strength of his youthful clerkship he claimed, and wasadmitted, to possess a very special knowledge of the law,--enough tosilence argument when his opponent did not happen to be an actualsolicitor,--he did not in truth possess a very special knowledge of thelaw,--how should he, seeing that he had only been a practitioner ofshorthand?--but the fame of Slosson he positively was acquainted with!He had even written letters to the mighty Slossons.
Every lawyer and lawyer's clerk in the realm knew the greatness ofSlossons, and crouched before it, and also, for the most part, impugnedits righteousness with sneers. For Slossons acted for the rulingclasses of England, who only get value for their money when they arebuying something that they can see, smell, handle, or intimidate--suchas a horse, a motor-car, a dog, or a lackey. Slossons, those cracksolicitors, like the crack nerve specialists in Harley Street and thecrack fortune-tellers in Bond Street, sold their invisible, inodorous,and intangible wares of advice at double, treble, or decuple theirworth, according to the psychology of the customer. They were greatbullies. And they were, further, great money-lenders--on behalf oftheir wealthier clients. In obedience to a convenient theory that it isimprudent to leave money too long in one place, they were continuallycalling in mortgages and re-lending the sums so collected on freshinvestments, thus achieving two bills of costs on each transaction, andsometimes three, besides employing an army of valuers, surveyors, andmortgage-insurance brokers. In short, Slossons had nothing to learnabout the art of self-enrichment.
Three vast motor-cars waited in front of their ancient door, and EdwardHenry's hired electric vehicle was diminished to a trifle.
He began by demanding the senior partner, who was denied to him by anold clerk with a face like a stone wall. Only his brutal Midlandinsistence, and the mention of the important letter which he had writtento the firm in the middle of the night, saved him from the ignominy ofseeing no partner at all. At the end of the descending ladder ofpartners he clung desperately to Mr. Vulto, and he saw Mr. Vulto--ayoungish and sarcastic person with blue eyes, lodged in a dark room atthe back of the house. It occurred fortunately that his letter had beenallotted to precisely Mr. Vulto for the purpose of being answered.
"You got my letter?" said Edward Henry cheerfully as he sat down at Mr.Vulto's flat desk on the side opposite from Mr. Vulto.
"We got it, but frankly we cannot make head or tail of it! ... _What_option?" Mr. Vulto's manner was crudely sarcastic.
"_This_ option!" said Edward Henry, drawing papers from his pocket andputting down the right paper in front of Mr. Vulto with anuncompromising slap.
Mr. Vulto picked up the paper with precautions, as if it were acontagion, and, assuming eye-glasses, perused it with his mouth open.
"We know nothing of this," said Mr. Vulto, and it was as though he hadadded, "Therefore this does not exist." He glanced with sufferance atthe window, which offered a close-range view of a whitewashed wall.
"Then you weren't in the confidence of your client?"
"The late Lord Woldo?"
"Yes."
"Pardon me."
"Obviously you weren't in his confidence as regards this particularmatter."
"As you say," said Mr. Vulto with frigid irony.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well--nothing." Mr. Vulto removed his eye-glasses and stood up.
"Well, good morning. I'll walk round to my solicitors." Edward Henryseized the option.
"That will be simpler," said Mr. Vulto. Slossons much preferred to dealwith lawyers than with laymen, because it increased costs and vitalisedthe profession.
At that moment a stout, red-faced, and hoary man puffed veryauthoritatively into the room.
"Vulto," he cried sharply, "Mr. Wrissell's here. Didn't they tell you?"
"Yes, Mr. Slosson," answered Vulto, suddenly losing all his sarcasticquality and becoming a very junior partner. "I was just engaged withMr.--" (he paused to glance at his desk)--"Machin, whose singular letterwe received this morning about an alleged option on the lease of thechapel-site at Piccadilly Circus--the Woldo estate, sir. You remember,sir?"
"This the man?" enquired Mr. Slosson, ex-president of the Law Society,with a jerk of the thumb.
Edward Henry said: "This is the man."
"Well," said Mr. Slosson, lifting his chin and still puffing, "it wouldbe extremely interesting to hear his story, at any rate. I was justtelling Mr. Wrissell about it. Come this way, sir. I've heard somestrange things in my time, but--" He stopped. "Please follow me, sir,"he ordained.
"I'm dashed if I'll follow you!" Edward Henry desired to say, but he hadnot the courage to say it. And because he was angry with himself hedetermined to make matters as unpleasant as possible for the innocentMr. Slosson, who was used to bullying, and so well paid for bullying,that really no blame could be apportioned to him. It would have been asreasonable to censure an ordinary person for breathing as to censure Mr.Slosson for bullying. And so Edward Henry was steeling himself: "I'll dohim in the eye for that, even if it costs me every cent I've got." (Astatement characterised by poetical licence!)
The Old Adam: A Story of Adventure Page 23
