ALLINSON'S MAKES GOOD
It was with a strange sense of detachment that Andrew attended the
first meeting of the shareholders in the Rain Bluff mine. He had
thought of the event with great anxiety, made numerous plans and
abandoned them, and now he had come, in a sense, unprepared,
determined to submit two general propositions and let the shareholders
decide for themselves. Ignorant of the usual mode of procedure at such
meetings, he had consulted nobody better informed, and realized that
he might be ruled out of order or shouted down; but he was sensible of
a coolness that somewhat surprised him.
The room hired for the occasion was large and handsome, with a floor
of inlaid hardwood, frescoed walls and lofty roof. It had something of
the look of a chapel. At one end a group of well-groomed frock-coated
directors were seated at a fine oak table, with the Company's
secretary behind an array of books and papers. All that the eye rested
on suggested stable prosperity, for Leonard knew the effect that
imposing surroundings had on the small provincial investor. It would
be difficult for inexperienced and unorganized malcontents to
disregard the air of severe formality which he meant to cast over the
proceedings.
Andrew missed nothing as he entered. To face a crisis had a steadying
effect on him, and his manner was very tranquil as he walked up the
long room.
Carefully scanning the assembled shareholders, he surmised from their
dress and appearance that a number of them were people of small means
from country towns. There were a few women, who looked nervous, as if
they felt themselves out of place. He was surprised to see Gertrude
and Mrs. Fenwood; and then as his glance roved farther he caught sight
of Wannop, who gave him an encouraging grin. Robert Allinson was
nearby, looking unusually grave; but Murray caught Andrew's eye and
smiled. On the whole, he was glad that he had made no attempt to win
over his relatives since his return: it was better that they should
judge and vote like the rest of the shareholders. Then as he took his
place he looked at his fellow-directors, whom he had not seen since
his futile interviews. They wore an air of staid formality, and he
suspected that before the meeting was finished they would regard him
as a traitor to his class; but that did not matter. He had given them
their opportunity and they would not seize it. Leonard, dressed with
fastidious taste, looked, as usual, suave and well-bred, but the quick
glance he gave Andrew seemed to hint at anxiety.
He made a short speech, calculated to reassure, but containing very
little definite information. His audience listened in an apathetic
manner, and it struck Andrew that a curious, matter-of-fact dullness
characterized the proceedings. Leonard stated that the business of the
meeting was to adopt the report and elect new members of the Board in
place of those who retired, though they were, he added, eligible for
re-election. Then there was a discordant note, for a short man in
badly cut clothes, with spectacles and upstanding red hair, rose in
the body of the hall.
"I take it that our chairman has made an error," he said. "Our
business is to consider the report; not necessarily to adopt it."
"That is correct," said Leonard, smiling. "We invite your best
consideration. I will now ask the secretary to read the document."
The secretary did so in a monotonous voice, as if it were a matter
which must be got through with out of respect to custom, and Andrew
felt that it would be a bold shareholder who ventured to disturb the
tranquillity of the meeting. Moreover, he recognized the cleverness of
the report. It said a good deal that was not to the point and avoided
every loophole for adverse criticism. There was only one weak spot--no
dividend was declared, though it was hinted that a satisfactory profit
might be anticipated when the Company's property had been further
developed.
Somebody proposed that it be adopted, a seconder appeared; and then,
while Andrew felt that his time to speak had come, the short man with
the red hair got up again.
"I move as an amendment that the report be held over until we are
supplied with more details," he said. "What I want to know is--why
there is no dividend, and when we may expect one?"
One or two of the directors looked supercilious, the others amused,
and Leonard smiled indulgently. He was used to dealing with objectors.
"The question," he explained, "is complicated, but I think we have
answered it already. I may add that it is unreasonable to expect a
dividend on the first year's operations. Preliminary expenses are
large, and a mine is not like a factory. The ground must, so to speak,
be cleared before you can get to work. Headings must be driven and
timbered, pumps and machines of various kinds have to be put up."
"Were you ever in a mine?" the red-haired man interrupted amid some
laughter.
"I hardly think that is to the point," Leonard answered lightly.
"Though I must admit that I have not been down a shaft, I have a
knowledge of the commercial side of the subject, which is all that
concerns me."
"So I thought!" exclaimed the other. "You can't know much about your
work unless you have put up pitprops and used the pick. Now the
chairman of a mining company ought----"
He was interrupted by cries of "Sit down!" and some ironical
encouragement, and Leonard frowned. It might be dangerous to allow the
meeting to get out of hand, and this troublesome fellow was giving
Andrew, of whom he was half afraid, his opportunity.
"May I inquire whether the gentleman is a practical miner himself?"
one of the directors interposed.
"I was, when I was young. Now I keep a shop and deal with pitmen. But
I came here expecting to be told about a dividend. I put three hundred
pounds into the Company, because lawyer Jesmond said one could rely on
anything that was started by Allinson's. The money wasn't easily
saved, but there was no opening in my business--what with the
co-operatives cutting into a small man's trade----"
"That's enough!" said somebody; and there was a shout of "Don't waste
our time!" But the shopkeeper sturdily stood his ground.
"I'm not here for myself alone," he resumed. "I came up, by excursion,
to speak for other people in our town. Jesmond did their business, and
he said----"
There was loud interruption. The meeting was getting unruly, but
Wannop's voice broke through the uproar:
"Go on, man!"
"I mean to," replied the speaker calmly. "What's more, I have signed
proxies in my pocket to be filled up as I think fit."
"It's doubtful how far that's in order," the secretary objected.
"Let him fill them up by all means!" exclaimed a stockjobber
ironically. "If all his friends gave him proxies, they wouldn't count
for much! There are individual holders present whose votes----"
He broke off at a touch from a neighbor, and Andrew cast a keen glance
at the quieter portion of the audience. It was composed of city men
who seemed inclined to support the directors. They were, perhaps, not
satisfied with the report, for several had been whispering together;
but Andrew thought they would prefer to avoid a disturbance and
disclosures that might injure the Company. If the meeting could be got
through safely, they could afterward sell out at once and cut their
loss. Andrew's sympathies, however, were strongly with such investors
as the determined shopkeeper. He could imagine the patient drudgery
and careful frugality which had enabled them to buy their shares.
"I must ask the gentleman to find a seconder for his motion," Leonard
broke in.
There was a pause and the shopkeeper looked eagerly round the hall,
where he seemed to have no friends. Then Andrew got up and quietly
faced the assembly.
"I second the amendment," he said.
A murmur of astonishment greeted the speech.
"A director!" exclaimed somebody, and a whisper ran through the hall.
"Mr. Allinson--the company's agent in Canada!"
Deep silence followed, and Andrew saw that every eye was fixed on him.
He was acting against all precedent--opposing his colleagues on the
Board, who were, in a manner, entitled to his support.
"I suppose I'm taking an unusual line in offering the gentleman who
has been speaking information which the chairman has refused him," he
said. "He asked when he might expect a dividend. The answer is--never,
unless a radical change is made in the Company's policy."
The plain words made a sensation, and after an impressive pause an
uproar began.
"What about the prospectus with your name on it?"
"What changes would you make?"
"Keep quiet and let him speak!"
"No, it's a case of collusion; there's some trick in it!"
The meeting raged confusedly until Leonard got up. He looked shaken by
the storm of indignation.
"Order, gentlemen! There is a motion before you."
"The amendment first!" somebody shouted.
"The amendment," said Leonard. "A show of hands will serve. 'That the
report be held over, pending the furnishing of further details.'"
The audience appeared to be unanimous as the hands went up, and
Leonard sought to turn the matter to his advantage.
"Carried," he said. "We will now adjourn the meeting until the
information which is asked for can be supplied."
"That," Andrew stated firmly, "is not needful. I can give now an
accurate outline of the Company's position."
The secretary protested that this was informal and one of the
directors requested Leonard to rule it out of order; but the meeting
had got beyond the chairman's control. There were poor men present who
thought they had lost their all, as well as rich men who believed they
had been deceived, and Leonard's words were greeted with angry clamor.
Murray jumped to his feet.
"I suggest that we hear Mr. Allinson. We will learn the truth from
him!" he said.
"Let him speak!" shouted some one.
Andrew, standing very still and intent of face, raised his hand and
the turmoil ceased.
"I ask your attention. First, I must show you the worst of things, as
I learned it on the spot in Canada. The mine is threatened with
inundation, which can be prevented only by the use of powerful pumping
machinery; the rock is unusually broken up and faulty, which
necessitates expensive timbering and impedes the work. These
difficulties, however, need not be enlarged upon, because, if the
quality of the ore justified it, they could be overcome. Instead, I
will tell you roughly how much capital we have expended, the quantity
of ore raised, the cost of its extraction, and the value of the yield
in refined metal."
He quoted from his notebook, and there was a strange quietness as he
proceeded:
"Though the figures might be challenged and slightly modified by
experts, the conclusion is inevitable--the ore turned out at the Rain
Bluff can pay only a small interest on the cost of labor. The capital
spent in acquiring the mine has irretrievably gone."
Then the storm broke. Questions, reproaches and insulting epithets
were hurled at the directors, some of whom tried to smile
forbearingly, while others grew red, and Leonard sat grim and silent
with his hand clenched. Andrew waited unmoved, and seized on a pause
to continue:
"There is every reason to believe that your directors acted, as they
thought, in your interests, but they have been misled."
"So have we!" exclaimed a furious investor.
"I'm afraid that's true," Andrew agreed. "It's an important point, but
I must ask you to consider the remedies. In the first place, I will,
if necessary, redeem every Rain Bluff share which has been allotted;
that is, my brokers will buy up all that are brought to them."
He was heard with astonishment. Some of those present knew a good deal
about commercial companies, but that a director of one should make
such an offer was unprecedented in their experience. On the surface,
it was surprisingly fair, but they suspected a trick.
"At what price?" cried one. "The shares will fall to a few shillings
as soon as the truth about the mine is known."
"At par," said Andrew. "You will be returned every penny you have paid
in."
It was obvious that the greater part of his audience did not know what
to make of this. That he should be in earnest scarcely seemed
possible, as his offer seemed the extremity of rashness. No one spoke
for a moment or two; and then Robert Allinson rose.
"If any guarantee is needed, I shall be glad to supply it, so far as
my means allow. My name is Allinson, a member of the family
controlling the firm which promoted this Company. I may perhaps
remark without undue pride that it is a point of honor with
Allinson's to keep its promises."
"Bravo, Bob!" cried a loud, hearty voice.
"I think," said Robert, in a tone of grave rebuke, "that is not
altogether seemly at a public meeting."
Wannop got up with a laugh in which a number of the listeners joined.
"And I am prepared to back my relative, Andrew Allinson, to my last
shilling--in which Mrs. Wannop joins me. Between us we hold a good
deal of stock."
There was applause mixed with expressions of relief, but some still
suspected knavery.
"What is Mr. Allinson's object?" a man blurted out. "What does he
expect to gain?"
Andrew flushed, but answered quietly.
"If you close with my offer, I shall undoubtedly benefit; but I do not
urge you to do so. Listen to the alternative, and then decide. But I
must ask for patience while I tell you the story of another mine."
"As chairman, I must raise a point of order," Leonard objected; but
they silenced him with shouts, and he sat down, baffled, knowing that
the game was up.
"Go on!" they ordered Andrew, and with a steady voice he began to tell
them of Graham's discovery of the lode.
He paused once or twice, but they encouraged him, and as he proceeded
nobody felt that the narrative was out of place. A few, indeed, forgot
what they had come for and listened with a sense of romance and high
adventure, while he told them of the sawmill clerk's steadfast,
long-deferred purpose. Here and there women who had been keenly
anxious a few minutes earlier watched him with fixed, sympathizing
eyes, and Andrew, cheered by the close attention, was conscious of a
new power. He could hold these people, and take them with him into the
frozen wilds.
They followed the march of the starving men across the Northern snow,
saw them blasting icy rocks, and searching with desperate eagerness
for the food caches. Then, as he told of the hard-won triumph, when
the vein was at last disclosed, a hoarse murmur that had something of
a cheer in it filled the room. It was forced upon those who had
doubted him that they were listening to an exceptional man, who had
borne and done things that needed the staunchest courage, for honor
and not for gain.
"Now," he said with an abrupt change of tone, "I have told you how we
found the Graham Lode, on which three of the richest claims have been
contracted to me. Let me read you the reports of different assayers to
whom I submitted specimens." He did so, and added: "The original
documents are here; you may examine and pass them round. But I must
get on. These claims are mine, though my right to them might be
contested by the directors of this Company--the cost of finding and
proving them has been borne by myself--but, if you agree to their
development and the abandoning of the Rain Bluff, I propose to hand
them over as your property."
There was confused applause, in the midst of which Leonard rose.
"In face of the want of confidence you have shown in us and the
extraordinary course Mr. Allinson has taken, my colleagues and I feel
compelled to resign in a body."
"Let them go! We're well rid of them!" exclaimed the shopkeeper. "You
don't join them?" he said anxiously to Andrew.
"I had better do so and offer myself for re-election."
"Then I have much pleasure in proposing Mr. Allinson," said Murray. "I
should like to mention that I remained a shareholder in this Company
because I preferred his bare word to the strong recommendations of
experienced stockjobbing friends."
Several men rose to second him, and when every hand went up amidst a
burst of applause, Andrew said with some emotion:
"Thank you for this mark of trust. My first offer stands--anybody
anxious to have his shares redeemed at par need only apply to my
brokers, whose address is here." He laid an envelope on the table in
sight of all.
"We'll go on with the election," resumed the shopkeeper. "With the
permission of the meeting, I'll ask Mr. Allinson whom he'd like to
have on the Board."
Andrew smiled.
"You're giving up your rights and offering me a very unusual
privilege."
"Never mind that," rejoined a stockjobber dryly. "These proceedings
have been remarkably unusual from the start. In fact, I imagine we
have reached the limit of irregularity for a company meeting. For all
that, I support our spokesman's plucky offer."
"Very well," said Andrew. "I would suggest the nomination of three of
your previous directors. I believe they would serve you well, and
their appointment might act as a judicious check on me."
The gentlemen he named looked irresolute and somewhat embarrassed, but
after a word or two with him they expressed their willingness to
serve. They were elected without dissent, and then Robert Allinson
stood up.
"I have pleasure in proposing Mr. Antony Wannop, who is a large
shareholder and Mr. Allinson's brother-in-law. Though I may be
prejudiced, I feel that I may say that your interest may safely be
trusted to the Allinson family."
"After what we have heard here, that is an opinion with which I
heartily agree," a man at the back declared. "None of us can doubt
that Allinson is a justly respected name."
Wannop was chosen and several more; and then a man got up.
"If it's necessary to hold an adjourned meeting, it will be attended
as a matter of form," he said. "I propose that we instruct Mr.
Allinson to push on with the development of the new lode as fast as
possible, giving him, with confidence, full authority to do what he
thinks fit."
Though the secretary tried to point out that the Board must act as a
body, the proposal was carried with acclamation, and as the meeting
broke up Andrew leaned forward rather heavily on the big oak table. He
was filled with confused emotions and the strain had told on him. When
he looked up the room was almost empty and Leonard had gone, but the
reappointed directors whom he had suggested remained.
"We have something to regret," said one awkwardly. "It's unfortunate
we didn't quite grasp your intentions. We feel that although you took
us unprepared, you have treated us with exceptional fairness."
"You may remember that you wouldn't listen when I tried to explain
matters," Andrew answered with a twinkle in his eyes. "However, your
greater experience should be valuable to me and I've no doubt we'll
get on well in future."
After a few cordial words they withdrew, and one of them turned to his
companion.
"Though I'm glad we rejoined, I dare say you noticed the personal tone
he took. It's clear that he expects us to play second fiddle."
"Well, after all, Allinson has shown that he's capable of leading the
tune."
When they had gone Wannop came up to Andrew.
"It's a compliment when I tell you I wasn't a bit surprised," he said.
"I'd expected something of the kind from you. The Allinson strain
showed up well to-day. You got hold of them and swept them off their
feet. Robert, too, proved himself a brick; but he's waiting in the
passage and we must try to shunt him. He'll lecture me on my new
duties and I want a big, long drink. In fact, half a dozen would be
better."
Andrew laughed, and they went out, Wannop talking excitedly.