WHEREIN EDWARD LAMB BEHOLDS THE AMAZING PROFITS OF THE CARPET-TACK
INDUSTRY
There were twenty-four applicants for the position before Edward Lamb
appeared, the second day after the initial insertion of the
advertisement which had been designed to meet his eye alone. David
Jasper, who read his paper advertisements and all, in order to get the
full worth of his money out of it, telephoned to his friend Edward about
the glittering chance.
Yes, Mr. Wallingford was in his suite. Would the gentleman give his
name? Mr. Lamb produced a card, printed in careful imitation of
engraving, and it gained him admission to the august presence, where he
created some surprise by a sudden burst of laughter.
"Ex-cuse me!" he exclaimed. "But you're the man that splashed mud on me
the other night!"
When the circumstance was related, Mr. Wallingford laughed with great
gusto and shook hands for the second time with his visitor. The
incident helped them to get upon a most cordial footing at once. It did
not occur to either of them, at the time, how appropriate it was that
Mr. Wallingford should splash mud upon Mr. Lamb at their very first
meeting.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Lamb?" inquired the large man.
"You advertised----" began the caller.
"Oh, you came about that position," deprecated Mr. Wallingford, with a
nicely shaded tone of courteous disappointment in his voice. "I am
afraid that I am already fairly well suited, although I have made no
final choice as yet. What are your qualifications?"
"There will be no trouble about that," returned Mr. Lamb, straightening
visibly. "I can satisfy anybody." And Mr. Wallingford had the keynote
for which he was seeking.
He knew at once that Mr. Lamb prided himself upon his independence, upon
his local standing, upon his efficiency, upon his business astuteness.
The observer had also the experience of Mr. Daw to guide him, and,
moreover, better than all, here was Mr. Lamb himself. He was a
broad-shouldered young man, who stood well upon his two feet; he dressed
with a proper and decent pride in his prosperity, and wore looped upon
his vest a watch chain that by its very weight bespoke the wearer's
solid worth. The young man was an open book, whereof the pages were
embossed in large type.
"Now you're talking like the right man," said the prospective employer.
"Sit down. You'll understand, Mr. Lamb, that my question was only a
natural one, for I am quite particular about this position, which is the
most important one I have to fill. Our business is to be a large one. We
are to conduct an immense plant in this city, and I want the office work
organized with a thorough system from the beginning. The duties,
consequently, would begin at once. The man who would become secretary of
the Universal Covered Carpet Tack Company, would need to know all about
the concern from its very inception, and until I have secured that exact
man I shall take no steps toward organization."
Word by word, Mr. Wallingford watched the face of Edward Lamb and could
see that he was succumbing to the mental chloroform. However, a man who
at thirty has accumulated five thousand is not apt to be numbed without
struggling.
"Before we go any further," interposed the patient, with deep, deep
shrewdness, "it must be understood that I have no money to invest."
"Exactly," agreed Mr. Wallingford. "I stated that in my advertisement.
To become secretary it will be necessary to hold one share of stock, but
that share I shall give to the right applicant. I do not care for him to
have any investment in the company. What I want is the services of the
best man in the city, and to that end I advertised for one who had been
an expert bookkeeper and who knew all the office routine of conducting a
large business, agreeing to start such a man with a salary of two
hundred dollars a month. That advertisement stated in full all that I
expect from the one who secures this position--his expert services. I
may say that you are only the second candidate who has had the outward
appearance of being able to fulfill the requirements. Actual efficiency
would naturally have to be shown."
Mr. Wallingford was now quite coldly insistent. The proper sleep had
been induced.
"For fifteen years," Mr. Lamb now hastened to advise him, "I have been
employed by the A. J. Dorman Manufacturing Company, and can refer you to
them for everything you wish to know. I can give you other references as
to reliability if you like."
Mr. Wallingford was instant warmth.
"The A. J. Dorman Company, indeed!" he exclaimed, though he had never
heard of that concern. "The name itself is guarantee enough, at least to
defer such matters for a bit while I show you the industry that is to be
built in your city." From his dresser Mr. Wallingford produced a handful
of tacks, the head of each one covered with a bit of different-colored
bright cloth. "You have only to look at these," he continued, holding
them forth, and with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand turning
one red-topped tack about in front of Mr. Lamb's eyes, "to appreciate to
the full what a wonderful business certainty I am preparing to launch.
Just hold these tacks a moment," and he turned the handful into Mr.
Lamb's outstretched palm. "Now come over to the edge of this carpet. I
have selected here a tack which matches this floor covering. You see
those rusty heads? Imagine the difference if they were replaced by
this!"
Mr. Lamb looked and saw, but it was necessary to display his business
acumen.
"Looks like a good thing," he commented; "but the cost?"
"The cost is comparatively nothing over the old steel tack, although we
can easily get ten cents a paper as against five for the common ones,
leaving us a much wider margin of profit than the manufacturers of the
straight tack obtain. There is no family so poor that will use the old,
rusty tinned or bronze tack when these are made known to the trade, and
you can easily compute for yourself how many millions of packages are
used every year. Why, the Eureka Tack Company, which practically has a
monopoly of the carpet-tack business, operates a manufacturing plant
covering twenty solid acres, and a loaded freight car leaves its
warehouse doors on an average of every seven minutes! You cannot buy a
share of stock in the Eureka Carpet Tack Company at any price. It yields
sixteen per cent. a year dividends, with over eighteen million dollars
of undivided surplus--and that business was built on carpet tacks alone!
Why, sir, if we wished to do so, within two months after we had started
our factory wheels rolling we could sell out to the Eureka Company for
two million dollars; or a profit of more than one thousand per cent. on
the investment that we are to make."
For once Mr. Lamb was overwhelmed. Only three days before he had been
beset by Mr. Daw, but that gentleman had grown hoarsely eloquent over
vast possessions that were beyond thousands of miles of circumambient
space, across vast barren reaches where desert sands sent up constant
streams of superheated atmosphere, with the "hot air" distinctly to be
traced throughout the conversation; but here was something to be seen
and felt. The points of the very tacks that he held pricked his palm,
and his eyes were still glued upon the red-topped one which Mr.
Wallingford held hypnotically before him.
"Who composes your company?" he managed to ask.
"So far, I do," replied Mr. Wallingford with quiet pride. "I have not
organized the company. That is a minor detail. When I go searching for
capital I shall know where to secure it. I have chosen this city on
account of its manufacturing facilities, and for its splendid
geographical position as a distributing center."
"The stock is not yet placed, then," mused aloud Mr. Lamb, upon whose
vision there already glowed a pleasing picture of immense profits.
Why, the thing was startling in the magnificence of its opportunity!
Simple little trick, millions and millions used, better than anything of
its kind ever put upon the market, cheaply manufactured, it was marked
for success from the first!
"Stock placed? Not at all," stated Mr. Wallingford. "My plans only
contemplate incorporating for a quarter of a million, and I mean to
avoid small stockholders. I shall try to divide the stock into, say,
about ten holdings of twenty-five thousand each."
Mr. Lamb was visibly disappointed.
"It looks like a fine thing," he declared with a note of regret.
"Fine? My boy, I'm not much older than you are, but I have been
connected with several large enterprises in Boston and elsewhere--if any
one were to care to inquire about me they might drop a line to the
Mexican and Rio Grande Rubber Company, the St. John's Blood Orange
Plantation Company, the Los Pocos Lead Development Company, the Sierra
Cinnabar Grant, and a number of others, the addresses of which I could
supply--and I never have seen anything so good as this. I am staking my
entire business judgment upon it, and, of course, I shall retain the
majority of stock myself, inasmuch as the article is my invention."
This being the psychological moment, Mr. Wallingford put forth his hand
and had Mr. Lamb dump the tacks back into the large palm that had at
first held them. He left them open to view, however, and presently Mr.
Lamb picked out one of them for examination. This particular tack was
of an exquisite apple-green color, the covering for which had been
clipped from one of Mr. Wallingford's own expensive ties, glued to its
place and carefully trimmed by Mr. Wallingford's own hands. Mr. Lamb
took it to the window for closer admiration, and the promoter, left to
himself for a moment, stood before the glass to mop his face and head
and neck. He had been working until he had perspired; but, looking into
the glass at Mr. Lamb's rigid back, he perceived that the work was well
done. Mr. Lamb was profoundly convinced that the Universal Covered
Carpet Tack Company was an entity to be respected; nay, to be revered!
Mr. Lamb could already see the smoke belching from the tall chimneys of
its factory, the bright lights gleaming out from its myriad windows
where it was working overtime, the thousands of workmen streaming in at
its broad gates, the loaded freight cars leaving every seven minutes!
"You're not going home to dinner, are you, Mr. Lamb?" asked Mr.
Wallingford suddenly. "I owe you one for the splash, you know."
"Why--I'm expected home."
"Telephone them you're not coming."
"We--we haven't a telephone in the house."
"Telephone to the nearest drug store and send a messenger over."
Mr. Lamb looked down at himself. He was always neatly dressed, but he
did not feel equal to the glitter of the big dining room downstairs.
"I am not--cleaned up," he objected.
"Nonsense! However, as far as that goes, we'll have 'em bring a table
right here." And, taking the matter into his own hands, Mr. Wallingford
telephoned for a waiter.
From that moment Mr. Lamb strove not to show his wonder at the heights
to which human comfort and luxury can attain, but it was a vain attempt;
for from the time the two uniformed attendants brought in the table with
its snowy cloth and began to place upon it the shining silver and
cut-glass service, with the centerpiece of red carnations, he began to
grasp at a new world--and it was about this time that he wished he had
on his best black suit. In the bathroom Mr. Wallingford came upon him as
he held his collar ruefully in his hand, and needed no explanation.
"I say, old man, we can't keep 'em clean, can we? We'll fix that."
The bellboys were anxious to answer summons from 44-A by this time. Mr.
Wallingford never used money in a hotel except for tips. It was
scarcely a minute until a boy had that collar, with instructions to get
another just like it.
"How are the cuffs? Attached, old man? All right. What size shirt do you
wear?"
Mr. Lamb gave up. He was now past the point of protest. He told Mr.
Wallingford the number of his shirt. In five minutes more he was
completely outfitted with clean linen, and when, washed and refreshed
and spotless as to high lights, he stepped forth into what was now a
perfectly appointed private dining room, he felt himself gradually
rising to Mr. Wallingford's own height and able to be supercilious to
the waiters, under whose gaze, while his collar was soiled, he had
quailed.
It was said by those who made a business of dining that Mr. Wallingford
could order a dinner worth while, except for the one trifling fault of
over-plenty; but then, Mr. Wallingford himself was a large man, and it
took much food and drink to sustain that largeness. Whatever other
critics might have said, Mr. Lamb could have but one opinion as they
sipped their champagne, toward the end of the meal, and this opinion was
that Mr. Wallingford was a genius, a prince of entertainers, a master of
finance, a gentleman to be imitated in every particular, and that a man
should especially blush to question his financial standing or
integrity.
They went to the theater after dinner--box seats--and after the theater
they had a little cold snack, amounting to about eleven dollars,
including wine and cigars. Moreover, Mr. Lamb had gratefully accepted
the secretaryship of the Universal Covered Carpet Tack Company.