When John Kenyon entered his office, he thought the clerk looked at him
askance. He imagined that innocent employee had been reading the article
in the _Financial Field_; but the truth is, John was hardly in a frame of
mind to form a correct opinion on what other people were doing. Everybody
he met in the street, it seemed to him, was discussing the article in the
_Financial Field_.
He asked if anybody had been in that morning, and was told there had been
no callers. Then he passed into the directors' room, closed the door
behind him, sat down on a chair, and leaned his head on his hands with
his elbows on the table. In this position Wentworth found him some time
later, and when John looked up his face was haggard and aged.
'Ah, I see you have read it.'
'Yes.'
'Do you think Longworth is at the bottom of that article?'
John shook his head.
'Oh no,' he said; 'he had nothing whatever to do with it.'
'How do you know?'
Kenyon related exactly what had passed between the oily young man of the
_Financial Field_ and himself in that very room. While this recital was
going on, Wentworth walked up and down, expressing his opinion now and
then, in remarks that were short and pithy, but hardly fit for
publication. When the story was told he turned to Kenyon.
'Well,' he said, 'there is nothing for it but to sue the paper for
libel.'
'What good will that do?'
'What good will it do? Do you mean to say that you intend to sit here
under such an imputation as they have cast upon you, and do nothing? What
_good_ will it do? It will do all the good in the world.'
'We cannot form our company and sue the paper at the same time. All our
energies will have to be directed towards the matter we have in hand.'
'But, my dear John, don't you see the effect of that article? How can we
form our company if such a lie remains unchallenged? Nobody will look at
our proposals. Everyone will say, "What have you done about the article
that appeared in the _Financial Field_?" If we say we have done nothing,
then, of course, the natural inference is that we are a pair of
swindlers, and that our scheme is a fraud.'
'I have always thought,' said John, 'that the capitalization is too
high.'
'Really, I believe you think that article is not so unfair, after all.
John, I'm astonished at you!'
'But if we do commence a libel suit, it cannot be finished before our
option has expired. If we tell people that we have begun a suit against
the _Financial Field_ for libel, they will merely say they prefer to wait
and hear what the result of the case is. By that time our chances of
forming a company will be gone.'
'There is a certain amount of truth in that; nevertheless, I do not see
how we are to go on with our company unless suit for libel is at least
begun.'
Before John could reply there was a knock at the door, and the clerk
entered with a letter in his hand which had just come in. Kenyon tore it
open, read it, and then tossed it across the table to Wentworth.
Wentworth saw the name of their firm of solicitors at the top of the
letter-paper. Then he read:
'DEAR SIR,
'You have doubtless seen the article in the _Financial Field_ of this
morning, referring to the Canadian Mica Mining Company. We should be
pleased to know what action you intend to take in the matter. We may
say that, in justice to our reputation, we can no longer represent
your company unless a suit is brought against the paper which contains
the article.
'Yours truly,
'W. HAWK.'
Wentworth laughed with a certain bitterness.
'Well,' he said, 'if it has come to such a pass that Hawk fears for his
reputation, the sooner we begin a libel suit against the paper the
better!'
'Perhaps,' said John, with a look of agony on his face, 'you will tell me
where the money is to come from. The moment we get into the Law Courts
money will simply flow like water, and doubtless the _Financial Field_
has plenty of it. It will add to their reputation, and they will make a
boast that they are fighting the battle of the investor in London.
Everything is grist that comes to their mill. Meanwhile, we shall be
paying out money, or we shall be at a tremendous disadvantage, and the
result of it all will probably be a disagreement of the jury and
practical ruin for us. You see, I have no witnesses.'
'Yes, but what about the mine? How can we go on without vindicating
ourselves?'
Before anything further could be said, young Mr. Longworth came in,
looking as cool, calm, and unruffled as if there were no such things in
the world as financial newspapers.
'Discussing it, I see,' were his first words.
'Yes,' said Wentworth; 'I am very glad you have come. We have a little
difference of opinion in the matter of that article. Kenyon here is
averse to suing that paper for libel; I am in favour of prosecuting it.
Now, what do _you_ say?'
'My dear fellow,' replied Longworth, 'I am delighted to be able to agree
with Mr. Kenyon for once. Sue them! Why, of course not. That is just what
they want.'
'But,' said Wentworth, 'if we do not, who is going to look at our mine?'
'Exactly the same number of people as would look at it before the article
appeared.'
'Don't you think it will have any effect?'
'Not the slightest.'
'But look at this letter from your own lawyers on the subject.' Wentworth
handed Longworth the letter from Hawk. Longworth adjusted his glass and
read it carefully through.
'By Jove!' he said with a laugh, 'I call that good; I call that
distinctly good. I had no idea old Hawk was such a humorist! His
reputation indeed; well, that beats me! All that Hawk wants is another
suit on his hands. I wish you would let me keep this letter. I will have
some fun with my friend Hawk over it.'
'You are welcome to the letter, so far as I am concerned,' said
Wentworth; 'but do you mean to say, Mr. Longworth, that we have to sit
here calmly under this imputation and do nothing?'
'I mean to say nothing of the kind; but I don't propose to play into
their hands by suing them--at least, I should not if it were my case
instead of Kenyon's.'
'What would you do?'
'I would let them sue me if they wanted to. Of course, their canvasser
called to see you, didn't he, Kenyon?'
'Yes, he did.'
'He told you that he had a certain amount of space to sell for a certain
sum in cash?'
'Yes.'
'And, if you did not buy that space, this certain article would appear;
whereas, if you did, an article of quite a different complexion would
be printed?'
'You seem to know all about it,' said Kenyon suspiciously.
'Of course I do, my dear boy! Everybody knows all about it. That's the
way those papers make their money. I think myself, as a general rule, it
is cheaper to buy them off. I believe my uncle always does that when he
has anything special on hand, and doesn't want to be bothered with
outside issues. But we haven't done so in this instance, and this is the
result. It can be easily remedied yet, mind you, if you like. All that
you have to do is to pay his price, and there will be an equally lengthy
article saying that, from outside information received with regard to the
Canadian Mining Company, he regrets very much that the former article was
an entire mistake, and that there is no more secure investment in England
than this particular mine. But now, when he has come out with his
editorial, I think it isn't worth while to have any further dealings
with him. Anything he can say now will not matter. He has done all the
harm he can. But I would at once put the boot on the other foot. I would
write down all the circumstances just as they happened--give the name of
the young man who called upon you, tell exactly the price he demanded for
his silence, and I will have that printed in an opposition paper
to-morrow. Then it will be our friend the _Financial Field's_ turn to
squirm! He will say it is all a lie, of course, but nobody will believe
him, and we can tell him, from the opposition paper, that if it is a lie
he is perfectly at liberty to sue us for libel. Let him begin the suit if
he wants to do so. Let him defend his reputation. Sue him for libel! I
know a game worth two of that. Could you get out the statement before the
meeting this afternoon?'
Kenyon, who had been looking, for the first time in his life, gratefully
at Longworth, said he could.
'Very well; just set it down in your own words as plainly as possible,
and give date, hour, and full particulars. Sign your name to it, and I
will take it when I come to the meeting this afternoon. It would not be
a bad plan to read it to those who are here. There is nothing like
fighting the devil with fire. Fight a paper with another paper. Nothing
new, I suppose?'
'No,' said Kenyon; 'nothing new except what we are discussing.'
'Well, don't let that trouble you. Do as I say, and we will begin an
interesting controversy. People like a fight, and it will attract
attention to the mine. Good-bye. I shall see you this afternoon.'
He left both Kenyon and Wentworth in a much happier frame of mind than
that in which he had found them.
'I say, Kenyon,' said Wentworth, 'that fellow is a trump. His advice has
cleared the air wonderfully. I believe his plan is the best, after all,
and, as you say, we have no money for an expensive lawsuit. I shall leave
you now to get on with your work, and will return at three o'clock.'
At that hour John had his statement finished. The first man to arrive was
Longworth, who read the article with approval, merely suggesting a change
here and there, which was duly made. Then he put the communication into
an envelope, and sent it to the editor of the opposition paper. Wentworth
came in next, then Melville, then Mr. King. After this they all adjourned
to the directors' room, and in a few minutes the others were present.
'Now,' said Longworth, 'as we are all here, I do not see any necessity
for delay. You have probably read the article that appeared in this
morning's _Financial Field_. Mr. Kenyon has written a statement in
relation to that, which gives the full particulars of the inside of a
very disreputable piece of business. It was merely an attempt at
blackmailing which failed. I intended to have had the statement read to
you, but we thought it best to get it off as quickly as possible, and it
will appear to-morrow in the _Financial Eagle_, where, I hope, you will
all read it. Now, Mr. Kenyon, perhaps you will tell us something about
the mine.'
Kenyon, like many men of worth and not of words, was a very poor speaker.
He seemed confused, and was often a little obscure in his remarks, but he
was listened to with great attention by those present. He was helped
here and there by a judicious question from young Longworth, and when he
sat down the impression was not so bad as might have been expected. After
a moment's silence, it was Mr. King who spoke.
'As I take it,' he said, 'all we wish to know is this: Is the mine what
it is represented to be? Is the mineral the best for the use Mr. Kenyon
has indicated? Is there a sufficient quantity of that mineral in the
mountain he speaks of to make it worth while to organize this company? It
seems to me that this can only be answered by some practical man going
out there and seeing the mine for himself. Mr. Melville is, I understand,
a practical man. If he has the time to spare, I would propose that he
should go to America, see this mine, and report.'
Another person asked when the option on the mine ran out. This was
answered by Longworth, who said that the person who went over and
reported on the mine could cable the word 'Right' or 'Wrong'; then there
would be time to act in London in getting up the list of subscribers.
'I suppose,' said another, 'that in case of delay there would be no
trouble in renewing the option for a month or two?'
To this Kenyon replied that he did not know. The owners might put a
higher price on the property, or the mine might be producing more mica
than it had been heretofore, and they perhaps might not be inclined to
sell. He thought that things should be arranged so that there would be
no necessity of asking for an extension of the option, and to this they
all agreed.
Melville then said he had no objection to taking a trip to Canada. It
was merely a question of the amount of the mineral in sight, and he
thought he could determine that as well as anybody else. And so the
matter was about to be settled, when Longworth rose, and said that he was
perfectly willing to go to Canada himself, in company with Mr. Melville;
that he would pay all his own expenses, and give them the benefit of his
opinion as well. This was received with applause, and the meeting
terminated. Longworth shook hands with Kenyon and Wentworth.
'We will sail by the first steamer,' he said, 'and, as I may not see you
again, you might write me a letter of introduction to Mr. Von Brent, and
tell him that I am acting for you in this affair. That will make matters
smooth in getting an extension of the option, if it should be necessary.'