The Early Bird: A Business Man's Love Story

by George Randolph Chester

  CHAPTER VI

  IN WHICH THE SUMMER LOAFER ORDERS SOME MARASCHINO CHOCOLATES

  Before Sam had his breakfast the next morning, he sat in his room withsome figures with which Blackrock and Cuthbert had provided him theevening before. He cast them up and down and crosswise and diagonally,balanced them and juggled them and sorted them and shifted them, untilat last he found the rat hole, and smiling grimly, placed those pagesof neat figures in a small letter file which he took from his trunk.One thing was certain: the Meadow Brook capitalists were highlyinterested in his plan, or they would never go to the trouble todevise, so early in the game, a scheme for gaining control of the marshpulp corporation. Well, they were the exact people he wanted.

  Immediately after breakfast Miss Stevens telephoned over to thank himfor his beautiful roses, and he had the pleasure of letting her know,quite incidentally, that he had gone down to the rose-beds and pickedout each individual blossom himself, which, of course, accounted fortheir excellence. Also he suggested coming over that morning for abrief walk.

  No, she was very sorry, but she was just making ready to go outhorseback riding with Mr. Hollis, who, by the way, was an excellentrider; but they would be back from their canter about ten-thirty, andif Mr. Turner cared to come over for a game of tennis before luncheon,why--

  "Sorry I can't do it," returned Mr. Turner with the deepest of genuineregret in his tone. "My kid brother is sending me some samples of pulpand paper which will arrive at about eleven o'clock, and I have calleda meeting of some interested parties here to examine them at abouteleven."

  "Business again," she protested. "I thought you were on a vacation."

  "I am," he assured her in surprise. "I never lazied around so orfrittered up so much time in my life; and I'm enjoying every second ofmy freedom, too. I tell you, it's fine. But say, this meeting won'ttake over an hour. Why can't I come over right after lunch?"

  She was very sorry, this time a little less regretfully, that afterluncheon she had an engagement with Mr. Princeman to play a match gameof croquet. But, and here she relented a trifle, they were getting upa hasty, informal dance over at Hollis Creek for that evening. Wouldhe come over?

  He certainly would, and he already spoke for as many dances as shewould give him.

  "I'll give you what I can," she told him; "but I've already promisedthree of them to Billy Westlake, who is a divine dancer."

  Sam Turner was deeply thoughtful as he turned away from the telephone.Hollis was a superb horseback rider. Billy Westlake was a divinedancer. Princeman, he had learned from Miss Stevens, who had spokenwith vast enthusiasm, was a base-ball hero. Hollis and Princeman andWestlake were crack bowlers, also crack tennis players, and no doubtall three were even expert croquet players. It was easy to see thesort of men she admired. Sam Turner only knew one recipe to getthings, and he had made up his mind to have Miss Stevens. He promptlysought Miss Westlake.

  "Do you ride?" he wanted to know.

  "Not as often as I'd like," she said.

  Really, she had half promised to go driving with Tilloughby, but it wasnot an actual promise, and if it were she was quite willing to get outof it, if Mr. Turner wanted her to go along, although she did not sayso. Young Tilloughby was notoriously an impossible match. Butpossibly Mr. Tilloughby and Miss Hastings might care to join the party.She suggested it.

  "Why, certainly," said Sam heartily. "The more the merrier," which wasnot the thing she wanted him to say.

  Tilloughby, a trifle disappointed yet very gracious, consented to ridein place of drive, and Miss Hastings was only too delighted; entirelytoo much so, Miss Westlake thought. Accordingly they rode, and Saminsisted on lagging behind with Miss Westlake, which she took to be ofconsiderable significance, and exhibited a very obvious flutteringabout it. Sam's motive, however, was to watch Tilloughby in thesaddle, for in their conversation it had developed that Tilloughby wasa very fair rider; and everything that he saw Tilloughby do, Sam did.En route they met Hollis and Miss Stevens, cantering just where theBald Hill road branched off, and the cavalcade was increased to six.Once, in taking a narrow cross-cut down through the woods, Sam had thefelicity of riding beside Miss Stevens for a moment, and she put herhand on his horse and patted its glossy neck and admired it, while Samadmired the hand. He felt, in some way or other, that riding for thatten yards by her side was a sort of triumph over Hollis, until he sawher dash up presently by the side of Hollis again and chat brightlywith that young gentleman.

  Thereafter Sam quit watching Tilloughby and watched Hollis. Curly-headwas an accomplished rider, and Sam felt that he himself cut but anawkward figure. In reality he was too conscious of his defects. Bystrict attention he was proving himself a fair ordinary rider, but whenHollis, out of sheer showiness, turned aside from the path to jump hishorse over a fallen tree, and Miss Stevens out of bravado followed him,Sam Turner well-nigh ground his teeth, and, acting upon the impulse, hetoo attempted the jump. The horse got over safely, but Sam went acropper over his head, and not being a particle hurt had to endure thegood-natured laughter of the balance of them. Miss Stevens seemed asmuch amused as any one! He had not caught her look of fright as hefell nor of concern as he rose, nor could he estimate that her laughwas a mild form of hysteria, encouraged because it would deceive. Whatan ass he was, he savagely thought, to exhibit himself before her in anattempt like that, without sufficient preparation! He must ride everymorning, by himself.

  Miss Josephine and Mr. Hollis were bound for the Bald Hill circle, andthey insisted, the insistence being largely on the part of MissStevens, on the others accompanying them; but Mr. Turner's engagementat eleven o'clock would not admit of this, and reluctantly he took MissHastings back with him, leaving Miss Westlake and young Tilloughby togo on. The arrangement suited him very well, for at least Hollis' ridewith Miss Stevens would not be a tete-a-tete. Miss Westlake strove tolet him understand as plainly as she could that she was only going withMr. Tilloughby because of her previous semi-engagement with him--andthere seemed a coolness between Miss Westlake and Miss Hastings as theyseparated. Miss Hastings did her best on the way back to console Mr.Turner for the absence of Miss Westlake. Vivacious as she always was,she never was more so than now, and before Sam knew it he had engagedhimself with her to gather ferns in the afternoon.

  Upon his arrival at Meadow Brook, he found his express package and alsoa couple of important letters awaiting him, and immediately held on theporch a full meeting of the tentative Marsh Pulp Company. In thatmeeting he decided on four things: first, that these hard-headed men ofbusiness were highly favorable to his scheme; second, that Princemanand Cuthbert, who knew most about paper and pulp, were so profoundlyimpressed with his samples that they tried to conceal it from him;third, that Princeman, at first his warmest adherent, was now moststubbornly opposed to him, not that he wished to prevent forming thecompany, but that he wished to prevent Sam's having his own way;fourth, that the crowd had talked it over and had firmly determinedthat Sam should not control their money. Princeman was especiallysevere.

  "There is no question but that these samples are convincing of theirown excellence," he admitted; "but properly to estimate the value ofboth pulp and paper, it would be necessary to know, by rigidexperiment, the precise difficulties of manufacture, to say nothing ofthe manner in which these particular specimens were produced."

  Mr. Princeman's words had undoubted weight, casting, as they did, aclammy suspicion upon Sam's samples.

  "I had thought of that," confessed Mr. Turner, "and had I not beenprepared to meet such a natural doubt, to say nothing of such a naturalinsinuation, I should never have submitted these samples. Mr.Princeman, do you know G. W. Creamer of the Eureka Paper Mills?"

  Mr. Princeman, with a wince, did, for G. W. Creamer and the EurekaPaper Mills were his most successful competitors in the manufacture ofspecial-priced high-grade papers. Mr. Cuthbert also knew Mr. Creamerintimately.

  "Good," said Sam; "then Mr. Creamer's letter will have
some weight,"and he turned it over to Mr. Blackrock. That gentleman, setting hisspectacles astride his nose and assuming his most profoundlyprofessional air, read aloud the letter in which Mr. Creamer thankedTurner and Turner for reposing confidence enough in him to reveal theirprocess and permit him to make experiments, and stated, with manyconvincing facts and figures, that he had made several separate samplesof the pulp in his experimental shop, and from the pulp had made paper,samples of which he enclosed under separate cover, stating further thatthe pulp could be manufactured far cheaper than wood pulp, and that thequality of the paper, in his estimation, was even superior; and whenthe company was formed, he wished to be set down for a good, fat blockof stock.

  Having submitted exhibit A in the form of his brother's samples of pulpand paper, exhibit B in the form of Mr. Creamer's letter, and exhibit Cin the form of Mr. Creamer's own samples of pulp and paper, Mr. Turnerrested quite comfortably in his chair, thank you.

  "This seems to make the thing positive," admitted Mr. Princeman. "Mr.Turner, would you mind sending some samples of your material to myfactory with the necessary instructions?"

  "Not at all," replied Sam suavely. "We would be pleased indeed to doso, just as soon as our patents are allowed."

  "Pending that," suggested Mr. Westlake placidly, looking out over thebrook, "why couldn't we organize a sort of tentative company? Whycouldn't we at least canvass ourselves and see how much of Mr. Turner'sstock we would take up among us?"

  "That is," put in Mr. Cuthbert, screwing the remark out of himselfsidewise, "provided the terms of incorporation and promotion weresatisfactory to us."

  "I have already drawn up a sort of preliminary proposition, afterconsultation with our friends here," Mr. Blackrock now stated, "andpurely as a tentative matter it might be read."

  "Go right ahead," directed Sam. "I'm a good listener."

  Mr. Blackrock slowly and ponderously read the proposed plan ofincorporation. Sam rose and looked at his watch.

  "It won't do," he announced sharply. "That whole thing, in accordancewith the figures you submitted me last night, is framed up for the solepurpose of preventing my ever securing control, and if I do not have achance, at least, at control, I won't play."

  "You seem to be very sure of that," said Mr. Princeman, surveying himcoldly; "but there is another thing equally sure, and that is that youcan not engage capital in as big an enterprise as this on any basiswhich will separate the control and the money."

  "I'm going to try it, though," retorted Sam. "If I can't separate thecontrol and the money I suppose I'll have to put up with the best termsI can get. If you will let me have that prospectus of yours, Mr.Blackrock, I'll take it up to my room and study it, and draw up acounter prospectus of my own."

  "With pleasure," said Mr. Blackrock, handing it over courteously, andMr. Turner rose.

  "I'll say this much, Sam," stated Mr. Westlake, who seemed to havegrown more friendly as Mr. Princeman grew cooler; "if you can get aproposition upon which we are all agreed, I'll take fifty thousand ofthat stock myself, at fifty."

  "As a matter of fact, Mr. Turner," added Mr. Cuthbert, "including yourfriend Creamer, who insists upon being in, I imagine that we canfinance your entire company right in this crowd--if the terms areright."

  "Nothing would give me greater pleasure, I'm sure," said Mr. Turner,and bowed himself away.

  In place of going to his room, however, he went to the telegraphoffice, and wired his brother in New York:

  "How are you coming on with pulp company stock subscription?"

  The telegraph office was in one corner of the post-office, which wasalso a souvenir room, with candy and cigar counters, and as he turnedaway from the telegraph desk he saw Princeman at the candy counter.

  "No, I don't care for any of these," Princeman was saying. "If youhaven't maraschino chocolates I don't want any."

  Sam immediately stepped back to the telegraph desk and sent anotherwire to his brother:

  "Express fresh box maraschino chocolates to Miss Josephine StevensHollis Creek Inn enclose my card personal cards in upper right-handpigeonhole my desk."

  Then he went up-stairs to get ready for lunch. Immediately afterluncheon he received the following wire from his brother:

  "Stock subscription rotten everybody likes scheme but object to ourcontrol but no hurry why don't you rest maraschinos shippedcongratulate you."