A Rich Man's Relatives Volume II Part 8

A card was brought in by a clerk with a timid--"Would like to see you, sir."

"I told you, Stinson, to say I was engaged, whoever called."

"The gentleman was so positive you would see him, I was afraid he might have reason for what he said."

"Who is it?--Rouget--Hm--Who wants to be bothered with Rouget in business hours? Say I shall be pleased to see him at half-past three.

I am occupied till then. Let no one in, now, but Mattock the builder, and Calcimine the architect, and bring over that roll of plans, and the maps marked 'proposed St. Hypolite suburb,' and spread them out upon the table. Ha! Bank bell? What do they want in there? Who can it be? Bid those men wait, Stinson, if they arrive before I get back from the bank. Tell them you expect me every moment. At the same time, if any cheques have to be signed, send them into the bank; I do not know how long I may be detained. Any one in the outer office besides Rouget? You go first; send him away and then tell me. I like going into the bank by the front door."

"The Bishop of Anticosti is waiting, and two sisters of charity with a subscription list, waiting till you are disengaged."

"They can wait, then. I shall go the other way," and so saying he disappeared by way of the dressing-room.

It was half-past four instead of half-past three when Rouget was at last admitted to the presence. His consequence was a good deal ruffled at being kept waiting, and he gave Stinson to understand that he did not like it; whereupon the clerk suggested that he should call another day, and was altogether so callous and unimpressed, that, after failing to get him to carry in another card with messages scrawled across, Mr. Rouget desisted, submitted, and sat down in a chair like any humble person awaiting an audience.

"Ha! Mr. Rouget!" was his reception when at last the moment of admission arrived. "So sorry that you should have had to wait; but business--you know. How do things go on at St. Euphrase? I have been meaning to drive over there, some day, now the ice and the sleighing are so good; but have been so busy."

"We have been making discoveries at St. Euphrase, Misterre Herkimaire--discoveries of mines and metals. Wat do you tink of dat, for instance, Misterre Herkimaire?" and he laid some lumps of nearly pure copper, each about the size of an egg, and a piece of rock, green with exposure to the weather, and veined with metallic bands upon the table. The window, as it happened, faced the west, catching the last of the daylight from the radiant sky. A gleam, grown ruddy, and struggling with the gathering shadows, seemed drawn to the polished faces of the ore, and made them s.h.i.+ne with enhancing l.u.s.tre.

"What?" cried Ralph, thrown off his guard at the unexpected sight, which made him forget the cool and critical att.i.tude of a business mind. "Copper! Virgin copper, or I'm a Dutchman! Specimens sent in by his explorers to the Minister of Irrigation? Kind of you to bring them to me, Mr. Rouget, and give me a chance to bid for the lands. Many thanks. I have been turning my attention to minerals lately, I doubt not but with the minister's goodwill we may arrange something to our mutual advantage--yours and mine. Where do they come from? Up the Ottawa? Or, perhaps the Gattineau? Yes! that must be it, the Gattineau. I am interested in Gattineau lands already, and we have indications of copper; but I am free to confess I did not dream of anything so fine as this. If the government wants a company formed to develop minerals on the Gattineau, I'm their man. It will help us to build our railway at once. I did not calculate on extending so far out for a year or two, but the mines will require an outlet, and they will bring the road into notice, and enable us to make an increased issue of stock. The government will have to increase our land-grant, however."

Rouget stood regarding the "promoter" with a smile. How he did run on, to be sure!

"W'ere you say dey come from?"

"The Gattineau, I have no doubt. I never saw a Lake Superior specimen half as rich."

"Eet ees not Lake Superior, you aire right. W'at you say eef I tell you it come from sout' of de Saint Laurence?"

"It will be a fortune for the owner if it does. Freight and expenses there will be so light in comparison with Fond du Lae."

"Dese specimens aire from La Hache."

"You don't----"

"Fact. Here is Professor Hammerstone's report."

"Hammerstone? I see him constantly, but he has never mentioned it. He spent a week with me at St. Euphrase last summer. My son Gerald reads with him several times a week, but he has heard nothing of this or he would have told me."

"Hammerstone was employed by me--a private survey--confidential affair."

"Ah?" said Ralph, looking at his friend the personage and man of pleasure with newborn respect. Who could have supposed it? A man he had always looked on as a fool--spending his days in losing money on race-courses, his nights in poker!--to think that such a one should have taken up with science, economies, and the intelligent development of his property!

"You see it arrived to me all unexpected to make the discovery. The young Richaud, of the Crown Lands Department, is of the relatives of madame the most intimate. He made a _sejour_ wid us the last Septembre, and one day we go for the _cha.s.se aux oiseaux_, and we stop to repose ourselves in the svamp by the river not far from Saint Euphrase--the svamp is dried up as you may know in Septembre--and Richaud, he cry out, and he say, 'M. Rouget,' he say, 'how you aire _riche!_--more _riche_ as the dreams of avarice.' 'Behold!' he cry, and frappe wid a large stone ze rock laid bare by the uprooting of a fallen tree, w'ere I myself had seated. And truly the fragment broken off did s.h.i.+ne wid a l.u.s.tre as of the metals. Richaud has information of such tings in the department, and he advised me to consult the Professeur Hammerstone, w'ich, by-and-by, w'en the frosts have wizzered the herbage, I do, and you behold his report rendered."

Ralph took the report and read it through, while recovering at the same time his self-possession. It was an injudicious display of eagerness which he had been betrayed into, and he felt heartily ashamed as well as sorry that his nerves should have relaxed from that critical calm which becomes a proposing buyer while the bargain is incomplete. How many thousands, he wondered, would his lack of circ.u.mspection cost him? Yet who could have a.s.sociated the a.s.s Rouget with anything to sell? It was most provoking.

He sniffed a depreciating sniff as he read through the report, raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips; and in concluding read aloud the saving clause in which the worthy scientist guarded his reputation for infallibility by reminding his readers of the impossibility of ascertaining the depth to which the outcropping lodes extended, by mere surface observations, and without sinking an experimental shaft, and the chances of faults, breaks, and interruptions in the vein at any depth below that to which his examination had extended.

"You want to sell this, then, Mr. Rouget? this parcel of, say a thousand acres, with its metalliferous indications? What value do you put upon it?"

Had Rouget come there the day before, ere he had had speech with Jordan, or had slept and dreamed upon the encouraging visions which that conversation had bred, and which had been expanding themselves ever since, as is the way with visions, there is no doubt he would have jumped at once, named a sum, and been thankful to take half of it; but he had spent the night in building castles, and storing them with the uncounted riches which other men were to dig out of his land and pay over to him, and the idea of a fixed sum even if far larger than he had yet named, was now cold and unattractive.

"I vish not to compromise my interests in zis land. I vill not sell."

"Then what do you come to me for?"

"I vish to inaugurate a company to develop ze mines."

"But the mines, if there are any, are yours, Mr. Rouget. It is for the proprietor to develop his property."

"I have hoped since three months to do so. Money is ze difficulty; I need money."

"Then sell! Those who have the money are likely to give a good price.

It will be pure gain to you, for this thousand acres, I dare a.s.sert, has never yielded you one cent. Sell to wealthy men who can afford to develop the property, it will bring in population, perhaps originate a town, and in any case create a new market for your tenants, and increase the value of all your lands."

"If it vould be good for dose vealthy men to buy, it vill be my affair not to sell. I shall keep my interests in ze mines."

"How much good will they do you if you have no capital to work them?"

"I have come to you to get ze capital."

"And how would you purpose to pay for the accommodation?"

"Your bank lends, does it not? I would borrow!"

"What security?"

"My own. Is that not enough? And now there will be dis mine also."

"You would mortgage it then to get an advance? Can you give a first mortgage?--No?--mortgaged already, eh? Then sell, Mr. Rouget. Sell to a company. If your ideas are reasonable I may be able to help you; but a large outlay will be required to start the enterprise, and getting up a company is an expensive process. However, I think I am safe in saying you can sell your unproductive swamp for the price of the best agricultural land in the province, or double what any cleared land round St. Euphrase would bring. Yes! I will even risk giving you fifty dollars the _arpent_ myself, and take all the risk and expense, while you will have the prospective advantage when population comes streaming in to work the mines."

"You are kind, Mr. Herkimaire. I thank you. But either you are not serious, or you believe me more fool than is the case. Messieurs Pyrites and Sulphuret may be willing to put me in the way to develop my property. I am told they do large business in metals. I shall wish you a good evening, Mr. Herkimaire."

"No, no! Mr. Rouget. Stop a moment! Just tell me plainly what it is you want, and I shall be pleased to promote your views if I can. I have asked you how much you would take for your property, or what you wish to do with it. You have made no answer. I then made you an offer for the land, which of course you were quite at liberty to refuse; but surely your refusing to take my price does not necessitate your taking offence, especially seeing that you have not yet said what value you put on the property yourself--and I am sure there is no arrangement which Pyrites and Sulphuret would make with you which I am not quite as able to carry out. Since you have been good enough to give me the first chance, pray do not go before we have had time to understand each other. What is your own idea in the matter?"

"Mr. Jordain, he say----"

"Jordan is in it, then, is he?" muttered Ralph. "Worse luck."

"He says I should place myself in the hands of some capitalist, who would form a company, paying me some in money and the rest in stock.

Is not that the fas.h.i.+on to speak of in the language of commerce."

"Quite so, Mr. Rouget. That is the usual way of fixing things. And your figures?"

And here there arose much altercation and argument, as was inevitable where each wanted to get as much and give as little as possible. The dialogue need not be recorded. Its like can be heard in any market place, between hucksters and old women, chaffering and wrangling over a copper cent as if their lives depended on having it, though the one must sell and the other will buy, in any wise, and they both know it.

It was settled at last. Ralph was to arrange and bring out the company, with all perquisites thereto accruing, Rouget got a fifth part of the stock as his price, and a few thousand dollars, wherewith he hurried to New York in a fever of restlessness until he should have dropped them all into the same abyss which had swallowed so much already, in obedience to the infallible _systeme_. Jordan being first mortgagee, with power to become troublesome, was made solicitor of the concern, with a handsome block of stock allotted, the calls on which, it was understood, were not to be pressed. Ralph, as promoter, kept still, acquiesced, and said not much while the other two preferred their extravagant demands. It was he who was to issue the stock and handle the funds, and as the venture progressed he was sure of abundant profit. Meanwhile, it was best that his mates should have their way, be kept sanguine and in good humour, if only that they might innoculate the public mind with their brilliant antic.i.p.ations.