Two evenings after this memorable interview between husband and wife,
Carrington and Morton were closeted with Hamilton in his library. To
anyone who had chanced to look in on the group, it would have seemed
rather an agreeable trio of friends passing a sociable evening of
elegant leisure. Hamilton alone, as he sat in the chair before the
table, displayed something of his inner feelings by the creases between
his brows and the compression of his lips and a slight tensity in his
attitude. Morton was stretched gracefully in a chair facing that of his
host and prospective victim, while Carrington was close by, so that the
two seemed ranked against the one. A close student of types would have
had no hesitation in declaring Morton to be much the more intelligent
and crafty of the two visitors. He appeared the familiar shrewd, smooth,
well-groomed New Yorker, excellently preserved for all his sixty-five
years; one who could be at will persuasive and genial, or hard as steel.
In his evening dress, he showed to advantage, and his manner toward
Hamilton was gently paternal, as that of an old family friend who has
chanced in for a pleasant hour with the son of a former intimate.
Carrington, on the contrary, was of the grosser type of successful
business man. A frock-coat sufficed him for the evening always. There
was about him in every way a heaviness that indicated he could not be a
leader, only a follower after the commands of wiser men. But, in such
following, he would be of powerful executive ability.
[Illustration]
"Do you know," Morton was saying, "it's really a great personal pleasure
for me to come here, Hamilton, my boy. It reminds me of the many times
when I used to sit here with your father." As he ceased speaking, he
smiled benevolently on the young man opposite him.
Hamilton nodded, without much appearance of graciousness. He was more
than suspicious as to the sincerity of this man's kindly manner.
"Yes, I know," he said. "You and he had many dealings together, I
believe, didn't you, Mr. Morton?"
"Oh, yes, indeed," came the ready answer; "many and many. He was a
shrewd trader, was your father. It's a pity he cannot be here to know
what a promising young man of business his son has become. He would be
proud of you, my boy."
"Thank you, Mr. Morton," Hamilton responded. "For that matter, I myself
wish that Dad were here just now to help me."
Again, the visitor smiled, and with a warm expansiveness that was meant
to indicate a heart full of generous helpfulness.
"You don't need him, my boy," he declared, unctuously. "You are dealing
with an old friend."
Carrington nodded in ponderous corroboration of the statement.
"Of course not, of course not!" he rumbled, in a husky bass voice.
Hamilton let irritation run away with discretion. He spoke with
something that was very like a sneer:
"I thought possibly that was just why I might need him."
Morton seemed not to hear the caustic comment. At any rate, he blandly
ignored it, as he turned to address Carrington.
"You remember Hamilton, senior, don't you?" he asked.
"Very well!" replied the gentleman of weight. His red face grew almost
apoplectic, and the big body writhed in the chair. His tones were
surcharged with a bitterness that he tried in vain to conceal. Morton
regarded these signs of feeling with an amusement that he had no
reluctance in displaying. On the contrary, he laughed aloud in his
associate's face.
"Well, yes," he said, still smiling, "I fancy that you ought to remember
Hamilton, senior, and remember him very well, too. But, anyhow, by-gones
are by-gones. You weren't alone in your misery, Carrington. He beat me,
too, several times."
Hamilton smiled now, but wryly.
"So," he suggested whimsically, yet bitterly, "now that he's dead, you
two gentlemen have decided to combine in order to beat his son. That's
about it, eh?"
Carrington, who was not blessed with a self-control, or an art of
hypocrisy equal to that of his ally, emitted a cackling laugh of
triumph. But Morton refused to accept the charge. Instead, he spoke with
an admirable conviction in his voice, a hint of indignant, pained
remonstrance.
"Ridiculous, my dear boy--ridiculous! Just look on me as being In your
father's place. No, no, Hamilton, there's room for all of us. There's a
reasonable profit for all of us in the business--if only we'll be
sensible about it."
"It only remains to decide as to the sensible course, then," Hamilton
rejoined, coldly. "I suppose, in this instance, it means that I should
decide to follow the course you have outlined for me. Now, I have your
offer before me on this paper. Briefly stated, your proposition to me is
that you will take all the boxes I am able to deliver to you--that is to
say, you agree to keep my factory busy. For this promise on your part,
you require two stipulations from me as conditions. The first is that I
shall not sell any boxes to the Independent Plug Tobacco Factory; the
second is that I shall sell my boxes to you at a regular price of eleven
cents each. I believe I have stated the matter accurately. Have I not?"
"You have stated it exactly," Morton assured the questioner. "That is
the situation in a nutshell."
"Unfortunately," Hamilton went on, speaking with great precision, "it's
quite impossible for me to make any such agreement with you--utterly
impossible." He looked his adversary squarely in the eye, and shook his
head in emphatic negation.
Carrington merely emitted a bourdon grunt. Morton, however, maintained
the argument, undeterred by the finality of Hamilton's manner.
"But, my dear boy," he exclaimed quickly, "we're not asking you to do
anything that you haven't done already. Why, you furnished me with one
lot at nine cents."
"At a loss, in order to secure custom against competition," was the
prompt retort. "It costs exactly eleven cents to turn out those boxes."
Morton persisted in his refusal to admit the justice of the young man's
refusal to accept the terms offered.
"But, my dear boy," he continued, "take your last four bids. I mean the
bids that you and Carrington made before we bought out Carrington. The
first, time, Carrington bid eleven cents; while you bid fourteen. On the
second lot Carrington bid thirteen; and you bid nine."
"You illustrate my contention very well," Hamilton interrupted. "At
eleven cents a box, Carrington hardly quit even. It was for that reason
he bid thirteen on the following lot; while I, because I was bound to
get a look in on the business, even at a loss--why, I bid nine cents.
The result was that I got the order, and it cost me a loss of just two
cents on each and every box to fill it." A contented rumble from the
large man emphasized the truth of the statement.
Nothing daunted, Morton resumed his narrative of operations in the box
trade.
"On the third lot, Carrington bid eight cents, while you bid eighteen."
Carrington's indignation was too much for reticence.
"Yes, I got that order," he roared, wrathfully. "It was a million box
order, too--" The withering look bestowed on the speaker by Morton
caused him to break off and to cower as abjectly in his chair as was
possible to one of his bulk.
"His success in being the winner in that bout cost him three cents each
for the million boxes," Hamilton commented. "Well?"
"Well," Morton said crisply, "for the fourth and biggest order,
Carrington bid seventeen, and you bid sixteen."
"Yes, yes!" Carrington spluttered, forgetful of the rebuke just
administered to him. "And, on the four lots, Hamilton, you cleaned up a
profit, while I lost out--so much that I had to sell control of my
plant. And you call that fair competition!"
Morton grinned appreciation. The young man regarded the ponderous figure
of Carrington with something approaching stupefaction over the sheer
bravado of the question.
"Was that your motive in joining the trust," he demanded ironically: "to
get fair competition?"
Again, Morton laughed aloud, in keen enjoyment of the thrust.
"You're your own father's son, Hamilton," he declared, gaily.
Hamilton, however, was not to be cajoled into friendliness by
superficial compliment.
"Probably," he said sternly, "I might not have been able to do so well,
if you had not been clever enough to let both Carrington and myself each
see the figures of the other's secret bid as a great personal favor."
As the words entered Carrington's consciousness, the ungainly form sat
erect with a sudden violence of movement that sent the chair sliding
back three feet over the polished floor. The red face darkened to a
perilous purple, and the narrow, dull eyes flashed fire. He struggled
gaspingly for a moment to speak--in vain. Morton's eyes were fixed on
the man, and those eyes were very clear and very cold. Carrington met
the steady stare, and it sobered his wrath in a measure, so that
presently he was able to utter words intelligibly. But, now, they were
not what they would have been a few seconds earlier:
"You--you told him what I bid?"
Hamilton took the answer on himself.
"Surely, he did, Carrington." The young man spoke with cheerfulness, in
the presence of the discomfiture of his enemy. "He told you what I bid;
and, in just the same way, he told me what you bid--every time!"
For a long minute, Morton stared on at his underling whom he had
betrayed. Under that look, the unhappy victim of a superior's wiles, sat
uneasily at first, in a vague effort toward defiance; then, his courage
oozed away, he shifted uneasily in his seat, and his eyes wandered
abashedly about the room. Convinced that the revolt was suppressed,
Morton turned again to the young man opposite him.
"All that is done with now." The tone was sharp; the mask of urbanity
had fallen from the resolute face, which showed now an expression
relentless, dominant. "Hamilton, what are you going to do?" The manner
of the question was a challenge.
"I can't make money selling boxes at eleven cents," Hamilton answered
wearily. "Nobody could."
"At least, you won't lose any," was the meaning answer. Then, in reply
to Hamilton's half-contemptuous shrug, Morton continued frankly. "After
all, Hamilton, you can make a profit. It won't be large, but it will be
a profit. This is the day of small profits, you must remember. It will
be necessary for you to put in a few more of the latest-model machines,
and to cut labor a bit. In that way, you will secure a profit. You must
cut expense to the limit."
The young man regarded Morton with strong dislike.
"What you mean," he said angrily, "is that I must put my factory on a
starvation business. Now, I don't want to cut wages. It's a sad fact
that the men at present don't get a cent more than they're worth.
Besides that, some of them have been working in the factory for father
more than thirty years."
"There is no room for such pensioners in these days of small profits,"
Morton declared, superciliously. "However, it's no business of mine.
Remember, though, it's your only chance to keep clear."
"No," Hamilton announced bravely, "I'll not cut the wage-scale. I'll
sell to the trade, at thirteen. It's mighty little profit, but it's
something."
Morton shook his head.
"The Carrington factory," he said threateningly, "will sell to the trade
for ten cents, until--"
"--Until I'm cleaned out!" Hamilton cried, fiercely.
Morton lifted a restraining hand. He was again his most suave self.
"My dear boy," he said gently, "I liked your father, and I esteemed him
highly. He was a shrewd trader: he never tried to match pennies against
hundred-dollar bills.... The moral is obvious, when you consider your
factory alone as opposed to certain other interests. So, take my advice.
Try cutting. The men would much rather have smaller wages than none at
all, I'm sure. Think it over. Let me know by Saturday.... The Carrington
factory is to issue its price-list on Monday."
Hamilton was worn out by the unequal combat. He hesitated for a little,
then spoke moodily:
"Very well. I'll let you know by Saturday."
When, at last, his guests had departed, the wretched young man dropped
his head on his arms over the heap of papers, and groaned aloud.... He
could see no ray of hope--none!