A DUAL QUESTION OF MATRIMONIAL ELIGIBILITY AND STOCK SUBSCRIPTION
Mr. Westlake dropped back with his old friend Stevens as they trailed
into the parlor which Blackstone had secured.
"Are you going to subscribe rather heavily in the company, Stevens?"
inquired Westlake, with the curiosity of a man who likes to have his
own opinion corroborated by another man of good judgment.
"Well," replied the father of Miss Josephine, "I think of taking a
rather solid little block of stock. I believe I can spare twenty-five
thousand dollars to invest in almost any company Sam Turner wants to
start."
"He's a fine boy," agreed Westlake. "A square, straight young fellow,
a good business man, and a hustler. I see him playing tennis with my
girl every day, and she seems to think a lot of him."
"He's bound to make his mark," Mr. Stevens acquiesced, sharply
suppressing a fool impulse to speak of his own daughter. "Do you
fellows intend to let him secure control of this company?"
"I should say not!" replied Westlake, with such unnecessary emphasis
that Stevens looked at him with sudden suspicion. He knew enough about
old Westlake to "copper" his especially emphatic statements.
"Are you agreeable to Princeman's plan to pool all stock but Turner's?"
"Well--we can talk about that later."
"Huh!" grunted Mr. Stevens, and together the two heavy-weights, Stevens
with his aggressive beard suddenly pointed a trifle more straight out,
and Mr. Westlake with his placidity even more marked than usual,
stalked on into the parlor, where Mr. Blackstone, taking the chair _pro
tem_., read them the preliminary agreement he had drawn up; upon which
Sam Turner immediately started to wrangle, a proceeding which proved
altogether in vain.
The best he could get for patents and promotion was two thousand out of
the five thousand shares of common stock, and finally he gave in,
knowing that he could not secure the right kind of men on better terms.
Mr. Blackstone thereupon offered a subscription list, to which every
man present solemnly appended his name opposite the number of shares he
would take. Sam, at the last moment, put down his own name for a block
of stock which meant a cash investment of considerably more than he had
originally figured upon. He cast up the list hurriedly. Five hundred
shares of preferred, carrying half that much common, were still to be
subscribed. With whom could he combine to obtain control? The only
men who had subscribed enough for that purpose were Princeman, who was
out of the question, and, in fact, would be the leader of the
opposition, and Westlake. The highest of the others were Creamer,
Cuthbert and Stevens. Sam would have to subscribe for the entire five
hundred in order to make these men available to him.
McComas and Blackstone had only subscribed for the same amount as Sam.
They could do him no good, and he knew it was hopeless to attempt to
get two men to join with him. He looked over at Westlake. That
gentleman was smiling like a placid cherub, all innocence without, and
kindliness and good deeds; but there was nevertheless something fishy
about Westlake's eyes, and Sam, in memory, cast over a list of maimed
and wounded and crushed who had come in Westlake's business way. The
logical candidate was Stevens. Stevens simply had to take enough stock
to overbalance this thing, then he simply must vote his stock with
Sam's! That was all there was to it! Sam did not pause to worry about
how he was to gain over Stevens' consent, but he had an intuitive
feeling that this was his only chance.
"Stevens," said he briskly, "there are five hundred shares left. I'll
take half of it if you'll take the other half."
His brother Jack looked at him startled. Their total holdings, in that
case, would mean an investment of more money than they could spare from
their other operations. It would cramp them tremendously, but Jack
ventured no objections. He had seen Sam at the helm in decisive places
too often to interfere with him, either by word or look. As a matter
of fact such a proceeding was not safe anyhow.
"I don't mind--" began Westlake, slowly fixing a beaming eye upon Sam,
and crossing his hands ponderously upon his periphery; but before he
could announce his benevolent intention, Mr. Stevens, with what might
almost have been considered a malevolent glance toward Mr. Westlake,
spoke up.
"I'll accept your proposition," he said with a jerk of his beard as his
jaws snapped. So Miss Westlake thought a great deal of Sam, eh? And
old Westlake knew it, eh? And he had already subscribed enough stock
to throw Sam control, eh?
"Thanks," said Sam, and shot Mr. Stevens a look of gratitude as he
altered the subscription figures.
"Stop just a moment, Sam," put in Mr. Westlake. "How many shares of
common stock does that give you in combination with your bonus?"
"Two thousand two hundred and sixty," said Sam.
"Oh!" said Mr. Westlake musingly; "not enough for control by two
hundred and forty one shares; so you won't mind, since you haven't
enough for control anyhow, if I take up that additional two hundred and
fifty shares of preferred, with its one hundred and twenty-five of
common, myself."
Sam once more paused and glanced over the subscription list. As it
stood now, aside from Princeman, there were two members, Westlake and
Stevens, with whom, if he could get either one of them to do so, he
could pool his common stock. If he allowed Westlake to take up this
additional two hundred and fifty shares, Westlake was the only string
to his bow.
"No, thanks," said Sam. "I prefer to keep them myself. It seems to me
to be a very fair and equitable division just as it is."
In the end it stood just that way.