The Early Bird: A Business Man's Love Story

by George Randolph Chester

  CHAPTER XI

  THE WESTLAKES DECIDE TO INVEST

  Miss Hastings did not exactly snub Sam in the morning, but she wassurprisingly indifferent to him after all her previous cordiality, andeven went so far as to forget the early morning constitutional she wasto have taken with him; instead she passed him coolly by on the porchright after an extremely early breakfast, and sauntered away downlovers' lane, arm in arm with Billy Westlake, who was already lookingvery much comforted. Sam, who had been dreading that walk, released itwith a sigh of intense satisfaction, planning that in the interim untiltime for his drive, he would improve his tennis a bit with MissWestlake. He was just hunting her up when he met Bob Tilloughby, whoinvited him to join a riding party from both houses for a trip over toSunset Rock.

  "Sorry," said Sam with secret satisfaction, "but I've an engagementover at Hollis Creek at ten o'clock," and Tilloughby carried thatinformation back to Miss Westlake, who had sent him.

  An engagement at Hollis Creek at ten o'clock, eh? Well, Miss Westlakeknew who that meant; none other than her dear friend, JosephineStevens! Being a young lady of considerable directness, she wentimmediately to her father.

  "Have you definitely made up your mind, pop, to take stock in Mr.Turner's company?" she asked, sitting down by that placid gentleman.

  Without removing his interlocked hands from their comfortableresting-place in plain sight, he slowly twirled his thumbs some threetimes, and then stopped.

  "Yes, I think I shall," he said.

  "About how much?" Miss Westlake wanted to know.

  "Oh, about twenty-five thousand."

  "Who's to get it?"

  "Why, I thought I'd divide it between Billy and you."

  Miss Westlake put her hand on her father's arm.

  "Say, pop, give it to me, please," she pleaded. "Billy can take thenext stock you buy, or I'll let him have some of my other in exchange."

  Mr. Westlake surveyed his daughter out of a pair of fish-gray eyeswithout turning his head.

  "You seem to be especially interested in this stock. You asked aboutit yesterday and Sunday and one day last week."

  "Yes, I am," she admitted. "It's a really first-class businessinvestment, isn't it?"

  "Yes, I think it is," replied Westlake; "as good as any stock in anuntried company can be, anyhow. At least it's an excellent investmentchance."

  "That's what I thought," she said. "I'm judging, of course, only bywhat you say, and by my impression of Mr. Turner. It seems to me thatalmost anything he goes into should be highly successful."

  Mr. Westlake slowly whirled his thumbs in the other direction, threeseparate twirls, and stopped them.

  "Yes," he agreed. "I'm investing the money in just Sam myself,although the scheme itself looks like a splendid one."

  Miss Westlake was silent a moment while she twisted at the button onher father's coat sleeve.

  "I don't quite understand this matter of stock control," she went onpresently. "You've explained it to me, but I don't seem quite to getthe meaning of it."

  "Well, it's like this," explained Mr. Westlake. "Sam Turner, with onlya paltry investment, say about five thousand dollars, wants to be ableto dictate the entire policy of a million-dollar concern. In otherwords, he wants a majority of stock, which will let him come into thestock-holders' meetings, and vote into office his own board ofdirectors, who will do just what he says; and if he wanted to he mighthave them vote the entire profits of the concern for his salary."

  "But, father, he wouldn't do anything like that," she protested,shocked.

  "No, he probably wouldn't," admitted Mr. Westlake, "but I wouldn't bewise to let him have the chance, just the same."

  "But, father," objected Miss Hallie, after further thought, "it's hisinvention, you know, and his process, and if he doesn't have controlcouldn't all you other stock-holders get together and appropriate theprofits yourselves?"

  Mr. Westlake gave his thumbs one quick turn.

  "Yes," he grudgingly confessed. "In fact, it's been done," and therewas a certain grim satisfaction at the corners of his mouth which hisdaughter could not interpret, as he thought back over the long list ofabsorptions which had made old Bill Westlake the power that he was.

  "But--but, father," and she hesitated a long time.

  "Yes," he encouraged her.

  "Even if you won't let him have enough stock to obtain control, if someone other person should own enough of the stock, couldn't they puttheir stock with his and let him do just about as he liked?"

  "Oh, yes," agreed Mr. Westlake without any twirling of his thumbs atall; "that's been done, too."

  "Would this twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of stock that you'rebuying, pop, if it were added to what you men are willing to let Mr.Turner have, give him control?"

  Again Mr. Westlake turned his speculative gray eyes upon his daughterand gave her a long, careful scrutiny, which she received with downcastlashes.

  "No," he replied.

  "How much would?"

  "Well, fifty thousand would do it."

  "Say, pop--"

  "Yes."

  Another long interval.

  "I wish you'd buy fifty thousand for me in place of twenty-five."

  "Humph," grunted Mr. Westlake, and after one sharp glance at her helooked down at his big fat thumbs and twirled them for a long, longtime. "Well," said he, "Sam Turner is a fine young man. I've knownhim in a business way for five or six years, and I never saw a flaw inhim of any sort. All right. You give Billy your sugar stock and I'llbuy you this fifty thousand."

  Miss Westlake reached over and kissed her father impulsively.

  "Thanks, pop," she said. "Now there's another thing I want you to do."

  "What, more?" he demanded.

  "Yes, more," and this time the color deepened in her cheeks. "I wantyou to hunt up Mr. Turner and tell him that you're going to take thatmuch."

  Mr. Westlake with a smile reached up and pinched his daughter's cheek.

  "Very well, Hallie, I'll do it," said he.

  She patted him affectionately on the bald spot.

  "Good for you," she said. "Be sure you see him this morning, though,and before half-past nine."

  "You're particular about that, eh?"

  "Yes, it's rather important," she admitted, and blushed furiously.

  Westlake patted his daughter on the shoulder.

  "Hallie," said He, "if Billy only had your common-sense businessinstinct, I wouldn't ask for anything else in this world; but Billy isa saphead."

  Mr. Westlake, thinking that he understood the matter very thoroughly,though in reality overunderstanding it--nice word, that--took it uponhimself with considerable seriousness to hunt up Sam Turner; but it wasfully nine-thirty before he found that energetic young man. Sam wasjust going down the driveway in a neat little trap behind a team ofspirited grays.

  "Wait a minute, Sam, wait a minute," hailed Westlake, puffinglaboriously across the closely cropped lawn.

  Sam held up his horses abruptly, and they stood swinging their headsand champing at their bits, while Sam, with a trace of a frown, lookedat his watch.

  "What's your rush?" asked Westlake. "I've been hunting for youeverywhere. I want to talk about some important features of that MarshPulp Company of yours."

  "All right," said Sam. "I'm open for conversation. I'll see you rightafter lunch."

  "No. I must see you now," insisted Westlake. "I've--I've got todecide on some things right this morning. I--I've got to know how toportion out my investments."

  Sam looked at his watch and was genuinely distressed.

  "I'm sorry," said he, "but I have an engagement over at Hollis Creek atexactly ten o'clock, and I've scant time to make it."

  "Business?" demanded Westlake.

  "No," confessed Sam slowly.

  "Oh, social then. Well, social engagements in America always playsecond fiddle to business ones, and don't you forget it. I'll talkabout this matter this morning or I won't
talk about it at all."

  Sam stopped nonplussed. Westlake was an important factor in theprospective Marsh Pulp Company.

  "Tell you what you do," said he, after some quick thought. "Why can'tyou get in the trap and drive over to Hollis Creek with me? We cantalk on the way and you can visit with your friends over there untiltime for luncheon; then I'll bring you back and we can talk on the wayhome, too."

  Miss Hallie and Princeman and young Tilloughby came cantering down thedrive and waved hands at the two men.

  "All right," said Westlake decisively, looking after his daughter andanswering her glance with a nod. "Wait until I get my hat," and hewheeled abruptly away.

  Sam fumed and fretted and jerked his watch back and forth from hispocket, while Westlake wasted fifteen precious minutes in waddling upto the house and hunting for his hat and returning with it, and twominutes more in bungling his awkward way into the buggy; then Samstarted the grays at such a terrific pace that, until they came to thesteep hill midway of the course, there was no chance for conversation.While the horses pulled up this steep hill, however, Westlake had hisopportunity.

  "I suppose you know," he said, "that you're not going to be allowedover two thousand shares of common stock for your patents."

  "I'm beginning to give up the hope of having more," admitted Sam."However, I'm going to stick it out to the last ditch."

  "It won't be permitted, so you might as well give up that idea. Howmuch stock do you think of buying?"

  "About five thousand dollars' worth of the preferred," said Sam.

  "Which will give you fifty bonus shares of the common. I suppose ofcourse you figure on eventually securing control in some way or other."

  "Not being an infant, I do," returned Sam, flicking his whip at a weedand gathering his lines up quickly as the mettled horses jumped.

  "I don't know of any one person who's going to buy enough stock to helpyou out in that plan; unless I should do it myself," suggestedWestlake, and waited.

  Sam surveyed the other man long and silently. Westlake, as the largestminority shareholder, had done some very strange things to corporationsin his time.

  "Neither do I," said Sam non-committally.

  There was another long silence.

  "If you carry through this Marsh Pulp Company to a successfultermination, you will be fairly well fixed for a young man, won't you?"the older man ventured by and by.

  "Well," hesitated Sam, "I'll have a start anyhow."

  "I should say you would," Westlake assured him, placing his hands inhis favorite position for contemplative discussion. "You'll have agood enough start to enable you to settle down."

  "Yes," admitted Sam.

  "What you need, my boy, is a wife," went on Mr. Westlake. "No man'sbusiness career is properly assured until he has a wife to steady himdown."

  "I believe that," agreed Sam. "I've come to the same conclusionmyself, and to tell you the truth of the matter I've been contemplatingmarriage very seriously since I've been down here."

  "Good!" approved Westlake. "You're a fine boy, Sam. I may tell youright now that I approve of both you and your decision very heartily.I rather thought there was something in the wind that way."

  "Yes," confessed Sam hesitantly. "I don't mind admitting that I haveeven gone so far as to pick out the girl, if she'll have me."

  Mr. Westlake smiled.

  "I don't think there will be any trouble on that score," said he. "Ofcourse, Sam, I'm not going to force your confidence, or anything ofthat sort, but--but I want to tell you that I think you're all right,"and he very solemnly shook hands with Mr. Turner.

  They had just reached the top of the hill when Westlake again returnedto business.

  "I'm glad to know you're going to settle down, Sam," he said. "Itinspires me with more confidence in your affairs, and I may say that Istand ready to subscribe, in my daughter's name, for fifty thousanddollars' worth of the stock of your company."

  "Well," said Sam, giving the matter careful weight. "It will be a goodinvestment for her."

  Before Mr. Westlake had any time to reply to this, the grays, havingjust passed the summit of the hill, leaped forward in obedience toanother swish of Sam's whip.