FRIENDLY ADVISE
Being quick to learn, it did not take Dick long to grasp the scope of
his new duties, and by the end of the second week he had gained the good
will of every person connected with the bank, from the president down to
the porter--with one single exception.
This was Ross Goodwyn, the cashier.
Somehow that individual seemed to take it as a personal affront that
Dick had been chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the discharge of
Charles.
He had figured on filling it with his nephew, and since as a rule these
things were left to his discretion he felt very much aggrieved because
Mr. Gibbs had for once gone over his head.
Being a sensitive man he imagined that the other employees were forever
chuckling in their sleeves over his defeat, and hence he misconstrued
every little incident that arose to be a slur aimed at his vanished
authority.
It made him most unhappy.
And certainly Dick did not enjoy the thought of having this clever man
classed as his enemy, for in the course of his duties about the bank he
necessarily came into frequent contact with the cashier, and it was
unpleasant to feel that the other was eyeing him constantly, as though
ready to pick a flaw in his conduct.
Perhaps it also made Dick more careful than he might ordinarily have
been, and in this way worked for good.
The bookkeeper's assistant, a young man named Kassam, frequently ate
lunch with Dick, as his people lived at a distance, and he did not scorn
to bring a bite to the office with him daily.
There was a little room back of the offices where some papers and books
were kept, such as the big safe could not accommodate, and here the two
would often sit and chat as they disposed of their luncheon.
Pliny Kassam was a diligent fellow, who meant to make his mark some day;
he had a mother and a raft of little sisters at home, for whom he seemed
to entertain a sincere affection.
It was the similarity in their conditions that first drew the boys
together; for each of them had lost a good father, though Kassam's
people were in comfortable circumstances.
It was one noon hour when Dick had been with the bank about three weeks,
that his friend for the first time mentioned a subject that had a
distinct bearing on the messenger's personal affairs.
In the course of the general talk Dick chanced to mention the name of
the cashier, as having sent him upon a certain errand.
Pliny glanced around and unconsciously lowered his voice as he said:
"I'd advise you to keep your eye on Mr. Goodwyn, Dick, and when he asks
you to do anything make sure that you carry out his wishes to a dot. He
has it in for you on account of his disappointment about this position
he wanted for that nephew of his."
"I always try to do exactly as I am told, no matter whether it is the
cashier who gives the order or the bookkeeper. But I don't believe Mr.
Goodwyn would stoop so low as to try and injure a fellow who had never
done him any harm. I knew nothing about his nephew. The place was
offered to me, and as I had to work I accepted it only too gladly. I
hope Mr. Goodwyn will soon be as good a friend to me as anyone else in
the bank," replied Dick, earnestly.
"Oh! don't mistake me, now, old fellow. I wouldn't for the world hint
that our clever cashier would dream of doing you any harm, or trumping
up a false charge against you. Those things happen often enough in the
stories we read, but in real life very seldom. But there are other ways
of getting into trouble, you know."
"Just how?" asked his companion, puzzled and not a little worried by
the mysterious manner of Kassam.
"Well, suppose that something happened, as it frequently does, when
things go wrong, and some careless person has misplaced a valuable
paper--we know that after a certain amount of hunting it will be found,
for it could hardly get out of _our_ department; but in your case it
would be different, for your work takes you outside. If the
circumstances looked in the least suspicious, I mean that Mr. Goodwyn
would be apt to condemn you off-hand. Just make up your mind to be
unusually careful, that's all."
"See here, Pliny, you have some reason for telling me this, haven't
you," demanded the other, anxiously.
Again his companion cast that instinctive hasty look around him, and the
reason was obvious, for Mr. Goodwyn's little department was just at the
other side of the thin partition, and if he happened to be in at this
hour, which would be unusual, he could possibly hear voices raised above
the ordinary, and as his decision was generally the controlling factor
in the matter of employment, Pliny might find himself looking for
another job.
"Well, to tell the truth I have. You were out yesterday at noon when I
was eating my lunch, and he happened to be in his room when Mr. Graylock
called to see about some business matter. They talked rather loud, for
you remember Archibald is a trifle deaf, and raises his voice at all
times. I couldn't help but hear, although I paid no particular attention
to what they were saying until I happened to catch your name mentioned."
"My name?" echoed Dick, anxiously.
"Yes, and of course that caused me to sit up and take notice, for I
thought it kind of queer that two business men in consultation should
think about a boy who had nothing to do with their affairs at all," went
on Pliny, lowering his voice still more, until its mysterious character
affected Dick seriously, and he even found himself quivering with
eagerness.
"Who brought me into the conversation first?" he asked.
"I think it was Graylock, for I heard him ask how you were making good,
and from the plain sneer in his tone when he spoke I knew the old fellow
was just hoping Mr. Goodwyn would say not at all, and that he would have
to make a change."
"But he didn't--don't tell me he said _I_ was a failure?"
"Oh! no; on the contrary he admitted that you seemed to be getting along
pretty well, though he also spoke about the new broom sweeping clean,
and that no doubt when the novelty had wore off you would show up just
as many faults as Charlie had."
Dick breathed easier.
"I am glad he said a good word for me, anyhow. Wait and see if I go
backward. I'm more determined than ever to make good here, for I believe
that the one chance I wanted has come to me. What did Mr. Graylock say
to that, Pliny?" he asked.
"He sneered at it in that nasty way he has, and he was mighty bitter
when he declared that he had no faith in you. He even said you had come
to him to ask for a job, and he felt constrained to turn you down
because he had heard certain things in various quarters that reflected
on your honesty--nothing positive, but just little straws that generally
show which way the wind blows."
Dick half sprang out of his seat, and his face grew red with anger and
mortification.
"I haven't liked Mr. Graylock from way back, but it never entered my
head that he was a man who would descend to actual lies to get even with
a boy who happened to cut his son out of a job. That was about as mean a
thing as any man could ever hint at--no proof, but only general
suspicion, and on that he would ruin my reputation with my employers.
It's hard to stand that, Pliny, mighty hard!" he breathed, clinching his
hands and looking as though he had half a mind to hurry around to the
big department store and demand an explanation and an apology from the
owner.
"Just what I said to myself at the time--old Graylock is a cur, a mean,
mangy cur, that's what he is. And because I detest him so I made up my
mind you should hear what happened to come to my ears. Mind you, I'm
not a listener, and under ordinary circumstances I'd have stopped up my
ears."
"It was kind of you to tell me, Pliny. I'll be more careful than ever
how I do things now. Mr. Graylock offered me a position in his store,
and told me to take off my coat and go to work; but as he only gave
three dollars a week I had to decline. I suppose he can't quite forgive
me for walking out. Perhaps I did say something a little sarcastic at
the time, but who could help it when a man had even gone so far as to
sneer at my father for declining to put his money into that store
business of his?"
"Served him just right--three dollars a week, eh? And they do say he
works his help like a mule driver. If that man doesn't get to be a
millionaire it will be because he is so small he makes mistakes that a
larger grained man never would. That is the law of compensation, my boy.
And I hate to say it, but Graylock ended up by warning Mr. Goodwyn that
if he were in his shoes he would keep a sharp eye on a boy who had had
no father these many years to train him right. That kind of hit me too,
and I couldn't help shaking my fist at the old curmudgeon through that
partition."
"It was a mean trick, if I do say it. I ought to be glad, I suppose,
that I happen to have nothing to do with Mr. Graylock. Even if he had
offered me living wages I hated to think of working for him. But let's
drop the subject. I'm glad you told me this, Pliny, unpleasant as it has
been."
"You won't say anything to a living soul?"
"Of course not, not even to my mother, though it's little I ever keep
from her. She would only worry about it, and what's the use? I must look
out for myself. Depend on me to keep mum," replied Dick, quickly,
reaching out a hand and shaking that of the assistant bookkeeper
heartily.
"You know there is a knothole in that partition over there, and if a
fellow cared to he could look in and see what Mr. Goodwyn was doing; but
I wouldn't want to be guilty of that low trick. Hearing what was said in
a loud voice was another matter; I couldn't help that," declared Pliny.
Then they talked of other things; though Dick was unusually sober the
balance of that day, and every time Pliny caught his eye he gave a
little shake of his head as though warning the messenger not to show his
feelings so plainly.
Perhaps Mr. Goodwyn may have noticed the look on Dick's face when he had
occasion to talk with him, and it may have given his conscience a little
stab or so, for he seemed more than ordinarily pleasant to the lad.
Poor Dick was already learning that there may be a cloud upon the
horizon ready to darken the bright skies, no matter how cheerful things
may have looked heretofore; he had secured the situation that was the
dream of his heart, but already a fly had dropped in the ointment.
The baneful influence of Mr. Graylock seemed capable of reaching him
through the dislike of the cashier, and sooner or later he was apt to
suffer because of that unnatural combination.
Even his fond mother noticed that he was dull that evening, but he said
nothing, and hence she concluded that the duties of his new position
were proving exacting.
But even Dick could not foresee the shadow that in the immediate future
was destined to cast its blight upon his promising young business
career.