The Early Bird: A Business Man's Love Story

by George Randolph Chester

  CHAPTER XIII

  A PLEASURE RIDE WITH MISS STEVENS

  The morning train was due at ten o'clock. At ten o'clock also Sam wasdue at Hollis Creek to take his long deferred drive with Miss Stevens.It was a slight conflict, her engagement, but the solution to that wasvery easy. As early in the morning as he dared, Sam called up MissJosephine.

  "I've some glorious news," he said hopefully. "My kid brother willarrive at Restview on the ten o'clock train."

  "You are to be congratulated," Miss Stevens told him, with an echo ofhis own delight.

  "But you know we've an engagement to go driving at ten o'clock," hereminded her, still hopefully, but trembling in spirit.

  There was an instant of hesitation, which ended in a laugh.

  "Don't let that interfere," she said. "We can defer our drive untilsome other time, when fate is not so determined against it."

  "But that doesn't suit me at all," he assured her. "Why can't you beready at nine in place of ten, let me call for you at that time anddrive over to Restview with me to meet Jack?"

  "Is that his name?" she asked in blissfully reassuring tones. "You'venever spoken of him as anybody but your 'kid brother.' Why of courseI'll drive over to Restview with you. I shall be delighted to meethim."

  Privately she had her own fears of what Jack Turner might turn out tobe like. Sam was always so good in speaking of him, always held him insuch tender regard, such profound admiration, that she feared he mightprove to be perfect only in Sam's eyes.

  "Good," said Sam. "Just for that I'm going to bring you over somechoice blooms that I have been having the gardener save back for me,"and he turned away from the telephone quite happy in the thought thatfor once he had been able to kill two birds with one stone withoutruffling the feathers of either.

  Armed with a huge consignment of brilliant blossoms, enough totransform her room into a fairy bower, he sped quite happily to HollisCreek.

  "Oh, gladiolas!" cried Miss Josephine, as he drove up. "How did youever guess it! That little bird must have been busy again."

  "Honestly, it was the little bird this time. I just had an intuitionthat you must like them because I do so well," upon which naivestatement Miss Josephine merely smiled, and calling her father withpretty peremptoriness, she loaded that heavy gentleman down with theflowers and with instructions concerning them, and then steppedbrightly into the tonneau with Sam.

  It was a pleasant ride they had to Restview, and it was a pleasantsurprise which greeted Miss Josephine when the train arrived, for outof it stepped a youth who was unmistakably a Turner. He was as tall asSam, but slighter, and as clean a looking boy as one would find in aday's journey. There was that, too, in the hand-clasp between thebrothers which proclaimed at once their flawless relationship.

  Miss Stevens was so relieved to find the younger Turner so presentablethat she took him into her friendship at once. He was that kind ofchap anyhow, and in the very first greeting she almost found herselfcalling him Jack. Just behind him, however, was a little, dried-up manwith a complexion the color of old parchment, with sandy, stubby hairshot with gray, and a stubby gray beard shot with red. His lips were awide straight line, as grim as judgment day. He walked with a slightstoop, but with a quick staccato step which betokened great nervousenergy, a quality which the alert expression of his beady eyesconfirmed with distinct emphasis.

  "Hello, Creamer!" hailed Sam to this gentleman. "I didn't expect tosee you here quite so soon."

  "You had every right to expect me," snapped the little man querulously."After all the experimenting I have done for you boys, you had everyreason to keep me posted on all your movements; and yet I reckon if Ihadn't been in your office yesterday evening when Jack said he wascoming down here, you would not have notified me until you had yourcompany all formed. Then I suppose you'd have written to tell me howmuch stock you had assigned to me. I'm going to be in on the formationof this company, and I'm going to have my say about it!"

  "Will you never get over that dyspepsia?" chided Sam easily. "Therewas no intention of leaving you out."

  "Just what I told him," declared Jack, turning from Miss Stevens tothem. "I have been swearing to him that as soon as we had found outto-day what we were to do I would have wired him at once."

  "You were quite right, Jack," approved Sam, opening the door of the carfor them, "and as a proof of it, Creamer, when you return to youroffice you will find there a letter postmarked yesterday, telling youour exact progress here, and warning you to be in readiness to come ontelegram."

  "All right, then," said Mr. Creamer, somewhat mollified, "but sincethat letter's there and I'm here, you might as well tell me what you'vedone."

  Sam stopped the proceedings long enough to introduce Creamer to MissStevens after he had closed the door upon them and had taken his ownseat by the chauffeur.

  "All right," he then said to Mr. Creamer, "I'll begin at the beginning."

  He began at the beginning. He told Mr. Creamer all the steps in thedevelopment of the company. He detailed to him the names of thegentlemen concerned, and their complete commercial histories, pausingto answer many pertinent side questions and observations from hisyounger brother, who proved to be as keen a student of business puzzlesas Sam himself.

  "That's all very well," said Mr. Creamer, "and now I'm here. I want toget away to-night: Can't we form that company to-day? At what figuredo you propose offering the original stock?"

  "The preferred at fifty, with a par value of a hundred," returned Sampromptly.

  "Common?" asked Mr. Creamer crisply.

  "One share of common with each two shares of preferred."

  "Eh! Well, I've twenty-five thousand dollars to put into this marshpulp business, if I can have any figure in the management. I want onthe board."

  "It's quite likely you'll be on the board," returned Sam. "We shallhave a very small list of subscribers, and the board will not beunwieldy if every investor is a director."

  "Voting power in the common stock?"

  "In the common stock," repeated Sam.

  "Do you intend to buy any preferred?" asked Creamer.

  "A hundred shares."

  "How much common do you expect to take out for your patents?"

  "Two hundred and fifty thousand," Sam answered without an instant'shesitation.

  "Never!" exclaimed Mr. Creamer. "The time for that's gone by, youngman, no matter how good your proposition is. It's too old a game. Youwon't handle my money with control in your hands. I have no objectionto letting you have two hundred thousand dollars worth of common stockout of the half million, because that will give you an incentive tomake the common worth par; but you shan't at any time have or be ableto acquire a share over two hundred and forty-nine thousand; not if Iknow anything about it! Can you call a meeting as soon as we getthere?"

  "I think so," replied Sam, with a more or less worried air. "I'll tryit. Tell you what I'll do. I'll run right on over to get Mr. Stevens,who wants to join the company, and in the meantime Mr. Westlake orPrinceman can round up the others."

  For the first time in that drive Miss Stevens had something to say, butshe said it with a briefness that was like a dash of cold water to thepreoccupied Sam.

  "Father is over there now, I think," she said.

  "Good," approved Mr. Creamer. "We can have a little direct businesstalk and wind up the whole affair before lunch. What time do we arriveat Meadow Brook?"

  "Before eleven o'clock."

  "That will give us two hours. Two hours is enough to form any company,when everybody knows exactly what he wants to do. Got a lawyer overthere?"

  "One of the best in the country."

  Miss Stevens sat in the center seat of the tonneau. Sam, in addressinghis remarks to the others and in listening to their replies, wascompelled to sweep his glance squarely across her, and occasionally inthese sweeps he paused to let his gaze rest upon her. She was a reliefto his eyes, a blessing to them! Miss Stevens, however, seldom
met anyof these glances. Very much preoccupied she was, looking at thepassing scenery and not seeing it.

  There had begun boiling and seething in Miss Stevens a feeling that shewas decidedly _de trop_, that these men could talk their absorbingbusiness more freely if she were not there; not because she embarrassedthem, but because she used up space! Nobody seemed to give her athought. Nobody seemed to be aware that she was present. They werealmost gaspingly engrossed in something far more important to them thanshe was. It was uncomplimentary, to say the least. She was not usedto playing "second fiddle" in any company. She was in the habit ofabsorbing the most of the attention in her immediate vicinity. Mr.Princeman or Mr. Hollis would neither one ignore her in that way, tosay nothing of Billy Westlake.

  She was glad when they reached Meadow Brook. Their whole talk had beenof marsh pulp, and company organization, and preferred and commonstock, and who was to get it, and how much they were to pay for it, andhow they were going to cut the throats of the wood pulp manufacturers,and how much profit they were going to make from the consumers and withall that, not a word for her. Not a single word! Not even an apology!Oh, it was atrocious! As soon as they drew up to the porch she rose,and before Sam could jump down to open the door of the tonneau she hadopened it for herself and sprung out.

  "I'll hunt up father right away for you," she stated courteously."Glad to have met you, Mr. Creamer. I presume I shall meet you again,Mr. Turner," she said to Jack. "Thank you so much for the ride," shesaid to Sam, and then she was gone.

  Sam looked after her blankly. It couldn't be possible that she was"huffy" about this business talk. Why, couldn't the girl see that thishad to do with the birth of a great big company, a million dollarcorporation, and that it was of vital importance to him? It meant theapex of a lifetime of endeavor. It meant the upbuilding of a fortune.Couldn't she see that he and his brother were two lone youngstersagainst all these shrewd business men, whose only terms of aiding themand floating this big company was to take their mastery of it away fromthem? Couldn't she understand what control of a million dollarorganization meant? He was not angry with Miss Stevens for herapparent attitude in this matter, but he was hurt. He was notimpatient with her, but he was impatient of the fact that she could notappreciate. Now the fat was in the fire again. He felt that. Underother circumstances he would have said that it was much more troublethan it was worth to keep in the good graces of a girl, but under thepresent circumstances--well, his heart had sunk down about a foot outof place, and he had a sort of faint feeling in the region of hisstomach. He was just about sick. He followed her in, just in time tosee the flutter of her skirts at the top of the stairway, but he couldnot call without making himself and her ridiculous. Confound things ingeneral!

  Mr. Stevens joined him while he was still looking into that blank holein the world.

  "Glad I happened to be here, Sam," said Stevens. "Jo tells me thatyour brother and Mr. Creamer have arrived and that you want to formthat company right away."

  "Yes," admitted Sam. "Was she sarcastic about it?"

  Mr. Stevens closed his eyes and laughed.

  "Not exactly sarcastic," he stated; "but she did allude to yourproposed corporation as 'that old company!'"

  "I was afraid so," said Sam ruefully.

  Stevens surveyed him in amusement for a moment, and then in pity.

  "Never mind, my boy," he said kindly. "You'll get used to these thingsby and by. It took me the first five years of my married life toconvince Mrs. Stevens that business was not a rival to her affections,when, if I'd only have known the recipe, I could have convinced her atthe start."

  "How did you finally do it?" asked Sam, vitally interested.

  "Made her my confidante and adviser," stated Stevens, smilingreminiscently.

  Sam shook his head.

  "Was that safe?" he asked. "Didn't she sometimes let out your secrets?"

  "Bosh!" exclaimed Stevens. "I'd rather trust a woman than a man, anyday, with a secret, business or personal. That goes for any woman;mother, sister, sweetheart, wife, daughter, or stenographer. Just givethem a chance to get interested in your game, and they're with youagainst the world."

  "Thanks," said Sam, putting that bit of information aside for futurepondering. "By the way, Mr. Stevens, before we join the others I'dlike to ask you how much stock you're going to carry in the Marsh PulpCompany."

  "Well," returned Mr. Stevens slowly, "I did think that if the thinglooked good on final analysis, I might invest twenty-five thousanddollars."

  "Can't you stretch that to fifty?"

  "Can't see it. But why? Don't you think you're going to fill yourlist?"

  "We'll fill our list all right," returned Sam. "As a matter of fact,that's what I'm afraid of. These fellows are going to pool theirstock, and hold control in their own hands. Now if I could get you toinvest fifty thousand and vote with me under proper emergency, I couldcontrol the thing; and I ought to. It is my own company. Seems to methese fellows are selfish about it. You think I'm a good business man,don't you?"

  "I certainly do," agreed Mr. Stevens emphatically.

  "Well, it stands to reason that if I have two hundred and sixtythousand dollars of common stock that isn't worth a picayune unless Imake it worth par, I'll hustle; and if I make my common stock worthpar, I'm making a fine, fat profit for these other fellows, to saynothing of the raising of their preferred stock from the value of fiftyto a hundred dollars a share, and their common from nothing to ahundred."

  "That's all right, Sam," returned Mr. Stevens; "but you'll work just ashard to make your common worth par if you only have two hundredthousand; and there's a growing tendency on the part of capital to beable to keep a string on its own money. Strange, but true."

  "All right," said Sam wearily. "We won't argue that point any morejust now; but will you invest fifty thousand?"

  "I can't promise," said Stevens, and he walked out on the porch. Muchworried, Sam followed him, and with many misgivings he introduced Mr.Stevens to his brother Jack and to Mr. Creamer. The prospectiveorganizers of the Marsh Pulp Company were already in solemn conclave onthe porch, with the single exception of Princeman, who was on the lawntalking most perfunctorily with Miss Josephine. That young lady, withwickedness of the deepest sort in her soul, was doing her best toentice Mr. Princeman into forgetting the important meeting, but as soonas Princeman saw the gathering hosts he gently but firmly tore himselfaway, very much to her surprise and indignation. Why, he had been asrude to her as Sam Turner himself, in placing the charms of businessabove her own! Immediately afterward she snubbed Billy Westlakeunmercifully. Had he the qualities which would go to make a successfulman in any walk of life? No!