Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 by Harold Bindloss (chrome ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Her Influence Felt.

"Not The Slightest," He Answered.  "You Can Take That For Granted."

His Visitor Pondered For A Moment Or Two; And Then He Crumpled The

Report In His Hand, Growing Red In The Face.

"You Seem Content With This Production.  It Looks As If You Had Meant

To Back Out."

Herbert Looked At Him Tranquilly.

"Well," He Said, "That's My Intention Now; And I Don't Think That You

Can Induce Me To Alter It.  I Can't See That We Would Be Justified In

Floating The Concern."

"But It Was You Who Suggested It And Led Us On!  What About The Money

We Have Already Spent?"

"It's Gone.  I'm Sorry, But Things Don't Always Turn Out Right.  When I

First Mentioned The Matter, The Prospects Looked Good; Investigation

Places Them In A Less Favorable Light, For Which You Can Hardly Hold Me

Responsible.  You Took A Business Risk."

The Other Man Angrily Flung The Report On The Table.

"This Has Been A Blow To Me, And I'm Far From Appreciating The Course

You've Taken.  But What About The Older Concern?  Though We Don't Seem

To Have Turned Out Much Rubber Yet, I Suppose Its Position Is Still

Satisfactory?"

Herbert Saw Suspicion In The Man's Face And He Rang A Bell.

"I Think You Had Better Satisfy Yourself; I Have The Necessary

Particulars Here."

He Indicated Some Books On A Neighboring Shelf; And Then Added, When A

Clerk Appeared:

"Will You Bring Me The Extract Of Our Working Expenses That I Asked You

To Make Out?"

The Clerk Came Back With A Sheet Of Figures, Which Herbert Handed To

His Visitor With One Of The Books, And The Man Spent Some Time

Carefully Examining Them.

"Everything Looks Satisfactory; I've No Fault To Find," He Said At

Length.  "But I Feel Very Sore About Your Giving Up The New

Undertaking."

"It Can't Be Helped," Explained Herbert.  "If It's Any Comfort To You,

I Dropped As Much Money Over Preliminary Expenses As You Did."

After A Little Further Conversation, His Visitor Left And Herbert

Resumed His Work.  On The Whole, The Interview Had Been Less

Embarrassing Than He Expected, And Though It Was Likely That The Rest

Of His Colleagues Would Call And Expostulate, He Was Ready To Meet

Them.  His Excuse For Abandoning The Project Was, On The Face Of It, A

Good One; But He Had No Thought Of Giving These Men, Who Were Largely

Interested In The Original Company, A Word Of Warning.  It Was

Undesirable That They Should Sell Their Shares Until He Had Disposed Of

His.  They Had, He Argued, The Same Opportunities For Forecasting The

Course Of The Market And Gaging The Trend Of Investors' Ideas As He

Enjoyed, And If They Did Not Make Use Of Them, It Was Their Fault.  The

Stock Had Reached A Satisfactory Premium, Which Was All That He Had

Promised; He Could Not Be Expected To Guarantee Its Remaining At The

High Level.

During The Next Three Or Four Weeks His Broker Sold Out His Shares In

Small Blocks, And When The Quantity Had Been Largely Reduced, Herbert

Decided That He Would Dispose Of Those He Had Purchased On George's

Account.  Though There Were Signs Of A Diminishing Interest In Such

Stock, Values Had Scarcely Begun To Fall, And Having Made His Position

Secure, He Did Not Wish His Cousin To Incur A Loss.  Accordingly He

Sent Instructions To Sell Another Lot Of Shares.

He Was Very Busy The Next Day When A Telegram Was Brought Him, But He

Sat Still For Some Minutes Considering It.  The Market, It Stated, Had

Suddenly Fallen Flat, And As Prices Were Giving Way Sharply, Further

Orders Were Requested.  The Change Herbert Had Foreseen Had Come A

Little Sooner Than He Had Expected.  He Still Held Some Shares, Which

He Had Thought Of Keeping, Because It Might, After All, Prove Judicious

To Retain A Degree Of Control In The Company, And Having Sold The Rest

At A Good Profit, A Moderate Fall In Their Value Would Be Of Less

Consequence.  The Drop, However, Was Marked, And He Decided To Further

Reduce The Quantity Standing In His Name, Instead Of Realizing Those

Belonging To His Cousin.  George Must Take His Chance; And The Market

Might Rally.  As A Result Of These Reflections He Wired His Broker To

Sell, And In A Few Hours Received An Answer.

"_Sale Effected Within Limit Given, Market Since Broken Badly, Expect

Slump_."

Herbert Saw That He Had Acted With Prudence, Though It Was Evident That

His Cousin Had Incurred A Serious Loss.  He Was Sorry For This, But It

Could Not Be Helped.

A Few Days Later He Was Sitting Beside The Fire At Home After His

Evening Meal When Sylvia Entered The Room In His Wife's Absence.  She

Stood Near The Hearth, Examining Some Embroidery In Her Hand, But She

Looked Up Presently, And It Became Evident That She Had Been Reading

The Papers.

"There Seems To Be A Sharp Fall In Rubber Shares," She Said.  "Will It

Affect You?"

"No," Replied Herbert, "Not Seriously."

"I Suppose That Means You Must Have Anticipated The Fall And Sold

Out--Unloaded, I Think You Call It--In Time?"

Herbert Did Not Wish To Discuss The Matter.  He Had Already Had One Or

Two Trying Interviews With His Business Colleagues, And The Opinions

They Had Expressed About Him Still Rankled In His Mind.  He Was Not

Particularly Sensitive, But The Subject Was An Unpleasant One.

"Something Of The Kind," He Answered.  "One Has To Take Precautions."

Sylvia Laughed.

"One Could Imagine Your Taking Them.  You're Not The Man To Be Caught

At A Disadvantage, Are You?"

"Well," He Said Dryly, "It's A Thing I Try To Avoid."

Sylvia Sat Down, As If She Meant To Continue The Conversation, Which

Was Far From What He Desired, But He Could Not Be Discourteous.

"Had George Any Shares In Your Company?" She Asked.

There Was No Way Of Avoiding A Reply, Without Arousing Her Suspicions;

Herbert Knew That She Was Keen-Witted And Persistent.

"Yes," He Said, "He Had A Quantity."

"Have Those Shares Been Sold?"

This Was A More Troublesome Question, But Herbert Was Compelled To

Answer.

"No; Not Yet.  It's Unfortunate That The Market Broke Before I Could

Get Rid Of Them, But It May Rally.  I'm Rather Disturbed About The

Matter; But, After All, One Has To Take One's Chance In Buying Shares.

Dealing In The Speculative Sorts Is To A Large Extent A Game Of Hazard."

"I Suppose So, But Then Somebody Must Win."

"No," Returned Herbert, "Now And Then Everybody Loses."

Sylvia Glanced At Him With A Mocking Smile.

"Even Those In The Inside Ring?  When That Happens, It Must Be

Something Like A Catastrophe.  But I'm Sorry For George; He Doesn't

Deserve This."

Herbert Could Not Deny It; But, To His Surprise, The Girl Leaned

Forward, Speaking In An Authoritative Tone.

"I Don't Know What You Can Do, But You Must Do Something To Get George

Out Of The Difficulty.  It's Obvious That You Led Him Into It--He Isn't

The Man To Go In For Rash Speculation; He Would Have Chosen Something

Safe."

It Was A Relief To Herbert That His Wife Came In Just Then; But, As He

Had Reason For Believing That She Would Not Remain, He Decided That He

Would Go Out And Post Some Letters.  Sylvia Seemed To Be In An

Inquisitive Mood, And He Did Not Wish To Be Left Alone With Her.

The Night Was Fine But Dark; In Places A Thin, Low-Lying Mist That Hung

Over The Meadows Obscured The Hedgerows, And It Grew More Dense As

Herbert Approached The River, Which Brawled Noisily Among The Stones.

The Man, However, Scarcely Noticed This; His Mind Was Occupied With

Other Matters.  Sylvia's Attitude Had Disturbed Him.  She Was Useful As

An Ally, But She Could Not Be Allowed To Criticize His Conduct Or To

Give Him Orders.  Moreover, He Had Reasons For Believing That Investors

In His Company Might Share Her Views, And He Looked For Serious Trouble

With Two Or Three Gentlemen Who Blamed Him For Their Losses, And Had So

Far Incivilly Refused To Be Pacified By His Explanations.

Herbert Was Of A Philosophic Disposition, And Realized That One Must

Not Expect Too Much.  Having Made A Handsome Profit, He Felt That He

Ought To Be Content, And Bear A Certain Amount Of Suspicion And

Contumely With Unruffled Good-Humor.  For All That, He Found It

Disagreeable To Be Looked Upon As A Trickster, And It Was Worse When

His Disgusted Associates Used More Offensive Epithets In His Presence.

He Was Considering How He Should Deal With Them When He Entered A

Thicker Belt Of Mist.  It Shut Him In So That He Could See Nothing

Ahead, But There Was A Strong Fence Between Him And The River, And He

Went On, Lost In Thought, Until The Mist Was Suddenly Illuminated And A

Bright Light Flashed Along The Road.  The Hoot Of A Motor-Horn Broke

Out Behind Him, And, Rudely Startled, He Sprang Aside.  He Was Too

Late; Somebody Cried Out In Warning, And The Next Moment He Was

Conscious Of A Blow That Flung Him Bodily Forward.  He Came Down With A

Crash; Something Seemed To Grind Him Into The Stones; There Was A

Stabbing Pain In His Side, And He Lost Consciousness.

Fortunately, The Big Car Was Promptly Stopped, And Two Men Sprang Down.

An Indistinct Object Lay Just Behind The Forward Pair Of Wheels, And In

Anxious Haste They Dragged It Clear And Into The Glare Of The Lamps.

Herbert's Hat Had Fallen Off; He Was Scarcely Breathing, And His Face

Was Ghastly White; But One Of The Men Recognized Him.

"It's Lansing," He Exclaimed.  "Seems Badly Hurt, Though I'd Nearly

Pulled Her Up When She Struck Him."

"He Was Dragged Some Way; Jacket Must Have Caught The Starting Crank Or

Something; But That Doesn't Matter Now."  He Raised His Voice.

"Dreadfully Sorry, Mr. Lansing; Can You Hear Me?"

There Was No Answer, And The Man Shook His Head.

"I'm Afraid This Is Serious."

His Companion Looked Unnerved, But He Roused Himself With An Effort.

"It Is, And We're Behaving Like Idiots, Wasting Time That May Be

Valuable.  Get Hold And Lift Him In; His House Is Scarcely A Mile Away."

They Had Some Difficulty In Getting The Unconscious Man Into The Car;

And Then Its Owner Backed It Twice Into A Bank Before He Succeeded In

Turning Round, But In Three Or Four Minutes They Carried Herbert Into

Brantholme, And Afterward Drove