It was a large room with bare floor, painted walls and a flat
sounding-board of a ceiling. Across the end was the platform, and
immediately above the platform table hung a large brass lamp which
could be lowered by a chain that ran along the ceiling and down the
adjoining wall. Around the main walls and between the windows were
smaller lamps in wire brackets, which burned with a steady, yellow
light, and occasionally gave off a thin trickle of smoke that filled
the room with the sharp odor of soot. On the platform sat Clark and
Filmer on either side of the table, and on the table stood an enormous
jug of water and one glass.
At five minutes past eight the hall was crowded. Manson was there,
sitting in the front row, and leaning forward on his heavy oak stick
which seemed a very bludgeon of authority. Beside him sat his wife,
small, slight and gentle, the very antithesis of her dark and
formidable husband. Manson's eyes roved from Filmer to Clark and back
again to Filmer, but the two looked over his head and seemed no whit
disconcerted. A little further back were the Dibbotts, the former
turning his big gray-coated body, and every now and then surveying the
growing audience with his small blue eyes, while his lips pushed in and
out, which was in Dibbott a certain sign that he was thinking hard.
Mrs. Dibbott, tall, slim, and square shouldered, turned her kindly
capable face toward Clark, and felt the first intimation of that keen
interest he always roused, especially in the women who met him. He
seemed so alert, such a free agent and, it must be confessed, so
disgracefully independent of the gentler sex. Then there was Belding,
the young engineer who had had charge of the town's work at the canal.
It was not Belding's fault that the money ran out, but he had ceased
operations with an unshakable sense of personal blame that, of late,
worked poisonously in his brain. There were also the Bowers, and Mrs.
Bowers' ample and genial person was full of a pleasurable glow, for if
the mayor's plan went through they would have at last a roof over the
front porch on which she spent so many hospitable summer evenings.
Bowers himself already saw in Clark a possible and important client,
and his brain was full of half formulated propositions.
At seven minutes past eight the mayor began to speak. He had been
somewhat at a loss just how he might introduce Clark, for, as a matter
of fact, the only information he had about the visitor was what the
visitor himself had volunteered. But here, as always, Clark's
tremendous personality had expressed itself. Filmer glanced at his
alert but motionless figure, and perceived that the other was a man of
much greater experience and power than himself, and in this the mayor
was subject to exactly that influence which Clark was in the habit of
exerting without any effort whatever. So thus reinforced, and mindful
as well that the half yearly interest and sinking fund payments would
be due on the town debt in three months, he fastened an authoritative
eye on Manson, the town pessimist, and commenced.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have asked you to come here to-night because
it seems that there is now an unexpected opportunity to secure great
benefit for the town. You are all aware that we tried to do something
and failed, and that the result was an increase of one hundred and
thirty thousand dollars in the debt of St. Marys." At this point
Manson rammed his oak stick against the floor with disturbing effect.
The mayor glanced at him with a smile and went on. "I do not wish to
put before you the proposal Mr. Clark makes to the town, he will do
that himself. I can only say that I have gone into it very carefully
with him, and that I am satisfied that it is more than fair to us, and
that I believe he is in control of the necessary money to carry out his
plans. If he does not carry them out we are no worse off, and if he
does it will put St. Marys definitely on the map. He will speak for
himself and I hope you will give a careful hearing, for I don't believe
such men get off the train every day."
Clark was on his feet at once and began to talk in a curt, incisive
tone of great penetration. Behind it there moved a suggestion of
something quite new to the folk of St. Marys. The moment offered no
opportunity to analyze this, but it held them motionless with attention.
"I have come," he said, "to make you a proposal which has already been
put before Mayor Filmer, and which I am glad to tell you meets with his
approval. I appreciate the opportunity, and with your coöperation
great things will yet be done in St. Marys. Now I am going to ask that
two windows be opened and that you listen with me for a moment."
There followed an instant of universal surprise shared by the mayor,
after which Clark gathered Dawson and Belding with his magnetic eye,
and the two pushed up the windows nearest them. The cool night air
breathed in and set the big oil lamps flickering, but with it there
came the dull monotone of the rapids. Clark leaned slightly forward,
and, smiling, began to speak again.
"What you hear is a voice in the wilderness, and, ladies and gentlemen,
you have heard it for years. I, too, have heard it, but for something
less than eight hours, and there is a difference in our hearing and I
want to make that difference clear to you. I listen with a stranger's
ears, being a stranger, and therefore not accustomed to that voice, I
detect in it something which possibly some of you may have recognized,
but certainly none of you have fully appreciated."
There followed a little silence during which Mrs. Dibbott, her eyes
twinkling with intense pleasure, nodded to Mrs. Worden. Her
imagination was already at work, and, of them all, she first caught the
subtle trend of Clark's address.
"It is hardly necessary for me to remind you that your town has made a
certain brave attempt and failed completely in its venture." ("Hear!
Hear!" from Manson.) "This attempt was from the outset bound to fail."
At this point Manson stamped approvingly, and Clark's gray eyes rested
on his big frame for a moment while the least suggestion of a smile
traversed his lips. "The reason is very simple. You lacked experience
in such undertakings. You partly heard the voice but only partly, for
to answer it fully and successfully you must answer it in millions and
not in thousands of dollars."
At this point he paused impressively, while there spread through the
audience the dun colored reflection that the entire town, if
obliterated, could be rebuilt for much less than a million, and so
definite was the reaction that the speaker proceeded to intensify it in
his next remarks.
"You have at present, as the result of this ill-fated enterprise, a
liability of one hundred and thirty thousand dollars--I think it is."
He turned inquiringly to Filmer who nodded, and with him the entire
male section of the audience. There was no question about those
figures.
"This liability imposes a heavy tax upon an unproductive community,
although if you were producers it would be a bagatelle. As against
this liability you have, as assets, a certain piece of property and
certain water rights secured from the Dominion government, rights which
though at present very limited, might be made the basis of further
expansion. And that is all you have--a debt, and against it something
that is of no use to you."
A chilled surprise trickled through the town hall and Filmer himself,
who had been quite unaware how Clark would state his case, began to
think that the thing had gone far enough, when the penetrating voice
went on.
"Now as to the town itself. I have failed, after a careful survey, to
find any evidence of growth. I have seen no new buildings, nor, under
the conditions which at present exist and which there is nothing you
can do to change, do I see any reason for growth. You do not
manufacture or import anything. You have, so to speak, to live on each
other, so why should any one come here to settle down?"
Although Clark had said several striking things, there had not been
anything which went as straight home as this. All had watched the
great procession which passed up and down the river, and wondered why
the population of St. Marys remained so stationary, but never had the
inescapable truth been thrown so blatantly in their faces as by this
magnetic stranger whose clear voice announced those truths which each
had been secreting in his heart year after year. They began to wonder
why a man of his type should be interested in the town. But the fact
that he was interested clothed him with a still more compelling
attraction. Visions of a decaying and moss covered settlement were
floating through their minds when the voice took on a new note.
"The condition I have touched on is due to lack of three
things,--experience, money and imagination, and in such isolated points
as this there is little opportunity to acquire any of the three. There
is in the rapids unlimited power. It must be developed, and developed
on this side of the river. The age of electricity has come. But let
us ask ourselves what is the use of power unless there is some
practical purpose to which to put it. There is but one answer. Large
works--enormous works must be established at the rapids; works that
will utilize all the power that is developed, and draw their raw
material from the surrounding country. I have an idea that you may
consider the district to the north and west a wilderness, but,
gentlemen, you are mistaken. I firmly believe it to be a veritable
reservoir of wealth."
Here Clark stopped, glanced thoughtfully at Filmer, and poured out a
glass of water, while the entire audience took an imaginary journey
into the bush to the north in an attempt to discover the reservoir of
wealth. This resulted in numerous quiet smiles, each of which died out
with a look at the intense earnestness on the speaker's face. There
was a certain amount of fur, it was admitted, but the trapping was
falling off. There were scattered patches of spruce for pulp wood, but
so far as most of them knew the land was poor and rocky and there had
been no discovery of valuable mineral. However, silently concluded
Clark's hearers, the man might know, and probably did know a good deal
more than he said, and just as this opinion was gaining ground, the
speaker struck an inspiring note and came to his point.
"Now for my proposal. I believe in the future of this country, in its
latent wealth and its possibilities, and I am prepared to take on the
town's uncompleted enterprise and assume its one hundred and thirty
thousand dollars of liability. Gentlemen, what I have in mind goes
further than any of you have ever imagined, and it needs more millions
than you have conceived. Millions will be forthcoming. In the
financial markets of the world, capital must be assured of certain
fundamentals. These fundamentals established, there is no difficulty
whatever in securing as much money as may be required. That is my
experience, and if you accept my proposition St. Marys will, within a
year, begin to feel the influx of money which is seeking investment.
Within that year you will hardly be able to recognize your town. Your
property, your houses, your farm products will greatly increase in
value, and local trade will experience a remarkable impetus. If you
ask what are these basic industries which will mean so much, I need
only point out that I am assured of an ample supply of pulp wood for
very large mills which I propose to erect, and there is, without doubt,
iron ore in these hills of yours. This is only a part of my plan."
Again Clark paused, playing with all his power on those who had already
grasped something of his vision. Ore had never been found in that part
of the country, though innumerable prospectors had toiled through the
hills in search of it, but now it seemed that the folk of St. Marys had
cast aside their difference and unbelief, and were becoming
incorporated in the speaker's high assurance. A little murmur of
enthusiasm arose, to be hushed instantly.
"I only want your coöperation. I do not ask that you put in one
dollar. There is ample money for the purpose, and I tell you frankly
there is no room for yours. It is not my intention to bring in for the
purposes of the work anything the town itself can supply, and the more
you can organize to supply amongst yourselves, the better pleased I and
my associates will be. All I hope is that you participate
intelligently and profitably in that which will shortly take place.
And first of all it will be my duty and pleasure to supply the town
with water and light on terms to be arranged with your council. This
will be the smallest and to me the least profitable of our
undertakings, but I regard it as an obligation to the town. Ladies and
gentlemen, a new era is dawning for St. Marys. Have I your support?"
Had he their support? There followed a moment of half dazed silence
during which Filmer's blood flushed up to his temples, and Clark
finished his glass of water and sat down with a swift glance of his
gray eyes that seemed to take in the entire assembly. As though
galvanized by an electric shock, the folk of St. Marys rose to their
feet and began to cheer. The ladies' handkerchiefs were in the air,
with a babel of voices both small and deep. Mrs. Dibbott, her eyes
dancing, caught those of Mrs. Worden and nodded vigorously, her cheeks
flushed, for to men and women alike the invigorating, magnetic appeal
had gone home. Then above the clamor Manson's deep bass became
gradually audible.
He was leaning forward, gazing straight out at the two on the platform
and booming his utter unbelief in all he had heard. Clark, it struck
him, did not know what he was talking about, and who was Clark anyway?
Had a single man in the room ever heard of Clark before that afternoon?
The town had made one blunder, and it would be wise to keep out of
another.
Thus far he got when the astonishment of the audience became
transformed into indignation and boiled over. Clark had not moved and
indeed only smiled in an absolutely friendly way, but now there were
shouts that Manson sit down. He was putting the town in an unfortunate
and undesirable position. Finally, Belding and Worden dragged him
expostulating into his chair, whereupon Dibbott and Bowers very
earnestly, and with much applause, expressed what the meeting really
felt. After which the resolution was put calling upon the town council
to confirm the agreement, and without any delay whatever. And this
being carried unanimously with cheering, the meeting broke up and
streamed down the wooden stairs with much trampling of feet, while Mrs.
Dibbott asked Mrs. Bowers if she had noticed that every one was so
interested that the two windows which were opened had not been closed
again in spite of the fact that three lamps had been blown out. All
this time the visitor sat still, a satisfied light in his eyes, and
when Dibbott and the rest asked to be introduced, the mayor exclaimed
that the speaker of the evening was so occupied with momentous matters
that he was obliged to postpone the pleasure of meeting them for a day
or two. This, of course, added to the spell of fascination cast by the
remarkable stranger.
A day or two later, he was to disappear as suddenly as he came, but in
the meantime he avoided the people of St. Marys and was extremely busy.
To his room at the hotel there had mounted a small procession of
visitors, mostly lumbermen, who, being for a few moments admitted to
the shrine of mystery, reappeared with their eyes more bright and their
lips pressed tight. They had been discussing business matters, and
this was for the present about all they would say. The town council,
without a dissenting note, accepted Clark's proposal, and the latter
became a legal debtor for one hundred and thirty thousand dollars and
the owner of the abandoned works, and so simply and smoothly was the
business carried out that to the council there seemed something magical
and portentous in the transaction.
That afternoon Clark sent for Belding, and the young engineer came with
an expectant thrill. By this time St. Marys was aware that the visitor
went to no one, but every one came to him. It was typical of methods
which he adopted from the very first, so that almost immediately his
personality, which was entirely new to this remote community, began to
suggest every phase of power and authority.
Belding had brought his plans and blue prints with him, and spread them
on the small bedroom table. Followed a little silence, broken by a
crisp interrogation.
"How much power have you figured on developing?"
"Five hundred horse power."
"Capable of any expansion?" Clark's lips took on a quizzical curve.
"Yes, to one thousand."
To this there was no comment. Belding himself rather liked the sound
of a thousand horsepower. It seemed well rounded.
"Your water rights, I mean my water rights," went on Clark
thoughtfully, "permit the use of water for such works as I may erect."
"Yes," the engineer hesitated a moment and added, "sir."
Clark smiled almost imperceptibly, that is his face expressed an inward
amusement because a number of tiny lines wrinkled into being at the
corners of his gray eyes, and his lips pushed out ever so slightly.
Presently he forgot all about the plans, and stared out of the window
where the first leap of the rapids was just visible.
"And your technical experience, Mr. Belding, tell me about that."
Belding told him, and did his best to dilate on work that now seemed of
a minor character. There was that about Clark which curiously
minimized the young man's accomplishments.