something deferential in the tone used by Parkes when he enunciated the
phrase "my lord," which Stranleigh did not like. Neither phrase nor tone
would have been used by any person in his own circle of acquaintance
addressing another in the same set. His former distrust was again
aroused. As he remained silent, Parkes went on--
"You need not take my word for the automobile, which after all is the
crux of the situation. I have one of them here in New York. I tested it
very fully on the way from Detroit to this city, travelling in it the
whole distance. Let me take you for a drive. You doubtless know all
about a motor-car, for I was told in London that you owned at least a
dozen of them."
"I daresay it's true. I'm not sure. Nevertheless, I am so unfortunate as
to have only a slight knowledge of their mechanics. I have driven a good
deal, but not being so energetic as Prince Henry of Prussia, I leave
details to my chauffeurs."
"Very good. You are doubtless well acquainted with the merits of a car
from the owner's point of view. Come out with me in this Detroit motor,
and I will be your chauffeur, or you may drive the machine yourself, if
you remember that in this country you keep to the right side of the
road."
Thus the appointment was made, and was kept by Lord Stranleigh. At the
end of his run, he said to Parkes--
"The car seems to be a satisfactory piece of construction, but I own two
or three American cars in London, any one of which, I think, is equally
good; in fact, as Mark Twain said about his Jumping Frog--'I see no
points about this frog different from any other frog.' However, I will
consider your proposal, and will let you know the result. Meanwhile,
many thanks for a most interesting ride."
Stranleigh sauntered down town, and entered a cable office.
"Can I send a message to London, and leave a deposit here for the reply,
that it may not cost my London friend anything?"
"Certainly, sir."
Stranleigh wrote--
"Duke of Rattleborough, Camperdown Club, London.
"A man calling himself Wentworth Parkes presented a letter
of introduction from you to me. Please cable whether or not
he is reliable."
Two days later, Stranleigh received a reply--
"Letter a forgery. Parkes was my valet for three years, then
bolted, leaving a lot of little things behind him, but not
if they were portable and valuable. Believe he is now
abroad, though the London police are yearning for him.
RATTLEBOROUGH."
Now began the persistent pursuit of Stranleigh, which culminated in his
sending Ponderby down to the steamship office to buy tickets for
England. The young man said nothing to anyone of the cablegram he had
received, nor did he inform the police of London the whereabouts of
their quarry. He rather pitied the poor wretch, as he called him, but he
had no use for a thief and a liar, so he refused to hold further
communication with him, or to make any explanation. Parkes, finding he
could not gain admission to Stranleigh, took to sending letters by
special messenger, first adopting an aggrieved tone, a reproachful
suggestion of injured innocence running through his correspondence
like a minor note in a piece of music; then he became the victim of
an unscrupulous millionaire, asserting that Stranleigh had promised
to finance the proposed company, and breathing threats of legal
proceedings. Indeed, as the recipient read these later communications,
he realised they were evidently written with a view to publicity in law
courts, for there emanated from them sentiments of great patriotism. The
United States, Stranleigh learned, would not put up with his villainy,
as would have been the case with legal proceedings in decadent England,
where judges were under the thumb of a debased aristocracy.
Stranleigh had no ambition to appear in the courts of either country, so
he removed from one hotel to another, but apparently he was watched, for
Parkes ran him down wherever he betook himself. Thus we come to the
moment when the sedate but overjoyed Ponderby returned with the
steamship tickets, which Stranleigh thrust into his pocket.
"Shall I pack up now, my lord?"
"I wish you would. The valet of the hotel will assist you. Prepare three
boxes; one for yourself and two for me, filling mine with such clothing
as I should take were I going to visit a friend in the country for a
week or two. Place the other luggage in charge of the manager of the
hotel, and say I will telegraph when I make up my mind where it is to be
sent."
And then, to Ponderby's amazement, the young man left for Boston, and
took passage in the steamer for St. John, New Brunswick.
"You see, Ponderby," said his lordship, when they got out into the
ocean, "the estimable Parkes, if he is watching us, is already aware
that you have booked for Southampton. He may possibly set the law in
motion, and appear with some emissaries thereof aboard the liner before
she sails, so we might be compelled to remain in this country which he
so ardently loves."
"But the steamship tickets, my lord? They cost a lot of money."
"Quite so, my economical Ponderby, but remember for your consolation
that when you step ashore from this boat, you will be under the British
flag. You may telegraph to the company and tell them to sell the
tickets, meanwhile sending them by post to New York. Here they are.
Whatever money the company returns, is to be retained by you further to
mitigate your disappointment. I have no doubt that in thus bolting for
Canada you feel like a culprit escaping from justice, but we are only
escaping from Parkes. Having pestered me as much about Detroit as he has
done, that city will be the last place in which he is likely to look for
me. We are making for Detroit, Ponderby, by the most roundabout route I
could choose, seeing that the Panama Canal is not yet open, and thus I
am unable to reach the autometropolis by way of San Francisco."
After passing through Canada, Lord Stranleigh settled himself very
comfortably in a luxurious suite of rooms situated near the top storey
of a luxurious hotel in the city of the Straits, under the assumed
commonplace name of Henry Johnson. The windows of his apartment afforded
wide and interesting views of skyscrapers and noble public edifices,
with a wilderness of roofs extending towards the misty horizon to the
west, north, and east, while to the south flowed the majestic river, its
blue surface enlivened by stately steamers and picturesque sailing
craft.
The gloomy valet did not share his master's admiration of the scene.
Ponderby was heart and soul a Londoner, and although forced to admit
that the Thames was grey and muddy, and its shipping for the most part
sombre and uncouth, that tidal water remained for him the model of all
other streams. He was only partially consoled by the fact that five
cents brought him across to the Canadian shore, where he might inhale
deep breaths of air that fluttered the Union Jack.
Stranleigh, confident that he had shaken off pursuit, enjoyed himself in
a thoroughly democratic manner, sailing up stream and down, on one of
the pearl white passenger boats, that carried bands which played the
immortal airs of Sousa.
He began his second week in Detroit by engaging a motor to make a tour
of the motor manufacturing district. He was amazed at the size and
extent of the buildings, and recognised, among the names painted
thereon, the designation of cars that were familiar to him. He had come
to believe Parkes such an untruthful person, that he had taken a big
discount from everything he said, and so was unprepared to find the
reality far in advance of the description. However, he saw no sign
bearing the name of the Sterling Motor Company, so asked his chauffeur
to convey him thither. The chauffeur, pondering a moment, was forced to
admit that he had never heard of the firm.
"Then be so good," requested Stranleigh, "as to drop into one of these
offices and enquire. It is likely that someone will know the names of
all other companies in the same line of manufacture."
"I don't doubt," said the chauffeur, "that they know all about it, but
it wouldn't be business to direct a possible customer to a rival firm."
Stranleigh smiled.
"I have not been in this country so long as you have," he said, "but I
think you will find an American business man ignores rivalry when he has
an opportunity of doing an act of courtesy."
The chauffeur drew up at a huge factory and went inside. Returning very
promptly, he informed his fare that they knew of no Sterling Motor
Company, but there was in Woodbridge Street a young engineer named J. E.
Sterling, who, they believed, made motor-cars.
"J. E. Sterling! That's the man I want. Where is Woodbridge Street?"
"Right away down town; next door, as you might say, to the river front."
"Very good; we'll go there. Just drive past Mr. Sterling's place, for if
I do not like the look of it I shall not go in."
By and by they turned into Woodward Avenue, and raced down town at a
speed which Stranleigh thought must surely exceed the legal limit, if
there was one. Woodbridge Street proved to be crowded with great
lumbering trucks, loaded with vegetables for the most part, and among
these vehicles the chauffeur threaded his way cautiously. They passed a
small, rather insignificant shop, above whose window was painted--
"J. E. STERLING. Motor Engineer. Repairs
promptly executed. Satisfaction guaranteed."
When the chauffeur came to a halt a little further on, Stranleigh said--
"The place doesn't look very inviting, but as Mr. Sterling guarantees
satisfaction, I think it but right to call upon him. I sha'n't need you
any more to-day."
The door being open, Stranleigh walked in unannounced. A two-seated
runabout, evidently brand new, stood by the window, where it could be
viewed by passers-by. Further down the room rested a chassis, over which
two men, one middle-aged and the other probably twenty-five, were
bending, with tools in their hands. They were dressed in grease-stained
blue overalls, and they looked up as Stranleigh entered.
"I wish to see Mr. J. E. Sterling," he said.
"My name is Sterling," replied the younger man, putting down his tools,
and coming forward.
"I understood," went on Stranleigh, "that there was a Sterling Motor Car
Company."
"There will be," answered the young man confidently, "but that's in the
sweet by and by. It hasn't materialised so far. What can I do for you?"
"Well, you can give me some information regarding J. E. Sterling. I want
to learn if it tallies with what I have heard."
The young man laughed.
"It depends on who has been talking about me. I daresay you have been
told things that might require explanation."
"I heard nothing but praise," his lordship assured him. "It was said you
were the true successor of Thomas Alva Edison."
Sterling laughed even more heartily than before.
"I'm afraid they were getting at you. A man may be a creditable
inventor, and a good, all-round engineer without being able to hold a
candle to Edison. Are you looking for an automobile?"
"No; as I told you at first, I am looking for J. E. Sterling."
"I was going to say that I am not yet prepared to supply cars. I do
repairing and that sort of thing, merely to keep the wolf from the door,
and leave me a little surplus to expend in my business. My real work,
however, is experimenting, and when I am able to turn out a machine that
satisfies me, my next business will be to form a company, for one can't
do anything in this trade without capital."
"The competition must be intense."
"It is, but there's always room for a first-rate article, and the
production of a first-rate article is my ambition."
"Is that your work in the window?"
"Yes."
"Does it come up to your expectations?"
The young man's face grew serious; his brow wrinkled almost into a
frown, and he remained silent for a few moments.
"Well, I can't exactly say that it does," he answered at last, "still, I
think the faults I have found can be remedied with a little patience. On
the other hand, I fear the improvement I have put in this car may not
be as great as I thought when I was working at it."
Lord Stranleigh looked at the young man with evident approval; his
frankness and honesty commended themselves to him.
"Do you mind showing me your improvement and explaining its function?"
"Not at all. You will remember, however, that this exhibition is
confidential, for I have not yet patented the mechanism."
"I shall not mention to anyone what you show me. You asked me a moment
ago if I wished to buy an automobile, and I said I did not. I have made
a little money in my time, but mostly, it seems to me, by flukes. I do
not pretend to be a business man, yet such is the conceit of humanity
that I wish to invest some of my money to back my own judgment. If I
lose the cash, it won't cripple me to any appreciable extent. On the
other hand, should the investment prove satisfactory, I shall have more
faith in my judgment than has hitherto been the case. In any event, I
promise to assist you in the formation of your company."
"That's all right!" cried the young engineer, with enthusiasm. "My own
judgment of men is frequently at fault, but somehow I'd stake my bottom
dollar on you. Come over to the window, and I'll show you how the wheels
go round."
The two men approached the car in the window, and as they did so a third
person on the pavement outside stopped suddenly, and regarded them with
evident astonishment. Neither of those inside saw him, but if one or the
other had looked through the glass, he would have recognised the
sinister face of Wentworth Parkes who, having satisfied himself as to
the visitor's identity, turned away and retraced his steps.
Sterling lifted up a leather curtain which hung down in front from the
passenger's seat and disclosed a line of three upright pegs, rising two
or three inches from the floor of the car. They were concealed when the
curtain was lowered.
"If you give the matter any thought," said Sterling, "you will discover
that the passenger in an automobile is in rather a helpless position.
His chauffeur may faint, or even die at his wheel from heart failure, as
has been the case in several instances I know of, or he may be drunk,
and therefore unreasonable or obstinate, driving the car with danger to
all concerned, yet if his master attempt to displace him while the car
is going at high speed, disaster is certain. Now, the centre peg here
will stop the engine and put on the brakes. A pressure by the foot on
the right-hand peg turns the car to the right; and on the left-hand to
the left. In the ordinary car the passenger can do nothing to save
himself, but here he may stop the car dead, or, if he prefers it, may
disconnect the steering wheel, and guide the car at his will."
"Why, I think that's an excellent device!" cried Stranleigh.
"I thought so, too, but there are disadvantages. The crises in which it
could be brought to play are rare. As a general rule, a chauffeur is
much more to be trusted than the owner, and if the owner happens to be a
nervous man, he might interfere, with deplorable results."
"Yes," said Stranleigh, "it's like the pistol in Texas. You may not need
it, but when you do you want it very badly. Has anyone else seen this
contrivance?"
"No one except my assistant."
"Could you lend me this car to-morrow?"
"Certainly."
"Then place the car in charge of a competent chauffeur, who knows
nothing of your safety device, and send it up to my hotel at eleven
o'clock. Tell him to ask for Henry Johnson. I'll take a little trip into
the country, where I can test the car on some unfrequented road."
"Better cross the river to Canada," said Sterling, with a smile. "Things
are quiet over there."
"Very well," agreed Stranleigh. "You are a busy man, and I have taken up
a considerable amount of your time. You must allow me to pay you for
it."
The young man's face grew red underneath its spots of grease, and he
drew back a step.
"You have spent your own time to an equal amount, so we'll allow one
expenditure to balance the other."
"My time is of no account. I'm a loafer."
"I could not accept any money, sir."
The two looked at one another for a moment, and gentlemen understand
each other even though one wears the greasy clothes of a mechanic.
"I beg your pardon," said Stranleigh, softly. "Now, let me ask you one
question. Have you given an option on this business to anyone?"
Sterling glanced up in surprise.
"Why, yes, I did give an option to an Englishman. By the way, you're
English, are you not?"
"I was born over there."
"This Englishman wasn't your sort. He was a most plausible talker, and
as I told you, my judgment of men is sometimes at fault. I gave him
an option for two months, but I think all he wanted was to get an
automobile for nothing. He said he represented a syndicate of English
capitalists, some of whom were in New York, and he borrowed the only car
I had completed at that time. That was four months ago. Like the
preacher after the futile collection, I wanted to get back my hat at
least, but although I wrote letter after letter, I never received any
answer. It wasn't worth my while to set the police on his track, so I
tried to forget him, and succeeded until you spoke of an option just
now."
"That agreement lapsed two months ago?"
"Yes."
"Then write out an option for me, good for a week. I'll pay you five
hundred dollars down, to be forfeited if I fail to do what I promise."
"I'll give you the document with pleasure, but it is unnecessary to make
a deposit."
"This is business, you know, Mr. Sterling. You are pretending you are as
bad a business man as I am. I don't know much about the law of America,
but I think you will find that unless a deposit is made, your instrument
would be invalid in a court of law. There must be value received, I
believe, when a bargain is made."
"All right," said Sterling, "but I'll give you back your money if you
regret the deal."
He went to a desk in the corner, and wrote out the agreement, in which
he acknowledged the receipt of five hundred dollars. Stranleigh selected
from his wallet five bills for a hundred dollars each, and handed them
over, then bidding farewell to the engineer, walked to his hotel,
followed at a discreet distance by Mr. Wentworth Parkes.
Having located his quarry, Parkes retraced his steps to Woodbridge
Street, deep in thought. His first resolution was to try bluster, but he
abandoned that idea for two reasons, each conclusive in its way. His
slight acquaintance with the engineer had convinced him that while much
could be done with Sterling by persuasion, he would not yield to force,
and secondly, the motor builder had no money. Whatever gold he was to
acquire in his deal must come from Lord Stranleigh. It was, therefore, a
mild and innocent lamb of a man who entered the machine shop of
Woodbridge Street.
"Hello!" cried Sterling, who seemed taken aback by the encounter. "What
have you done with my automobile, and why did you not answer my
letters?"
"Your automobile is here in Detroit; a little the worse for wear,
perhaps, but there is nothing wrong with it that you cannot put right in
short order. As for letters, I never received any. I thought I had
notified you of my changed address."
"As a matter of fact, you didn't."
"In that case, I apologise most humbly. The truth is, Mr. Sterling,
I have been working practically night and day, often under very
discouraging circumstances. Until quite recently there was nothing
hopeful to tell, and the moment I struck a bit of good luck, I came on
here in the car to let you know. You see, it was very difficult to
interest capital in a proposition that apparently has no substantiality
behind it. If you had possessed a big factory in going order, that I
could have shown a man over, the company would have been formed long
ago. It therefore surprised me exceedingly, when I passed your shop
less than a hour ago, to see standing in this window, while you were
explaining the car to him, the man on whom I chiefly depended. You must
put it down to my credit that instead of coming in as I had intended,
thus embarrassing him, and perhaps spoiling a deal by my interference, I
passed on, waited until he came out, and followed him to his hotel."
Sterling was plainly nonplussed.
"I wish you had come in an hour earlier," he said. "You couldn't have
interfered with a deal, because your option ran out two months ago."
"I know that," said Parkes regretfully, "but I thought the good work
on my part would have made up for a legal lapse. Indeed, Mr. Sterling,
if you will allow me to say so, I had such supreme faith in your
own honesty, that I believed you would not hesitate to renew our
arrangement."
"That's just the point," said Sterling. "Had you come in an hour sooner,
you would have been in time. As it is, I have granted a new option to
the man you saw here with me."
"What name did he give you? Trevelyan?"
"No; the name he mentioned was Henry Johnson."
Parkes laughed a little, then checked himself.
"He went under the name of Trevelyan in New York, but I know neither
that nor Johnson is his true title. Well, is he going in with you,
then?"
"He has asked for a week to decide."
Now Parkes laughed more heartily.
"I took him out in your motor in New York, and there also he asked for a
week in which to decide. He seems to have taken the opportunity to come
West, and try to forestall me."
"Oh, I don't believe he's that sort of man," cried Sterling,
impatiently.
"Perhaps I do him an injustice. I sincerely hope so. Of course you're
not compelled to show your hand, but I think, in the circumstances, you
might let me know just how far you've got."
"Yes, I think you are entitled to that. I remember I was rather
astonished when I learned he knew I had given a former option, but I
shall be very much disappointed if he doesn't run straight. Still, I
have been mistaken in men before. He took an option for a week, and paid
me five hundred dollars down in cash, to be forfeited if he does not
exercise it."
"Well, if the money is not counterfeit, that certainly looks like
running straight. And meanwhile, what are you to do?"
"I am to do nothing, except send this car up to his hotel with a
suitable chauffeur, at eleven o'clock to-morrow. He is going to test
it along the Canadian roads."
"Was anything said about the amount of capital he was to put up?"
"Not a word; we didn't get that far."
Parkes took a few turns up and down the room then he said suddenly:
"Have you any particular chauffeur in mind?"
"No; I was just going out to make arrangements."
"You don't need to make any arrangements. I'll be your chauffeur, and
can show off this car better than a stranger, who perhaps might be
interested in some other automobile, and try to get your customer away.
It's to my interest, having spent so much time on it, to see the deal
put through. Besides, I know your man, and now that I have encountered
him here in Detroit, he cannot deny that I sent him to your shop. I
think he owes me at least a commission for bringing you together. I
realise, of course, that I have no legal claim on either of you, yet I
am sure, if the facts were proved, any court would allow me an agent's
commission."
"I'll pay your commission," said Sterling.
"You haven't got the money, and he has."
"Very well; I will let you go as chauffeur, but I must inform him who
you are."
Parkes shook his head.
"My dear Sterling, you are the most honest and impractical man I ever
met. If you give him warning, he'll merely leave you in the lurch as he
did me."
"Do you intend to disguise yourself?"
"Certainly not."
"Then he will recognise you at once."
"I understand that class of Englishman much better than you do. He will
never see me, and I don't know that I shall call myself to his attention
at all. My own idea is to let the deal go through, claiming only
the privilege of being your adviser, and keeping altogether in the
background. I can give you valuable hints about dealing with this sort
of man. He will regard me as a servant, and unless I said to him: 'Lord
Stranleigh of Wychwood, why did you bolt so suddenly from New York?' he
would never have the least idea who was sitting beside him, and even
then he would exhibit no surprise."
"Lord Stranleigh?" echoed Sterling in amazement.
"Yes; that's the man you're dealing with, and he's worth untold
millions. I'll go up to this hotel now, and see him, if you prefer that
I should do so."
"No; you may take him out to-morrow, but I advise you to say nothing to
him about me or my business. Whatever arrangement we come to finally,
you shall be recompensed for your share in the negotiations."
Parkes' prediction regarding Stranleigh's non-recognition of him proved
accurate. The young man simply said--