II

1

The room in the hotel where the general meetings of “The Island

Navigation Company” were held was nearly full when the secretary came

through the door which as yet divided the shareholders from their

directors. Having surveyed their empty chairs, their ink and papers, and

nodded to a shareholder or two, he stood, watch in hand, contemplating

the congregation. A thicker attendance than he had ever seen! Due, no

doubt, to the lower dividend, and this Pillin business. And his tongue

curled. For if he had a natural contempt for his Board, with the

exception of the chairman, he had a still more natural contempt for his

shareholders. Amusing spectacle when you came to think of it, a general

meeting! Unique! Eighty or a hundred men, and five women, assembled

through sheer devotion to their money. Was any other function in the

world so single-hearted. Church was nothing to it--so many motives

were mingled there with devotion to one's soul. A well-educated young

man--reader of Anatole France, and other writers--he enjoyed ironic

speculation. What earthly good did they think they got by coming here?

Half-past two! He put his watch back into his pocket, and passed into

the Board-room.

There, the fumes of lunch and of a short preliminary meeting made cosy

the February atmosphere. By the fire four directors were conversing

rather restlessly; the fifth was combing his beard; the chairman sat

with eyes closed and red lips moving rhythmically in the sucking of a

lozenge, the slips of his speech ready in his hand. The secretary said

in his cheerful voice: “Time, sir.”

Old Heythorp swallowed, lifted his arms, rose with help, and walked

through to his place at the centre of the table. The five directors

followed. And, standing at the chairman's right, the secretary read

the minutes, forming the words precisely with his curling tongue. Then,

assisting the chairman to his feet, he watched those rows of faces, and

thought: 'Mistake to let them see he can't get up without help. He ought

to have let me read his speech--I wrote it.'

The chairman began to speak:

“It is my duty and my pleasure,' ladies and gentlemen, for the

nineteenth consecutive year to present to you the directors' report and

the accounts for the past twelve months. You will all have had special

notice of a measure of policy on which your Board has decided, and to

which you will be asked to-day to give your adherence--to that I shall

come at the end of my remarks....”

“Excuse me, sir; we can't hear a word down here.”

'.h!' thought the secretary, 'I was expecting that.'

The chairman went on, undisturbed. But several shareholders now rose,

and the same speaker said testily: “We might as well go home. If the

chairman's got no voice, can't somebody read for him?”

The chairman took a sip of water, and resumed. Almost all in the last

six rows were now on their feet, and amid a hubbub of murmurs the

chairman held out to the secretary the slips of his speech, and fell

heavily back into his chair.

The secretary re-read from the beginning; and as each sentence fell from

his tongue, he thought: 'How good that is!' 'That's very clear!' 'A neat

touch!' 'This is getting them.' It seemed to him a pity they could not

know it was all his composition. When at last he came to the Pillin sale

he paused for a second.

“I come now to the measure of policy to which I made allusion at the

beginning of my speech. Your Board has decided to expand your enterprise

by purchasing the entire fleet of Pillin & Co., Ltd. By this transaction

we become the owners of the four steamships Smyrna, Damascus, Tyre, and

Sidon, vessels in prime condition with a total freight-carrying capacity

of fifteen thousand tons, at the low inclusive price of sixty thousand

pounds. Gentlemen, de l'audace, toujours de l'audace!”--it was the

chairman's phrase, his bit of the speech, and the secretary did it more

than justice. “Times are bad, but your Board is emphatically of the

opinion that they are touching bottom; and this, in their view, is the

psychological moment for a forward stroke. They confidently recommend

your adoption of their policy and the ratification of this purchase,

which they believe will, in the not far distant future, substantially

increase the profits of the Company.” The secretary sat down with

reluctance. The speech should have continued with a number of appealing

sentences which he had carefully prepared, but the chairman had cut them

out with the simple comment: “They ought to be glad of the chance.” It

was, in his view, an error.

The director who had combed his beard now rose--a man of presence, who

might be trusted to say nothing long and suavely. While he was speaking

the secretary was busy noting whence opposition was likely to come. The

majority were sitting owl-like-a good sign; but some dozen were

studying their copies of the report, and three at least were making

notes--Westgate, for, instance, who wanted to get on the Board, and was

sure to make himself unpleasant--the time-honoured method of vinegar;

and Batterson, who also desired to come on, and might be trusted to

support the Board--the time-honoured method of oil; while, if one knew

anything of human nature, the fellow who had complained that he might

as well go home would have something uncomfortable to say. The director

finished his remarks, combed his beard with his fingers, and sat down.

A momentary pause ensued. Then Messieurs Westgate and Batterson rose

together. Seeing the chairman nod towards the latter, the secretary

thought: 'Mistake! He should have humoured Westgate by giving him

precedence.' But that was the worst of the old man, he had no notion of

the suaviter in modo! Mr. Batterson thus unchained--would like, if he

might be so allowed, to congratulate the Board on having piloted their

ship so smoothly through the troublous waters of the past year. With

their worthy chairman still at the helm, he had no doubt that in

spite of the still low--he would not say falling--barometer, and

the-er-unseasonable climacteric, they might rely on weathering

the--er--he would not say storm. He would confess that the present

dividend of four per cent. was not one which satisfied every aspiration

(Hear, hear!), but speaking for himself, and he hoped for others--and

here Mr. Batterson looked round--he recognised that in all the

circumstances it was as much as they had the right--er--to expect. But

following the bold but to his mind prudent development which the

Board proposed to make, he thought that they might reasonably, if not

sanguinely, anticipate a more golden future. (“No, no!”) A shareholder

said, 'No, no!' That might seem to indicate a certain lack of confidence

in the special proposal before the meeting. (“Yes!”) From that lack of

confidence he would like at once to dissociate himself. Their chairman,

a man of foresight and acumen, and valour proved on many a field

and--er--sea, would not have committed himself to this policy without

good reason. In his opinion they were in safe hands, and he was glad to

register his support of the measure proposed. The chairman had well said

in his speech: 'de l'audace, toujours de l'audace!' Shareholders would

agree with him that there could be no better motto for Englishmen. Ahem!

Mr. Batterson sat down. And Mr. Westgate rose: He wanted--he said--to

know more, much more, about this proposition, which to his mind was of a

very dubious wisdom.... 'Ah!' thought the secretary, 'I told the old

boy he must tell them more'.... To whom, for instance, had the proposal

first been made? To him!--the chairman said. Good! But why were Pillins

selling, if freights were to go up, as they were told?

“Matter of opinion.”

“Quite so; and in my opinion they are going lower, and Pillins were

right to sell. It follows that we are wrong to buy.” (“Hear, hear!” “No,

no!”) “Pillins are shrewd people. What does the chairman say? Nerves!

Does he mean to tell us that this sale was the result of nerves?”

The chairman nodded.

“That appears to me a somewhat fantastic theory; but I will leave that

and confine myself to asking the grounds on which the chairman bases his

confidence; in fact, what it is which is actuating the Board in pressing

on us at such a time what I have no hesitation in stigmatising as a rash

proposal. In a word, I want light as well as leading in this matter.”

Mr. Westgate sat down.

What would the chairman do now? The situation was distinctly

awkward--seeing his helplessness and the lukewarmness of the Board

behind him. And the secretary felt more strongly than ever the absurdity

of his being an underling, he who in a few well-chosen words could so

easily have twisted the meeting round his thumb. Suddenly he heard the

long, rumbling sigh which preluded the chairman's speeches.

“Has any other gentleman anything to say before I move the adoption of

the report?”

Phew! That would put their backs up. Yes, sure enough it had brought

that fellow, who had said he might as well go home, to his feet! Now for

something nasty!

“Mr. Westgate requires answering. I don't like this business. I

don't impute anything to anybody; but it looks to me as if there were

something behind it which the shareholders ought to be told. Not

only that; but, to speak frankly, I'm not satisfied to be ridden over

roughshod in this fashion by one who, whatever he may have been in the

past, is obviously not now in the prime of his faculties.”