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

"My Dear," He Said, "I Wish Most Devoutly That West Or Mrs. Lansing Had

Been Lame."

Sylvia Broke Into A Ripple Of Laughter, Which Somehow Seemed To Draw

Them Closer.  At Herbert's Gate They Separated, And Bland Walked On In

An Exultant Mood Which Was Broken By Fits Of Thoughtfulness.  Sylvia

Had Tacitly Pledged Herself To Him, But He Was Still Her Unacknowledged

Lover And The Position Was Irksome.  Then He Remembered Her

Collectedness, Which Had Been Rather Marked, But He Had Learned That

Emotion Is More Frequently Concealed Than Forcibly Expressed.

Moreover, He Had Never Imagined That Sylvia Was Wholly Free From

Faults; He Suspected That There Was A Vein Of Calculating Coldness In

Her, Though It Caused Him No Concern.  Bland Was A Man Of Experience

Who Had Acquired A Good-Humored Toleration With The Knowledge That One

Must Not Expect Too Much From Human Nature.

While Bland Was Being Driven To The Station, Sylvia Entered The Room

Where Herbert Lay, And Handed Him The Letter.

"Captain Bland Came In During The Evening To See Stephen And Sent You

This," She Said.  "He Told Me You Were To Do What You Thought Fit With

It."

Herbert Perused The Letter, And Then Reaching Out With Some Difficulty,

Flung It Into The Fire.

"I've Taken Him At His Word," He Said.  "Have You Read The Thing?"

"No; I Fear The Details Would Have Puzzled Me; But I Understand Its

General Import.  How Was It Your Secretary Was So Careless?"

Herbert Smiled.

"The Man's Smart Enough, As A Rule; But We All Have Our Weak Moments.

This, However, Is Not The Kind Of Thing That's Likely To Lead To His

Advancement."  He Lay Quiet For A Moment Or Two; And Then Went On: "I'm

Grateful To You.  Had You Much Trouble In Persuading Bland To Let You

Have The Letter?"

"No; He Offered It Voluntarily."

"Then The Man Must Have Been Desperately Anxious To Please You.  It

Looks As If His Condition Were Getting Serious."

"I Resent Coarseness," Exclaimed Sylvia.

Herbert Laughed.

"Oh," He Said, "You And I Can Face The Truth.  As West's A Lawyer,

Bland's Visit To Him Is, Of Course, Significant; The Man Knew That

Letter Might Have Been Worth Something In Hard Cash To Him, As Well As

Affording Him The Satisfaction Of Making Things Hot For The Directors

Of The Company, Among Whom I Was Included.  He Would Hardly Have Parted

With It Unless He Had A Strong Inducement."

"His Motives Don't Concern You," Retorted Sylvia.

"You Ought To Appreciate His Action."

"I Appreciate It As Sincerely As I Do Yours, Because You Must Have

Shown That You Didn't Want Him To Use The Letter, Though I'm Inclined

To Think Your Motives Were Rather Mixed; One Could Scarcely Expect Them

All To Be Purely Benevolent."

Sylvia Smiled.  He Was Keen-Witted And She Found Something Amusing In

The Ironical Good-Humor Which Often Characterized Him.

"Anyhow," He Continued, "You're A Staunch And Capable Ally, And As That

Gives You A Claim On Me, You Won't Find Me Reluctant To Do My Part

Whenever The Time Comes."

Then Mrs. Lansing Came In, And On The Whole Sylvia Was Glad Of The

Interruption.  Herbert's Remarks Were Now And Then Unpleasantly

Suggestive.  He Had Called Her His Ally, But She Felt More Like His

Accomplice, Which Was Much Less Flattering.

It Was A Wet And Chilly Night, And Singleton Sat In An Easy Chair

Beside The Hearth In His City Quarters With An Old Pipe In His Hand.

The Room Was Shabbily Furnished, The Hearthrug Had A Hole In It, The

Carpet Was Threadbare, And Singleton's Attire Harmonized With His

Surroundings, Though The Box Of Cigars And One Or Two Bottles And

Siphons On The Table Suggested That He Expected Visitors.  The Loose

Tuxedo Jacket He Had Bought In America Was Marked By Discolored

Patches; His Carpet Slippers Were Dilapidated.  His Means, Though Long

Restricted, Would Have Warranted Better Accommodations; But His Clothes

Were Comfortable And He Did Not Think It Worth While To Put On Anything

Smarter.  There Was A Vein Of Rather Bitter Pride In The Man, And He

Would Not, Out Of Deference To Any Other Person's Views, Alter

Conditions That Suited Him.

A Notebook Lay Beside Him And Several Bulky Treatises On Botany Were

Scattered About, But He Had Ceased Work And Was Thinking.  After The

Shadow And Silence Of The Tropical Bush, To Which He Was Most

Accustomed, The Rattle Of The Traffic In The Wet Street Below Was

Stimulating; But His Reflections Were Not Pleasant.  He Had Waited

Patiently For Another Invitation To Lansing's House, Which Had Not

Arrived, And A Day Or Two Ago He Had Met Sylvia Marston, Upon Whom His

Mind Had Steadily Dwelt, In A Busy Street.  She Had Bowed To Him

Courteously, But She Had Made It Clear That She Did Not Expect Him To

Stop And Speak.  It Had Been A Bitter Moment To Singleton, But He Had

Calmly Faced The Truth.  He Had Served His Purpose, And He Had Been

Dropped.  Now, However, A Letter From One Of The People He Was

Expecting Indicated That He Might Again Be Drawn Into The

Rubber-Exploiting Scheme.

The Two Gentlemen Who Had Called On Herbert Were Shown In Presently.

"It Was I Who Wrote You," The First Of Them Said; "This Is My

Colleague, Mr. Nevis."

Singleton Bowed.

"Will You Take That Chair, Mr. Jackson?"  He Turned To The Other Man.

"I Think You Had Better Have This One; It's Comparatively Sound."

He Was Aware That They Were Looking About His Apartment Curiously, And

No Doubt Inferring Something From Its Condition; But This Was Of No

Consequence.  He Had Learned His Value And Meant To Insist On It,

Without The Assistance Of Any Signs Of Prosperity.

"I Couldn't Get Up To Town, As You Suggested," He Resumed When They

Were Seated.  "I've Been Rather Busy Of Late."

"That's Generally The Case With Us," Jackson Said Pointedly.

He Was A Thin Man, Very Neatly And Quietly Dressed, With A Solemn Face

And An Air Of Importance.  Nevis Was Stouter And More Florid, With A

Brisker Manner, But The Stamp Of The City Was Plainly Set On Both.

"Well," Said Singleton, "I'm At Your Service, Now You're Here.  The

Cigars Are Nearest You, Mr. Nevis, And I Can Recommend The Contents Of

The Smaller Bottle.  It's A Southern Speciality And Rather Difficult To

Get In England."

Nevis Hesitated.  He Thought It Better That The Interview Should Be

Conducted On Strictly Business Lines, While To Accept The Proffered

Hospitality Would Tend To Place Him And The Man He Wished To Deal With

On A Footing Of Social Equality.  But It Was Desirable Not To Offend

Singleton, And He Lighted A Cigar.

"To Begin With, I Must Ask If You Are Still In Any Way Connected With

Mr. Lansing?" He Said.

"No," Answered Singleton With Some Grimness.  "You Can Take It For

Granted That He Has Done With Me."

"That Clears The Ground.  We Have Been Considering The Report You Wrote

For Him.  In Our Opinion, It Was, While Not Encouraging, Hardly

Sufficient To Warrant His Abandoning The Project, In Which, As You Have

Been Told, We Were Associated With Him."

"He May Have Had Other Motives," Singleton Suggested.

Nevis Nodded Gravely, As If In Appreciation Of His Keenness.

"That," He Said, "Is What Occurred To Us.  But What Is Your Idea Of The

Scheme?"

"It's Clearly Stated In The Report."

Jackson Made A Sign Of Impatience.

"We'll Leave The Report Out And Come To The Point.  Can The Rubber,

Which You Say Is Really To Be Found, Be Collected And Brought Down To

The Coast Without Incurring A Prohibitive Expense?"

"Yes," Said Singleton.  "But You Must Understand Me.  The Methods

Generally Adopted In Such Cases Would Be Bound To Fail.  You Would

Require An Overseer With Rather Exceptional Technical Knowledge, Who

Must, Besides This, Be Quite Free From The Usual Prejudices On The

Native Question.  They Would, No Doubt, Be A Little Difficult To Avoid,

Since At First He Would Have To Put Up With A Few Attempts Upon His

Life; But, If He Could Combine Resolution And Strict Justice With A

Conciliatory Attitude, The Attempt Would Cease, And I Think He Could

Earn You A Fair Return On A Moderate Outlay."

Jackson Laughed.

"So Far As My Experience Goes, Such Men Are Scarce.  But I'd Better Say

That We Had You In Mind When We Made This Visit.  Do You Think You

Could Do Anything, If We Sent You Out?"

"Yes," Said Singleton Quietly; "I Believe I Could Make The Venture Pay.

Whether I'd Think It Worth While Is Another Matter."

"Then," Nevis Interposed, "It's Simply A Question Of Terms?"

"Oh, No.  You May Be Surprised